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“And we only sent you to show mercy to the people of the world” (Koran, sura 21, verse 107).

The barbaric acts committed by Islamist terrorists in France and Austria over the past few weeks must be condemned by all people in their right mind.

One of the terrorists who attacked churchgoers in Nice is reported to have the Koran with him, from which the verse quoted above is taken.

This must stir up all Muslims and cast them into doubts about how fanatics can repeatedly dishonor their faith and its sacred symbols - and get away with it.

The attack targets included two places of worship, a church and a synagogue.

Without a doubt, the attackers were concerned with fueling conflicts between religions.

Even if terrorism unleashes waves of Islamophobia in the name of our religion, we must clearly identify the forces of extremism within our own midst.

The United Arab Emirates always emphasized that the fight against extremism and terrorism cannot be limited to the security aspect.

We have to fight this fight in our heads, start with thoughts and ideologies and denounce those ideological currents that spread extremist thoughts.

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We have often been criticized for our resistance to Islamism, which for us is the source of all terrorism in the name of Islam.

Unfortunately, many intellectuals and political decision-makers in the West were so under the spell of Islamist ideologues - many of them in leading positions at renowned Western research institutions - that they now wanted us to believe that these are the only hope for a liberal and tolerant Middle East.

What worried us, however, was the basic willingness to exaggerate them as reformers and true representatives of Islamic intellectualism.

The only difference between terrorists and the ideologues is that the former are terrifyingly honest, while the latter operate with meticulous hypocrisy.

We are firmly resolved that we must do everything humanly possible against terrorism, so that together we can uproot these forces of darkness once and for all.

However, this is easier said than done, let's just take a look at which leading figures in the Muslim world the terrorists recently justified with despicable statements - covertly or openly.

They all belong to the same ideological spectrum - political Islam.

While faith has always ennobled people towards goodness, religion as an ideology has only unleashed violence and genocide.

The Ambassador of Israel in conversation with the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates

Hafsa Abdulla Mohamed Sharif Alulama, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates, and Jeremy Issacharoff, Ambassador of the State of Israel met in the new Axel Springer building for a panel discussion.

Source: WORLD

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We stand firmly by the side of all victims of terrorism.

We find the controversial caricatures unpleasant, and as a Muslim they repel me, but I understand the underlying politics, the exploitation of the subject and the manipulation that is being pursued with it.

Associating the prophet Mohammed, who is far too big for us to be used for political campaigns, with violence and politicization is not acceptable.

Terrorist attacks are merely Islamist interpretations of Islam and deserve unreserved condemnation.

In this spirit, Foreign Minister Abdullah Bin Zajid al-Nahjan took part in the 2015 demonstrations in Paris to condemn the terrorist attacks on "Charlie Hebdo" and the murders in a Jewish supermarket.

However, nothing has changed since then.

It is high time European governments turned their attention to the cancer that is spreading among them.

We as the United Arab Emirates believe that opposition to extremist ideas, the promotion of cultural and religious tolerance and the will to live together peacefully are the only way to put an end to terrorism.