Iraq crisis sees Islamic countries in disarray, terror threat growing

comments     Lawrence Bartlett     Published     Updated

Islamic nations have called a last-ditch meeting o­n the Iraq crisis but their impotence in the face of United States power - and thus the threat of increased terrorism - has been brought into sharp focus by an influential Muslim leader.

Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, whose country takes over the chairmanship of the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in October, was characteristically undiplomatic in his assessment of such a meeting.

He said that apart from the fact that some member countries supported the United States, the OIC realised that it was weak and nobody would pay any attention to its opinion.

Mahathir, who has led Malaysia for the past 21 years, was equally scathing about a call for jihad or holy war in defence of Iraq in a broadcast purportedly by terror mastermind Osama bin Laden.

He said it was "a stupid idea".

"We want to fight a holy war if we can win. If we go in just to be killed, that's not jihad.If we want to go to a war, we must have the strategy and strength."

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