Saudi king hails Islam as religion of ‘peace,’ distorted by extremists

“Islam was and will always be the religion of mercy, tolerance and coexistence,” Saudi King Salman tells a gathering of leaders from 55 Islamic and Arab states gathered in Riyadh ahead of a speech by US President Donald Trump.

“In its prosperous times, Islam provided the best examples of coexistence and harmony between countries and individuals. Some individuals seek to present a distorted picture of this religon, seeks to convey a distorted picture conflating this great religion with violence.”

“One of the goals of Islamic sharia [religious law] is protecting life. There is no honor in committing murder.
Islam is a religion of peace that considers killing an innocent soul tantamount to killing all of humanity.”

Islam’s “tolerant values” are “peace, moderation, and refraining from destroying and corrupting Earth.”