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Oct. 17, 2003. 01:00 AM
`Jews rule the world,' Malaysian PM says
He tells Muslim leaders to fight domination Says Islamic countries weakened
by religious infighting
SLOBODAN LEKIC
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia—In a blistering attack on Israel and hectoring criticism
of the Islamic world, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad told a summit
of Muslim leaders yesterday 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 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," said the 77-year-old.
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.
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."
The Islamic summit comes at a time when many Muslims feel under threat after
the U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and Israeli treatment of the
Palestinians in the occupied territories.
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`Mahathir's speech today is an absolute invitation for more hate crimes and
terrorism against Jews.'
Rabbi Abraham Cooper
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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."
Mahathir, whose 22-year administration transformed Malaysia from a rubber-
and tin-producing backwater into the world's 17th-largest trading country,
has long been known for his blistering attacks on globalization, U.S. policy
in the Middle East and Israel.
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 Centre in Los
Angeles, said Mahathir has used anti-Israel statements in the past to prove
he's tough on the West. But, he said, the 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. "Mahathir's
speech today is an absolute invitation for more hate crimes and terrorism
against Jews. That's serious."
In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Adam Ereli called Mahatir's
remarks offensive and inflammatory. "We view them with the contempt and
derision they deserve."
U.S. allies at the summit 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."
