Newsday.com - Leader Denounces Jews
Putrajaya, Malaysia - In a blistering attack on Israel that drew immediate criticism from Jewish groups, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad told a summit of Muslim leaders yesterday that Jews rule the world and recruit 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 as he became chairman of the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference.
Frankly, I don't know what to make of this. It is obviously anti-semetic, but too things appear to soften it:
1. Other Islamic leaders applauded and praised the speech, but made no reference to this aspect of it.
2. He called, not for war, but for economic and political success - which fits well with what he has done in Malaysia.
So is this posturing, designed to move the Islamic world towards practical achievements? Or is it an obvious warning sign for agrowing Holy War?
Posted by Greg Stone at October 17, 2003 07:20 AM | TrackBack