Dr Mahathir Named As One Of '20 Most Dangerous Extremists' Along With Current ISIS Leader

A New York-based nonprofit organisation, CEP says it combats the "growing threat" from extremist ideologies by "pressuring financial and material support networks, countering the narrative of extremists and their online recruitment, and advocating for smart laws, policies, and regulations".

Over the week, CEP released its list of "the 20 most dangerous extremists on the planet".

According to CEP, the list "highlights the last known location, deaths attributed to these harbingers of terror" and analyses "the influence these extremists have had over their group" and followers.

"CEP has considered extremists from across the spectrum of ideologies and beliefs, from ISIS to the Muslim Brotherhood, and the anti-Muslim Buddhist group in Myanmar to Generation Identity, all are considered a huge threat to international security," the New York-based nonprofit said in its report.

According to the New York-based nonprofit, that was started by former US government officials, the former prime minister is "a controversial figure" and "often criticised the West, LGBT people, and Jewish people".

The list, a copy of its report has been accessed by SAYS, includes Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of Hezbollah, a designated a terrorist organisation by several governments in the West, and Amir Muhammad Sa'id Abdal-Rahman al-Mawla, who is the current ISIS caliph, along with three women including Beate Zschäpe, a member of the neo-Nazi terrorist organisation National Socialist Underground.

"...his controversial opinions have led to international condemnation as it was alleged Mahathir supported extremist violence against the West," CEP wrote in its report.

In describing Dr Mahathir's influence, the nonprofit said that he is "a respected leader in the Muslim world. He is a strident critic of Israel and has been accused of being anti-Semitic".

Importantly, though, Dr Mahathir noted that despite his personal belief system, "by and large the Muslims have not applied the 'eye for an eye' law. Muslims don't. The French shouldn't".

According to Mahathir, angry people will kill regardless of the religion they profess.

Dr Mahathir's statements came after three people were killed in Nice, France.

The former prime minister, however, did not make a direct reference to the attack in Nice. Instead, he addressed the beheading of a history teacher that happened in Paris.

He would later issue a statement, saying what he wrote was taken "out of context".