Introduction: On
October 16, 2003, at Putrajaya, Malaysia, the 10th meeting of the Organization
of the Islamic Conference heard a speech from the head of the host
government. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mahathir Mohamad delivered a
controversial assessment of the problems of the Islamic world and the role of
Jews in the contemporary world.
Below are various items that report
on and assess this event. Included are:
Linked here, but not displayed
below, are also:
Copyright
2003 Financial Times Information
All rights reserved
Global News Wire - Asia Africa Intelligence Wire
Copyright 2003 Pertubuhan Berita Nasional Malaysia
Bernama The Malaysian National News Agency
October
16, 2003
LENGTH: 1130 words
HEADLINE: USE STRENGTH
AND CLOSE RANKS TO FACE CHALLENGES, MUSLIM NATIONS TOLD
BODY:
PUTRAJAYA, Oct 16 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad set the tone for
deliberations at the biggest gathering of Islamic nations which opened here
today with a call to them to use their strength and close ranks in dealing with
issues confronting Muslims worldwide.
The prime minister said that with 1.3 billion people, the Muslim countries were
actually strong but they had never really tried to unite and cooperate.
"We are all Muslims. We are all oppressed. We are all being
humiliated," he said in his opening address at the 10th Organisation of the
Islamic Conference (OIC) Summit at the brand-new Putrajaya Convention Centre,
here. The summit, the first to be held in the Asia Pacific region, has drawn the
largest number of Muslim leaders, 33, since the inception of the 57-member OIC
in 1969. The other members have sent their respective representatives.
Held triennially, it is also the first gathering of Muslim leaders since the
Sept 11 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.
Apart from Muslim leaders from West Asia, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Russian
President Vladimir Putin and Philippine President Gloria Arroyo were among those
present at the opening ceremony held in this new Malaysian federal
administrative capital.
Dr Mahathir said it would be futile for Muslim countries to condemn their
detractors and oppressors as this would not change their attitude.
"If we are to recover our dignity and that of Islam, our religion, it is we
who must decide, it is we who must act," he told the gathering of kings,
presidents and prime ministers.
Muslim countries had great wealth and the biggest oil reserves in the world, he
said, adding that they controlled 57 out of the 180 countries in the world.
"Our votes can make or break international organisations. Yet we seem more
helpless than the small number of Jahilliah converts who accepted the Prophet as
their leader.
"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 this world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them."
Dr Mahathir said that it might not be possible to unite all the 1.3 billion
Muslim population and to get all the Muslim governments to act in concert.
"But even if we can get a third of the ummah and a third of the Muslim
states to act together, we can already do something."
The prime minister said the whole Muslim ummah was today treated with contempt
and dishonour.
"Our religion is denigrated. Our holy places desecrated. Our countries are
occupied, our people starved and killed.
"None of our countries is truly independent. We are under pressure to
conform to our oppressors' wishes about how we should behave, how we should
govern our lands, how we should think even.
"Today, if they want to raid our country, kill our people, destroy our
villages and towns, there is nothing substantial that we can do.
"Is it Islam which has caused all these? Or is it that we have failed to do
our duty according to our religion?
"Our only reaction is to become more and more angry. Angry people cannot
think properly.
"And so we find some of our people reacting irrationally. They launch their
own attacks, killing just about anybody, including fellow Muslims, to vent their
anger and frustration.
"Their governments can do nothing to stop them. The enemy retaliates and
puts more pressure on the governments.
"And the governments have no choice but to give in, to accept the
directions of the enemy, literally to give up their independence of action.
"With this, their people and the ummah become angrier and turn against
their own governments.
"Every attempt at a peaceful solution is sabotaged by more indiscriminate
attacks calculated to anger the enemy and prevent any peaceful settlement.
"But the attacks solve nothing. The Muslims simply get more
oppressed," he said.
Dr Mahathir asked whether it was true that the Muslims could do nothing for
themselves or to exert power to save themselves from the humiliation and
oppression inflicted upon them by a much smaller enemy.
"Can they only lash back blindly in anger? 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?" he said.
The Muslim countries must build up their strength in every field, not just in
armed might, he said.
"Our countries must be stable and well-administered, must be economically
and financially strong, industrially competent and technologically advanced.
"This will take time, but it can be done and it will be time well spent. We
are enjoined by our religion to be patient."
He said the defence of the ummah need not start only after they had put their
houses in order.
