The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, the Nazis, and Islam By : Billy Rojas The story of Haj Amin al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem in the period from 1921 and into the years of WWII, is important not as some sort of historical footnote, but as central to the rise of Islamic terrorism in the later 20th century and extending into the years from 9 / 11 to the present. This is made clear in a 2008 book by David Dalin and John Rothman, Icon of Evil, Hitler's Mufti and the Rise of Radical Islam. This publication is highly recommended despite the fact that the text is about as poorly written as any book released by Random House has ever been. Clearly the significance of the subject matter determined that the volume would get into print ; just as clearly, the writing is a mess. The book is filled with numerous repeated comments and it is filled with editorial remarks to the effect that the mufti is frequently described with derogatory adjectives or otherwise belittled. Not that Husseni does not merit such unflattering characterizations, if anyone does it is him, but in a scholarly text this is "over the top." The book also has some inexplicable weaknesses. A major theme in the text is the relationship of Hussein to the Nazi regime in the 1940s, since it establishes an undeniable connection between modern-day Islamic terror and its fascist inspiration. But only one chapter in the book discusses this topic despite the abundance of material now available on that dimension of the mufti's life and the part played by Muslims in the SS in killing Jews in the name of Islam. and killing many Serbian Christians as well. This has major importance inasmuch as Husseini personally helped recruit Bosnian Muslims to serve in SS units and reported directly to Heinrich Himmler. Probably there is enough material in existence to write a separate volume just on that subject alone. Similarly, the chapter on Husseini's activities in helping his close friend Yasser Arafat not only in organizing the PLO but acting as a free-lance leader in other Palestinian causes, including his support for Hamas, is surprisingly undeveloped. Indeed, as is the book generally, with only 143 pages of narrative text. But all of this said, Icon of Evil is a treasure trove of information that is highly relevant to an understanding what has been happening in the Mid East in the years since 1948 and in our own time. Husseini's "signature" is everywhere. His death in 1974 was anything but the end of his story. It almost seems like every notable Muslim leader of the past half century had some kind of direct connection to the mufti. The list includes Nasser, Anwar Sadat, Saddam Hussein, King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, the Ayatollah Khomeini. Mahmoud Abbas, King Farouq of Egypt, Sayyid Qutb, and even Osama bin Laden. More than anyone else, the mufti used his talents as an organizer and propagandist to motivate other Muslims to interpret the Koran according to its literal meaning as a source book filled with anti-Semitic ( anti-Jewish ) hatred, emphasizing Muhammad's utter contempt for Jews and his example in murdering as many as possible as something pleasing to Allah. The book is also valuable for the Appendix which is included, containing all the documentary evidence anyone could ask for, to establish a concrete connection between Husseini and an 'all star' cast of ranking Nazis, including Hitler himself. Pages 158 - 165 contain two versions of the mufti's lengthy meeting with Hitler on November 28, 1943, one an official version provided by the office of the Reich Foreign Minister and the other a description written-out by Husseini is which --as in other materials-- he expressed his admiration for Hitler and the Nazi regime. These documents also make it clear that had the German Army been successful in breaking through to the Caucasus that Hitler was prepared to support the Islamic cause in the Mid East and to designate Husseini as his 'viceroy,' to lead an Arab uprising against the Allies. The book also makes it clear that Husseini not only approved of the Holocaust, he seems to have been instrumental is making it even worse for the Jews than it might otherwise have been. On the question of the fate of Europe's Jews, Husseini and Hitler were in complete agreement, wishing for the extermination of the entire Jewish people. And had it become possible the mufti wanted to organize a similar holocaust in what was then Palestine, to kill all the Jews of that land. In fact, Husseini wanted to use the techniques he had observed personally at Auschwitz during visits he made to the death camp in 1943 and 1944. And by the way, Husseini was explicit that he saw gas chambers in use at Auschwitz and possibly at other camps he also visited. During the war Husseini frequently made broadcasts to the Arab world, urging fellow Muslims to do their utmost to sabotage the British military in any ways open to them, and repeatedly making the point that the murder of Jews is demanded of Muslims by the Koran. These broadcasts also included vehement denunciations of America and Americans, whom he obviously hated with seething passion. But this is only to introduce the story, which