Jews rule the world - Mahathir
Dr Mahathir bows out next week
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has called on Muslims to use brains as well as brawn to fight Jews who "rule the world".
However, Dr Mahathir also called on Muslims to build their military might.
"The Europeans killed six million Jews out of 12 million. But today the Jews rule this world by proxy... 1.3 billion Muslims cannot be defeated by a few million Jews," he said, speaking at the opening of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference in the Malaysian administrative capital Putrajaya.
Dr Mahathir, who is renowned for using such conferences to make scathing attacks on the West, bows out as prime minister in a week's time after a 22-year rule.
Annan warning
In contrast to Dr Mahathir's words, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan used his statement to the conference to warn of the growing gulf between Islam and the West.
The Muslim peoples are capable of much greater things and they know it
Kofi Annan
Global debate: Islam and the West
"There is, in too many places, a feeling of rising hostility between Islam and the West. This is ugly, dangerous and wrong," said the statement, delivered by the UN's special representative to Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi.
"There is nothing natural or inevitable about the sad state in which so much of the Islamic world finds itself today," he said.
"The Muslim peoples are capable of much greater things and they know it," he said.
Window of opportunity
But Dr Mahathir's comments were uncompromising.
"This tiny [Jewish] community has become a world power. We cannot fight them through brawn alone. We must use our brains as well," the prime minister said.
He spoke of the futility of terrorism and the hopelessness of Palestinian armed resistance but demanded Muslims forge a greater unity.
He said that 50 years of fighting had only worsened the situation for Palestinians and urged engagement in negotiations.
"The Koran tells us that when the enemy sues for peace we must react positively. True the treaty offered to us is not favourable. But we can negotiate - the Prophet did," he said.
The OIC brings together 57 nations home to one billion Muslims
However, he also urged Muslims to match their religious studies with mathematics and science, because "we need guns and rockets, bombs and warplanes, tanks and warships for our defence".
He told the conference that Jewish "arrogance" meant that they would "forget to think".
"They are already beginning to make mistakes. And they will make more mistakes. There may be windows of opportunity for us now and in the future. We must seize these opportunities," he said.
New challenges
The OIC brings together 57 national leaders representing more than a billion Muslims worldwide.
This week's conference is the first time the group has met since the 11 September attacks.
The US-led war on terrorism is dominating the meeting's agenda.
The leaders will also discuss their stance towards the American occupation of Iraq.
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