"Even today, we have sufficient assets to deploy against our detractors. It
remains for us to identify them and to work out how to make use of them to stop
the carnage caused by the enemy.
"This is entirely possible if we stop to think, to plan, to strategise and
to take the first few critical steps. Even these few steps can yield positive
results," he said.
He said the Muslim countries were enjoined by their religion to prepare for the
defence of the ummah.
"Unfortunately we stress not defence but the weapons of the time of the
Prophet. Those weapons and horses cannot help to defend us any more.
"We need guns and rockets, bombs and warplanes, tanks and warships for our
defence.
"But because we discouraged the learning of science and mathematics, etc,
as giving no merit for the akhirat, today we have no capacity to produce our own
weapons for our defence.
"We have to buy our weapons from our detractors and enemies," he said.
The theme of the summit is "Knowledge and Morality for the Progress of the
Ummah".
Dr Mahathir said that apart from the partial unity that they needed, the Muslim
nations must take stock of their assets.
"We also know that not all non-Muslims are against us. Some are
well-disposed towards 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," he said.
"We must not antagonise everyone. We must win their hearts and minds.
"We must win them to our side not by begging for help from them but by the
honourable way that we struggle to help ourselves.
"We must not strengthen the enemy by pushing everyone into their camps
through irresponsible and unIslamic acts.
Reminding the leaders of the consideration that Prophet Muhammad had shown to
the enemies of Islam, he said that they too should do the same.
"It is winning the struggle that is important, not angry retaliation, not
revenge," he said.
JOURNAL-CODE: FBNM
LOAD-DATE: October 17,
2003
Copyright
2003 Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
October 17, 2003, Friday
16:11 Central European Time
SECTION: Politics
LENGTH: 542 words
HEADLINE: ROUNDUP: Malaysia's Mahathir defends comments on Jews
DATELINE: Putrajaya, Malaysia
BODY:
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Friday fiercely defended his
comments on Jews made during an Islamic summit, saying that he was merely
defending his right to free speech.
"Lots of people say nasty thing about us, about Moslems. People say
Moslems are terrorists. People make such statements and they seem to get away
with it. But if you say anything at all against the Jews then you are accused
of being anti-Semitic," Mahathir said at a press conference at the end of
the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) summit held in Malaysia's
administrative capital of Putrajaya.
Mahathir, who chairs the 57-member nation OIC summit, kicked off the meeting
Thursday with a call for Moslem nations to unite against Israeli acts of
aggression against the Palestinians and other oppression.
Mahathir had urged Islamic nations to use wit and technology to overcome their
"oppressors", and not resort to violence as a form of retaliation.
He said Moslems could learn from the Jewish race, whom he said "ruled the
world by proxy" despite their small numbers, and currently "gained
control of the most powerful countries".
"One-point-three billion Moslems simply cannot be defeated by a few
million Jews," said the veteran Southeast Asian leader, known for his
controversial speeches throughout his 22 years in power.
His comments had immediately come under fire from the governments of
Australia, the European Union and the United States, who called for the
premier to retract his "offensive" statements.
Mahathir responded to the outcry late Friday by accusing his critics as being
biased against Moslems, and saying that his speech merely contained
"facts of history".
"This is what happened, this is my perception of things and the
suggestion that something should be done to stop me from making statements is
contrary to the ideals of free speech," he said.
Moslem leaders at the summit rallied together Friday and defended Mahathir
against the global criticisms, dismissing any controversy behind his speech.
"He said the truth," said Palestinian Foreign Minister Farouk
Kaddumi.
"Every time we condemn Israeli actions, they accuse us of being
anti-Semitic."
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said Mahathir's speech was merely a
reminder to the Islamic community that there is a need to change mindsets in
order to overcome marginalization at the hands of the international community.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar had earlier expressed
disappointment that Mahathir's comments had been "misunderstood",
adding the premier had no ill-feelings against Jews.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard earlier said Mahathir's comments were
"offensive, repugnant and unhelpful", and reflected a view that
divided the world into Moslem and non-Moslem camps.
Earlier, the E.U. presidency, now held by Italy, condemned Mahathir for making
the remarks, which it called anti-Semitic and gravely offensive.
