Unbelievable statements by the Prime Minister of Malaysia. This is truly a disgusting statement by a leader of a muslim country. Unbelievable how somebody like this can be in power. Malaysian Leader: 'Jews Rule World by Proxy' Thursday, October 16, 2003 Associated Press PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia — Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (search) 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 non-violent means for a "final victory. His speech at the Organization of the Islamic Conference (search) summit, which he was hosting, drew criticism from Jewish leaders, who warned it could spark more violence against Jews. Mahathir, who is 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 as he opened the meeting of Islamic leaders from 57 nations. "The Europeans killed 6 million Jews out of 12 million, but today the Jews rule the world by proxy," Mahathir said. "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 its 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 of 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 (search) 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." The summit is the first since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks reshaped global politics and comes at a time when many Muslims -- even U.S. allies -- feel the war on terrorism has become a war against them. "It is well known that the Islamic community is being targeted today more than at any other time before in its creed, culture and social and political orientation," said Qatar's ruler, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, who hosted the U.S. headquarters in the Iraq war. The status of Iraq also proved a divisive issue. Malaysia resisted inviting the U.S.-picked Iraqi Governing Council, describing it as a puppet of American occupation. But Arab countries that have recognized the interim body prevailed and council representatives were attending the summit. 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.
Mahathir has been a progressive leader who has taken his country from a very poor country to one of the wealthiest nations in Asia. Malaysia has generally been a relatively moderate country, though it must be said that anti-Semitism pervades Islamic societies. This latent anti-Semitism has received a massive boost from Israel's flagrant behavior. Mahathir's statement that "they get other people to fight for them" actually resonates with me to some extent. If you look objectively, Israel's constant strategy has been to embroil the US into conflict with Israel's enemies e.g. most recently Iraq. We are shedding American blood to accomplish Israel's foreign policy objectives.
You have got to be kidding me. American blood is being dropped because some muslim(I doubt peaceful muslims actually consider them muslims) idiots decided to kill a few thousand people on 9/11. We took out the Taliban ONLY in response to 9/11 and not because Israel told us to and Bush wanted to finish the job his dad didn't. How is this accomplishing Israel's foreign policy objectives? It's a shame that the americans killed in Gaza were going there to give scholarships to students. Some Muslims are becomming so damn far-sighted now that they don't see their own problems and only blame it on Israel thats thousands of miles away from them. If "Jews rule the world" then Mahathir can kiss my white Jewish a$$.
Originally posted by DrSauce Mahathir has been a progressive leader who has taken his country from a very poor country to one of the wealthiest nations in Asia. ...and Hitler turned Germany around too. It's not the best measure for a 'leader'. Malaysia has generally been a relatively moderate country, though it must be said that anti-Semitism pervades Islamic societies. This latent anti-Semitism has received a massive boost from Israel's flagrant behavior. Mahathir's statement that "they get other people to fight for them" actually resonates with me to some extent. If you look objectively, Israel's constant strategy has been to embroil the US into conflict with Israel's enemies e.g. most recently Iraq. We are shedding American blood to accomplish Israel's foreign policy objectives. Hmm. Let's see. A power hungry ME dictator invades it's neighbor, destabilizing the entire ME. Could have also invaded or at least threatened/influenced Saudi Arabia, leaving a huge percentage of the world's oil reserves in his control. We invade to rectify the situation, but do not remove him. Creating an enemy and potential threat to the US. We place troops in Saudi Arabia to protect it from future threats and destabilizing events. A friggin' nut says we infidels have defiled his holy land, and he will attack us until we leave. (Adding additional demands years later that reap political benefit, e.g. the Palestinian cause). Is Israel responsible for the invasion of Kuwait? for our subsequent need for troops in Saudi Arabia? For a wacko muslim terrorist? Please elaborate on what resonates w/ you.
I grew up in Kuwait (though I am neither an Arab nor a Muslim) and lived there for a decade, and had to leave because of Iraq's brutal invasion and occupation of that country. My family lost most of our belongings and savings as a result of the 1990 Iraqi invasion and occupation. As a result, I have NO sympathy for Saddam or his regime. I was an ardent supporter of the invasion of Afghanistan to defeat the Taliban, the spawn of the Pakistani secret service, the ISI. A sad consequence of our invasion of Iraq has been that we have been distracted from Afghanistan, where the Taliban is making a big comeback. Nothing you have mentioned above justifies the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the US. Having a secular Iraq under the (albeit brutal) rule of Saddam actually helped keep Islamic fundamentalism under control. Now, with Saddam gone, Shiite fundamentalists have already declared Iraq an Islamic state, and have forced women to wear the veil (something they didn't have to do under the secular rule of Saddam). Going to war against Iraq in 2003 may go down in history as the worst foreign policy mistake we have ever made. None of the justification provided by the Bush administration has proven true (WMD etc). The only country that has benefited is Israel, which has achieved greater security by leveraging cheap American lives. While American blood is being shed in Iraq, Israel now hopes to embroil us further into a war with Syria. I would like the pro Israel lobby to mention what value Israel has brought to America as an ally. While we have given them over $100 billion in aid, we have gotten spying by the likes of Jonathon Pollard in return, and Israel has divulged key state secrets by selling our technology to future rivals like China.
The easiest way to bind together a diverse population and have them work for a common goal is to give them a common enemy. Germany, Malaysia, the US, jingoism works for governments.
