KUALA LUMPUR, November 7 (IslamOnline) - Malaysia entered the fray in condemning Australia for its “heavy handed method” against Muslims, victims of a sudden and brutal raid in Australia late last week.

Malaysia’s Defense Minister Najib Tun Razak said Malaysia, as an Islamic country, was concerned about the treatment accorded to the affected Muslim families during investigations carried out by the Australian authorities, Bernama news agency reported Thursday, November 7.

Razak is the second Malaysian official to condemn the raids that have triggered the anger of Indonesians and met with severe condemnation from Indonesian leaders, including President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

On Wednesday, November 6, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Australia went too far in its raids against Muslims, adding that it was now not safe for Muslims to live in that country.

Razak said Australian authorities used heavy handed methods against Indonesian citizens living in Australia.

Indonesians’ homes were raided after the Bali bombing. Australian authorities said they were looking for links between any Indonesian living there with the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), an obscure group of Muslims accused of terrorism.

Responding to the criticism, Australia again defended itself, arguing that a series of raids on the homes of Australian Muslims were aimed at ensuring the security of its 19.5 million people.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer defended the raids in an interview with ABC Radio in response to Mahathir Mohamad’s remarks that Australia was not safe for Muslims, Bernama said.

Downer said the raids over the past several weeks were conducted as a result of JI being proscribed and listed as a terrorist organization by the United Nations.

He pointed out that Malaysia co-sponsored the listing of JI as a terrorist organization and acknowledged that the Malaysian Government had taken tough action against JI under its Internal Security Act (ISA).

“So all Australia is doing here is making sure our 19.5 million people are as safe as they can possibly be,” he said.

Downer, however, failed to say whether his country had concrete proof of JI presence on its soil or was just attacking Muslims as a result of the Bali bombing that caused the death of more than 200 people, mostly of Australian origin.

On Tuesday, November 5, during a press conference at the end of the eighth ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Mahathir said that at the moment, Australia was particularly unsafe for Muslims because they were likely to have their houses raided.

Australia Federal Police and Australian Security Intelligence Organization conducted the raids in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne over the last few weeks.

The homes included that of Indonesian nationals accused without proof of having alleged connection with the JI. The raids prompted indignation and anger in Indonesia.

Australia also issued travel advisories to its citizens not to travel to countries in the region in the wake of the October 12 Bali bombing.

“We can’t be going around saying we are going to overlook information we have about possible terrorist attacks, including against westerners and therefore Australians, in the interest of making sure that nobody throughout South-East Asia is upset about our travel warning,” Downer said.

Mahathir also criticized the U.S. for its travel warnings, saying that it was as unsafe for Muslims to be in the U.S., as the September 11, 2001 attacks were organized “from within the U.S. itself.”

In another related development, Mahathir said suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden has succeeded beyond his dreams and created a world of fear in which there is growing confrontation between Muslims and the West, Malaysia Kini reported Thursday.

"He has made the whole world frightened, people are frightened to do anything," Mahathir said of the Al-Qaeda leader.

"Osama bin Laden ... I think he may have succeeded beyond his dreams.

"And why has he succeeded? Because we are angry, we don't know how to manage these things, and we fall into his trap," he said.

Mahathir also acknowledged that the U.S. congressional election results were "a vote of confidence in the policies" of President George W Bush, including his threat to attack Iraq.