• December 25, 2005
  • 3 minutes read

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood Says No Holocaust Denial

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood Says No Holocaust Denial

Akef told IOL his statement “mainly focused on criticizing western democracy”.

 Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood has refuted media reports of denying the World War II Holocaust as a myth.

“The weekly statement, in which the Holocaust was cited, mainly focused on criticizing western democracy,” Mohamed Mahdi Akef, the group’s leader, told IslamOnline.net on Friday, December 23.

International news agencies and media said Akef had described the Holocaust as a myth in his weekly statement on Thursday, December 22.

“This issue (Holocaust) was not on my mind and is not a preoccupation for us,” he stressed.

Akef had blasted the US for imposing its will “with tanks and Hummers” on the Iraqi people, adding that when Iraqis tried to defend their freedom “they were labeled as terrorists.”

Last week, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad drew international criticism after he described the Holocaust as a “myth” and called for the relocation of Israelis to Europe.

Established Fact


 
Abdul Moneim Abul Futuh, a leading Muslim Brotherhood figure, also dismissed reports of denying the Holocaust.

“The Holocaust is an established fact,” he told IOL.

He stressed that Akef’s statement mainly focused on the double-standard policies of the western democracies.

“These democracies condemn anyone who dares criticize the Holocaust, but they turn a blind eye to those who attack Islam and Muslims.”

Essam El-Erian, another Muslim Brotherhood leader, echoed a similar stance.

“Akef’s statement does not stand as a Holocaust denial,” he told IOL.

He stressed that the Holocaust is a western issue that the Arabs and Muslims have nothing to do with.


Exaggerated

Mohamed Habib, Akef’s deputy, said the issue of Holocaust requires historical documentation.

He, however, described reports about the Holocaust as “exaggerated”.

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, the Holocaust refers to “systematic state-sponsored killing of Jewish men, women, and children and others by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II.”

The commonly used figure for the number of Jewish victims is six million.

However, the figure was questioned by some historians and intellectuals, chiefly French author Roger Garaudy and Austrian historian David Irving.

Muslim activists have said that Holocaust commemoration should not eclipse crimes against humanity committed in such areas as the occupied Palestinian territories, Bosnia and Chechnya.