Dr. Mahathir Will Step Down by End of This Month

[Saint]

Overall, he is very outspoken for the third world.
He does contribute to the nation, goodbye to him.

 

[Saint]

He is under attack now due to his anti-jews comment!

 

[kat]

Originally posted by Saint
He is under attack now due to his anti-jews comment!

hmm, and what are your views on his comments? Do you feel he is being justly, or unjustly "attacked"?

 

[Zero]

We're talking about Malaysian Prime Minister Dato' Seri Mahathir Mohamed, right?

 

[kat]

Originally posted by Zero
We're talking about Malaysian Prime Minister Dato' Seri Mahathir Mohamed, right?

Yes, Zero, I think that is who she (he?) is referring to.

 

[Zero]

Originally posted by kat
Yes, Zero, I think that is who she (he?) is referring to.

Right...he's good people, then. He's done a lot for Malaysia, and he was certainly expressing a viewpoint shared by many Muslims, and supported by some of the facts.
However, I do wish he had been attacking Israel, and not 'the Jews'. There is a difference, and while it may seem to be splitting hairs, I think it makes all the difference in the world...like the difference between expressing a legitimate grievance, and playing into conspiracy theories.

 

[Zero]

And, not surprisingly, you see the knee-jerk pro-Israel stance, coming from people who almost certainly didn't hear or read his speech in its entirety. In the context of his speech, (I still cannot find the entire thing), it seems he is saying that Israel has the unconditional support of the most powerful nations on Earth(true), and Muslims should try to find ways to connect to that support structure. From a Muslim perspective, having the U.S. rubber-stamp your policies in the way that Israel appears to do, is just like owning the world, especially in light of the ignored U.N. resolutions.

 

[Njorl]

Actually, every story I've read about his comments also added that he condemned suicide bombings, and exhorted his fellow Muslims to have better public relations with the rest of the world. He is known as one of the most savvy leaders in the Islamic world. If he said Jewish, he meant Jewish, not Israeli. He is not known for being particularly anti-semetic. He is known for being able to gauge the feelings of his fellow Muslims. That is actually a bit more disturbing. It indicates that openly expressing anti-semitism is probably a politically smart move, in Malaysia, if not the whole Islamic world.

Njorl

 

[kat]

Well, I have some thoughts about his speach and in general how the view that some of his comments effect, in particular, Arabs and how they approach resolving and improving their own situations regardless of the evil, world dominating Jews". I don't have time to go into detail, but I will later.
As for Mahathir, this is not the first time he's blamed the world's Jewish population for the detriment of the Muslim world, in particular the claim that the financial issues of the late 1990's were due to a world Jewish conspiracy comes to mind. You can do your own research and see what you come up with.
For reference the entire speach at the OIC Summit this year can be found here: http://www.oicsummit2003.org.my/speech_03.php
Now you can comment on the actual text and not what you heard here, or there..or have your own little "knee jerk responses" as Zero so eloquently puts it.

 

[Njorl]

Well, I read the speech, and I find it much more interesting than I thought it would be. I found some things bothersome, but others refreshing.

The antisemitism in paragraph 39 is certain. It is the common delusional view that Jews are running the world. I got to tell ya', if I were running the world, things would be going a helluva lot better for me than they are for the Jews right now.

Another bothersome thing seems to be that he advocates modernization just for militant purposes. It may be that he was just playing to the audience, but it is no less bothersome that playing to the audience this way is something one would wish to do.

What I see as refreshing is the desire for freer thought. He may think that education and modernization will lead to military power, but it will also lead to an educated public which experiments with new ideals. The Islamic people of the world will see that those oppressing the most Muslims are the leaders of Muslim countries.

A rational, clear-thinking, and persuasive enemy is dangerous, but a rational, clear-thining and persuasive person is also more easily convinced to be a friend.

Njorl

 

[russ_watters]

Originally posted by Njorl
The antisemitism in paragraph 39 is certain. It is the common delusional view that Jews are running the world. I got to tell ya', if I were running the world, things would be going a helluva lot better for me than they are for the Jews right now.

The Jews have brainwashed you into thinking they don't rule the world. They make people believe things are worse for them than they really are. Anyone with open eyes can see that...

 

[Zero]

Originally posted by russ_watters
The Jews have brainwashed you into thinking they don't rule the world. They make people believe things are worse for them than they really are. Anyone with open eyes can see that...

Very funny, Russ...What do you really think?