DOCSLIB.ORG

National Socialism in Memory and Historical Writings

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
National Socialism in Memory and Historical Writings _full_journalsubtitle: International Journal for the Study of Modern Islam _full_abbrevjournaltitle: WDI _full_ppubnumber: ISSN 0043-2539 (print version) _full_epubnumber: ISSN 1570-0607 (online version) _full_issue: 2 _full_issuetitle: 0 _full_alt_author_running_head (neem stramien J2 voor dit article en vul alleen 0 in hierna): Book Reviews _full_alt_articletitle_running_head (rechter kopregel - mag alles zijn): Book Reviews _full_is_advance_article: 0 _full_article_language: en indien anders: engelse articletitle: 0 244 Die Welt des Islams 59 (2019) 244-246 Book Reviews Frank Schellenberg, Zwischen globalem Erinnerungsdiskurs und regionaler Perspektive. Der deutsche Nationalsozialismus in den Debatten arabischer Intellektueller seit dem Ende des Kalten Krieges. Würzburg: Ergon Verlag, 2018, 392 pp. ISBN 978-3-95650-400-6 (Print). [„Between a Global Discourse of Memory and a Regional Perspective. German National Socialism in the Debates of Arab Intellectuals since the End of the Cold War.“] This book consists of two parts. The first part (“National Socialism in Memory and Historical Writings”) sketches the murder of six million European Jews perpetrated by Hitler’s Germany in condensed form and the current state of research as far as the Arab reaction to National Socialism is concerned. The potential of multiple, overlapping conflicts between the State of Israel (since 1948) and the Palestinians without a state is increasingly becoming more dan- gerous and confusing. This is made manifest in the “discourses of memory” by the author. The author correctly highlights the “great discord among research- ers and the magnitude of their reciprocal condemnations” (p. 51); these facts are not always acknowledged, yet inevitably both structure his entire book. The second part of the book (“National Socialism in Selected Works of Arab Intellectuals”) is dedicated to the equally meticulous, as well as wide-ranging, representations of three contemporary Arab intellectuals whose works on Na- tional Socialism and Arabs, or Palestinians in particular, were published be- tween 1998 and 2011. These divergent and often highly specific perspectives around Antizionism and Antisemitism, Arab identity and the Palestinian nar- rative of suffering had not previously been translated, but they are now avail- able in the German language for the first time. Schellenberg has worked with great, sometimes verging on pedantic, care. An English translation of this work would be a good addition. The three authors selected by Schellenberg are: 1. Saleh Zahreddin (b. 1951, Lebanon): Al-ḫalfīya al-tārīḫīya li-muḥākamat Rūǧīh Ġārawdī (Beirut 1998) – (“The Historical Background of the Trial against Roger Garaudy”; Schellenberg, pp. 221-37). Saleh Zahreddin has published more than 50 publications (including on the Armenian genocide, among many other subjects). In his book al-ḫalfiyya he praises the French intellectual Roger Garaudy (1913-2012) in the highest notes. Garaudy, successively a Protestant, Catholic, Communist, Marxist, Socialist, and Antizionist, converted to Islam in 1982. His book Les mythes fondateurs de la politique israélienne (1995) was highly controversial in France, while its denial of the Holocaust was received enthusiastically in most parts of the Arab world. The book received not only the Libyan Ghadhdhafi-Prize but the highly lucrative Faysal-Prize bestowed by the Saudi King as well. Gilbert © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2019 | doi:10.1163/15700607-00592P12Die Welt des Islams 59 (2019) 244-246 _full_journalsubtitle: International Journal for the Study of Modern Islam _full_abbrevjournaltitle: WDI _full_ppubnumber: ISSN 0043-2539 (print version) _full_epubnumber: ISSN 1570-0607 (online version) _full_issue: 2 _full_issuetitle: 0 _full_alt_author_running_head (neem stramien J2 voor dit article en vul alleen 0 in hierna): Book Reviews _full_alt_articletitle_running_head (rechter kopregel - mag alles zijn): Book Reviews _full_is_advance_article: 0 _full_article_language: en indien anders: engelse articletitle: 0 Book Reviews 245 Achcar, author of the book The Arabs and the Holocaust. The Arab-Israeli War of Narratives (London 2010), responded cautiously to Zahreddin’s widely circu- lated book in honor of Garaudy by labeling it a mere “calamity” (p. 260). Meir Litvak / Esther Webman, From Empathy to Denial. Arab