lennart
18-10-03, 16:27
Muslims Rally Around PM
Over Attack On Jews
10-17-3
Muslim leaders closed ranks around Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad after his attack on Jews caused a firestorm of protest and overshadowed their troubled bid for unity on Iraq at a summit meeting.
Mahathir's provocative declaration that "Jews rule this world" and get others to fight and die for them drew violently contrasting reactions in the western world and at the meeting here of the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC).
Western nations condemned the speech as outrageous and offensive, while Israel's ambassador to Singapore Itzhak Shoham compared the remarks to those made by ******.
But Muslim officials gathered for the OIC meeting said Mahathir's comments had been taken out of context and were aimed at rallying the Muslim world.
Yemen's Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qurbi said Friday that he supported Mahathir "100 percent."
"The prime minister outlined a very important issue that the Israelis and the Jews control most of the economy and the media in the world," he said.
"Therefore we face that challenge of how we can as a Muslim ummah (community) act to counter such Zionist abilities by building our capabilities, both economically and in the media form."
Mahathir had called on Muslims to emulate the Jewish response to oppression, saying the Jews had "survived 2,000 years of pogroms not by hitting back, but by thinking."
"We cannot fight them through brawn alone, we must use our brains also," he said.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said he did not think much attention should be paid to the "clamour and accusations" from western countries.
"Those who are commenting on the speech have not read it in its entirety," Maher said.
"Nobody felt it was inflammatory. We thought it was a very, very wise assessment. It was addressed to the Muslims, it was an appeal for them to wake up."
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai said Mahathir was just "talking about issues confronting the Muslim world and what Muslims should do. Muslims must educate themselves, must begin to be progressive to develop themselves.
"His historical analysis of what happened in Islam is very correct."
Apart from Mahathir's remarks, the summit has focused on the situation in Iraq and the sense that the Islamic world has been unjustly oppressed and humiliated by the so-called war on terrorism.
The summit is the biggest gathering of Islamic leaders since the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, drawing more than 30 heads of state and government from throughout the Muslim world.
Iraq is represented by members of its US-appointed Governing Council, which won a bid to get the summit to drop a draft resolution calling for a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops and a central role for the United Nations in the transition to democracy.
Instead, the summit is expected to issue a statement at its conclusion later Friday simply calling for independence as soon as possible.
The adoption by the United Nations Security Council of a US-drafted resolution on Iraq, authorizing a multinational force for the war-torn country but setting no deadlines, was welcomed by Iraq's transitional Governing Council chairman Iyad Allawi.
Allawi was relieved that France, Germany and Russia had dropped their demand that the UN resolution specify a precise timetable, which he said was "treating us like school children."
But Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf said that despite the new resolution, Pakistan is not yet in a position to contribute troops because not all its preconditions have been met.
These include an expression of "desire for Muslim troops, or Pakistani troops" from the Iraqis, and the willingness of other Muslim countries to contribute forces, he said.
Washington has asked three Muslim states -- Pakistan, Bangladesh and Turkey -- to deploy soldiers to ease the burden on US forces confronting mounting opposition in Iraq, but only Turkey has agreed.
Copyright © 2002 AFP.
En dan te bedenken als de Amerikanen, Europeanen en Joden niet zo hadden overgereageerd, had deze speech waarschijnlijk niet hetzelfde effect gesorteerd zoals het nu doet.
Over Attack On Jews
10-17-3
Muslim leaders closed ranks around Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad after his attack on Jews caused a firestorm of protest and overshadowed their troubled bid for unity on Iraq at a summit meeting.
Mahathir's provocative declaration that "Jews rule this world" and get others to fight and die for them drew violently contrasting reactions in the western world and at the meeting here of the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC).
Western nations condemned the speech as outrageous and offensive, while Israel's ambassador to Singapore Itzhak Shoham compared the remarks to those made by ******.
But Muslim officials gathered for the OIC meeting said Mahathir's comments had been taken out of context and were aimed at rallying the Muslim world.
Yemen's Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qurbi said Friday that he supported Mahathir "100 percent."
"The prime minister outlined a very important issue that the Israelis and the Jews control most of the economy and the media in the world," he said.
"Therefore we face that challenge of how we can as a Muslim ummah (community) act to counter such Zionist abilities by building our capabilities, both economically and in the media form."
Mahathir had called on Muslims to emulate the Jewish response to oppression, saying the Jews had "survived 2,000 years of pogroms not by hitting back, but by thinking."
"We cannot fight them through brawn alone, we must use our brains also," he said.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said he did not think much attention should be paid to the "clamour and accusations" from western countries.
"Those who are commenting on the speech have not read it in its entirety," Maher said.
"Nobody felt it was inflammatory. We thought it was a very, very wise assessment. It was addressed to the Muslims, it was an appeal for them to wake up."
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai said Mahathir was just "talking about issues confronting the Muslim world and what Muslims should do. Muslims must educate themselves, must begin to be progressive to develop themselves.
"His historical analysis of what happened in Islam is very correct."
Apart from Mahathir's remarks, the summit has focused on the situation in Iraq and the sense that the Islamic world has been unjustly oppressed and humiliated by the so-called war on terrorism.
The summit is the biggest gathering of Islamic leaders since the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, drawing more than 30 heads of state and government from throughout the Muslim world.
Iraq is represented by members of its US-appointed Governing Council, which won a bid to get the summit to drop a draft resolution calling for a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops and a central role for the United Nations in the transition to democracy.
Instead, the summit is expected to issue a statement at its conclusion later Friday simply calling for independence as soon as possible.
The adoption by the United Nations Security Council of a US-drafted resolution on Iraq, authorizing a multinational force for the war-torn country but setting no deadlines, was welcomed by Iraq's transitional Governing Council chairman Iyad Allawi.
Allawi was relieved that France, Germany and Russia had dropped their demand that the UN resolution specify a precise timetable, which he said was "treating us like school children."
But Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf said that despite the new resolution, Pakistan is not yet in a position to contribute troops because not all its preconditions have been met.
These include an expression of "desire for Muslim troops, or Pakistani troops" from the Iraqis, and the willingness of other Muslim countries to contribute forces, he said.
Washington has asked three Muslim states -- Pakistan, Bangladesh and Turkey -- to deploy soldiers to ease the burden on US forces confronting mounting opposition in Iraq, but only Turkey has agreed.
Copyright © 2002 AFP.
En dan te bedenken als de Amerikanen, Europeanen en Joden niet zo hadden overgereageerd, had deze speech waarschijnlijk niet hetzelfde effect gesorteerd zoals het nu doet.