Icon of Evil: Hitler's Mufti and the Rise of Radical Islam [Hardcover]

David G. Dalin (Author), John F. Rothmann (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 24, 2008

A chilling, fascinating, and nearly forgotten historical figure is resurrected in a riveting work that links the fascism of the last century with the terrorism of our own. Written with verve 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 führer of the Arab world” and whose ugly legacy lives on today.

In 1921, the beneficiary of an appointment the British would live to regret, Haj Amin al-Husseini became the mufti of Jerusalem, the most eminent and influential Islamic leader in the Middle East. For years, al-Husseini fomented violence in the region against the Jews he loathed and wished to destroy. Forced out in 1937, he eventually found his way to the country whose legions he desperately wished to join: Nazi Germany.

Here, 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 blonde hair and blue eyes, an “honorary Aryan,” while dreaming of being installed 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 before being given a hero’s welcome in Egypt.

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 Arafat. 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.
Revelatory and unsettling, Icon of Evil reveals an essential character in the worst crimes of the modern era. It is an important addition to our understanding of the past, present, and future of radical Islam.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In the last century, Arab peoples have frequently fared poorly under leaders chosen by or foisted upon them, including Egypt’s Nasser, Syria’s Assad, and Iraq’s Hussein. Among the most destructive of these was Haj Amin al-Husseini, who dominated Palestinian politics for several critical decades of the twentieth century. This account of the life and career of al-Husseini is interesting and disturbing but hardly balanced. If the authors’ goal is to show the venality of their subject and the tragic consequences for Palestinians, they succeed admirably. As Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, al-Husseini maintained his personal and family powers like a gangster. His nationalist aspirations manifested themselves in the form of rabid Jew baiting that went far beyond opposition to Zionism, and the authors conclusively show how he promoted the extermination of Jews while he resided in Hitler’s Germany. However, their effort to link al-Husseini to the rise of contemporary radical Islam is unconvincing. Still, this is a useful work that helps explain the sad legacy of Palestinian political life. --Jay Freeman

Review

“Dalin and Rothmann newly establish the importance of [al-Husseini’s] connections to Hitler and the genocide machinery…. With verve and insight, [they] show al-Husseini to be a criminal and a truly consequential figure.”—Daniel Pipes, director, Middle East Forum

“Gripping...Dalin and Rothmann meticulously outline the mufti’s role as Nai collaborator and contributor to the Holocaust.”—Dov S. Zakheim, former U.S. Undersecretary of Defense

“[A] lively account of the career of Haj Amin al-Husseini and his legacy as a founding father of modern jihadist terrorism. This is a thought-provoking work.”—Douglas J. Feith, former U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy

“A gripping, full-scale portrait...a must for anyone seeking to understand what is happening today in the Middle East.”—Ruth Gruber, author of Exodus 1947

“A comprehensive study…. David Dalin and John Rothmann have told an important story in a com­pelling and authoritative style.”—Joseph Telushkin, author of A Code of Jewish Ethics

“A riveting and disturbing book, replete with surprising revelations and cautionary lessons.”—Jonathan D. Sarna, author of American Judaism

“A full-scale portrait of Haj Amin al-Husseini, the mufti of Jerusalem. Once the most powerful Muslim leader in Palestine, his goal was to drive every Jew out of Eret Israel. Written with passion and often hair-raising detail, the book de scribes how this “Icon of Evil” coied up to Adolf Hitler in January 1941 while war and the Holocaust raged…” —Ruth Gruber, Hadassah Magaine

“Should be read by all Americans seeking to understand current geopolitical reality…(the authors) make a compelling and well-documented case that we are actually fighting the quasi-spiritual off - spring of Naism and Fascism.” —David R. Stokes, townhall.com

 

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Random House; 1 edition (June 24, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400066530
• ISBN-13: 978-1400066537
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 1 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #324,904 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #90 in Books > History > Middle East > Palestine

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read if we are to prevent history from repeating..., June 25, 2008

By 

Esperanza Reynolds "Hope Reynolds" (Miami Lakes, Florida) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Icon of Evil: Hitler's Mufti and the Rise of Radical Islam (Hardcover)

On Tuesday, June 24th, we met Rabbi David Dalin at the Temple Judea in Coral Gables, Florida, where he was introducing his new book: Icon of Evil: Hitler's Mufti and the Rise of Radical Islam.

His presentation was excellent, detailing how in 1921, Haj Amin al-Husseini became the mufti of Jerusalem. After some research we learned that the word "mufti" means: (a) a Muslim jurist expert in the religious law, or (b) in the Ottoman Empire, a deputy of the chief Muslim legal adviser to the Sultan.

