Peter Mandaville, who is a lecturer of international affairs at George Mason University, told the South China Morning Post that this cautious approach had begun with US President Donald Trump’s temporary travel ban on citizens of six Muslim-majority countries earlier this year.
“I think major Muslim leaders in both the Middle East and Asia have decided they are willing to tolerate a lot of Islamophobia and unilateralism on the part of the US so long as Washington takes a tough line with Tehran and Beijing,” Mandaville was quoted as saying.
Mandaville, who is a former adviser on political Islam at the US state department, added that the most effective response to Washington’s move would be for the world to speak “diplomatically”, to “impress on Israel and the US that they are out of line with the international consensus on this issue”.
“Asian leaders should work in concert with their European and African counterparts to make clear that a negotiated, two-state solution is the only viable way forward,” he said in the report.
Speaking at the Umno general assembly on Dec 7, Najib had condemned Trump’s decision, calling on Muslims across the world to strongly oppose any recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Just two days later, however, he said there was no reason for Putrajaya’s ties with Washington to be affected by the move.
He said the two countries could still cooperate in various aspects despite Malaysia’s stance against the decision.
“Our relationship with the US is multidimensional and there are many other areas where we can work together,” he said.
Najib, who is also Umno president, is expected to appear at a rally this week to protest Washington’s decision.
He will reportedly be joined by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, with both slated to deliver speeches on the matter.
Najib: US stand on Jerusalem shouldn’t affect ties with M’sia