Monday, September 21, 2009

Highly Recommended Book. "Icon of Evil"

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A biography of Haj Amin al-Husseini (1895-1974), who was the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem during the British Mandate period.

Here is the description of the book on Amazon.com

A chilling, fascinating, and nearly forgotten historical figure is resurrected in this riveting work that links the fascism of the last century with the terrorism of our own. Written with vigor and extraordinary access to primary sources in several languages, "Icon of Evil" is the definitive account of the man who, during World War II, was called 'the fuhrer of the Arab world' and whose ugly legacy lives on today. With new and disturbing details, David G. Dalin and John F. Rothmann show how al-Husseini ingratiated himself with his hero, Adolf Hitler, becoming, with his blond hair and blue eyes, an 'honorary Aryan' while dreaming of being installed as Nazi leader of the Middle East. Al-Husseini would later recruit more than 100,000 Muslims in Europe to fight in divisions of the Waffen-SS, and obstruct negotiations with the Allies that might have allowed four thousand Jewish children to escape to Palestine. Some believe that al-Husseini even inspired Hitler to implement the Final Solution. At war's end, al-Husseini escaped indictment at Nuremberg and was harbored in France. "Icon of Evil" chronicles al-Husseini's postwar relationships with such influential Islamic figures as the radical theoretician Sayyid Qutb and Saddam Hussein's powerful uncle General Khairallah Talfah and his crucial mentoring of the young Yasser Ararat. Finally, it provides compelling evidence that al-Husseini's actions and writings serve as inspirations today to the leaders of Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terrorist organizations pledged to destroy Israel and the United States.


This was an excellent book. I have been seeing the picture of the Mufti with Hitler used more and more often lately. If you have ever wondered exactly who this guy is, you need to read this book. If you are at all concerned with Islam in the world today (you should be), you need to read this book. I learned a great deal of interesting information. There are mixed reviews for it if you look around. Basically what they often come down to is realists promoting it and apologists condemning it. I'm telling you that you need to get a copy and read it through.

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