Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono calls Islamic State 'embarrassing'
Indonesian president condemns jihadists and urges Muslim leaders to unite against them
The president of the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, Indonesia, yesterday called the actions of Islamic State militants "embarrassing" to the religion and urged Islamic leaders to unite against extremism.
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the scale of the slaughter wrought by the extremists in overrunning large swathes of Iraq and Syria and the level of violence being used was appalling.
"It is shocking. It is becoming out of control," he said in an interview with The Australian newspaper, a day after the group released a video showing a masked militant beheading US reporter James Foley.
"We do not tolerate it, we forbid Isis in Indonesia," he added, referring to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, as the group was formerly known.
"Indonesia is not an Islamic state. We respect all religions.
"This is a new wake-up call to international leaders all over the world, including Islamic leaders," he said, adding that the jihadis' actions were not only "embarrassing" to Islam but "humiliating", the paper reported.