Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia ? Islamic countries were divided Monday on whether the definition of terrorism extends to Palestinian suicide bombers.

An appeal by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad for Muslim countries to condemn any attack on civilians as an act of terror quickly became bogged down in the old question: When is a terrorist a freedom fighter?

In a speech to open a special meeting of the 57-member Organization of Islamic Conference, Mahathir proposed a definition that includes the Sept. 11 attackers, Israeli troops who kill Palestinians  and the suicide bombers.

Foreign ministers and officials from other countries were divided.

“It is not necessary to condemn the suicide bombers, because we have to take into consideration the reasons behind somebody willing to lose his life,” Palestinian Foreign Minister Farouk Kaddoumi told reporters outside the conference.

Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories is “the highest and worst kind of terrorism, and the human being, if he sacrifices his life  there must be a reason,” Kaddoumi said. “The reason is state terrorism.”

Deputy Foreign Minister Ivica Misic of Bosnia-Herzegovina, chief of his country’s anti-terrorism team, backed Mahathir.

“I don’t care about race or religion,” Ivica said. “I agree that if a person kills or harms a civilian he is a terrorist, no matter how noble his struggle may be.”

To paper over the divisions, the delegates unanimously passed a resolution accusing Israel of “dragging the region toward an all-out war” and calling for U.N. sanctions to deter Israeli military action.

Mahathir, a vital U.S. ally in the campaign to crack Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida network, said that the Sept. 11 attacks had been an “unmitigated disaster” for the world’s estimated 1.2 billion Muslims, with the religion becoming increasingly perceived as rooted in violence.

An agreement to condemn acts of violence against civilians regardless of race, religion or political motive would help repair Islam’s damaged reputation, and could provide the basis for a U.N. conference which, in turn, could be the foundation from which to fight terror’s sponsors, including governments, Mahathir said.