KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Western foreign policies and the perception of Muslims as terrorists have opened a large and ominous gulf between Islam and the West, one of the Islamic world's most pro-Western leaders charged Friday.
Malaysia's Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, speaking to an international conference in Kuala Lumpur that sought common ground between Western and Islamic thinkers, said the two sides "have to stop demonizing one another, restrain extremist views and pursue moderation."
"The West should treat Islam the way it wants Islam to treat the West and vice versa -- they should accept one another as equals," Badawi said.
The current head of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the international body that brings together the predominantly Muslim states, Badawi promotes a moderate and modernized form of Islam. He also criticized other Muslim countries for failing to educate their people and modernize their societies.
His country is one of the most economically successful and fast-growing countries in the Islamic world, with an average GDP growth of 5.2 percent over the past decade. While benefiting from important energy supplies, Malaysia also boasts diversified manufacturing and industrial sectors.
As Badawi spoke, Malaysia's capital; witnessed the largest demonstration in years as an estimated 6,000 people marched from mosques to the Danish Embassy to protest the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in a Danish paper.
"Long live Islam. Destroy Denmark. Destroy Israel. Destroy George Bush. Destroy America," protesters shouted, according to local press reports.
Badawi, less critical of the West than his outspoken predecessor Mahathir Mohamad, stressed that mere dialog and mollifying speeches by politicians were not enough to bring the yawning gap between Islam and the West. Mutual respect should replace what he called "hegemony," and the West's media and governments had a responsibility to educate their people into the reality of the Muslim world and replace false perceptions.
"They think Osama bin Laden speaks for the religion and its followers," he told the conference. "The demonization of Islam and the vilification of Muslims, there is no denying, is widespread within mainstream Western society."
The West had to understand that its foreign policies in invading Iraq, supporting Israel almost unconditionally and Russia's ruthless prosecution of the war in Chechnya all contributed to the anger and dismay of Muslims. But equally Muslims had a responsibility to end "sweeping denunciation of Christians, Jews and the West," he went on.
As Badawi spoke, his government closed a newspaper in Sarawak for reproducing the controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed that first appeared in the Danish paper Jyllands-Posten. Badawi, who also doubles as Malaysia's Internal Security Minister, suspended the Sarawak Tribune's publication license despite an apology by the editor, and said their publication as "insensitive and irresponsible."
But overall, Malaysia is seen in Washington and Europe as one of the most pro-Western countries, and as a model of how the Islamic world can be modernized and succeed through an embrace of globalization. Malaysia does not exactly boast about it, but its cooperation with the United States is rated as "exemplary" in Washington, not least because of the blanket overflight rights given to U.S. warplanes heading to Afghanistan and the Indian Ocean base of Diego Garcia, and eventually to Iraq. The Malaysian Air Force flies U.S.-built F-18D fighters, and are looking to upgrade to the F-18F Super-Hornets.
At the Butterworth Air Force Base outside Penang, the integrated air defense commander is an Australian, under the 5-power agreement between Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore. American Special Forces troops train at the Malaysian Army's Jungle Warfare school (founded by the British).
"Our military-to-military links with the U.S. are excellent, the pillar of our bilateral relations," the Defense Minister told UPI last year.
The relationship that all these military links are helping to defend is based on a total of $22 billion in U.S. Investment, in the electronics and energy industries that sustain Malaysia's prosperity. Ninety percent of Dell laptop computers are made there. GE says its Malaysian jet engine servicing center is its most profitable, and GE's praise is luring Boeing to join them. The HSBC and Standard Chartered banking groups have set up their data processing and back office centers here.
Malaysia understands that its prosperity rests on a global economy that is sustained and guaranteed by the United States. The war against Iraq was hugely unpopular, partly because the government fears it could incite more Muslim fundamentalism and complicate its own anti-terrorist efforts. But when a boycott of Coca-Cola was called, Malaysians realized that 20,000 Malaysian jobs would be at risk and the boycott ended the day it started.
