Posted 10/16/2003 8:19 AM Updated 10/16/2003 10:41 AM
Malaysian PM urges Muslims to unite against 'Jewish domination'
PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Thursday told a summit of Islamic leaders that "Jews rule the world by proxy" and the world's 1.3 billion Muslims should unite, using nonviolent means for a "final victory."
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad delivers his speech as chairman of the 10th Session of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.
By B.K.Bangash, AP
His speech at the Organization of the Islamic Conference summit, which he was hosting, drew criticism from Jewish leaders, who warned it could spark more violence against Jews.
Mahathir — known for his outspoken, anti-Western rhetoric — criticized what he described as Jewish domination of the world and Muslim nations' inability to adequately respond to it.
"The Europeans killed 6 million Jews out of 12 million, but today the Jews rule the world by proxy," Mahathir said, opening the meeting of Islamic leaders from 57 nations. "They get others to fight and die for them."
Malaysia, a democratic nation which has a large non-Muslim population and does not enforce strict Islamic law, has long been a critic of Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and of U.S. policy in the Middle East, including the war in Iraq and Washington's strong backing of the Jewish state.
Mahathir, 77, who is retiring on Oct. 31, has used almost every international podium to lambaste the West for two decades, winning a reputation as an outspoken champion of Third World causes.
"For well over half a century we have fought over Palestine. What have we achieved? Nothing. We are worse off than before," he said. "If we had paused to think, then we could have devised a plan, a strategy that can win us final victory."
The prime minister, who has turned his country into the world's 17th-ranked trading nation during his 22 years in power, said Jews "invented socialism, communism, human rights and democracy" to avoid persecution and gain control of the most powerful countries. Mahathir added that "1.3 billion Muslims cannot be defeated by a few million Jews," but he suggested using political and economic tactics instead of violence.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Jonathan Peled expressed disappointment in the remarks but said he wasn't surprised.
"It is not new that in such forums there is always an attempt to reach the lowest common denominator, which is Israel bashing," he said in Jerusalem. "But obviously we'd like to see more moderate and responsible kind of declarations coming out of such summits."
Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, said Mahathir has used anti-Israel statements in the past to prove he's tough on the West. But, he said, Thursday's speech was still worrisome.
"What is profoundly shocking and worrying is the venue of the speech, the audience and coming in the time we're living in," Cooper said during a visit to Jerusalem. "Mahathir's speech today is an absolute invitation for more hate crimes and terrorism against Jews. That's serious."
U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia Marie Huhtala declined to comment on Mahathir's speech. Washington was angered over a speech he made in February, as host of the Non-Aligned Movement of 117 countries, in which he described the looming war against Iraq as racist.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said he supported Mahathir's analysis, which also included steps for how Muslim nations can develop economically and socially.
"It is great to hear Prime Minister Mahathir speak so eloquently on the problems of the ummah (Muslim world) and ways to remedy them," Karzai said. "His speech was an eye-opener to a lot of us and that is what the Islamic world should do."
Leaders attending the summit included Jordan's King Abullah, Syrian President Bashar Assad, Morocco's King Mohammed VI, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo are attending as special observers because of their large Muslim minorities.
Excerpts from Malaysian prime minister's speech at Islamic leaders' summit:
"Our only reaction is to become more and more angry. Angry people cannot think properly. And so we find some of our people acting irrationally. They launch their own attacks, killing just about everybody including fellow Muslims to vent their anger and frustration."
"There is a feeling of hopelessness among the Muslim countries and their people. They feel they can do nothing right. They believe that things can only get worse."
"But is it true that we should do and can do nothing for ourselves? Is it true that 1.3 billion people can exert no power to save themselves from the humiliation and oppression inflicted on them by a much smaller enemy? Is there no other way than to ask our young people to blow themselves up and kill people and invite the massacre of more of our own people?"
"We are actually very strong. 1.3 billion people cannot be simply wiped out. The Europeans killed 6 million Jews out of 12 million, but today the Jews rule the world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them."
------
Megawati applauded Mahathir attack on Jews
Date: October 18 2003
By Mark Riley, Tom Allard and Matthew Moore
The Indonesian President, Megawati Soekarnoputri, joined a standing ovation for her Malaysian counterpart, Mahathir Mohamad, after he called on Muslims to consider Jews as their enemy, it has been revealed.