Responses to the Holo- caust (New York 2009), (p. 340 fn. 60; Schellenberg p. 225), however, are right in calling Zahreddin’s book “one of the still numerous Arab attempts to expose the mass execution of the European Jews as a myth.” 2. Abdel Wahhab al-Masiri (b. 1938, Egypt): al-Ṣahyūnīya wa-l-nāzīya wa- nihāyat al-tārīḫ (Cairo 1997) – (“Zionism, Nazism and the End of History”; Schellenberg, pp. 239-66). Abdel Wahhab al-Masiri (“Elmessiri”) was a member of the Egyptian Com- munist Party until the late 1950s and then fled to the USA, where he lived for many years. He is a productive and erudite author, familiar with Heidegger and Derrida. Because of this, he belongs to the small circle of the “most engaged Arab intellectuals who dismiss the Protocols of the Elders of Zion as a forgery” (Schellenberg, p. 257). Ultimately, however, al-Masiri places the blame for the responsibility of the murder of the European Jews by the Nazis squarely at the feet of the Zionists. It is thus no wonder that he, too, lauds Garaudy with the utmost praise. 3. Hazem Saghiya (b. 1951, Lebanon): Qaḍāyā qātila (Beirut 2012) and Qawmiyū al-mašriq al-ʿarabī. Min Drayfus ilā Ġārawdī (Beirut 2000) – (“Deadly Affairs” and “The Nationalists of the Arab East – From Dreyfus to Garaudy”; Schellenberg, pp. 267-83). Hazem Saghiya calls himself „a prominent liberal journalist“ and an „anti- totalitarian.“ His books and articles reveal the writing of a “democratic Socialist with a liberal spirit” (Schellenberg, p. 270). This makes him one of the few Arab authors working on the Holocaust who are able to ignore Arab prejudices around the subject. His works, Schellenberg concludes, “can be judged in large part as a differentiated and fundamentally constructive contribution to the theme of memory” (Schellenberg, p. 331). Indeed, Schellenberg worked with great precision. I think, however, that the historical and contemporary perspectives of Arabs and Israelis on the subject of National Socialism and the Holocaust, the nakba and the visions of a Pales- tinian state, are by and large no longer productive. The two acceptable Israeli and Arab positions have been defined by the works of Meir Litvak / Esther Webman and Gilbert Achcar mentioned above. Despite this, it still cannot be denied that the books written, in Arabic by Arabs, on the subject of the Holocaust are highly polemic to this day and fre- quently reach levels of absurdity, as evident in Saleh Zahreddin’s book refer- enced above. By contrast, books or articles written by Arabs in English (e.g., Die Welt des Islams 59 (2019) 244-246.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Anti-Semitism and Anti-Zionism in Iran: the Role of Identity Processes
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Nottingham Trent Institutional Repository (IRep) 1 Anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism in Iran: the role of identity processes Rusi Jaspal De Montfort University, Leicester, UK Anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism constitute two important ideological building blocks of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Yet, there is no existing research into the psychosocial motives underlying the manifestation of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism at the institutional level in Iran. Here it is argued that there is much heuristic and predictive value in applying tenets of identity process theory (IPT), a socio-psychological model of identity threat and action, to the primarily socio-historical literature on anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism in Iran. The paper provides a summary of anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism and ‘new anti-Semitism’ and IPT. The substantive section of the paper explores (i) how anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism may restore feelings of belonging in the Muslim world and beyond; (ii) the inter-relations between ingroup and outgroup self-efficacy; (iii) the psychosocial motivation to maintain Shiite ideology and Khomeini’s legacy; and (iv) the construction of Jews and Israel in terms of a threat to group continuity. It is suggested that insights into the motivational principles underlying anti-Semitism and anti- Zionism at the institutional level may inform empirical research into social representations of Jews and Israel in Iran. More broadly, this paper highlights the potential contribution of social psychology to existing work on anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism in the humanities.
