Malaysian PM calls on Muslims to unite over Jerusalem

By Adem Salvarcioglu

KUALA LUMPUR

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak recently called on all Muslims to unite against U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

At a mass demonstration on Friday in Malaysia's administrative capital Putrajaya against the U.S. decision, Razak said: "[Turkish] President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan called me after the U.S.'s

Jerusalem statement and invited me to the extraordinary session of the Organization of the Islamic Conference [OIC] Summit. I had other meetings on that date there was nothing more important than this matter."

Razak praised Turkey's efforts on the issue and stressed the necessity for unity among Muslims against the decision.

"Let's forget about the political differences between us. We are capable of uniting against problems. It is not important whether we are green, red, orange or any other color. As long as we share , we can overcome these problems," he added.

Regarding Trump's threat to cut aid to countries that voted to denounce his decision recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital, Razak said the U.S. has been the one that is asking for "aid" from the country in "many" matters.

The mass protest took place shortly after Friday Prayer at Putra Mosque in Putrajaya and gathered nearly 1,500 people from various political parties and civil society groups.

On Dec. 6, Trump unilaterally announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, drawing widespread regional and international condemnation.

The UN General Assembly, however, overwhelmingly endorsed a non-binding resolution calling on the U.S. to reverse the decision. Of the assembly’s 193 member-states, 128 voted in favor of the resolution, nine -- including the U.S. and Israel -- voted against and 35 abstained.