By NNN-KUNA
Brussels : The new head of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism (CTC) Executive Directorate has rejected any attempts to link acts of terrorism with Islam or any other religion.
“The UN has never made any link with a particular religion and terrorism,” Mike Smith told a press conference here Tuesday.
“To make any link with Islam and terrorism is quite unfair,” he said, noting that a majority of victims of terrorism are probably Muslims.
“It is kind of crazy to try and say that terrorism is Islam,” said the former Australian diplomat who also speaks Arabic and served as his country’s ambassador to Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia.
He, however, noted that some extremists have tried to link Islam to their cause. “That is enormously sad and if I was a Muslim, I would be very angry about that,” said Smith who was appointed to his new UN post last October.
The UN official was in Brussels to discuss with EU officials the UN’s global counter-terrorism strategy which was adopted by the General Assembly in September 2006.