Mahathir listed as one of the world's "top 20 most dangerous extremists"

In a bit of eyebrow-raising news, Former Malaysian prime minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad has been listed as one of the world's "top 20 most dangerous extremists" according to the U.S.-based Counter Extremism Project (CEP).

The non-profit CEP was founded in 2014 by several senior U.S. government officials – including those representing the Ministry of Homeland Security and ambassadors to various other nations, and was created for the purpose of combating extremists groups by "pressuring financial and material support networks; countering the narrative of extremists and their online recruitment; and advocating for smart laws, policies, and regulations."

The list titled "The Top 20 Most Dangerous Extremists On Earth" was created as an identifier of what the CEP believed to be the world's top extremists across a "spectrum of ideologies and beliefs", and included top proponents of the movements and organizations they deemed the biggest threats to international security.

The list also includes their last-known locations, attributed deaths, and an analysis of their overall influence.

Mahathir, the... "extremist"?

According to the list, the former Malaysian leader was ranked 14th thanks to his past anti-Semitism, criticisms of the West and the LGBT community, and most importantly his comments made after the October 2020 terrorist attacks in Nice, France, in which he said, "Muslims have a right to be angry and kill millions of French people for the massacres of the past."

Mahathir is a respected leader in the Muslim world. He is a strident critic of Israel and has been accused of being anti-Semitic," read his entry on the list. "Additionally, Mahathir has supported ambitions for carving out a self-administered region for Muslims in Mindanao, Philippines, an area plagued by extremist violence and a secessionist war."

Regarding Mahathir's attributed death count, the list said, "Mahathir is not directly responsible for specific acts of violence. However, his controversial opinions have led to international condemnation as it was alleged Mahathir supported extremist violence against the West."

Joining him on the list are other infamous names such as list-topper Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, founder of the Russian Imperial Movement Stanislav Anatolyevich Vorobyev, and the Islamic State (IS) self-declared caliph Muhammad Sa'id Abdal-Rahman al-Mawla.

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