The US is right to stress that the struggle against Osama bin Laden is not a war against Islam. The West values and protects all religious beliefs. Millions of Muslims live in the West, and are free to worship. But the same cannot be said about Afghanistan where there is no religious freedom. In other words, the West can live in peace with Islam.

There are Muslims who think the West must be fought in a jihad. They must examine how best to reach a compromise for peace without the need to resort to terrorism. Islam is submission to God, not submission to terrorism.

Most Muslims have rightly denounced the terrorist attacks on Sept 11. The concerns for innocent civilians in the Afghan war are justified. However, it is disappointing to note that some extremist Muslims continue to speak for the Taliban who harbour these terrorists, and even trying to justify the crimes against humanity on Sept 11. Such criminal acts against humanity should be condemned without reservation.

It is crucial that moderate Muslims are not brainwashed by calls for jihad. Osama and his network are not championing Islam, they are disgracing it. The terrorists only succeeded in smashing tolerance and peace.

The fact that Osama himself praised the Sept 11 attacks after the US launched its retaliation on Afghanistan can be construed as implicit evidence that he was the mastermind behind those attacks. No decent human being would praise the attacks on innocent victims in the US and then call for a holy war. Any war is unholy, as there will be innocent civilian casualties.

As the saying goes, righteousness exalts a nation but sin (like terrorism) is a disgrace to any people, irrespective of the person's religion. Religious faith cannot flourish and prosper without tolerance. But some Islamic extremists threaten to destroy both. Peace can only be achieved when there is tolerance. Without it, the Middle East conflict and other wars will continue.