All 57 leaders at a Conference of Islamic Nations summit applauded the comments, which have renewed regional tensions ahead of next week's APEC leaders' conference. Among them were several key figures in the post-September 11 world, including Ms Megawati; the Afghan President, Hamid Karzai; President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan and Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.
Dr Mahathir's speech was met with a chorus of condemnation from leaders of non-Islamic states yesterday, including Australian Prime Minister, John Howard.
The Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, last night snubbed Malaysia's Foreign Minister, Syed Hamid Albar, declining to invite him to a dinner to discuss Islam and the fight against terrorism at the Australian ambassador's residence in Bangkok.
Indonesia's Hassan Wirayuda attended, along with the foreign ministers of New Zealand, Canada, Singapore and Japan and a US undersecretary of state, Alan Larson.
"We will be exploring the issue of how to support moderate Islam and moderate Islamic leadership," Mr Downer said before the dinner.
"We didn't invite everybody to it. Malaysia is going through a political transition. In two weeks' time, Dr Mahathir retires," he said, hailing his successor, Abdullah Badawi, as a "good and moderate and sensible man".
He said Dr Mahathir's remarks had not been discussed by foreign ministers gathered in Bangkok, neither had President George Bush's description of Australia as a sheriff.
Mr Howard, who arrives in Bangkok this afternoon for the APEC summit, is expected to sign a free trade agreement with Thailand and make a keynote speech on terrorism.
He is also due to meet Ms Megawati privately on Monday to discuss regional security issues.
Dr Mahathir told the meeting of Islamic leaders in Malaysia on Thursday that "Jews rule this world by proxy".
He accused Jews worldwide of "getting others to fight and die for them" and called on Muslims to fight back with their brain and brawn.
Mr Howard noted that Dr Mahathir would retire soon, and said he would normally allow such polemical statements from the Malaysian leader to "go through to the keeper".
However, he wanted to make clear that "any indication of rivalry between Jews and Muslims is very unhelpful".
"Any suggestion from anybody anywhere in the world of dividing the world into Jewish and non-Jewish groupings is historically indefensible and wrong and something that all Australians, or most Australians, would regard as quite repugnant," he said.
An Indonesian Government spokesman, Marty Natalegawa, expressed support for Dr Mahathir's statement and declined to condemn his remarks about Jews ruling the world.
Malaysian PM urges Muslims to unite against 'Jewish domination'
PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Thursday told a summit of Islamic leaders that "Jews rule the world by proxy" and the world's 1.3 billion Muslims should unite, using nonviolent means for a "final victory."
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad delivers his speech as chairman of the 10th Session of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.
By B.K.Bangash, AP
His speech at the Organization of the Islamic Conference summit, which he was hosting, drew criticism from Jewish leaders, who warned it could spark more violence against Jews.
Mahathir — known for his outspoken, anti-Western rhetoric — criticized what he described as Jewish domination of the world and Muslim nations' inability to adequately respond to it.
"The Europeans killed 6 million Jews out of 12 million, but today the Jews rule the world by proxy," Mahathir said, opening the meeting of Islamic leaders from 57 nations. "They get others to fight and die for them."
Malaysia, a democratic nation which has a large non-Muslim population and does not enforce strict Islamic law, has long been a critic of Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and of U.S. policy in the Middle East, including the war in Iraq and Washington's strong backing of the Jewish state.
Mahathir, 77, who is retiring on Oct. 31, has used almost every international podium to lambaste the West for two decades, winning a reputation as an outspoken champion of Third World causes.
"For well over half a century we have fought over Palestine. What have we achieved? Nothing. We are worse off than before," he said. "If we had paused to think, then we could have devised a plan, a strategy that can win us final victory."
The prime minister, who has turned his country into the world's 17th-ranked trading nation during his 22 years in power, said Jews "invented socialism, communism, human rights and democracy" to avoid persecution and gain control of the most powerful countries. Mahathir added that "1.3 billion Muslims cannot be defeated by a few million Jews," but he suggested using political and economic tactics instead of violence.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Jonathan Peled expressed disappointment in the remarks but said he wasn't surprised.
"It is not new that in such forums there is always an attempt to reach the lowest common denominator, which is Israel bashing," he said in Jerusalem. "But obviously we'd like to see more moderate and responsible kind of declarations coming out of such summits."
Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, said Mahathir has used anti-Israel statements in the past to prove he's tough on the West. But, he said, Thursday's speech was still worrisome.
