Moslem leaders closed ranks around Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad after his attack on Jews caused a firestorm of protest and overshadowed their troubled bid for unity on Iraq at a summit meeting here. Dr Mahathir's provocative declaration that 'Jews rule this world' and get others to fight and die for them drew violently contrasting reactions in the western world and at the meeting here of the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). However Moslem officials gathered for the OIC meeting said the Malaysian leader's comments had been taken out of context and were aimed at rallying the Moslem world.

Yemen's Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qurbi said he supported Dr. Mahathir "100 per cent." "The prime minister outlined the very important issue that the Israelis and the Jews control most of the economy and the media in the world," he said. "Therefore we face the challenge of how we can as Moslems act to counter such Zionist abilities by building our capabilities, both economically and in the media."

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said he did not think much attention should be paid to the "clamor and accusations" from western countries. "Those who are commenting on the speech have not read it in its entirety. Nobody felt it was inflammatory. We thought it was a very, very wise assessment. It was addressed to the Moslems; it was an appeal for them to wake up.

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai said Dr Mahathir was just 'talking about issues confronting the Moslem world and what Moslems should do. Moslems must educate themselves, must begin to be progressive to develop themselves.

The summit is the biggest gathering of Islamic leaders since the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, drawing more than 30 heads of state and government from throughout the Moslem world.