Mahathir, set to step down at the end of the month after 22 years in power, is
viewed as an influential voice for Moslem nations. He is known for his biting
and controversial speeches targeting mostly Western policies, and political
and economic systems. dpa jy mga
LOAD-DATE: October 18, 2003
October
16, 2003, Thursday, BC cycle
SECTION: International News
LENGTH: 920 words
HEADLINE: Malaysian leader claims that Jews 'rule the world by proxy'
BYLINE: By SLOBODAN LEKIC, Associated Press Writer
DATELINE: PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia
BODY:
In a blistering attack on Israel and hectoring criticism of the Islamic world,
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad told a summit of Muslim leaders
Thursday that Jews ruled the world and recruited others "to fight and die
for them."
"The Europeans killed 6 million Jews out of 12 million, but today the
Jews rule the world by proxy," Mahathir, a widely respected statesman in
Asia and the developing world, said in a speech as he became chairman of the
57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference.
"They get others to fight and die for them," he said.
The speech drew immediate criticism from Israel and Jewish organizations,
which feared it could fan violence against Jews, but a standing ovation from
the kings, presidents, sheiks and emirs - including key U.S. allies - gathered
in Malaysia's sparkling new capital, Putrajaya.
The Malaysian government apologized for the remarks Friday.
"I'm sorry that they have misunderstood the whole thing," Foreign
Minister Syed Hamid Albar told The Associated Press. "The intention is
not to create controversy. His (Mahathir's) intention is to show that if you
ponder and sit down to think, you can be very powerful."
Syed said the world's Muslims were in a "quagmire" and felt
marginalized. "There are no feelings against any Jews. Why should we have
feelings based on ethnicity?"
In his comments Thursday, Mahathir said the Islamic world had shone in
science, arts and military power when Europe was in the Dark Ages, but
weakened when religious infighting replaced practical learning.
The West pulled far ahead in the Industrial Revolution, Mahathir said, and
Muslims still suffer from weak states, disputes over dogma, and a lack of
scientific and technological expertise. They cannot move forward until they
unite, get smarter and rethink their strategies, he said.
When asked their reaction, the leaders described his speech as "a good
road map" and "an eye-opener." None specifically addressed his
remarks on Jews.
The Islamic summit comes at a time when many Muslims feel under threat
following the U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and Israeli treatment of
the Palestinians in the occupied territories.
Mahathir said Muslims had achieved "nothing" in more than 50 years
of fighting Israel.
"They survived 2,000 years of pogroms not by hitting back but by
thinking," Mahathir said. "They invented socialism, communism, human
rights and democracy so that persecuting them would appear to be wrong, so
that they can enjoy equal rights with others."
Mahathir said the world's 1.3 billion Muslims "cannot be defeated by a
few million Jews," but suggested the use of political and economic
tactics instead of violence to achieve a "final victory."
"In today's world, we wield a lot of political, economic and financial
clout, enough to make up for our weaknesses in military terms," he said.
Mahathir, whose 22-year administration transformed Malaysia from a rubber- and
tin-producing backwater into the world's 17th-largest trading nation, has long
been known for his blistering attacks on globalization, U.S. policy in the
Middle East and Israel.
But Malaysia is seen by Washington as a reliable - if prickly - ally,
cooperating in breaking terrorist networks in Southeast Asia. Mahathir visited
the White House last year.
Still, he has remained a blunt opponent of the U.S.-led attacks on Afghanistan
and Iraq, and repeatedly warned that the war on terrorism is becoming a war
against Muslims. Washington was angered by a speech he made in February in
which he described the looming war against Iraq as racist.
Mahathir, 77, has always seen himself as a champion of oppressed Muslims
outside his own country. During the 1992-95 war in Bosnia, he welcomed
thousands of Bosnian Muslim refugees but expelled Christians who arrived with
them, despite appeals by the secular government in Sarajevo.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Jonathan Peled expressed disappointment at
Mahathir's remarks about Jews, 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
kinds 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 in
Jerusalem. "Mahathir's speech today is an absolute invitation for more
hate crimes and terrorism against Jews. That's serious."
In Washington, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli called Mahatir's remarks
offensive and inflammatory. "We view them with the contempt and derision
they deserve," he said.
U.S. allies at the conference said they agreed with Mahathir's assessment of
the Muslim world's predicament, although they did not specifically address his
comments on Jews.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said it was "a shrewd and very deep
assessment."
