The Islamic world has become an easy target for Islamaphobics who insist on associating Islam with terrorism, said Kuwait's deputy house speaker Muhammad al-Besairi, at the opening on Tuesday of a forum on promoting correct Islamic values.

According to Kuwait News Agency, at the opening of the forum "Ingredients that Bring the Islamic World Together," al-Besairi said that the negative barrage of anti-Islam rhetoric heard in the foreign press would have to be responded to by Muslim thinkers and scholars in a staid and gracious and learned manner. He said that the forum was a good start to formulate correct approaches at dealing with the tarnishing of the image of Islam.

In similar statements, Kuwait's minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs and minister of Communications Abdulla al-Mehailbi said that the Islamic world could easily absorb any punches from any anti-Islamic entity and urged all adherents of the Muslim faith to remain a solid wall in the face of detractors of Islam.

As for chairman of the Islah society Humoud al-Roomy who attended the forum opening, he noted that the event was being held at an opportune time since the region was undergoing uncertainties and facing challenges requiring uniform positions by all Muslim scholars so that a proper image of Muslims is promoted.

The forum aims at emphasizing religious tolerance and rejection of extremism and the necessity for all Muslim organizations to work assiduously to polish a good image of Islam worldwide.

Among those attending the two-day forum are a number of clerics and Imams and religious scholars from Pakistan, India, Jordan, Syria, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, the UK, Lebanon, and the Palestinian territories.