Mahathir and our Ottawa reader
I fail to understand what he meant by saying "He is trying to find a scapegoat for his own failures." Does Mr. Elahi mean to say that the Malaysian PM was telling his audience and the world that the Jews were the cause of his domestic failures and he found a scapegoat in them? If he did, then it is completely and outrageously out of context.
That is exactly what this Muslim leader wanted to expose when he said that the Jews now rule the world by proxy. People like Elahi; if he is at all a Muslim, speak on their behalf by proxy even if it is completely out of context. The widespread criticism from the Jews and the Western world goes to prove how right this Muslim leader was. And, the out of proportion reaction of the non-Muslim leaders, lead by G. W. Bush, goes to prove that the Jews indeed control the world by proxy.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. The war against terror has virtually degenerated into a Crusade against Muslims and it is conceived by many in the USA as a war against Islam. Then again, is it acceptable to make bigoted and offensive comments as long as they are anti-Muslim and not anti-Semitic?
Mr. Elahi and his likes must note that Mahathir might have derided the Jews who rule the world by proxy, but he did not go to the extent to pour in scorns on their religion. Nor did he accuse them of worshipping a false God like the ignorant deputy under the secretary of defence for intelligence in the US, Lt. Gen W. Boykin, did with respect to Somali Muslims.
None in the non-Muslim world raised a voice against so many offensive anti-Muslim comments made by countless stalwarts of the Western society. Some even declared that "Satan wants to destroy the USA as a nation and wants to destroy us as a Christian army." Mr. Elahi should also note that Mahathir did not condone suicide bombers, but, quite to the contrary, he advised Muslims to disassociate from such self-abnegation and excel in science and enlightenment to revive their lost glory.
This was the essence of his splendid speech and not about the Jews ruling the world by proxy, which in fact is true. Picking at Mahathir's domestic failures at this stage by a Muslim would not only be out of context but a shame for the Muslim community.