Hasan A. Yahya, A professor of philosophy

The Holocaust few remaining survivors may recall how Hitler built up his anti-Semitic policies to persecute Jews as well as other ethnic groups during the period of WWII. One of these practices was unifying Gemany, incite hatred of non-Aryan race, youth organization support the government through police forces and  the Islamic Revolutionary Guards.

Pacificviews.org’s article titled: “Hitler, Munich, Ahmadinejad, Iran”, gives a comparative analysis between Ahmadinejad (Iranian president) and Hitler . In fact,  Ahmadinejad’s resemblance to Hitler  is a scary thing and reasonably imagined. But such imagination  is more a function of his role in the decay of the Iranian revolution power, which is starting to take on some definite  Weimer overtones. Signs are seen in the shape of frog jumping in the fire-house. For  example, Ahmadinejad’s Holocaust denials, his public fantasies about Israel being wiped off the map which may lead any observer to think “sensibly” dismissed Hitler’s Mein Kampf ravings as merely a carny act to bring in the rubes. But I also know that fire-breathing rhetoric about destroying the “Zionist entity” has been a staple of Middle Eastern political hate speech since the 1950s of last century. Such threats have to be taken seriously, and everybody should be aware of that. But to automatically assume that those who say such things are actually planning to commit genocide. No one, especially Israel, may  dismiss those remarks even though publicized by liberals, or   anti-communism and political right.

Assuming that the man is very similar to Hitler, is little far from Ahmadinejad as a pios Muslim person.   But as a Shi’ah believer, the assumption should have some weight in world politics. While no one can guess Ahmadinejad’s  intentions, his practices recently undertaken by him or his government supporters lead to that  assumption that he might become Hitler-like person, especially when it comes to Jews, denial of the Holocaust, and threatening to map out Israel from the world community. But to be unbiased in this case we ha have to look to what Adolf Hitler did and what Ahmadinejad is doing, and let the reader judge for him/herself.  

What Hitler Did? In Germany, the National Socialist German Workers’ Party  (abbreviated NSDAP), known as the Nazi Party, was a political party in between 1919 and 1945. It was known as the German Workers’ Party (DAP) before the name was changed in 1920. The party’s last leader, Adolf Hitler, was appointed Chancellor of Germany by president Paul von Hindenburg. in 1933. Hitler rapidly established a totalitarian regime known as the Third Reich. Nazi Ideology, stressed the failures of communism, liberalism, and democracy. It also stressed the “racial purity of the German people”, as well as Northwestern Europeans and persecuted those it perceived either as race enemies that is “life unworthy of living”. This included Jews, Slavs, Roma, and Arabs, and so-called “Mischlings ” along with Communist, homosexuals, , the mentally and physical disabled,  and many others. This persecution came to its climax when the party and the German state which it controlled organized the systematic murder of millions of non Aryan race especially the Jews,  in what has become known as the Holocaust. Hitler’s desire to build a German empire through expansionist policies led to the outbreak of World War II.

What Iran Ahmadi Nejad did:  In Iran, the revolutionary ideology stresses the failure of liberals and democracy. It is also stresses the racial purity of Persians and Shi’ah in other Arab and non-Arab countries and persecuted those who oppose the government or the ruling party.  Nejad  desire to build an Iranian empire through expansionist policies which may lead to the outbreak of wars in the future.  The party grew out of smaller political groups with a nationalist orientation through the spirit of Khomeini.

The airways and skies of Iran were announced forbidden as air flight zones, if the Airlines belong to countries do not recognize the Persian Gulf, replacing the word “Arabian”, This claim from one nation (Iran), it hurts  six Arab nations surround the Gulf as well as tens of countries support the Arabian name Gulf.  Furthermore, the gulf has two sides, three quarter of its area belong to Arabs according to International laws. Other point, the Islands occupied by Iran which belong to the United Arab Emirates and denial of Iran of their right. Another expansionist threats, calling the Kingdom of Bahrain as belong to Persia (or Iran). The internal situation in terms of free thinking, especially after last summer’s presidential election, which was accused to be stolen by the government, also show some concerns, the Iranian authorities recently closed two major opposition publications, among the last to remain in circulation as the government has suppressed its opponents’ communications in recent months. Earlier, the authorities had blocked most opposition Web sites inside Iran and slowed the Internet to a crawl to prevent protesters from organizing demonstrations (New York Times, March 2)

Deterioration of labor force situation of  unpaid employees brought Human Rights Activists attention, While Ahmadinejad government Support only those who support the status quo and government and party, Human Rights News Agency reported that 80 employees of Metec, a steel and industrial equipment manufacturer, gathered in front of the company offices in Isfahan demanding to know why they had not received a paycheck in seven months. Also, the head of Iran’s air force, Hassan Shah-safi, announced the production of a number of 2,000-pound guided bombs, the semiofficial news agency Fars reported. The bombs, called Qassed, or herald, were first tested in a military exercise in 2006. Another 20,000 people were arrested on Feb. 11, the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, when the government thwarted opposition plans to stage a large antigovernment rally. Arresting opposition people by hundreds is another situation. Mr. Shah-safi said that Iran would soon test a new generation, called Qassed-2, that would be “more precise and enjoy a better destructive capability (The New York Times, March 2)

 What Ahmadinejad’s and Iran’s power are  not, however, compared to Israel, He remains the absolute dictator of an in-advanced industrial state with a first-rate military. To pretend that he currently poses the same kind of threat to the world (or even to the Jewish people) that Hitler did in 1938  is ridiculous. It also “discredits the very legitimate concerns that the world should have about Iran and the future of the Iranian revolution.”

We may reach the conclusion made by pacificviews.org.  writer,  that “Ahmadinejad’s combination of demagogic appeal, ideological zealotry and end-times eschatology does make him a much more plausible stand-in for Hitler than an apparachik like Milosevic or a thug like Saddam.” But time is running, and the world which brought Hitler, may still have the appetite to bring another. While  symptoms of Nazism are in the making, one should be aware of the world change in terms of ethnic and religious ideologies, No body knows!(1139 words) www.hasanyahya.com