Jordanian King Abdullah called on nations to have a better understanding of Islam in the fight against Daesh, a month after Jordan and its Middle Eastern politics were placed in the limelight.
King Abdullah called the fight against Daesh the "third world war" where all religions come together in an interview on CNN. His appearance on the show Fareed Zakaria GPS comes one month after Daesh burned Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasasbeh alive, placing Jordan and its Middle Eastern politics in the spotlight.
"This is our war," said King Abdullah, who started conducting airstrikes immediately after Daesh released its video featuring al-Kasasbeh's brutal death. Jordan also retaliated with two executions of al-Qaeda members a day after the reveal.
Arab, Western and Asian influences all have a "moral responsibility" to help, the king added, but in the end "it's up to the Syrians" in the making of a new country.
The Jordanian leader said he agrees with US President Barack Obama's approach in refusing to name Daesh as a Muslim group, because "it's what they want."
"This is something that has to be understood on a much larger platform," King Abdullah said, mentioning hundreds of thousands of Muslims being killed in Iraq and Syria. "I don't know what these people are."
The king added:
"If anybody understood the prophet and how he used to look at life … he always forgave those around him. For these extremists to be defendants of his honor when they don’t understand who he was, I find so insulting in a way."
By Hayat Norimine
