Nazis, Islamists, and the Making of the Modern Middle East

Nazis, Islamists, and the Making of the Modern Middle East is a controversial 2014 Yale University Press book by German historian Wolfgang G. Schwanitz and Israeli historian Barry Rubin. The authors argue that there is a high degree of similarity in the ideologies of Nazism, radical Arab nationalism, and Islamism.

Nazis, Islamists, and the Making of the Modern Middle East
AuthorWolfgang G. Schwanitz, Barry Rubin
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SubjectNazism and Islamism
PublisherYale University Press
Publication date
February 28, 2014
Media typePrint (Hardcover, Paperback), E-book
Pages360
ISBN978-0300140903
OCLC840803712

Content

The authors start their analysis in the nineteenth century, when Germany, seeking colonial expansion, sought to displace British, French, and Russian influence in the Middle East, with little or no success. However Germany developed ties with radical Arab nationalist groups, which survived Germany's defeat in World War I. The rise of Nazism strengthened these connections, and interactions between Nazis and Islamists before and during World War II make up a significant part of the book. They continue by describing how the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Amin al-Husseini, an influential Arab leader and Nazi collaborator, escaped prosecution after the war and tried to thwart Jewish attempts to establish the State of Israel, and the lives of ex-Nazis who found refuge in Arab states.[1]

The authors argue that there is a high degree of similarity in the ideologies of Nazism, radical Arab nationalism, and Islamism, an argument first made by the mufti.[2][1] One of the most striking similarities, according to the authors, is that all three ideologies promote extreme antisemitism and blame Jews for all the problems in the world.[1]

The book analyzes the role of Nazi propaganda and the mufti, in spreading Nazi ideology and inciting antisemitism in the Middle East.[3][1][4][5][6] The book also charts the development of the Middle East as it became modern, leading reviewer Johannes Houwink ten Cate to describe the title as apt.[2]

Reception

Holocaust scholar Jeffrey Herf excoriates the book, writing that Schwanitz and Rubin "ignore the previous scholarship on Holocaust decision-making as well as the existing scholarship on Husseini's collaboration with the Nazis. Partly as a result, they exaggerate the Mufti's impact on Nazi policy. They turn a series of coincidental correlations in time into causal chains."[7] Reviewing the book in the Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs, Matthias Küntzel raises a number of issues with the book, identifying some of its claims as "nothing but speculation" and concluding that "certain facts that do not fit the picture have simply been left out," damaging the book's credibility.[8] In another article in the same journal, Meir Litvak calls the book "controversial" and argues its "allegations, however, do not stand the test of historical scrutiny and have been largely discounted."[9] In his review, Houwink ten Cate describes the book as "seminal" and "extremely well-researched and documented" but makes a "minor criticism": he is not convinced by Schwanitz and Rubin's argument that the mufti convinced the Nazis to commit the Holocaust, which he considers to be refuted by research by Christopher R. Browning that the authors ignored.[2] David Mikics concurs, arguing that "the notion that al-Husaini played a key role in Hitler’s settling on the Final Solution is based on one piece of thin hearsay evidence." He calls this claim "implausible, even silly."[10] Nils Riecken makes a similar criticism, that "temporal proximity remains their only argument." He also criticizes the book for ignoring other research on the Holocaust, and sees the authors' methodology as "deeply problematic."[11] However, as one of the authors Schwanitz responded to Mikics, that he misrepresents the book and argues it "is not a biography of the grand mufti of Jerusalem Amin al-Husaini [...] and Mikics fails to show how it compares to related works."[12]

David Rodman described the book as a "fascinating and insightful volume".[1] Rodman opined that Nazism is no longer prominent in the West, but radical Arab nationalism and Islamism continue to be prominent in the Middle East.[1] He called the book an "indispensable guide to explaining why the greater Middle East has been an utter shambles for the past seven decades".[1] On the other hand, a review in Countercurrents.org questions whether the book contributes anything of value due to its ideological biases, "highly problematic theses," and "bizarre theories."[13] Mia Lee contends that the book's "focus on the Mufti also creates a false link between contemporary anti-Semitism in the Middle East and the Nazis’ racial programme."[14]

References
  1. Rodman, David (February 2016). "Nazis, Islamists and the making of the modern Middle East". Israel Affairs. 22 (1): 252–254. doi:10.1080/13537121.2016.1120968.
  2. Houwink ten Cate, Johannes (2013). "Review of Nazis, Islamists and the Making of the Modern Middle East". Jewish Political Studies Review. 25 (3/4): 122–124. ISSN 0792-335X. JSTOR 43150883.
  3. "Nazis, Islamists and the Making of the Modern Middle East". Hadassah Magazine. 17 February 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  4. Farhat–Holzman, Laina (25 April 2015). "Mary Elise Sarotte, The Collapse: The Accidental Opening of the Berlin Wall, Basic Books, 2014. Barry Rubin and Wolfgang G. Schwanitz, Nazis, Islamists, and the Making of the Modern Middle East, Yale University Press, 2014". Comparative Civilizations Review. 76 (76). ISSN 0733-4540.
  5. Poe, Marshall (11 May 2014). "Barry Rubin and Wolfgang G. Schwanitz, "Nazis, Islamists, and the Making of the Modern Middle East" (Yale UP, 2014)". New Books Network. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  6. Gossman, Lionel (1 September 2014). "Review of Nazis, Islamists, and the Making of the Modern Middle East". Middle East Quarterly. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  7. Herf, Jeffrey (2014). "Haj Amin al-Husseini, the Nazis and the Holocaust: The Origins, Nature and Aftereffects of Collaboration". Jewish Political Studies Review. 26 (3/4): 13–37. doi:10.2307/43922000. ISSN 0792-335X. JSTOR 43922000.
  8. Küntzel, Matthias (4 February 2015). "Nazis, Islamists, and the Making of the Modern Middle East". Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs. 9 (1): 133–137. doi:10.1080/23739770.2015.1003360.
  9. Litvak, Meir (2015-09-02). "Netanyahu and the Mufti: Hajj Amin al-Husseini as Prime Instigator of the Destruction of European Jewry or Eager Accessory?". Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs. 9 (3): 459–464. doi:10.1080/23739770.2015.1130401. ISSN 2373-9770.
  10. "Did Zionism Cause the Holocaust? A New Biography Says Yes". Tablet Magazine. 2014-02-03. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
  11. Riecken, Nils. "Review Article: National Socialism, Islam, and the Middle East: Questioning Intellectual Continuities, Conceptual Stakes, and Methodology" (PDF). German Historical Institute London Bulletin.
  12. "The Obscenity of Blaming Zionism for the Holocaust: A Response". Tablet Magazine. 2014-03-06. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
  13. "Nazis, Islamists, And The Making Of The Modern Middle East Book Review By Dr. Ludwig Watzal". www.countercurrents.org. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
  14. Lee, Mia (February 2018). "Nazis in the Middle East: Assessing Links Between Nazism and Islam". Contemporary European History. 27 (1): 125–135. doi:10.1017/S0960777316000333. ISSN 0960-7773.
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