Islamabad: Slamming "some circles" of West for "distorting" the image of Islam on the basis of activities of some extremists, Pakistan Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali today (May 3, 2004) said it was "regrettable" that Kashmir and Palestinian issues were also linked to this phenomenon.

"Islam is a religion of peace but some circles in the West, oblivious of Islamic teachings, were talking of clash of civilizations," Jamali told the National conference of Islamic scholars in Islamabad on the occasion of Prophet Mohammed's birthday.

Speaking on the theme 'Elimination of The Tendency of Extremism in The Light of The Teachings of Islam', he said "They (West) are trying to present a distorted image of Islam on the basis of activities of certain extremist elements."

"It is regrettable that longstanding tragedies of Kashmir and Palestine are also being linked with extremism," he said.

Jamali said Islam is a religion of nature reflecting human psychology and lays emphasis on moderation and tolerance.

"No one has a Right to impose his ideas over others," he said adding there is no place for coercion in the religion.

He said Muslims despite constituting a third of the population could not prosper because the principles of the religion was not followed properly.

"The main reason is that while we take pride in the golden principles of Islam, we do not follow them in our daily life. For the sake of personal gains, we fanned regional, linguistic and sectorial prejudices and as a result we lagged behind the world in development," he said.

In his message on the eve of Id-ul-Nabi, President Pervez Musharraf asked the nation to fight the evils of terrorism and sectarianism and to work for eliminating negative propaganda against Islam by highlighting its true spirit.

"Islam has nothing to do with terrorism, sectarianism, extremism and tyranny. The great religion with its greatness and prudence considers these acts as ignorance.

"We should promote love, affection and fraternity among ourselves, because it would result into a welfare society that conforms to the teachings of Islam," he said.