Mr. Husseini, a most eminent and influential Islamic leader in the Middle East helped foment enmity against Jews in the region and in 1937 joined Nazi Germany because they shared a common enemy, the Jews. Mr. Husseini was seen by Hitler as an honorary Aryan.

While Hitler had written racial inferiority remarks about the Muslims in his book "Mein Kampf," Hitler liked Mr. Husseini's looks, his "blond hair, red beard, and blue eyes, appeared to have been an exception." The cover of the book surfaces a photo that the author explained was hard to obtain, it is of a photograph taken of the mufti with the fuehrer himself, Adolf Hitler.

The book details how Al-Husseini recruits thousands of Muslims in Europe to fight for the Waffen-SS, his protests about allowing Jews to move into Palestine, prevent the escape of Jewish children from Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Slovakia, who accompanied by 400 adults were to enter Palestine in exchange for the release of twenty thousand German prisoners of war.

At some point, Al-Husseini "organized the dispatch of five parachuters to Palestine with ten containers of a toxin to poison Tel Aviv's water system. Fortunately, they were caught near Jericho before they could carry out their mission."

One of the most horrific details provided by the author is that al-Husseini was instrumental in the implementation of the "Final-Solution" used by Germans to eliminate millions of Jewish lives. "In a radio broadcast from Berlin on September 21, 1944, al-Husseini spoke of the 11 million Jews" of the world, a fact that he could have only known because of his participation in their elimination. As far as the world knew, the figure was closer to 17 million.

At the end of World War II, he left to live in France and later moved to Egypt, where he received a hero's welcome, developing relationships with the likes of Saddam Hussein's uncle, General Khairallah Talfah, Yasser Arafat, and his writings served to inspire terrorist groups, such as the Hamas, Hezbollah and others, hard at work to destroy the United States and Israel.

A statement that has immense value to us is that we must learn from history if we are to prevent it from repeating in the future. At the end of the session, the audience asked many questions, but in particular I was rather interested on the mention of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion because I had heard of these before, but was not sure of what they meant, so we asked:

1. What are "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion?" His answer:

a. A czarist forgery, a fraudulent anti-Semitic write up, widely distributed throughout Palestine that alleges without proof that the Jewish people conspired on a plot to take hold of power, of a desire of world domination.

Well, I got home and read the book, simply excellent. It was a pleasure to meet the author, to have the opportunity to get my book autographed and to learn more about how the seeds planted by Hitler have produced so much evil, for he is also responsible for inspiring the likes of Castro... and many other dictators.

Don't miss this book!

31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Should have been a classic, September 15, 2008

By 

J. Trageser (Escondido, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Icon of Evil: Hitler's Mufti and the Rise of Radical Islam (Hardcover)

I agree with D. Hunsicker's review: This is an important book, but a poorly written one. The "what if" chapter imagining what al-Husseini might have done if Hitler won the war is inappropriate in a history book. Given al-Husseini's role in fomenting anti-Jewish hatred among Muslim populations, given his role in making pro-Nazi propaganda broadcasts into the Middle East from Berlin in WWII, and given his role in helping recruit Muslims into the Wehrmacht and SS, there was plenty of real, factual history to work with here. So why all the what-ifs and hyperbole? The attempts to tie al-Husseini to every anti-semitic Arab and Muslim leader on the contemporary scene are ridiculous, while his real-life crimes are glossed over. It would have been much better to have included more transcripts of his radio broadcasts, to have gone into more detail of his work on behalf of the Nazis, of his post-war work in whipping up anti-Jewish bigotry. Instead, too much of the book is superficial. Coming from professors at Stanford and USF, such a poorly organized, poorly written book is a huge disappointment. Hopefully, another book on this topic using the same source material can be written to provide a more rigorous critique of al-Husseini's crimes against humanity.

26 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Most Important Book, June 29, 2008

By 

Albrigi (Martha's Vineyard, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Icon of Evil: Hitler's Mufti and the Rise of Radical Islam (Hardcover)

This is an important and timely book. In order to understand the roots of modern Middle Eastern anti-semitism and the rise of radical Islamic violence it is essential to know this almost forgotten part of history. It should come as no surprise to find that it has its roots in the connection between the early 20th Century mufti of Jerusalem and Hitler himself.

This book is a must-read for a better grasp on this history and also to appreciate the surprising political naivete by members of the British civil administration of Palestine. By choosing a a thoroughly unsuitable and unqualified leader for Jerusalem's Muslims, the British set the scene for much of today's Middle-Eastern turmoil.