"It is great to hear Prime Minister Mahathir speak so eloquently on the
problems of the ummah (Muslim world) and ways to remedy them," added
Afghan President Hamid Karzai. "His speech was an eye-opener to a lot of
us and that is what the Islamic world should do."
GRAPHIC: AP Photos XAW104, OIC102, 117
LOAD-DATE: October 17, 2003
Copyright
2003 Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
October 17, 2003, Friday
07:10 Central European Time
SECTION: Politics
LENGTH: 457 words
HEADLINE: Moslem leaders defend Mahathir's comments on Jews
DATELINE: Putrajaya, Malaysia
BODY:
Moslem leaders rallied together Friday and defended Malaysian Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohamad against global criticism for comments suggesting the Islamic
world could learn from Jews who "rule the world by proxy".
Mahathir, who chairs the 57-member nation Organisation of the Islamic
Conference (OIC) summit in Malaysia's administrative capital of Putrajaya,
kicked off the meeting Thursday with a call for Moslem nations to unite
against Israeli acts of aggression against the Palestinians and other
oppression.
Mahathir urged Islamic nations to use wit and technology to overcome their
"oppressors", and not resort to violence as a form of retaliation.
He said Moslems could learn from the Jewish race, whom he said "ruled the
world by proxy" despite their small numbers, and currently "gained
control of the most powerful countries".
"One-point-three billion Moslems simply cannot be defeated by a few
million Jews," said the veteran Southeast Asian leader, known for his
controversial speeches throughout his 22 years in power.
While his comments have come under fire from the governments of Australia, the
European Union and the United States, Moslem leaders gathered at the summit
dismissed any controversy behind Mahathir's speech.
"He said the truth," Palestinian Foreign Minister Farouk Kaddumi
said on the sidelines of the last day of the summit.
"Every time we condemn the Israeli actions, they accuse us of being
anti-Semitic."
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said Mahathir's speech was merely a
reminder to the Islamic community that there is a need to change mindsets in
order to overcome marginalization at the hands of the international community.
"That was a pep talk to the Moslem community, but as soon as you have any
criticism of Israel, then there are people who are very eager to rush to
condemnation, even without reading, without understanding what it's all
about," Maher told reporters.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar expressed disappointment that
Mahathir's comments had been "misunderstood", adding the premier had
no ill-feelings against Jews.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard has said Mahathir's comments were
"offensive, repugnant and unhelpful", and reflected a view that
divided the world into Moslem and non-Moslem camps.
Earlier, the E.U. presidency, now held by Italy, condemned Mahathir for making
the remarks, which it called anti-Semitic and gravely offensive.
Mahathir, set to step down at the end of the month after 22 years in power, is
viewed as an influential voice for Moslem nations. He is known for his biting
and controversial speeches targetting mostly Western policies, and political
and economic systems. dpa jy rk
LOAD-DATE: October 18, 2003
October
17, 2003, Friday, BC cycle
SECTION: International News
LENGTH: 939 words
HEADLINE: Malaysia apologizes for "misunderstanding" over statement
that Jews run world
BYLINE: By PATRICK McDOWELL, Associated Press Writer
DATELINE: PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia
BODY:
Malaysia, faced with angry criticism from the United States and Europe over
comments made at an Islamic summit, apologized Friday for "any
misunderstanding" over Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's assertion that
Jews rule the world.
Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar, struggling to contain the controversy
wrought by his blunt-spoken boss, insisted he was not apologizing for
Mahathir's speech itself on Thursday but said the remarks had been taken out
of context.
Mahathir told leaders of the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference,
the world's largest Muslim grouping, that "Jews rule the world by proxy.
They get others to fight and die for them."
The speech drew immediate criticism from Israel and other countries and raised
fears that it could fan violence against Jews. But it got a standing ovation
from the kings, presidents, sheiks and emirs - including key U.S. allies -
gathered in Malaysia's capital, Putrajaya.
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 in
Jerusalem. "Mahathir's speech today is an absolute invitation for more
hate crimes and terrorism against Jews. That's serious."
Mahathir had used allegations of Jewish dominance to buttress his chief point,
that Muslims needed to embrace modern knowledge and technology and overcome
divisions over religious dogma that have left them weakened on the world
stage.
But the statements about Jews stood out, and condemnations were swift and
unambiguous from the United States, the European Union, Australia and Germany,
which summoned Malaysia's charge d'affaires in Berlin to protest the comments
as "totally unacceptable."
