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More Asian Muslims Build Ties with Israel

Monday, May 01, 2006

More Asian Muslims Build Ties with Israel

More Asian Muslims Build Ties with Israel; Malaysia Demurs

By Dr. Richard L. Benkin

(Asian Tribune) - With its unilateral withdrawal from Gaza last year, Israel found leaders from Muslim Asia virtually standing in line for some sort of contact with the Jewish State. In the months that followed the initial contacts, informed diplomatic sources were almost ecstatic with the actual and expected contacts. One individual told a Muslim leader wavering over the matter that if he does not act soon, he will find his country belatedly doing it anyway, but without the diplomatic bounce and other benefits that others will no doubt see.

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In March, the Indonesian government deliberately allowed an Israeli business delegation to participate an international business conference held in their country. Their presence there also allowed for multiple meetings to explore further Indonesian-Israeli commercial relations.

Some of the so-called Maghreb countries of North Africa have re-started some level of relations with Israel after breaking them off at the start of the Israeli-Arab violence in 2002. This includes Morocco and Tunisia with Libya making periodic noises about the prospect of contacts. The same process has taken place among several Gulf States, such as Qatar, Bahrain, and others. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) claims to have good diplomatic relations with "most Asian nations." The Muslim states of the former Soviet Union have established strong ties with Israel. Azerbaijan has an office in Tel Aviv, though not full diplomatic relations like its fellow Muslim nations of the former Soviet Union. The nation has maintained its status as “Muslim but secular.” Recently, Azerbaijanis have complained about foreign jihadists invading their country and agitating for a change. Thus far, native Azerbaijaini Muslims have resisted them successfully. Turkey has had full relations with Israel since 1949, a year after the Jewish State declared its independence.

Two Muslim countries that have so far refused to have any public contact with Israel are Bangladesh, the world’s third largest Muslim nation, and Malaysia, which made headlines in 2003 when its outgoing Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohammed, issued an anti-Semitic tirade at the 10th annual meeting of the Organization of Islamic Conferences in Putrajaya, Malaysia. His reaction to the storm of protest that followed did not help matters any. The speech, among other things, alleged that the Jews "ruled the world by proxy." The protest against his remarks, he said, only proved that they do. In late April, Malaysian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmad Shabery Cheek's announced that his country would not establish any contact with Israel until a full resolution to the Middle East conflict. "Israel has not met certain conditions," he said. "There is no reason for Malaysia to review its position." Cheek, however, sought to place some distance between the Malaysian regime and international firestorm that came courtesy of Mohammed's comments. "The Jews are not our enemies," he made certain to add.

One Bangladeshi citizen remarked that he could not understand his government’s refusal to entertain relations with Israel "when Egypt has an embassy in Tel Aviv." He said that Israel would offer his impoverished country "good business relations" and other forms of aid his people need.

An official in the Israeli MFA noted that interaction with Israel has meant prosperity for the Muslim countries that are doing it. Benefits have come in the form of millions of dollars in trade and investment, technology, and assistance in areas such as medicine and agriculture in which Israel excels. "No country has ever been sorry about it. They get so much from the relationship," he said. "Just ask the African countries we have been helping for decades; or the Mauritanians who have a have a state of the art Israeli hospital in their capital. We can help in so many ways, and it is good for us, too. But we are a small nation, and those countries that lag behind and do not start talking to us soon might find that by the time they do, there isn’t anything left to give."

posted by Free Israel @ 5:43 AM