    [Show full text]
  • HOLOCAUST DENIAL IS a FORM of HATE SPEECH Raphael Cohen
    HOLOCAUST DENIAL IS A FORM OF HATE SPEECH ∗∗∗ Raphael Cohen-Almagor Introduction Recently Facebook confirmed that it has disabled a group called ‘I Hate Muslims in Oz.’ Barry Schnitt explained: “We disabled the ‘I Hate Muslims in Oz’ group… because it contained an explicit statement of hate. Where Holocaust-denial groups have done this and been reported, we’ve taken the same action”.1 Facebook distinguishes between ‘explicit statement of hate’ and Holocaust denial. Its directors believe that Holocaust denial is not hateful per se and does not therefore contravene the company’s terms of service. The terms of service say: “You will not post content that is hateful, threatening, pornographic, or that contains nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence”. 2 Schnitt said: “We’re always discussing and evaluating our policies on reported content, but have no plans to change this policy at this time. In addition to discussing it internally, we continue to engage with third-party experts on the issue”.3 In this short piece I wish to take issue with the assertion that Holocaust denial is not hateful per se . My aim is to show that it is, and therefore that Facebook should reconsider its position. All Internet providers and web- hosting companies whose terms of service disallow hateful messages on their servers should not host or provide forums for such hate-mongering. This is of urgent need as Holocaust denial is prevalent in Europe, the United States (USA) and across the Arab and Muslim parts of the world. Iran’s regime, under the disputed leadership of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has made questioning the Holocaust one of the centerpieces of its radical ∗ Educator, researcher and human rights activist.
    [Show full text]
  • „Moderate“ Holocaust Denial in Iran? by Matthias Küntzel
    Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, September 20, 2013 „Moderate“ Holocaust Denial in Iran? by Matthias Küntzel Dear Director Schoenberg, dear Jodi Shapiro, Ladies and Gentlemen, It’s not only a great pleasure but also a great honor for me to be here – in this great city and in this very institution, the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust. I’m most grateful to the LAMOTH for inviting me and I am most grateful to you for attending this event. Our topic today is Holocaust denial in Iran. This topic is disputed. Two weeks ago, according to the “New York Times”, the new foreign minister of Iran, Mohammad Javad Zarif wished a ,Happy Rosh Hashana’ on his English- language Twitter account to Christine Pelosi, the daughter of Representative Nancy Pelosi of California. Christine responded: “Thanks. The New Year would be even sweeter if you would end Iran’s Holocaust denial, sir.” To which Mr. Zarif responded: “Iran never denied it. The man who was perceived to be denying it is now gone. Happy New Year.”1 Wonderful message, isn’t it? Obviously, the theme of this very event has vanished into thin air. Or perhaps not. Let us take a closer look at Mr. Zarif words. He claims: Iran never denied the Holocaust. This denial of the denial, however, is utterly misleading. During the last eight years, Iran was the first and only country in the world to make Holocaust denial a matter of official foreign policy – within the United Nations, on the Internet and elsewhere. Mr. Zarif’s second claim: “The man who was perceived to be denying it is now gone” is partly true since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is fortunately no longer president.
    [Show full text]
  • Jean-Paul Sartre and the Algerian Revolution: 1954-1962
    https://theses.gla.ac.uk/ Theses Digitisation: https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/research/enlighten/theses/digitisation/ This is a digitised version of the original print thesis. Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten: Theses https://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] JEAN-PAUL SARTRE AND THE ALGERIAN REVOLUTION: 1954-1962 BY ABDELMADJID AMRANI B.A. ALGIERS UNIVERSITY, (1981) M. LiTT. GLASGOW UNIVERSITY, (1985) A THESIS SUBMITTED IN FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY, PH.D. DEPARTMENT OF MODERN HISTORY FACULTY OF ARTS UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW FEBRUARY 1990 i ProQuest Number: 10970983 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10970983 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author.
