Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Malaysia was open to deploying peacekeeping troops to Iraq but only if the security situation stabilised.

The government was "considering very deeply" a Saudi Arabian proposal for an Arab or Muslim force to replace the US-led troops in Iraq under the auspices of the United Nations, Abdullah told reporters.

However Malaysia had no plans at present to send any troops, he said.

"We know the situation is uncertain and there is continued violence in all forms and the situation is very dangerous, so we must continue to monitor the development," Abdullah said.

"We are watching the situation but at the moment, we are not sending."

Abdullah, who heads the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Conferenceand the 116-nation Non-Aligned Movement of developing states, said in Washington last month that Malaysia was was ready to mobilize an international Muslim force to rehabilitate war-torn Iraq.

"We are prepared to rally support among Muslim countries for OIC participation in rebuilding Iraq and strengthening its institutions of governance and its economic system," Abdullah said after talks with US President George W Bush.

Medical team

Abdullah has also said Malaysia was ready to send a medical team to aid in Iraq's reconstruction.

Malaysia was a strong opponent of the US-led invasion of Iraq. Abdullah said after the handover of sovereignty last month that he believed the United Nations should play an important role in the transition and reconstruction of the country.

Earlier Wednesday, Abdullah called on Muslims to close ranks, saying that the weakness of the Islamic world stemmed from the fact that "our unity is so fragile and all too easily fragmented" and that the Islamic community easily resorted to violent conflict to resolve its differences.

"The Muslim world's struggle begins with putting our own houses in order but this is merely the beginning," he said. "War must cease to be an option among Muslim nations and between Muslim nations and others, so must terrorism."