Malik Muhammad Ashraf It is a matter of great relief that the pastor of a small church called the Dove World Outreach Centre in Gainesville, Florida, has put on hold his plan to burn copies of the Holy Quran on September 11. The pressure built by different forces the administration of Florida, US government, Commander of forces in Afghanistan General Patreaus, religious and cultural organisations within US, the Vatican, UN Secretary General and above all the reaction in the Muslim world finally worked. Indeed, the pastors plan was fraught with grave repercussions for US relations with Muslim countries, its US interests overseas, war effort against terrorism and, indeed, global peace. It could also have triggered a new wave of violence against the US, its Western allies, as well as Muslim states whose governments are viewed as sympathetic to or siding with the US in the war. The evil move, coming on the heels of growing protests over the construction of a mosque near Ground Zero in New York, deftly stoked into a volatile political issue by the Republican leaders like Newt Gingrich and Sara Palin, had created a commotion all over the world. The Muslim diaspora residing in these countries have not only improved their own economic situations, but have, and are still doing a great service to the countries of their origin by sending billions of dollars as remittances to their kith and kin and in certain cases also making huge investments. Besides they are persuading other prospective investors to come forward and invest in those countries. So, not only the West benefits from these migrant Muslim communities, but also the Muslim countries from where they have come. In view of these irrefutable realities and the potential upheavals that a skewed perception of Islam in the West can unfurl, it is absolutely imperative to check this snowballing hate syndrome and project it as a religion of peace and brotherhood that prohibits the spilling of innocent blood and adoption of violent means. There is an urgent need to reach out to the people in the West and the world at large, emphasising the contradictions between Islamic teachings and acts of terrorism and convince them that the terrorists are only terrorists and have no religion at all. The Muslim countries collectively owe it to the world to promote true understanding of Islam and Quranic teachings with a view to choreographing interfaith harmony and save the world from the horrible consequences of a clash of the civilisations. Muslim countries who have been victims of the circumstances and suffered because of the presence of terrorist outfits on their soil, have to show zero tolerance for their activities and existence. The international community is already waiting to help in this effort. They may take a cue from Pakistans experience and successes achieved against the terrorists, made possible by an unflinching political will and commitment to the cause, as a frontline state. They need to understand that acts of terrorism have proved counterproductive by harming the very causes for whose fulfilment it was employed, besides jeopardising their own national interests. The world community has totally rejected terrorism and committed itself to fight the menace to its logical end. The initiative to project the true teachings of Islam needs to be taken at the Organisation of the Islamic Conference). It should have a media outlet with global outre-ach to counter anti-Islam propaganda and to motivate and mobilise Muslim communities in the West to ratchet up their interaction with religious and political entities in the countries of their adoption, as well as the media to promote a true understanding of Islam and the human values it stands for. OIC may also organise international seminars and conferences for the promotion of interfaith harmony. It may also evolve a workable strategy to propagate Muslim causes and seek their solutions through peaceful and universally accepted norms and channels with the help and cooperation of the international community. Interfaith harmony and tolerance towards other faiths is not only vital for the Muslims, but also for the Western world. The leaders in the West are well aware and conscious of this imperative and have repeatedly expressed their desire to engage in a meaningful dialogue with the Muslims who a big chunk of the total world population. That provides a common ground to take the initiative, before it is too late. The writer is a freelance columnist.