British PM urges Muslim world to defeat extremists

PanARMENIAN.Net - Democracy and Islam can flourish together, British Prime Minister David Cameron will declare on Thursday, April 12 as he uses a landmark speech in Indonesia to tell the Muslim world that it can reject a "dead-end choice" between extremism and dictatorship, according to The Guardian.

In one of his most significant speeches on Islam, the Prime Minister will say that the world can defeat extremists, who are a "dangerous foe" on a par with supporters of slavery.

Cameron will hail the "extraordinary journey" undertaken by Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country, since the end of the Suharto dictatorship in 1998 as an example of the "inspirational path" countries can follow.

"What Indonesia shows is that in the world's largest Muslim-majority country, it is possible to reject this extremist threat and prove that democracy and Islam can flourish alongside each other," the PM will tell students at Al-Azhar University in Jakarta. "That's why what you are doing here is so important, because it gives heart to those around the world who are engaged in the same struggle."

Downing Street regards the prime minister's speech as one of the highlights of his trip to Asia as the visit moves from a trade mission to focus on politics. The main highlight will come on Friday when the prime minister becomes the first western leader to go to Burma since Aung San Suu Kyi's recent success in a series of parliamentary byelections.