Hitler's Mufti

Haj Amin al-Husseini, former Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, is considered by some to be the father of the modern Palestinian movement.  Ironically enough, this man as an ally of Adolf Hitler and assisted in carrying out the Final Solution.  After World War I, al-Husseini’s goal was to was to unite the Arabs of “Palestine” to Syria as part of an Arab-ruled “greater Syria.”  Palestine at this time was then known as “Southern Syria.”  It was Syrian-Arab nationalism that attracted Husseini, not Palestinian Nationalism.  

The long-term goal was to create a Pan-Arab state encompassing Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, West Bank, and Gaza.  As al-Husseini's goal of creating a Pan-Arab Islamic state was not compatible with either Zionism or democracy, and because there were no German colonies in the Islamic world, al-Husseini's Pan-Arab Islamist ambitions made him the perfect candidate for Hitler to seek an alliance with.  For years al-Husseini orchestrated pogroms against the Jews in the British mandate of Palestine and led a series of revolts against the British (with support from Nazi Germany), harassing the British to the point that the British Parliament passed the White Paper in 1939, limiting Jewish immigration to Palestine to a mere 75,000 over five years, right at the time when the Gates of Hell were closing around Europe.  Yet, al-Husseini's atrocities did not stop here.  After the British forced him to flee to Iraq, he helped orchestrate the Fahrud, in an attempt to put Iraq under control of the Nazis.  Though the British stopped him, hundreds of Iraqi Jews were slaughtered in Baghdad.  Forced to flee yet again, al-Husseini came to Europe where he stayed as a guest of Hitler himself.  During his time in Europe, al-Husseini made radio broadcasts throughout Arab lands, urging the Arabs to slaughter Jews.  In addition, he formed the Bosnian SS (Handschar) Division which murdered thousands of Jews and Serbs throughout the region.  

Had the war turned out differently and the Third Reich emerged victorious, it is likely that all the Jews in the Middle East would have been slaughtered.  As it was, al-Husseini succeeded in winning the support of many and helped killing thousands of Jews in the Balkans, the Caucasus, and North Africa.  He succeeded in getting Iraq to support the Nazi cause and nearly did the same in Egypt.  Despite the defeat of Nazi Germany, the effects of the Nazi-al-Huesseini alliance is still being felt today.  After the war, Arab nations sheltered thousands of Nazis, many of whom became advisers for the Arab military and police forces and helped the Arabs continually wage war on the Jewish state of Israel.  Arab nations in the Middle East sheltered numerous Nazi war criminals.  Walter Rauff, an SS aid to Reinhard Heydrich himself, helped the Syrians wage war on Israel, as did Alois Brunner, who as an aid to Adolf Eichmann.  Islamist leaders would soon adapt the tactics used by the Nazis to fuel their hateful vendetta that is still continuing today.  

In truth, Islamism is the new Nazism.  Islamism sees its people as a single powerful state, Nazis had same view of the Germans.  Jihad was a main duty of Islamism: Every Muslim saw Jihad and martyrdom, the willingness to fight and sacrifice their livelihood and blood for the sake of Islam.  Nazism held the same view for their people.  Islamism and Nazism both sought the common good of society over individual rights.  Nazism and Islamism both saw the woman whose primary job was giving birth and raising children, obedience to all authority was stressed.  Both teachings stressed disdain of Jews.   These teachings have infected the entire Middle Eastern society, including the Palestinian societies living in the West Bank and Gaza.  As long and the Nazi-inspired Islamist ideas continue to pervade Middle East societies, there can never be any hope for a lasting peace anywhere in the world, especially Israel.  

Sources

Bunson, Matthew E.  “Hitler’s Mufti.”  Catholic Answers Magazine.  Vol. 20:1.  January, 2009.  Accessed from http://www.catholic.com/magazine/articles/hitlers-mufti.

Darwish, Nonie.  Now They Call Me Infidel: Why I Renounced Jihad for America, Israel, and the War on Terror.  New York: Penguin Group, 2006.

Dershowitz, Alan.  The Case for Israel.  Hoboken, NJ: John Riley & Sons Inc., 2003.

Glick Caroline.  The Israeli Solution.  New York: Crown Forum, 2014.

Gold, Dore.  The Fight for Jerusalem.  Washington D.C.: Regnery Publishing Inc., 2007.

Katz, Samuel.  Battleground: Fact & Fantasy in Palestine.  New York: GRM Associates Inc., 2002.

Rubin, Barry and Wolfgang G. Schwanitz.  Nazis, Islamists, and the Making of the Modern Middle East.  London: Yale University Press, 2014.