Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – Muslim World League’s (MWL) secretary general Mohammed bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa has responded to plans in France for tougher laws to tackle ‘Islamist separatism’, denouncing extremists who have damaged Islam's reputations with various acts of violence, according to Arab News.

In a speech earlier this month, French President Emmanuel Macron announced new laws that he said would tackle ‘a counter-society’.

He said they would defend France's secular values against Islamist radicalism.

Macron also said Islam was a religion that is in crisis all over the world.

Commenting on Macron’s statements, Al-Issa said extremists had harmed Islam’s reputation.

“There are people who are falsely considered Muslims,” Al-Issa said in an interview on MBC television.

“These have harmed Islam’s reputation with their radicalism and extremism, and sometimes, their violence, including their terrorism,” he added, stressing that these acts do not represent Islam at all.

“If we defend them, whether directly or indirectly, (that would mean) we are exactly like them,” he said.

When asked about Macron’s references to separatism and isolationism, Al-Issa said extremists and terrorists were the first to isolate themselves from Islamic society.

He pointed out that the 2019 Makkah Declaration, which was signed by thousands of clerics and Islamic scholars from around the world, emphasized the need to respect the constitutions, laws, and cultures of countries.

The declaration called for anti-extremism, religious and cultural diversity, and legislation against hate and violence.

Al-Issa has previously said it is his mission to wipe out extremist ideology and he has spearheaded efforts to tackle radicalisation.

Reporting by Indonesia Window