However media outlets in the West selectively quoted some extracts of his OIC speech out of context that " the Jews ruled the world by proxy" so as to create further hatred between Muslims and Jews. When Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi denigrated Islam, no Western media criticized him for the statement. It seems double-standard rules the day in Western media.

Dr. Mahathir complained that reports of his remarks had ignored his condemnation of all violence including suicide bombings, and his call on Muslims to heed to the teachings of the Holy Qu'ran and talk peace with Israel. In the speech, he said : " We also know that not all non-Muslims are against us. Some are well disposed towards us. Some even see our enemies as their enemies. Even among the Jews there are many who do not approve of what the Israelis are doing." This part of the speech was completely ignored by the Western media.

To Dr. Mahathir, the teachings of Islam appear to have been hijacked by conservatives and exploited by extremists to give a bad name to Islam. Dr. Mahathir is one of the few Islamic moderate leaders who speak publicly his views on Islamic teachings. He believes in tolerant Islam and to him modernism and Islam go together. His views are bold, candid and often raise eyebrows of those who do not agree with him.

The OIC speech was characterized by its perceptive analysis as to why the 1.3 billion Muslims are powerless against the domination of Christians and Jews in the prevailing world affairs. They have not only the "pen" but also the "sword". If one analyses his remarkable discourse, the following appears to come out very pointedly.

First, Muslims have to get their act together in acquiring knowledge in the field of science and medicine and not concentrate only on theology. The early Muslims produced great mathematicians, astronomers, physicians, philosophers and scholars when the Europeans in the Middle Ages were steeped in ignorance and superstition. At present reverse is the story. It is reported that more books are translated and produced from Athens than all the Arab countries combined. This is a cause for concern for Muslims and one should find out the reasons why this has occurred.

Our Prophet's advice for Muslims was that for acquisition of knowledge, one could go even to China. Now the Muslims have shunned away from acquiring knowledge in the context of requirement of the 21st century. He argued that times had changed and whether Muslims liked it or not they had to change, not by changing Islam but by applying the teachings of Islam in the context of the world lived.

Second, education is central to advancement of a country and of an individual. But it seems that conservative Muslim Ulemas have fought hard and long against what most today would consider modern education. For them, religious education is the goal and only literal interpretation of the teachings of Islam is to be imparted in religious schools. Some scholars point out that the more literal and conservative an interpretation is on the teachings of the Holy Qu'ran , the more is the intensity of devoted acceptance displayed by many Muslim followers. The results are that there have been lower levels of education among Muslims who are falling behind in professions, technological and scientific discovery.

Third, Prime Minister Mahathir considered that Islam had been interpreted in a way that poverty was Islamic. He said: " This world is not for us. Ours are the joys of heaven in afterlife. All that we have to do is to perform certain rituals, wear certain garments and put up a certain appearance…..We need not do anything. We can do nothing against the Will of Allah". He seriously questioned this type of mind-set of Muslims and quoted from Surah Ar-Raad, Verse 11 of the Holy Qu'ran that Allah would not change the fate of a community until the community had tried to change its fate itself.

Fourth, he is of the view that striking rigidity in the belief and the practices of rituals of Islam are stressed unnecessarily. Rationalists point out that the Qu'ranic descriptions of Heaven and Hell and, in general, of all eschatological subjects are allegorical. To support the argument, they cite Sural Imran, Verse 7 of the Holy Qu'ran that proclaims: "In it (Qu'ran), verses are basic or fundamental, They are the foundations of the Book, Others are allegorical."

It appears that rituals have become so important that Fatwas on "wazu" (ritual washing before prayer) have been numerous. For example, if the knee or thigh gets exposed, will the "wazu" remains intact ? Whether "wazu" is void if mehendi (henna) remain on the hands. Fatwas on "namaz" (prayer) run into hundreds. Critics say Fatwas are preoccupied with rituals. Furthermore conservative Ulemas had issued Fatwas against many liberal Islamic thinkers such as Sir Syed Ahmed, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Dr. Muhammad Iqbal and Dr. Zakir Hussain.

Fifth, Muslims have to defend the Islamic Ummah (community). Dr. Mahathir pointed out that Muslims needed "guns and rockets, bombs and war planes, tanks and warships" for defence. However since Muslims discourage the learning of science and mathematics, they have no capacity to produce their own weapons. Muslims solely rely on weapons produced by others.

Sixth, he argued that angry people could not "think" properly. They would launch their attacks, killing just about everybody including fellow Muslims to vent their anger. Peace efforts are sabotaged by more indiscriminate attacks calculated "to anger the enemy". The attacks solve nothing and the Muslims gets more oppressed. Killing a believer (Jews and Christians) is against the Qu'ranic injunctions. Surah Nisa, Verse 92 of the Holy Qu'ran proclaims: " Never should a believer kill a believer" and in the same Surah, Verse 93 states: " If a man kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell, to abide therein for ever".

Finally, he stressed on the need "to think". Blind faith is not approved in Islam. Islam is a religion that preaches reason and understanding of the mysteries created by Allah. Prayer without understanding the meaning of the contents of prayer is not endorsed. Furthermore Dr. Mahathir underscored that Muslim countries " must be stable, and well administered, must be economically and financially strong, industrially competent and technologically advanced." Political power is a privilege and trust for doing good for people and power must be exercised "judiciously, prudently, concertedly." It implies that he was critical of undemocratic and unaccountable regimes in Islamic world.

Conclusion: Although many Muslims may not agree with his views, they may feel encouraged to look deeper into the fundamentals of Islam in the light of the speech. The speech could be regarded a timely advice to leaders of Muslim nations. What Prime Minister Mahathir has argued is that the fundamentals of Islam emphasise dignity, higher learning in science and technology, independence, self-help, compassion, modesty, democracy and accountability. Furthermore Islam is a religion of moderation and fundamentals of Islam are to be interpreted with the extent of human knowledge and the stage of civilization at present. It has been further argued that Muslims will regain their exalted place once Islam and scientific education and modern technology co-exist.

Barrister Harun ur Rashid is a former Bangladesh Ambassador to the UN, Geneva.