    [Show full text]
  • Roger Garaudy, Abbé Pierre, and the French Negationists
    Simon Epstein Roger Garaudy, Abbé Pierre, and the French Negationists The Roger Garaudy affair, was the most famous of the cases of negationism in France in the 1990s. It boosted Garaudy to the rank of chief propagator of denial of the Shoah, following in the footsteps of Paul Rassinier, who made himself known in the 1950s, and Robert Faurisson, whose hour of glory came in the 1980s. In addition, the Garaudy affair marks the point of intersection between negationism and a particularly virulent anti-Zionism. For both of these reasons—its place in the history of negationism in France and its “anti-Zionist” specificity—this affair deserves to be examined in detail, in all its phases of development. Central to such an analysis is the somewhat unusual biography of the chief protagonist. Born in 1913 to a working-class family, Roger Garaudy was first tempted by Protestantism before becoming a Marxist in 1933. A teacher of philosophy at the secondary school in Albi, in the Tarn, he became an active militant in the ranks of the French Communist Party (PCF). He was arrested in September 1940 and trans- ferred to the detention camps of the Vichy regime in Southern Algeria. Elected to the French Parliament after the war, he progressed through the Communist hierarchy and became one of the intellectuals most representative of, and loyal to the PCF. Director of the Center of Marxist Studies and Research (CERM) from 1959 to 1969, he addressed himself to promoting dialogue between Marxists and Christians. He sought to prove that Communism was compatible with humanism, in compliance with the “politics of openness” advocated by Maurice Thorez, the Communist leader.
    [Show full text]
  • Diffusion Du Documentaire « Les Faussaires De L'histoire
    Diffusion du documentaire « Les faussaires de l'histoire » de Michäel PRAZAN suivie d'une discussion avec Valérie IGOUNET, spécialiste de l'histoire du négationnisme et co-auteure du film. « Ce documentaire retrace l'histoire du discours négationniste. Grâce à l’expertise de personnalités et d'historiens, d’archives méconnues et souvent inédites, ce film revient sur l’histoire d’une escroquerie intellectuelle et antisémite qui, d’un trait de plume, efface les six millions de morts du génocide des Juifs pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Il retrace rigoureusement son histoire, à commencer par son apparition dans l’immédiat après-guerre chez les nostalgiques du nazisme et de la collaboration. Dans les années 1970, sous l’influence d’une extrême-gauche « antisioniste », le négationnisme subit une certaine réorientation, qui s’étend ensuite jusqu’à la fin des années 1990 vers le monde arabo-musulman, portée par la star déchue du parti communiste Roger Garaudy. Le film décortique pour mieux le comprendre et le conjurer le discours de haine qui se dissimule derrière les masques de l’historicité et du militantisme politique. Alors que disparaissent aujourd’hui les derniers rescapés du plus grand génocide du XXe siècle, ce film est aussi un cri d’alarme devant les offensives que continuent de mener, sur plusieurs continents, les faussaires de l’histoire. » Cette présentation est extraite du site de la Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah, où l’on peut retrouver également la bande-annonce du documentaire : Http://www.fondationshoah.org/memoire/les-faussaires-de-lhistoire-un-film-de-michael-prazan
    [Show full text]
  • Egypt's Socialism and Marxist Thought
    University of South Carolina Scholar Commons Faculty Publications Political Science, Department of 4-1975 Egypt's Socialism and Marxist Thought: Some Preliminary Observations on Social Theory and Metaphysics Shahrough Akhavi University of South Carolina - Columbia, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/poli_facpub Part of the Political Science Commons Publication Info Published in Comparative Studies in Society and History, Volume 17, Issue 2, 1975, pages 190-211. http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=css © 1975 by Cambridge University Press This Article is brought to you by the Political Science, Department of at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Egypt'sSocialism and MarxistThought: Some PreliminaryObservations on SocialTheory and Metaphysics SHAHROUGH AKHAVI Universityof South Carolina I. THE PRIOR SIGNIFICANCE OF UNITY Since 1952 the elaboration of Egyptian ideology has constituted a source of conflict between the regime and the left/right opposition. In trying to capture the ideological center, the regime has inevitably drawn itself into the maelstrom of public contention characterized by mass conformity, intimidation, purges, arrests, show trials and incarceration of all who fundamentally question the principles of the leadership. Democratic cooperative socialism ('Arab socialism') is the official ideology, and a spate of books and articles have been published on its significance for Egyptian politics. Despite all these efforts, confusion still tends to reign over this concept, both among Egyptians themselves, and outsiders studying it. It is essential to build toward a definition of Arab socialism in its Egyptian variant.
