Today I bring you the thoughts of Mahathir Mohamad, Prime Minister of Malaysia and one of the most astute and respected politicians in the Islamic community, the voice of reason if you can call him that. Don't be turned off by the opening paragraph (which is indirectly aimed at us), but work through his entire speech. He makes several really good points which I think are representative of reform-minded portions of the Muslim community today. ---------------------------------------------- Thursday, October 16, 2003 Posted: 0832 GMT ( 4:32 PM HKT) http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/southeast/10/16/oic.mahathir/index.html PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (CNN) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad has urged Muslims to unite against Jews who, he says, rule the world by "proxy." Opening the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) summit in Malaysia Thursday, the veteran leader also took aim at Islam, blaming a shift towards theological interpretations of the Koran that shunned science and development. In his speech Thursday to open the two-day summit at Putrajaya -- Malaysia's new administrative capital -- the outgoing Malaysian leader named Israel as "the enemy allied with most powerful nations." In a blistering attack, Mahathir said Jews ruled the world and got others to fight and die for them, but added that they would not be able to defeat the world's 1.3 billion Muslims. "We are actually very strong, 1.3 billion people cannot be simply wiped out. The Europeans killed six million Jews out of 12 million. But today the Jews rule the world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them," he said. Mahathir called on Muslims to emulate the Jewish response to oppression, arguing the Jewish people had "survived 2,000 years of pogroms not by hitting back, but by thinking." "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," he said. "With these they have gained control of the most powerful countries and they, this tiny community, have become a world power." "We cannot fight them through brawn alone, we must use our brains also." Malaysia, a moderate mostly Muslim nation has long been a critic of Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories. Under Mahathir's leadership it has also opposed the U.S. policy in the Middle East, including the backing of the Jewish state and the recent war in Iraq. Mahathir -- who steps down this month as prime minister -- has become notorious for his controversial speeches during his 22 years as leader and has been a key proponent of a unified political stance among Muslim nations. Mahathir said for too long Muslims have mistakenly believed Islam rejected new technology and progress. He told the biggest gathering of Muslim leaders since the September 11 attacks in the U.S. that such interpretations, combined with the accusation that Islam promoted terrorism, were the major reasons all Muslim people were suffering "oppression and humiliation." "Islam is not just for the 7th century AD. Times have changed. Whether we like it or not we have to change," Mahathir said. "Not our teaching ... Islam is not wrong, but the interpretations by our scholars can be wrong." Mahathir suggested new tactics for Muslims to vent their anger and frustration over their oppression. "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 asked. "It cannot be that there is no other way ... we must not antagonize everyone. We must win their hearts and minds." The OIC -- which comprises 57 nations -- must act on a unified front, Mahathir said, and use its political, economic and demographic clout to reverse 50 years of "bitter defeat". "The Koran tells us that when the enemy sues for peace we must react positively. True the treaty offered to us is not favorable. But we can negotiate. The Prophet did," he added. "And in the end he triumphed." U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan -- who pulled out of the summit due to Security Council negotiations over a U.S. resolution on Iraq -- said that though he understands "feelings of humiliation, anger and fear" among Muslims, he condemned suicide bombing attacks and added that they were detrimental to the Islamic cause. "These acts of terrorism, abhorred and rejected by all of you, defile and damage even the most legitimate cause," he said in his written speech, delivered at the summit by special representative of the secretary general to Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi. "They must be condemned, and must be stopped." -- CNN Correspondent Maria Ressa contributed to this report. ----------------------------------------- I think he made an important mistake. The influence of the Jewish political lobby in Europe, though immensely powerful and backed by Jewish voices representing a large proportion of European mass media, finance, and academia, is nowhere near as powerful as it is in America. This is evidenced in the strong support Europe gives to the PLO and to the readiness of European govts to condemn Israeli actions (vs. America's almost blind support of almost anything Israeli). Mahathir, however, makes no distinction between America and Europe in blasting the world's most powerful countries. He is correct though that this political clout is generally employed to support Israel.
This is exactly why I say Islam is a violent and dangerous religious cult that unfortunately, has been around far too long. The Jews run the world? Sounds like damned Hitler! Peaceful religion my ashcan.
when the focus of your faith becomes competing for global power, it ceases to be a faith...it becomes merely politics.
Actually What is YOUr Distinction between a Religion and a Cult? (perhaps this should be another thread]
His points at the end are encouraging but he is a raving lunatic to put so much venom on Israel, and Jews. Let the Muslim nations wallow in ignorance, they will come around one day.......once they have enough McDonalds and Taco Bells in their neighborhoods. DD
It is sad that he had to make it sound like Jews are the enemy, but he does make some very good points, in how the Muslim community should emulate the Jewish people to achieve their goals of peace, by working with the opposition with your brains, instead of violence. For everyone saying that his speech was violent, the end part says exactly the opposite: Just unfortunate that he had to make the other side sound villainous.
