Top religious affairs officials from four ASEAN member states Wednesday agreed to intensify efforts to steer young Muslims away from extremist versions of Islam, the Jakarta Post said on Thursday.

During a joint media conference at the end of a three-day informal meeting in Bandung, delegates from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei said that the terrorist attacks carried out by militant youths in Indonesia demonstrated the importance of spreading moderate Islamic teachings among the young.

"We must learn from the recruitment of young people by terrorist networks. We call on all member countries (of ASEAN) to protect young people from false Islamic teachings and extremism," said Secretary-General of Indonesia's Ministry of Religious Affairs Faisal Ismail.

Four major terror attacks in Indonesia since 2002 involved suicide bombers in their 20s.

"We have agreed on several items that require follow-up action, including the development of multi-cultural education, the empowerment of citizens, the protection of women and the guidance for youth," said Faisal.

These recommendations will be conveyed to the ASEAN ministerial meeting on religious affairs to be hosted by Malaysia next year.

Source: Xinhua