Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood calls Holocaust a 'myth'
CAIRO (AFP) - The leader of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, the largest opposition force in the country, joined Iran in calling the World War II Holocaust a "myth."
"Western democracy has attacked everyone who does not share the vision of the sons of Zion as far as the myth of the Holocaust is concerned," Mohammed Mehdi Akef said in a statement.
His remarks came says after similar comments recently by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who also described the Holocaust as a "myth" and called for the Jewish state to be "wiped off the map," sparking international outcry.
Akef's comments were published in a pamphlet that decried the United States and its ally,
Israel, and came about two weeks after the banned but tolerated movement won a shock 20 percent of Egypt's parliamentary seats in legislative polls.
"He who announces himself party to their alliance is a 'democrat' while he who opposes methods in the fight against terrorism is a 'terrorist'," Akef wrote.
He further blasted "this American democracy, which has opened an international inquiry (into the murder of Lebanese ex-premier Rafiq Hariri) to drive a deeper divide between the Lebanese and Syrian people, while it saw no crime in the assassinations of Ahmed Yassin and (Abdel Aziz) Rantissi."
Yassin and Rantissi were both leaders of the Palestinian radical Islamist movement Hamas who were killed by Israeli operations in 2004.
A UN inquiry into the murder of Hariri was opened earlier this year and found converging evidence of top level Syrian and Lebanese involvement in the February bomb blast that killed Hariri and 20 others in Beirut.
Akef further criticised the United States for imposing its will "with tanks and Hummer" vehicles on the Iraqi people, and when Iraqis aimed to "defend their freedom, they were labeled as terrorists."
Earlier this month, Akef called Israel a "cancer" in the Middle East and said its peace treaty with Egypt should be submitted to a referendum.
"I declared that we will not recognize Israel which is an alien entity in the region. And we expect the demise of this cancer soon," Akef told the state-owned English language Ahram Weekly in an interview published on December 15.
"Western democracy has attacked everyone who does not share the vision of the sons of Zion as far as the myth of the Holocaust is concerned," Mohammed Mehdi Akef said in a statement.
His remarks came says after similar comments recently by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who also described the Holocaust as a "myth" and called for the Jewish state to be "wiped off the map," sparking international outcry.
Akef's comments were published in a pamphlet that decried the United States and its ally,
Israel, and came about two weeks after the banned but tolerated movement won a shock 20 percent of Egypt's parliamentary seats in legislative polls.
"He who announces himself party to their alliance is a 'democrat' while he who opposes methods in the fight against terrorism is a 'terrorist'," Akef wrote.
He further blasted "this American democracy, which has opened an international inquiry (into the murder of Lebanese ex-premier Rafiq Hariri) to drive a deeper divide between the Lebanese and Syrian people, while it saw no crime in the assassinations of Ahmed Yassin and (Abdel Aziz) Rantissi."
Yassin and Rantissi were both leaders of the Palestinian radical Islamist movement Hamas who were killed by Israeli operations in 2004.
A UN inquiry into the murder of Hariri was opened earlier this year and found converging evidence of top level Syrian and Lebanese involvement in the February bomb blast that killed Hariri and 20 others in Beirut.
Akef further criticised the United States for imposing its will "with tanks and Hummer" vehicles on the Iraqi people, and when Iraqis aimed to "defend their freedom, they were labeled as terrorists."
Earlier this month, Akef called Israel a "cancer" in the Middle East and said its peace treaty with Egypt should be submitted to a referendum.
"I declared that we will not recognize Israel which is an alien entity in the region. And we expect the demise of this cancer soon," Akef told the state-owned English language Ahram Weekly in an interview published on December 15.
posted by Marko at 12/22/2005 04:49:00 PM
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