American Muslim

Holocaust Denial is a Joke ... (revised)

Bismillahir Rehmanir Rahim (In the name of Allah, the beneficient, the merciful),

I have no doubt that this post is going to receive the maximum amount of debate. I have been struggling with addressing this issue, but Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's current project, "The International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust," has outraged me to no end and provided the impetus I needed to finally address this topic (even though I should be studying for my exam tomorrow).

It has been a hard transition - in many ways - towards Islam but I thank Allah (SWT) for making it easy on me. I have been confronted with nearly aspect and "version" of Islam since June, but the most endearing point of contention I have with SOME Muslims - American, South Asian, Arab, African, etc. - has been the harsh anti-Semitism I hear.

Let me make something clear. By anti-Semitism, I am in this post specifically referring to anti-Jewish statement though, as many of us know, Semites are in fact people derived from Noah's son Shem and include those people today who speak a Semitic language like Arabic, Aramaic, Amharic, Hebrew, etc.

My own politics have changed drastically since I was in college and whereas I was more sympathetic to the Israeli cause, I have shifted and am now more supportive of the Palestinian position and more in opposition to Israeli practices. However, I have never been one to ever say something derogatory or abrasive about Jews, the Jewish people or Judaism. First, not only because Islam has taught me to respect "people of the Book," but also because I see nothing wrong with Jews. Why should I?

The problem I have is with Muslims whose anti-Israeli sentiment transforms inti ant-Jewish sentiment over time. The two are so different and yet conflated all the time. But, I have yet to personally meet someone who denied the Holocaust happened and unfortunately, I feel like that time is a comin'. My maternal grandfather is very anti-Semitic and has told me before that what Hitler did was right, but we won't get into that now.

So, here's my problem with all of this - why the need for this conference? First of all, I believe strongly in the First Amendment and don't mind people meeting and publishing on the subject of Holocaust denial. I mean it is every American's right to do so and I would hope no one would restrict my desire to read the books I chose, etc. So, Ahmadinejad's point about having the conference in Iran - to allow holocaust denial "experts" the opportunity to share their research because their own home countries are very strict about this sort of thing - is a good one. But, I feel the problem with the conference and the President of Iran are the motivations for putting on this event. It's not about churning out new scholarship on the subject, but finding an excuse, any excuse, to de-legitmize the Israeli government and the very idea of Israel/political Zionism. As it was reported on TehranTimes.com, the President of Iran asked, “Even if the holocaust is proven to be a historical fact, why should the inhabitants of Palestine pay the penalty for the Nazi crimes?”

And there you have the rub - Muslims want to question the Holocaust because in denial, they are arguing for the de-legitimacy of Jewish "occupation" of Palestinian lands. And this is just not right in my opinion. Palestinians are being mistreated in Israel and their rights have been cut short by the Israeli occupation. And yes, the Holocaust did trigger a massive rush of European Jews from Germany, France, United Kingdom who moved to Palestine as part of the dream. But, what good does it do any of us to question whether the Holocaust happened? So that we can then say that the basis for Israel is weak? I think not.