(Chronicle Review) Jeffrey Herf - In a 2007 book, Jihad and Jew-Hatred: Islamism, Nazism and the Roots of 9/11, the German political scientist Matthias Kuentzel details how Nazi ideology influenced Islamist ideologues like Hassan al-Banna and Sayyid Qutb of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, as well as the Palestinian leader Haj Amin al-Husseini. More recent examples abound. The founding charter of Hamas recapitulates conspiracy theories about Jews that were popular in Europe in the 20th century. Al-Qaeda's war against "the Zionist-Crusader Alliance" and the anti-Zionist rants of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran also display a blend of anti-Semitic themes rooted in Nazi and fascist, as well as Islamist, traditions.
2009-11-27 08:45:47Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive