Mideast press cautious on Islamic summit

Arab newspapers respond cautiously to the Organisation of the Islamic Conference summit in Malaysia, warning that deeds - by the Muslim world in general and Arabs in particular - will matter more than words.

One of the most striking events at the summit - the attack on Jews by its host, Mahathir Mohamad - continues to reverberate, with some Arabic commentators applauding him, but one faulting him for generalising. And an Israeli newspaper likens his approach to that of Adolf Hitler.

The outcome of [the OIC and EU] summits constitutes a diplomatic and political achievement for the Arabs, which can be relied upon on condition that both the Arabs and their governments show the necessary will... Before we begin blaming international and regional organizations, let us be just and begin with the Arab camp and its umbrella, as well as Arab governments, which are suffering weakness and fragility.

Al-Dustur - Jordan

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The resolutions and communiques of the Putrajaya summit were attractive and will be of benefit if they are implemented, so that those near and far can say: the summit was a form of commitment and solidarity based on conviction and will.

Tishrin - Syria

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Mahathir Mohamad... declared before the OIC summit a stand based on history, which represents reality in the hearts of Muslims. He spoke about what has been the cause of hatred against [Jews] for many decades... It is astonishing to see Britain, on whose past empire the sun never set, recall its ambassador from Malaysia in protest against the speech, which was not directed against it at all but was the least that can be said concerning the ugly crimes against humanity being perpetrated by various cliques in occupied Palestine.

Al-Vefagh - Arabic-language Iranian newspaper

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Mahathir Mohamad is being subjected to a fierce terror attack from Israeli, American and European officials because of his speech at the Islamic summit about the Jews dominating international decision-making and using it to start wars against Muslims... The so-called US war against terrorism is an Israeli war initiated in the Jewish state's interests. The aim of occupying Iraq and changing its regime was not to protect the Iraqi people... It was to lay the foundation for Israel's total domination of the region... The reason for our hatred of Zionist groups is their policy of destroying our homes, killing our children, displacing our families and occupying our country - not the fact that they are Jewish or Christian!

Al-Quds Al-Arabi - London-based

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Mahathir Mohamad launched an attack on the West and Jews... We do not know why he did it, but his choice of sensitive words betrayed him. He generalised and condemned Jews when he probably meant Israelis. This is the kind of generalisation that we complain about when we are described as terrorists, because only some of us refuse to refrain from killing thousands of civilians and hijacking planes.

Al-Sharq al-Awsat - London-based

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Mahathir's version of anti-Semitism - pitting the Jewish and Islamic faiths against each other - has a Hitlerian aspect... Hitler's resort to anti-Semitism came against the backdrop of an economic and psychological crisis... Mahathir's audience, the world's 1.3 billion Muslims, is also living with economic failure, frustrated irredentist ambition, a sense of lost prestige... One and one-third billion Muslims live in relative poverty not because they are shackled by a few million Jews, but because they think they are shackled. The sooner they free their minds from this fantasy, the quicker the progress they'll make.

Jerusalem Post - Israel

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