    [Show full text]
  • Négationnisme Et Hate Speech Devant La Cour Européenne Des Droits De L’Homme
    Négationnisme et hate speech devant la Cour européenne des droits de l’homme À propos des arrêts Perinçek et M’Bala M’Bala Philippe VINCENT Faculté de Droit, Science politique et Criminologie de l’Université de Liège ◆ TABLE DES MATIÈRES ◆ I. Présentation des faits 344 A. L’arrêt Perincek c. Suisse 344 B. La décision M’Bala M’Bala c. France 344 II. Les dispositions pertinentes de la cedh en cause 345 A. L’article 10 de la Convention européenne des droits de l’homme 345 B. L’article 17 de la Convention 346 III. L’Application De Ces Dispositions Dans Les Décisions Étudiées 346 A. La qualification des massacres et déportations subis par la population arménienne en 1915 346 B. L’article 17 : application contrastée de l’interdiction de l’abus de droit 347 C. L’article 10 349 IV. Conclusion 353 ◆ ◆ ◆ La Cour européenne des droits de l’homme a rendu le 15 octobre 2015 (arrêt Perinçek c. Suisse) et le 10 novembre 2015 (décision M’Bala M’Bala c. France) deux décisions assez contrastées en matière de liberté d’expression. Alors que les deux affaires concernaient la question du négationnisme et du hate speech, la Cour a réservé un tout autre sort au négationnisme de l’Holo- causte, vigoureusement condamné, qu’à celui du génocide arménien. LARCIER 344 ◆ Négationnisme et hate speech devant la Cour européenne des droits de l’homme I. PRÉSENTATION DES FAITS A. L’arrêt Perincek c. Suisse Dogu Perinçek, ressortissant turc président du Parti des travailleurs de Turquie, avait à trois reprises, en 2005, tenu des propos négationnistes quant à la réalité du génocide commis en 1915 par l’Empire ottoman sur la popula- tion arménienne de ce pays.
    [Show full text]
  • Socialism Versus Communism: an Ethical and Psychological Contrast
    University of Central Florida STARS PRISM: Political & Rights Issues & Social Movements 1-1-1953 Socialism versus communism: An ethical and psychological contrast George Wilfried Hartmann Roger Payne Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/prism University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Book is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in PRISM: Political & Rights Issues & Social Movements by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Recommended Citation Hartmann, George Wilfried and Payne, Roger, "Socialism versus communism: An ethical and psychological contrast" (1953). PRISM: Political & Rights Issues & Social Movements. 257. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/prism/257 SOCIALISM versus COMMUNISM versus An Ethical and Psychological Contrast GEORGE W. HARTMANN, Ph.D. Chairman, Department of Psychology, Roowvdt Cdlsga, Chi Sometime Fellow of the Social Resaorch Council and ROGER PAYNE, S.A., 1L.B. Gonville and Coiua College, Cambridge, Englond Formsr member of the Inner Temple, London, England CMBinding $1.00 Popsr Cod502 Introductory Not& N THE very day (March 5,1953) that the death of 0 Stdin wm announced, the authom ofthis pamphlet completed the final revhion of the manuscript of a 400-page book Wngthe tentative title, Th Conring fiwtf~ll#Stalinism. The chapter headings of this pro- ject appear on the following page. As a rault of this not wholly unanticipated coincidence, it seemed best to delay the appearance of this book until the signifi- cance of Stdin's pahgcould be ruikbly appraised and incorporated in our text. On account of the spacial intemt that Part 111, An Ethical Inguiy, had amused among some critical and appreciative read- of the manwcript, it was deemed expbdient to hue immediately the thechapters m- prisiig it in separate pamphlet hrm.
