KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 27 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak reiterated today the importance of embracing common values among the different religions instead of “magnifying” and “quibbling” over the differences.

The prime minister said that globally and in Malaysia, there is a need to realise that “we can actually agree to disagree”.

“We must make a firm commitment to establish a culture of tolerance and harmony in order to better promote the well-being of humankind, putting aside what may divide us as communities,” he said at the Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (IKIM) International Seminar on “Religion and Peaceful Co-existence: Accepting Differences and Upholding Values”.

He reiterated that by adopting wasatiyyah, or the Islamic approach of moderation, religion can be the “bridge builder” that is needed.

“The wasatiyyah approach is very important, because it means ‘balanced’ and the ‘best’.

“Without wasatiyyah, the society will easily fall into extremism that would result in radicalism like the IS or extremism in the other sense that would threaten the religion such as the liberalism extremists,” he said.

Najib also stressed that Islam respects cultural and religious diversity and that the Quran also recognises the existence of other religions.