Yahoo! News - Mahathir says Islam at lowest ebb due to wrong priorities
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad questioned fellow Muslims' religious priorities on Friday, saying their focus on form over fundamentals had brought Islam to its lowest point in history.
"I don't think it would be wrong to state that the Muslim world is at its lowest ebb, and is probably continuing to decline and to fall," he told an audience of academics and diplomats.
He bemoaned Muslims' failure to match the progress of Christian countries since the Industrial Revolution of the early 19th century, blaming it on followers' preoccupation with less important issues such as rules on women's clothing.