    [Show full text]
  • Muslim Brotherhood, Iran, and Hezbollah
    Stephan Grigat Antisemitic Anti-Zionism: Muslim Brotherhood, Iran, and Hezbollah As apreacher on Al Jazeera and head of the European Council for Fatwa and Re- search, Yusuf al-Qaradawi is one of Sunni Islam’smost influential intellectuals. Al-Qaradawi has gone beyond denying the Holocaust to presentingitasanex- ample to be followed: accordingtohim, Hitler was the “ultimate punishment” for the Jews, inflicted on them by Allah for theirdepravity.Inthe future, he be- lieves, the Muslims must take on the task. In 2009,hestated that, “God willing, the next time this punishment will be inflicted by the hand of the Faithful.”¹ The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in which Al-Qaradawi has his roots shaped all the later currents of radical Islam,includingthe Iranian regime and Hezbollah. While these latter are, of course, in some respects in competition with Brother- hood groups and parties, they can also cooperate with them, especiallywhen it comes to fighting Israel and with respect to ashared hostility to the rulersof Saudi Arabia,² considered by some supporters of the Iranian regimetobede- scendants of Jews. The prototypical Islamist organization, the Muslim Brotherhood, was found- ed in 1928,inthe same period as the rise of the fascist mass organizations in Eu- rope. It also drew inspiration from the writingsofthe Iranian Islamists of the nineteenth century. The Nazis activelysupported the establishment of the Broth- erhood materially and ideologically. After 1945, it became the “biggest antisem- itic organization in the world,” with around amillion members.³ The rapid rise in its membership at the beginning of the 1930s—like the support for European fas- cism and Nazism but in adifferent religious context—resulted from amassive and delusional projective reaction to the crisis-ridden onslaught of capitalist modernity.This reaction against the ambivalences and emancipatory potential of modernity wasalsoone of the main grounds for the mass support of Khomeini from the 1960s onwardsinIran.
    [Show full text]
  • Hezbollah, a Historical Materialist Analysis
    Daher, Joseph (2015) Hezbollah : a historical materialist analysis. PhD Thesis. SOAS, University of London http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/23667 Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non‐commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this thesis, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", name of the School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination. Hezbollah, a Historical Materialist Analysis Joseph Daher Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD 2015 Department of Development SOAS, University of London 1 Declaration for SOAS PhD thesis I have read and understood regulation 17.9 of the Regulations for students of the SOAS, University of London concerning plagiarism. I undertake that all the material presented for examination is my own work and has not been written for me, in whole or in part, by any other person. I also undertake that any quotation or paraphrase from the published or unpublished work of another person has been duly acknowledged in the work, which I present for examination. Signed: ________________________ Date: _________________ 2 Abstract This research aims at giving a comprehensive overview and understanding of the Lebanese party Hezbollah.
    [Show full text]
  • Iran and Its Proxy Hezbollah: Strategic Penetration in Latin America
    Iran and its Proxy Hezbollah: Strategic Penetration in Latin America Ely Karmon Area: International Terrorism Working Paper 18/2009 8/4/2009 Elcano Royal Institute Madrid – Spain www.realinstitutoelcano.org 1 Iran and its Proxy Hezbollah: Strategic Penetration in Latin America Ely Karmon * ‘Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad must love the tropics’, commented ironically The Miami Herald.1 He has spent more time in Latin America than President Bush. Since his inauguration in 2005, Iran’s foreign policy focus has shifted from Africa to Latin America in order to, as Ahmadinejad puts it, ‘counter lasso’ the US.2 Iran’s Goals in Latin America Farideh Farhi argues that while Iran’s increased attention to Latin America as a region is a relatively new development, its bilateral ties with some individual Latin American nations are of long standing and relatively robust. Iran has shared an ideological relationship with Cuba since the end of the Iran‐Iraq War, and a political relationship with Venezuela since their co‐founding of OPEC in the 1960s. The impetus behind these long‐standing bilateral relationships is three‐fold:3 (1) Iran’s non‐aligned position in foreign policy has compelled it to seek out countries with similar ideological outlooks. (2) US efforts to keep Iran in diplomatic and economic isolation have forced it to pursue an active foreign policy. (3) The election of a reformist President in 1997 made it possible for countries like Brazil to engage Iran with enough confidence to withstand pressures from the US. The shift to the left in many important Latin American countries in the first decade of the new millennium has allowed Iran to be more successful in its attempt to improve relations with particular countries.
    [Show full text]