P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News Staff

JEDDAH, 18 December 2003 — Members of the Islamic Fiqh Academy, who concluded their seven-day deliberations in Makkah yesterday, emphasized the need to remove the conditions that breed terrorism and extremism by implementing Shariah.

The academy, an affiliate of the Makkah-based Muslim World League, called for a meeting of scholars in the Muslim world to streamline fatwas (religious edicts) on contemporary issues. It also called for the establishment of an international body to coordinate among major Islamic organizations around the world.

A final communique issued after the meeting urged Muslim countries to include Islamic teachings in school curricula as part of the efforts to fight deviant thoughts and extremism.

The meeting denounced all forms of terrorism and urged the international community to reach an agreement on the definition of terrorism and its punishment.

The academy urged all banks in Muslim countries to keep away from interest-based financial dealings.

Referring to third-party sales or tawarruk deals being practiced by certain financial organizations, the scholars said they were unacceptable because of suspicious involvement of interest in such deals.