"I'm sorry that they have misunderstood the whole thing," Syed Hamid,
the foreign minister, told The Associated Press. "The intention is not to
create controversy. His intention is to show that if you ponder and sit down
to think, you can be very powerful."
Mahathir declined to speak to reporters who approached him Friday, telling
them to wait until an evening news conference.
Syed Hamid said the world's Muslims were in a "quagmire" and feeling
"sidelined or marginalized," reflecting a widespread perception in
the Islamic world as the war on terrorism has evolved into U.S. wars in
Afghanistan and Iraq, and Israel has increased repression of the Palestinians.
"Please forget about anti-Semitism," Syed Hamid told reporters.
He added that Mahathir's "message is to stop violence, which is not the
answer for us to succeed in our struggle. People may not be very happy but
this is the reality: the Jews are very powerful."
Syed Hamid noted that Malaysia has a state policy of religious harmony, in
which the ethnic Malay Muslim majority lives alongside large non-Muslim
Chinese and Indian minorities. The country is one of Southeast Asia's most
modern and wealthy, and has jailed terror suspects without qualms.
"How can we be anti-Jew? It is far from the truth," Syed Hamid said.
Mahathir, a respected leader in the developing world with a long history of
making articulate, provocative comments, is retiring Oct. 31 after 22 years in
power. He told the Islamic leaders that Muslims had achieved
"nothing" in more than 50 years of fighting Israel.
"They survived 2,000 years of pogroms not by hitting back but by
thinking," Mahathir said of the Jews. "They invented socialism,
communism, human rights and democracy so that persecuting them would appear to
be wrong, so that they can enjoy equal rights with others."
Mahathir said the world's "1.3 billion Muslims cannot be defeated by a
few million Jews," but suggested the use of political and economic
tactics, not violence, to achieve a "final victory."
In their reactions to the speech, most of the leaders at the summit focused on
the aspects that Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher called "a good
road map" toward Muslim empowerment.
Asked by the AP whether he thought the speech was anti-Semitic, Afghan
President Hamid Karzai said: "I don't think so."
"Dr. Mahathir spoke of the inhibitions within the Islamic world and that
those inhibitions must go away, and I entirely agree with that," Karzai
said.
But State Department spokesman Adam Ereli called Mahathir's remarks offensive
and inflammatory. "We view them with the contempt and derision they
deserve," he said.
The leaders of the European Union, meeting in Brussels, Belgium, planned to
adopt a statement saying the 15-nation bloc "deeply deplores"
Mahathir's words, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said.
"The prime minister used expressions that were gravely offensive, very
strongly anti-Semitic and ... strongly counter to principles of tolerance,
dialogue and understanding between the Western world and the Islamic
world," Frattini said.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard called Mahathir's comments offensive and
repugnant.
"Any suggestion from anybody anywhere in the world of dividing the world
into Jewish and non-Jewish groupings is historically indefensible and
wrong," Howard told Australia Radio.
Leaders at the summit included Karzai, Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, Pakistan
President Pervez Musharraf and Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of the
Philippines were special guests because of their large Muslim minorities.
GRAPHIC: AP Photos AP Photos XVT112,OIC102
LOAD-DATE: October 18, 2003
October
18, 2003
LENGTH: 797 words
HEADLINE: MALAYSIAN
PREMIER SLAMS WESTERN MEDIA FOR "DISTORTING" OIC SPEECH
BODY:
Putrajaya, 17 October: Describing himself as anti-violence, Prime Minister
Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad Friday (17 October) lambasted the Western media
for distorting his opening address at the 10th Organization of the Islamic
Conference (OIC) Thursday and potraying him as anti-Semitic.
"These (what he said in his speech) are facts of history and to tell me
that I cannot mention facts of history is to deny me my right to free speech.
I hope, please do not distort and misinterpret me," he said. Dr Mahathir
said this at a packed press conference at the end of the two-day 10th OIC
summit at the Putrajaya Convention Centre here today. The prime minister said
in his speech at the opening of the OIC summit he called for an end to all the
violence and killings, including suicide bombings and massive retaliation, and
that Muslims should pause to think before taking further action.
"In other words, I am against violence, against terrorism, and yet
apparently this part of my speech was not noted; instead I am accused of being
anti-Semitic. You will appreciate of course the Arabs are also Semitic people,
so being anti-Semitic means I'm against Arabs and Jews
as well. That is very even-handed because I am against both, not just
one," he said. (Passage omitted)
"In fact, what I stated about Jews
or Arabs or Europeans, they are just based on facts. This is what happened and
this is my perception of things," Dr Mahathir said at the press
conference.