"What is profoundly shocking and worrying is the venue of the speech, the audience and coming in the time we're living in," Cooper said during a visit to Jerusalem. "Mahathir's speech today is an absolute invitation for more hate crimes and terrorism against Jews. That's serious."
U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia Marie Huhtala declined to comment on Mahathir's speech. Washington was angered over a speech he made in February, as host of the Non-Aligned Movement of 117 countries, in which he described the looming war against Iraq as racist.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said he supported Mahathir's analysis, which also included steps for how Muslim nations can develop economically and socially.
"It is great to hear Prime Minister Mahathir speak so eloquently on the problems of the ummah (Muslim world) and ways to remedy them," Karzai said. "His speech was an eye-opener to a lot of us and that is what the Islamic world should do."
Leaders attending the summit included Jordan's King Abullah, Syrian President Bashar Assad, Morocco's King Mohammed VI, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo are attending as special observers because of their large Muslim minorities.
Excerpts from Malaysian prime minister's speech at Islamic leaders' summit:
"Our only reaction is to become more and more angry. Angry people cannot think properly. And so we find some of our people acting irrationally. They launch their own attacks, killing just about everybody including fellow Muslims to vent their anger and frustration."
"There is a feeling of hopelessness among the Muslim countries and their people. They feel they can do nothing right. They believe that things can only get worse."
"But is it true that we should do and can do nothing for ourselves? Is it true that 1.3 billion people can exert no power to save themselves from the humiliation and oppression inflicted on them by a much smaller enemy? Is there no other way than to ask our young people to blow themselves up and kill people and invite the massacre of more of our own people?"
"We are actually very strong. 1.3 billion people cannot be simply wiped out. The Europeans killed 6 million Jews out of 12 million, but today the Jews rule the world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them."
------
Megawati applauded Mahathir attack on Jews
Date: October 18 2003
By Mark Riley, Tom Allard and Matthew Moore
The Indonesian President, Megawati Soekarnoputri, joined a standing ovation for her Malaysian counterpart, Mahathir Mohamad, after he called on Muslims to consider Jews as their enemy, it has been revealed.
All 57 leaders at a Conference of Islamic Nations summit applauded the comments, which have renewed regional tensions ahead of next week's APEC leaders' conference. Among them were several key figures in the post-September 11 world, including Ms Megawati; the Afghan President, Hamid Karzai; President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan and Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.
Dr Mahathir's speech was met with a chorus of condemnation from leaders of non-Islamic states yesterday, including Australian Prime Minister, John Howard.
The Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, last night snubbed Malaysia's Foreign Minister, Syed Hamid Albar, declining to invite him to a dinner to discuss Islam and the fight against terrorism at the Australian ambassador's residence in Bangkok.
Indonesia's Hassan Wirayuda attended, along with the foreign ministers of New Zealand, Canada, Singapore and Japan and a US undersecretary of state, Alan Larson.
"We will be exploring the issue of how to support moderate Islam and moderate Islamic leadership," Mr Downer said before the dinner.
"We didn't invite everybody to it. Malaysia is going through a political transition. In two weeks' time, Dr Mahathir retires," he said, hailing his successor, Abdullah Badawi, as a "good and moderate and sensible man".
He said Dr Mahathir's remarks had not been discussed by foreign ministers gathered in Bangkok, neither had President George Bush's description of Australia as a sheriff.
Mr Howard, who arrives in Bangkok this afternoon for the APEC summit, is expected to sign a free trade agreement with Thailand and make a keynote speech on terrorism.
He is also due to meet Ms Megawati privately on Monday to discuss regional security issues.
Dr Mahathir told the meeting of Islamic leaders in Malaysia on Thursday that "Jews rule this world by proxy".
He accused Jews worldwide of "getting others to fight and die for them" and called on Muslims to fight back with their brain and brawn.
Mr Howard noted that Dr Mahathir would retire soon, and said he would normally allow such polemical statements from the Malaysian leader to "go through to the keeper".
However, he wanted to make clear that "any indication of rivalry between Jews and Muslims is very unhelpful".
"Any suggestion from anybody anywhere in the world of dividing the world into Jewish and non-Jewish groupings is historically indefensible and wrong and something that all Australians, or most Australians, would regard as quite repugnant," he said.
An Indonesian Government spokesman, Marty Natalegawa, expressed support for Dr Mahathir's statement and declined to condemn his remarks about Jews ruling the world.
the world."
