DERA ISMAIL KHAN, May 25: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said that Islam teaches peace and harmony, but the West is trying to depict a distorted image of the religion.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, he said the world was confronted with an issue which threatened peace at the global level but, he added, the United States was using this pretext to exploit the under-developed and poor nations, particularly Muslim states.

The maulana said that every individual and nation had the right to struggle for freedom. However, he deplored, the freedom fighters in Kashmir and Palestine were being labelled terrorists by the United States.

The JUI leader said that the West was strengthening its economy with the help of resources of Gulf and Muslim states but it was an irony that the same resources were being used against Islam and Muslims in shape of weapons.

Maulana Fazl said it was the time the West realized that a new global order based on equality and justice was the need of the hour.

He asked the US leadership to think and decide whether a system based on injustice and exploitation could flourish.

He stressed the need for dialogue to avoid expected reactions to the US policies. He said the Muslim world was ready for dialogue with the West to end this situation and to work for global peace.

Referring to the Indian threats, the maulana said: “We want to make it clear that despite all our differences with rulers, the whole nation will stand firm by armed forces in event of any aggression.”

Besides, speaking at a Seeratun Nabi conference at the Haq Nawaz Park on Saturday, the JUI leader flayed the US for its so-called war on terror.