MUMBAI: (AMN) US President Barack Obama on Sunday has reiterated that Islam is a religion that teaches peace, justice, fairness and tolerance. He however regretted that some extremist elements have distorted the spirit of the religion.
"The religion teaches peace, justice, fairness and tolerance. All of us recognise that this great religion cannot justify violence," Obama said while interacting with students of St. Xavier’s College here.
He said that Islam was a great religion but ‘there is a need to isolate those who have distorted its vision’.
In reply to a question on jihad US president said that the phrase jehad has a lot of meanings within Islam. “It is subject to lot of different interpretations. But I will say that first Islam is one of the world’s great religions and over a billion people practice Islam," Obama said..
" All of us recognise that this great religion, in the hands of a few extremists, has been distorted. One of the challenges we face is how to isolate those who have distorted its vision," Obama said.
"We affirm that Hindu or Muslim or Christian or Jew or any other religion; we all need to treat each other with respect and dignity that Gandhi referred to. It’s a major challenge not only in India but also around the world," Obama stressed.