His Majesty King Abdullah on Friday said the greatest enemies of Islam are those who distort the Islamic teachings, stressing that Jordan has been working with the international Islamic community in the struggle to oppose extremist interpretations of Islam.

"It is time for us to stand together, to reaffirm what the greatest scholars of our tradition have said: no Muslim can call another Muslim a non-believer," King Abdullah told the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) in a taped speech on its 2005 Annual Convention in Chicago.

King Abdullah stressed that no matter what insults or offenses Muslims may have suffered, nothing justifies taking innocent lives, no matter what religion or nationality they may be, adding that bringing Islam's message of forgiveness and reconciliation is part of "our role in the world, not only among Muslims, but among all humankind."

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