Well in the current situation almost everyone in the Middle east plays the same game that Mahathir Mohamad did.

Iran courts popularity/acceptance among Sunnis by emphasizing their Jew hatred. The Syrian regime tried the same trick. Hezbollah does the same.

I’ve seen the same in Jordan and Lebanon. Only the Kurds are exempt.

The situation is that hatred of a scapegoat is the only glue that holds the societies in a whole region together. And sectarian violence and oppression between everyone else is the major factor driving all politics, in all decisions. And there is a lack of concept that there is a common humanity.

Whatever the history, that’s the current situation.

It may not get better. It could even deteriorate.