'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