Malaysia apologizes for 'misunderstanding'

Malaysia apologizes for 'misunderstanding'

Agencies, Putrajaya, Malaysia/Jerusalem

Faced with furious criticism from the United States and Europe over Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's assertion that Jews rule the world, Malaysia apologized on Friday for any misunderstanding and claimed that no offense was intended.

Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar struggled to contain the damage wrought by his blunt-spoken boss, who told a summit of Islamic leaders on Thursday that "Jews rule the world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them."

The speech drew immediate international criticism and raised fears that it could fan violence against Jews. But it also got a standing ovation from the kings, presidents, sheiks and emirs - including key U.S. allies -- gathered at Malaysia's sparkling new capital, Putrajaya.

Mahathir used assertions of Jewish dominance to buttress his chief point to the summit of Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) -- the world's biggest Muslim organization -- that Muslims needed to embrace modern knowledge and technology and overcome divisions over religious dogma that have left them weakened on the world stage.

But the statements about Jews stood out, and condemnations were swift and unambiguous from the United States, the European Union, Australia and Germany, which summoned Malaysia's charge d'affaires in Berlin to protest the comments as "totally unacceptable."

Mahathir, who retires on Oct. 31 after 22 years in power, told the Islamic summit on Thursday Muslims should start using brains rather than brawn to defeat Israel, accused the Jewish people of increasing arrogance and said this could be exploited to promote the cause of the Muslim peoples of the world.

"The Europeans killed six million Jews out of 12 million. But today the Jews rule this world by proxy," he said.

Italy, speaking for Europe, described Mahathir's remarks as strongly anti-Semitic.

"Europe profoundly deplores statements by the Malaysian prime minister in his opening speech to the Islamic conference in Malaysia," Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told a news conference at the EU summit on Thursday.

"I'm sorry that they have misunderstood the whole thing," Syed Hamid told The Associated Press. "The intention is not to create controversy. His intention is to show that if you ponder and sit down to think, you can be very powerful."

Israel on Friday condemned the "anti-Semitic" remarks made by Mahathir.

"Israel reacts with disgust to these anti-Semitic remarks which are an insult to the victims of the Shoah", or Nazi genocide against the Jews during World War II, an Israeli foreign ministry official told AFP.

"We hope that all enlightened countries in the world concerned with peace and democracy will protest against these heinous declarations," Levy Neno said.

Another foreign ministry official, Nimrod Barkan told army radio that Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom would "launch a worldwide campaign against such remarks" but did not elaborate.

Israeli ambassador to Singapore Itzhak Shoham had earlier told AFP: "We don't remember such expressions since the days of Hitler."

Syed Hamid said the world's Muslims were in a "quagmire" and feeling "sidelined or marginalized," reflecting a widespread perception in the Islamic world as the war on terrorism has evolved into U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and Israeli has increased repression of the Palestinians.

"Islam has never advocated being anti anybody including the Jews," Syed Hamid told reporters in Putrajaya, where the OIC summit ended on Friday.

"The only problem with the Jews is when the State of Israel was created," Syed Hamid said, adding that Jews worked in Malaysia and were welcomed there.

Syed Hamid noted that Malaysia has a policy of religious harmony, in which the ethnic Malay Muslim majority lives alongside large non-Muslim Chinese and Indian minorities. The country is one of Southeast Asia's most modern and wealthy, and has jailed terror suspects without qualms.