Malaysia's leader chastises Muslims for being 'backward'
Associated Press
Putrajaya, Malaysia — Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Thursday urged Muslim countries to equip themselves with modern knowledge and weapons to fight oppression by world powers and restore their civilization to its former glory.
In a speech opening an international conference of Islamic scholars, Mr. Mahathir chastised Muslims for their "weakness and backwardness" and said they are being humiliated in the U.S.-led international fight against terrorism.
Muslims were once a global force in fields as diverse as military conquest, scholarship and architecture, but they failed to keep up with the development of Europeans, Mr. Mahathir said.
Muslims "have not tried to catch up and surpass their detractors in knowledge and the capacity to produce arms, to have disciplined and well-trained forces for their defense," Mr. Mahathir said.
"'The Muslims will never be able to bring back the honor and the respect for Islam ... unless they become capable again of defending themselves," he said.
But Muslims should not try to achieve these aims through violence and terrorism, he said.
"Our salvation will not be achieved by blindly killing innocent people," Mr. Mahathir said.
About 800 delegates from 33 countries are attending the three-day conference in Malaysia's administrative capital, Putrajaya. They will consider issues facing Muslim nations, including economic development, misconceptions about Islam and terrorism.
Mr. Mahathir, 77, who has led this mostly Muslim country for 22 years, is respected as a moderate Muslim leader and is a U.S. ally in the fight against terrorism.
But he has also been a critic of the way that fight has been waged, saying it has become an excuse for Western powers to attack Muslims. He has opposed the U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"Although Muslims suffer much more from terror, only Muslims and Islam are linked to terrorism," Mr. Mahathir said Thursday.
"We must ask ourselves why the Muslims have to endure this humiliation presently," he said. "We know that the Muslims have not really tried to change their fate, their weakness and backwardness." |
