'Muslim traveler not to go West'

'Muslim traveler not to go West'

MALAYSIA: Saying that "every Muslim is suspected of being a potential terrorist" since the attacks on the United States, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Friday advised Muslim travelers not to go to Western countries for now.

In a speech in Kuala Lumpur to open a meeting of tourism ministers from Islamic countries, Asia's longest serving leader said that in the past decade or so "Islam and Muslims have been portrayed as synonymous with terrorism, militancy, extremism and being anti-Western in the media of the West."

"Anyone with a Muslim name, especially if it includes 'bin,' will be interrogated and searched at airports as a suspected terrorist."

In his speech, Mahathir said there were terrorists who belonged to religions other than Islam, and it was "grossly unfair" to treat "every Muslim as a terrorist who must be interrogated and searched." -AP