How can you not be turned off by his opening paragraph? how can you so blithely dismiss such malignant hate? these are the thoughts of "reform-minded muslims?" allah help us all...
again. i urge you to TRY to understand. if you can't even stomach him, a conciliatory reformer in touch with the west, you're going to be in for a BIG surprise when you find out what the not-so-moderate muslims think. and there's a WHOLE LOT of them too. yeah sure america can take on iraq, but 1.3 billion people, 51 countries at the same time? this "if they dislike us, they must be stupid" line of reasoning isn't going to go very far. think for a moment. it's like if you're on the dance floor and you're wondering why everybody's looking at you funny. and then you say to yourself, "these dumbasses just don't know how to have fun!" nah man, it's not them. you're just horribly drunk.
If that is what supposedly "moderate" Muslims think, we now have 1.5 billion anti-semites out there, not even counting the idiot far-right Christians who blame the Jews for killing Christ and far-left atheists who hate the Jews as well. That is some scary stuff. And no, you can't remove his opening paragraph that sounds like a damned Hitler speech encouraging the Kristalnacht. If that is moderate, God help us.
Bigtexxx posted this article in another thread. I thought it brought out several new points. -------------------------------------------- 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.
It is truly disgusting and awful that a leader of a major country such as Malaysia is out there saying how the "Jews rule the world by proxy" and how the Muslims should rise up against them. DISGUSTING. Pitting it as an "us versus them" mentality is incredibly counter-productive. What a backwards idiot.
anti-israel rhetoric is, and i quote, the "lowest common denominator" among muslim countries. doesn't it give you pause? we support israel, we become enemies of 1.5 billion people. it's that simple. i think it is absolutely vital that more jewish people and the american govt openly and publically distance themselves from the policies of the israeli govt. it's obvious that muslims believe that we are a homogenous group, or at least utterly incapable of acting otherwise.
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." ------------------- isn't karzai OUR man in afghanistan?
Okay, Lil, you want us to just let the Arabs kill all the Jews in Israel by withdrawing our support. Yes, let's act as a party to Arab genocide of the Jews by simply withdrawing our support from the only democracy over there. And don't question that will happen, because the Arabs will show no mercy like the Israelis show on the Palestinians. They will not stop until every single last Israelite is dead. And then, they will commence fighting amongst themselves again.
Interesting how he asserts that the Prohet Mohammed let his enemies sue for peace and accep their pleas....I recall that Mohammed converted the nomadic tribes of the Sinai by the tip of a scimitar--join us and Allah or have your head forcibly seperated from your shoulders...
why do you have this fear? what you really should be worried about should be israel rampaging through the middle east, rather than vice versa. israel is the region's ONLY nuclear power and her military is by far the most capable among middle east states. the billions of dollars we give them each year has way more than guaranteed their security. the way muslims see it, israel is an aggressive, tyrannical state, using historical arguments and past wars to justify actively seeking "living space" (or in nazi terminology "lebenstraum") at the expense of her muslim arab neighbors and palestinians, while singling out and terrorising their muslim ethnic minority. sound familiar? in the same way that many in britain and america apologised for nazi behavior prior to WW2 (it's all versailles' fault, etc.), we're seen to be doing the same today. muslim can point to facts, the death tolls, and to the realities on ground. while all we have is rhetoric. we call them haters and fanatics. does it even occur to you that muslims might be rational men making rational observations?
Because of what he is saying... The absolutely basic, fundamental bottom-line stance here is that persecuting Jews is NOT wrong and that they should NOT enjoy equal rights with others. This doesn't sound like a "moderate", or "rational" starting point, does it?
If that were true, Israel would rule the entire Mideast, but they do not. They are not aggressive and have only engaged in wars of defense. It was the Arabs who tried to destroy Israel after its founding in 1948. It was the Arabs who massed forces in preparation of an offensive against Israel, forcing an Israeli response. It was the Arabs who used Yom Kippur as an opportunity to invade Israel to push the Jews into the sea. Most Muslims are not rational. Any rational person would automatically reject wearing explosive vests and blowing oneself up in the midst of defenseless women and children "for the cause" so you can get 72 virgins in heaven. The Arabs are by nature a violent, bloodthirsty people bent on savagery and my experience over the years has continued to re-affirm that belief. For chrissakes, they teach their school children that the Jews use the blood of Christian and Muslim children for rituals and cooking! How savage is that?
