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February 16, 2010 |
The following is research published today from MEMRI’s Special Dispatch Series and the MEMRI TV Project, as well as from Tom Lantos Antisemitism & Holocaust Denial Archives, Jihad and Terrorism Studies Project, and the Urdu-Pashtu Media Project.
*TOM LANTOS ANTISEMITISM & HOLOCAUST DENIAL ARCHIVES
Special Dispatch No. 2808—Syria
Article in Syrian Government Daily Supports Holocaust Denial
In an article in the Syrian government daily Al-Thawra, columnist Dr. Sayyah 'Azzam expresses support for Holocaust deniers and agrees with claims that it is impossible that six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust, and that there were no gas chambers or crematoria. He says that "Zionism" exploited some events during the Nazi era in Germany in order to establish a Jewish state.
Following are excerpts from the article:
The U.N. General Assembly set January 27 as the international day commemorating the so-called Holocaust... thus spurring the countries of the world to revive this memory in order to prevent future generations from again perpetrating collective extermination...
"There is no choice but to point out the many reservations [that some have] regarding the Holocaust, particularly vis-à-vis recognizing it as a unique and unprecedented catastrophe. The truth is that collective extermination was perpetrated [also] against the Indians, across the U.S.
"On the other hand, there are those who deny the Holocaust.
To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/3973.htm.
Special Dispatch No. 2809—Saudi Arabia
Saudi Writer: The Myth of the Jews Controlling the World Is Just a Cover for the Arab Failure
In a January 27, 2010 article on the liberal website Elaph, Saudi writer and journalist Hani Al-Naqshbandi wrote that the idea that The Protocols of the Elders of Zion are authentic is an insult to human intelligence, and that a distinction must be made between the state of Israel – which deserves to perish – and the Jewish people, who are just a nation like any other. He stated that the Jews were oppressed throughout history because they were a minority, and that the myth of their control over the global economy and the media is an invention used by the Arabs to cover up for their own failures.
Following are excerpts from the article:
"A few days ago I leafed through the first book I wrote, titled The Jews under the Microscope, which I penned during my last year at the university. In it, I discussed the destruction that the Jews brought upon the world, based on [the document] called The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which first appeared in the beginning of the previous century in Russia. Looking through [my] book today, I realize how wrong I was
To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/3974.htm.
*JIHAD AND TERRORISM STUDIES PROJECT
Special Dispatch No. 2810— Egypt/Indoctrination of Children
Child Preacher Delivers a Speech on Children's Love of Martyrdom on Egyptian TV: "My Mother Has Presented Me as a Gift to Allah This Year"
In a recent TV children's show, aired on the Egyptian Al-Rahma TV, a child preacher, Abd Al-Fattah Marwan, recites the legend of Abu Qudama and the young boy, who died a martyr on the battlefield in the early days of Islam. In the legend, which glorifies Jihad and martyrdom, the boy, Muhammad, is said to have beseeched Abu Qudama to let him join the Jihad against the infidels despite his young age. After shooting three arrows, which killed "three Byzantine soldiers," he died a martyr's death and went to Paradise. There he met his wife-to-be, whose face radiated blinding light and whose beauty was maddening.
In the program, Abd Al-Fattah Marwan – himself a child – recounts that the boy smiled in his sleep when he dreamt that he would be martyred the next day. "My father was martyred last year, and my brother and uncle the year before that," he says. This year, "my mother has presented me as a gift to Allah." Paradise is described in endearing terms, as full of "a scented bouquet of black-eyed virgins" of indescribable beauty.
The mother, upon hearing the news of her son's martyrdom and when her daughter drops dead from shock, praises Allah, "who did not send any offspring of mine to the Hellfire."
To view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/2383.htm.
Also featured is a story about the burial of the boy – in this version called Sa'id – told by Egyptian cleric Sheik Muhammad Nassar to a TV studio audience of spellbound elementary school children. The show aired on the Egyptian Al-Nas TV on June 15, 2006.
To view this clip from the MEMRI TV archives, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1185.htm.
For further clips on child indoctrination on TV, visit http://www.memritv.org/subject/en/178.htm.
To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/3975.htm.
*URDU-PASHTU MEDIA PROJECT
Special Dispatch No. 2812
2008 Letter by Taliban Shadow Governor of Helmand Province Reveals Cooperation Between Pakistani Intelligence and Taliban
MEMRI has acquired a document that is circulating among media sources in Afghanistan that indicates high-level cooperation between Pakistani intelligence officials and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The document, a 2008 letter written by Taliban commander Mullah Abdur Raheem, the Taliban governor for Helmand province, is written in the Urdu language on the letterhead of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the Taliban's shadow government.
It is not uncommon for Taliban leaders in Afghanistan to read and write Urdu, as most of them lived in Pakistan in the 1980s and 1990s.
The letter, addressed to a director of the Pakistan Army's Military Intelligence (MI), is signed by Mullah Abdur Raheem and also bears the seal of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/3977.htm.
Note to media and government: For the video, send an email with "2008 Letter by Taliban Shadow Governor" in the subject line to media@memri.org.
*FROM MEMRI TV
MEMRI TV Clip No. 2384
TV Campaign Targets Population Explosion in Egypt
The following is an Egyptian public service broadcast, which aired on Egyptian TV on January 26, 2010.
To view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip_transcript/en/2384.htm.
MEMRI TV Clip No. 2385
Tribal Militias Help Government Fight Houthis in Yemen
The following are excerpts from a TV report on the tribal fighters in Yemen, which aired on Al-Jazeera TV on January 18, 2010.
To view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip_transcript/en/2385.htm.
*SPECIAL DISPATCH SERIES
Special Dispatch No. 2811—Saudi Arabia
Debate in Saudi Press over Ban on Celebrating Valentine's Day
On Valentine's Day (February 14, 2010), the Saudi religious police increased its presence around the country, especially in the vicinity of flower shops and gift shops, in order to prevent the public from buying Valentine-related items. This policy, which was also employed in previous years, sparked a debate in the Saudi press. Some condemned and ridiculed the custom of celebrating Valentine's Day, calling it foolish and alien to Saudi culture. Others opposed the ban, calling it wrongheaded and primitive, or presenting it as a violation of individual freedoms. Some of the articles also called to establish an international holiday dedicated to love and friendship, or to establish a Saudi holiday equivalent of Valentine's Day.
To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/3976.htm.
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