A friend asked me to post my views on the long-term effects of the Holocaust deniers conference in Tehran.
My response falls into two parts. (1) I believe that the conference will have no impact whatsoever on scholarly opinion in the West regarding the historicity of the Holocaust, though some scholars may find it useful to rebut the most outrageous assertions made in Tehran. For the most part (except as I will explain below), I believe the impact on Western public opinion will be negligible. (2) However, the effects in the Islamic world are likely to be more complicated and potentially dangerous. There's already an element of Holocaust denial in Arab propaganda, and the proceedings of the Tehran conference will provide ammunition to use for propaganda purposes. Moreover, it seems to me quite possible, even probable, that what was said at Tehran will find its way into the curriculum of Islamist schools and might even be accorded some respectability in "intellectual circles" in the Muslim world. This may find an echo in Muslim communities in the West, especially in Europe, and will also provide quotable material for Skinheads, neo-Nazis and White Supremacists whose websites occupy a certain niche on the Internet.
I don't have any basis for guessing how it will affect public opinion in countries like Japan and Argentina where anti-Semitism (without Jews in the case of Japan) already has a troublesome audience. Thus, at one level, the Tehran conference merely confirms what "we" already know about the Iranian regime. However, at a deeper level, we do need to be concerned about the audience the conference might reach.
One hopes therefore that Holocaust scholars in the West will take the Tehran conference seriously enough to formulate a succinct response that could be jointly signed by a number of well-known Holocaust scholars and published jointly by -- for example -- the principal Holocaust museums in the world, including the U.S. Holocaust Museum and Yad Va'Shem in Israel. And since there are countries in Europe where Holocaust denial is a crime, one hopes that the Iranian president might actually be indicted for his role in setting up the conference and for the assertions he has repeatedly made.
One side note: We are all familiar with the ridiculous (but quite serious) assertions that some Islamic scholars have made regarding the Temple Mount in Jerusalem -- denying that there was ever a Jewish Temple on that site, denying that the Jews have any historic connection to a site which Muslims also claim as holy. That ought to serve as a reminder that assertions you and I dismiss as absurd can have serious consequences in communities that adopt a different historical narrative than we do in the West.
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I think your analysis is on the mark (and for other people reading, that's not based on the fact that Norm is my father, as our views on the Middle East often differ. However, even when we disagree rather vehemently, Iinvarably respect the depth of his knoweledge.)
I was moved by this statement by the Councol on American-Islamic Relations and thought you might want to see it:
CAIR CONDEMNS IRANIAN HOLOCAUST DENIAL CONFERENCE
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/13/06) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today condemned a conference in Iran that seeks to deny the Holocaust, the systematic destruction of the Jewish community in Europe by the Nazis during World War II.
In a statement, CAIR said:
"No legitimate cause or agenda can ever be advanced by denying or belittling the immense human suffering caused by the murder of millions of Jews and other minority groups by the Nazi regime and its allies during World War II. Cynical attempts to use Holocaust denial as a political tool in the Middle East conflict will only serve to deepen the level of mistrust and hostility already present in that troubled region."
CAIR also expressed concern that individuals who have promoted racist views, like former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, were invited to speak at the conference. "Islam, through the example of the Prophet Muhammad, has always rejected racism in any form," said CAIR's statement.
In his final sermon, the Prophet stated: "All mankind is from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab. Also, a white (person) has no superiority over a black (person), nor does a black have any superiority over a white - except by piety and good action." SEE: http://cair.com/Muhammad/
The Washington-based council has in the past condemned an Iranian contest soliciting political cartoons mocking the Holocaust and supported calls for an apology from an Arab-American newspaper that published excerpts from an anti-Semitic tract.
In its past statement supporting an apology from the newspaper, CAIR said "we must challenge those who would fan the flames of anti-Semitism." CAIR's statement condemning the Iranian cartoon contest called the Holocaust "one of the lowest moments in human history."
CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, has 32 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
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