On the suggestion something be done to stop him from making statements, he
said this suggestion was quite contrary to the advocation of free speech,
which was championed by Western nations. "I am quite surprised that
anybody should suggest that I should be stopped from making statements of
whatever kind. Lots of people make nasty statements about us, Muslims. People
call Muslims terrorists and they even say that the prophet Muhammad was a
terrorist," he added.
He said those who make such statements were able to get away with it but if he
said anything at all against the Jews,
he was accused of being anti-Semitic. He said if Muslims can be accused of
being terrorists, then others too could accuse the Jews
of being terrorists.
On the reaction of Western leaders towards his speech, Dr Mahathir said:
"The fact is that they are biased; most of them are biased, not all, but
most of them. They feel that while it is proper to criticize Muslims and
Arabs, it was not proper to criticize Europeans and Jews.
"Apparently they think they are privileged people but we don't think so.
We don't think anybody has privileges, if you can criticize us, we have the
right to criticize them," he said.
Dr Mahathir said he was not anti-West but was only stating the facts and
"I think I have much right to state facts as anybody else". He said
from the criticism he had received due to the speech it seemed that there were
people who do not appreciate his suggestion that all acts of terror should
stop. He said these people wanted the acts of terror to go on and perhaps this
would give them an excuse to take pre-emptive action against any nation.
He said the idea of some Western states that massive retaliation was the only
way to deal with terrorism was not correct and "will not work".
"What I said in my speech is that we should stop killing each other, we
should stop the Jews
from killing the Arabs, the Arabs from killing the Jews,
we should stop terrorist acts like what was seen in Bali. Instead, we should
pause, we should think and employ strategies. Obviously, Muslims are being
oppressed and it is their right to think of a way out of this to prevent
people from oppressing them.
"If people have weapons of mass destruction against them (Muslims) aren't
they allowed to defend themselves... (ellipses as received) without the
weapons of mass destruction but all least defend themselves with the only way
they can," he said.
He said it was grossly unfair and a manifestation of biasness against Muslims
that they were not allowed to criticize the Jews without being called an anti-Semitic but on the
other hand Jews and
others could call Muslims terrorists.
"There are other terrorists, there are Christian terrorists, Protestant
terrorists, Catholic terrorists in Northern Ireland, there are Hindu
terrorists and even Buddhist terrorist and yet, when they commit acts of
terror nobody ever takes into consideration their religion," he said.
The fact that the Palestinians were chased out of their homes and the land
given to the Jews was
a historical fact which cannot be denied by anyone. "That is the fact of
history. Are we not supposed to mention it?" Dr Mahathir added.
Source: Bernama news agency web site, Kuala Lumpur, in English 18 Oct 03
) BBC Monitoring
JOURNAL-CODE: WBMS
LOAD-DATE: October
18, 2003
October
18, 2003, Saturday, BC cycle
SECTION: International News
LENGTH: 207 words
HEADLINE: Malaysian foreign minister defends prime minister against
anti-Semitism accusations
DATELINE: CANBERRA, Australia
BODY:
Malaysia's foreign minister on Sunday again defended his prime minister against
accusations of anti-Semitism after a controversial speech earlier this week in
which the prime minister said Jews "rule the world by proxy."
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's comments to a summit of Islamic nations caused
a storm of controversy, with the United States, European Union, Germany, Britain
and Australia branding the remarks outrageous.
EU leaders concluded a two-day summit with a statement saying Mahathir's
comments "have no place in a decent world."
But in an interview with Australian television's Nine Network, Malaysian Foreign
Minister Syed Hamid Albar said Mahathir's speech was misunderstood.
"I am confident he has no anti-Jewish feeling," he said.
Mahathir was urging Muslims not to use violence to achieve their aims and used
Jews as an example of how to succeed, he said.
"Don't get emotional, overreacting to something and trying to create a
storm when there is no storm at all," Syed Hamid said.
"You cannot deny the fact that the Jewish economic power is tremendous,
their lobby is tremendous, so what's wrong with saying that?
"You are not saying kill all the Jews, you say take the example of the
Jews."
LOAD-DATE: October 19, 2003