These curious comments were made while Ezz El-Arab was, quite ironically, attending the Conference on Democracy and Human Rights in the Budapest, Hungary. The Times has more:
He denied that the Nazis killed 6 million Jews during World War II.
“The Holocaust is a lie” Mr. Ezz El-Arab said. “The Jews under German occupation were 2.4 million. So if they were all exterminated, where does the remaining 3.6 million come from?”
Mr. Ezz El-Arab said he accepted that the Nazis killed “hundreds of thousands” of Jews. “But gas chambers and skinning them alive and all this? Fanciful stories,” he added.
When it comes to Anne Frank’s famed memoir, “The Diary of Anne Frank,” which Ezz El-Arab claims he studied as a doctoral student in Stockholm, he believes the young girl was present, but says, “I could swear to God it’s a fake.”
But, his opinions on important world events don’t end there. In addressing 9/11, he claims that Osama bin Laden was not responsible for the attacks. He told the Times, “He could not have the know-how or the ability to do it,” then he dubbed bin Laden “an American agent.” Instead of placing blame on the deceased terror leader, Ezz El-Arab claims that the CIA, Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency and the “military-industrial complex” are responsible.
Then, after dubbing President George W. Bush a “disaster,” the Wafd Party leader made the following statement: “Obama is a nice face that has been brought up, the black rabbit taken out of the American hat when it was needed.” His accusations continued:
Mr. Ezz El-Arab also claimed that, during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, “American soldiers with double Israeli nationality and Jewish religion” stole Jewish antiquities from the Babylonian exile period and had them reburied in Jerusalem to cement the Jewish historical claim on the city.
Overall, Ezz El-Arab does not seem to accept scenarios in which Americans and Jews are victimized. His opinions on both 9/11 and the Holocaust corroborate this notion, as does his insinuation that American soldiers stole antiques and then buried them to “cement the Jewish historical claim” to Jerusalem. You can read more from The Washington Times.
As Egypt continues to grapple with the aftermath of its revolution and the impending formation of a new government, one wonders what role leaders like Ezz El-Arab will play in the nation’s future. While the uprisings have largely been looked at as democratic movements, Glenn Beck, among others, has issued warnings that the Muslim Brotherhood may be exploiting the situation in an effort to establish Shariah Law. Last month, The Washington Post wrote the following:
Egypt’s most organized and powerful Islamist movement on Monday announced it intends to join forces with one of the nation’s oldest liberal parties, presenting a formidable coalition for upcoming parliamentary elections.
The alliance would unite the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party and the Wafd Party, a liberal party established just after World War I, to run on one candidate list in the elections scheduled for September. The move is likely to be a significant boost for the Brotherhood, a well-organized political group that expects to take a third of parliament’s seat.
With these two fronts united, one wonders what the electoral impact will be and how, in the end, the coalition’s candidate will view Shariah Law.
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