While the European Union and other Western nations condemned Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad for his 'anti-Semitic' views, Muslim leaders came to the outgoing statesman's defence.

"The Europeans killed six million Jews out of 12 million. But today the Jews rule this world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them," the 77-year-old premier told delegates at the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) in Putrajaya yesterday.

"One-point-three billion Muslims cannot be defeated by a few million Jews," added Mahathir, who would be stepping down on Oct 31.

The premier, renowned for his caustic remarks, also urged Muslim nations to unite on the Palestinian cause and to battle their 'oppressors' with wit and technology.

"We cannot fight them through brawn alone, we must use our brains also," he stressed.

'The truth'

Commenting on this, a Bernama report quoted Palestinian Foreign Minister Farouk Kaddumi as saying that Mahathir spoke "the truth".

"Every time we condemn the Israeli actions, they accuse us of being anti-Semitic," said the leader, when met at the sidelines of the OIC summit in Putrajaya.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said the speech was merely a reminder to the Islamic community that there is a need to change mindsets in order to overcome marginalisation at the hands of the international community.

"That was a pep talk to the Muslim community, but as soon as you have any criticism of Israel, then there are people who are very eager to rush to condemnation, even without reading, without understanding what it's all about," he told reporters at the summit.

Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakar Qurbi said he did not think the speech was anti-Semitic.

According to him, Mahathir was stating facts facing the Muslim world and he was not being confrontational at all.

"I support his speech 100 percent...he wants the Muslim world to stand up to its responsibilities to its people," he said.

Also expressing support was Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, who said the premier's historic analysis of Islam was correct.

"What Muslims should do is to cease suicide attacks," he added.

He said the Muslim community must take a big step forward if they wanted to be a strong Ummah and respected by other communities.

"Muslims must learn to educate themselves, must begin to be progressive, ...begin to develop themselves," added Hamid, who is also attending the Oct16-18 summit.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar expressed disappointment that the premier's comments were "misunderstood" and added that Mahathir had no ill-feelings towards the Jews.

Harsh criticism

However, Mahathir's speech drew harsh criticism from various leaders.

Long-time adversary Australian premier John Howard dismissed it as "offensive" while Germany said it was "irresponsible" for rekindling memories of the Holocaust.

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, said the union was disappointed and "deplored" the comments.

US State Department deputy spokesperson Adam Ereli said Mahathir's remarks were "offensive and inflammatory".

Also joining in the fray was a Jewish human rights organisation Simon Wiesenthal Center, which pursues Nazi war criminals.

"This man is an anti-Semite and he doesn't hide it.It is time that the democratic, enlightened, liberal world mobilizes to stop him from continuing to openly call for the hatred of Jews," said its director Efraim Zuroff.

In June the premier had created an uproar during the Umno general assembly for launching, what the foreign media termed as a "vitriolic attack on Europeans".