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STANDING OVATION FOR REMARKS
Jews
rule world, Malaysian PM tells Islamic summit By ROHAN SULLIVAN
PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia—Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad told a summit of Islamic leaders today that "Jews rule the world by proxy" and the world's 1.3 billion Muslims should unite, using non-violent means for a "final victory." 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 despite Mahathir's call for peaceful change. Mahathir—known for his outspoken, anti-Western rhetoric—criticized what he described as Jewish domination of the world and Muslim inability to adequately respond to it. "The Europeans killed six million Jews out of 12 million, but today the Jews rule the world by proxy," Mahathir said in opening the meeting of Islamic leaders from 57 countries. "They get others to fight and die for them." "We are up against a people who think. They survived 2,000 years of pogroms not by hitting back but by thinking. They invented Socialism, Communism, human rights and democracy . . . so that they can enjoy equal rights with others. With these they have now gained control of the most powerful countries and they, this tiny community, have become a world power." Malaysia, a democratic country that 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. "For well over half a century, we have fought over Palestine," the Malaysian leader said. "What have we achieved? Nothing. We are worse off than before. If we had paused to think, then we could have devised a plan, a strategy that can win us final victory." He told the audience of sheiks, emirs, kings and presidents that Muslims had the world's richest civilization during Europe's Dark Ages, but disputes over dogma—instead of embracing technology and science—had left them weak and divided. "Because we are discouraged from learning of science and mathematics as giving us no merit for the afterlife, today we have no capacity to produce our own weapons for our defense. We have to buy our weapons from our detractors and enemies." "Today we, the whole Muslim ummah (community) is treated with contempt and dishonor. Our religion is denigrated. Our holy places desecrated. Our countries are occupied. Our people starved and killed." Still, he said, the leaders must realize that not all non-Muslims are against them. "Some are well-disposed toward us. Some even see our enemies as their enemies. Even among the Jews there are many who do not approve of what the Israelis are doing." Calling for an end to terror attacks, Mahathir questioned those who "ask our young people to blow themselves up and kill people and invite the massacre of more of our own people." "We must not antagonize everyone. We must win their hearts and minds. . . . We must not strengthen the enemy by pushing everyone into their camps through irresponsible and un-Islamic acts." The leaders gave Mahathir a standing ovation afterward. "I think it was a shrewd and very deep assessment of the situation," said Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher, without commenting on the remarks about Jews. "I think he elaborated a program of action that is wide and very important. I hope the Islamic countries will be able to follow this very important road map." 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, saw the speech as worrisome. "Mahathir's speech today is an absolute invitation for more hate crimes and terrorism against Jews," he said. Afghan President Hamid Karzai, while also not addressing Mahathir's comments on the Jews, said he supported his analysis, which also included steps for how Muslim states can develop economically and socially. "It is great to hear Prime Minister Mahathir speak so eloquently on the problems of the ummah 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." The summit is the first since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and comes at a time when many Muslims—even U.S. allies—feel the war on terrorism has become a war against them. Leaders at the summit included Jordan's King Abullah, Syrian President Bashar Assad, Morocco's King Mohammed, 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.
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