has many dimensions, as you might suspect since Hussein was a guest of the Reich from 1941 to 1945, most of that time a resident in Berlin --where he lived in luxury. Among the mufti's friends and 'professional associates' in those years were no less than Adolf Eichman, with whom he worked closely on a regular basis, Joseph Goebbels, with whom he also worked directly, Joachim von Ribbentrop, also closely although less frequently, and Heinrich Himmler, with whom a warn friendship developed. Which does not count the meeting he also had with Mussolini in 1941. And which does not count the many other less well known Nazis whom he knew, some of whom he met up with in the Mid East, in Egypt in 1946-1947, and in Palestine starting in 1948. This should surprise no-one. Nasser was pro-Nazi for much of his adult life and Sadat was candid about his similar views and even wrote about them in his autobiography. But, and by no means only because of the testimony of Icon of Evil, possibly a majority of Muslims in that era were Nazi sympathizers, including many Muslims in India, especially in the area that was to become Pakistan. Husseini was, by all accounts, a major war criminal. The evidence against him was overwhelming, but circumstances transpired to allow his escape from justice after the war. Three nations in particular could have acted to see to it that Husseini was tried at Nuremberg, but for reasons peculiar to each, nothing was done. The British and French wanted to reassert control over their colonies in Dar al-Islam and did not want the distraction of having possibly the most well known Muslim in the world at the time, sentenced to death and all of his dirty linen aired in public, since so many other prominent Muslims would be implicated. And Yugoslavia was seeking to rebuild after the war and did not wish to provoke the Bosnians and other Muslims to revolt since Husseini remained a hero to them. And so, thanks to Hussein's influence, the modern jihadi movement was born in the years after he had re-established himself in the Mid East. Not that there had not been a tradition of jihad long before the post WWII era. Quite the contrary, there never has been a time, except for limited periods, when Muslims somewhere were not at war against other people. But Husseini gave the cause of jihad its 'modern' character, replete with his use of fatwas to justify attacks against Jews, a technique adopted widely and used against all perceived enemies of Islam, his frequent reliance on the ( discredited since the 1920s ) Protocols of the Elders of Zion, as a sort of 'new testament to the Koran, his use of the Koran as the equivalent of Mein Kampf ( which is easy enough to do ), and, later, development of an ideology of Holocaust denial despite his wartime experiences, which he carefully documented. All of this, the pervasive Nazi character of the whole modern-day Islamist movement plain for all to see, especially since it was central to the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood ( to which Hussein belonged ) from its inception, and the "liberal" Left nonetheless identifies with Islamic radicalism. Any criticism of Islam and Democrats in Congress take action to condemn the critics as "Islamophobes" and "fascists" ! Which, of course, is a phenomenon that is hardly a Democratic Party exclusive. The Bush Republicans, especially all those associated with Grover Norquist, are little better. To the extent that an entire chapter of the 9 / 11 Commission report , all about Saudi involvement in the attack on America, was expunged on orders of the Bush White House. About which, former Florida governor Bob Graham is currently telling one and all. This takes us beyond the scope of the book, Icon of Evil, but it should now be possible to see exactly what is happening in the Mid East as anything but the sanitized story which the mainstream media portrays to the public day in and day out. The story of modern Islam is intrinsically woven in with that of Hitler and Nazism. The final weakness in the book to report, however, is perhaps its greatest shortcoming. The text is utterly silent about Communist involvement in the Mid East during the years that the mufti acted as the major leader in the Islamist cause. After all, no less than Nasser himself became a client of the Soviet Union, as did a good number of Arab states including. Iraq in the Saddam era, Syria, and Yemen. That story simply is absent from the book. This omission is serious and the saga of Communist influence in the region definitely needs attention. But that is a matter for another time. "Icon of Evil," despite its limitations, is a gold mine of incriminating information. If you actually read the book you will understand exactly why "Islamofascism" is anything but a smear of kind-hearted Muslims. Rather, Islamofascism is an objectively descriptive term. At the center of Islamism is a legacy of blood --and a legacy of Nazi inspiration. Mahmoud Amadinejad, who is an overt holocaust denier and Nazi sympathizer, is only the most obvious example of a major part of the reality which is contemporary Islam. There are millions of lesser Amadinejads thoughout the Islamic world.
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