From Nazism to Islamism in Europe

After the end of World War II in Europe and the victory of the Allies over the Nazi regime of Hitler in Germany, any return to Nazist symbols and behaviors was prohibited. Considering the widespread crimes of the Nazis in Europe that led to the killing of around 50 million people during the war, European countries, and later the European Union, laid down rigorous laws to condemn and ban the adoption of Nazi behaviors and symbols in Europe.

One of the most important Nazi behaviors that was banned after the war in Europe was “anti-Semitism.” But anti-Semitism in Europe is not specific to Hitler and his National Socialist party; and contrary to the general perception, anti-Semitism has a long history in Europe. In fact, Nazism and all other anti-Semitic currents in Europe take their doctrines from the medieval Catholic Church. In other words, Hitler and his friends and followers are only the distilled version the entrenched anti-Semitism in Western European civilization.

However, since today any hint of Nazim in Europe is harshly criticized by governments and civil societies, and it is also highly costly with regard to both credit and finance, Nazi views tend to emerge in other ways that are seemingly unrelated to Nazism and, consequently, are less dangerous for their holders. In my opinion, today “Islamism” is the true descendant of Nazism in Europe. Both the Shiite Islamism of the Khomeini-dominated Iran and the Islam of Abu Bakr Baghdadi’s ISIS are “religious supremacist” ideologies, and both would commit any crime to prove their supremacy.

Thus, although in today’s world Hitler is condemned by human societies, and on the face of it racism seems to have been uprooted, religious/Islamic Hitlers are fast growing. By claiming proximity to God and expressing the will of God, they openly threaten other believers, especially the Jews, to death and call it “jihad” in the cause of God and endanger the world through their Islamist supremacy.

After Khomeini’s taking power in Iran, another Hitler emerged in the Middle East and the world. The Islamist regime that he founded would exploit the national wealth that the previous system had brought to the people of Iran, and use it to promote terrorism, jihadism, and anti-Semitism in the Middle East and Europe and the rest of the world.

In the direction of anti-Semitism, the Iranian regime began its work with the support of the Palestinian anti-Israeli forces, continued with the establishment and equipping of Hezbollah in Lebanon, and today it launches missiles against Israel from Syria, southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip and threatens Jews with annihilation.

However, it is strange that why in Europe not a fraction of sensitivity to Nazist anti-Semitic behavior is focused on Islamist anti-Semitism? And why does not even a small amount of the budget that is devoted to the elimination of Nazism is allocated to eradicating Islamism? As noted above, the reason for this may be that, since today there are rigorous laws in Europe against any Nazi behavior, the clandestine Nazis prefer to promote their anti-Semitic positions through Islamists.

It is in fact the hand of European racists, Nazis and anti-Semites that comes out ofthe Islamists’ sleeve during the assassination of Jews and attacks on synagogues in Europe and threat against Israel. This convergence between Nazism and Islamism developed even to the point that the Khomeiniist regime, with the favorable opinion of some European currents, succeeded in creating “nests” in most European countries for anti-Semitic propaganda and taking action against Jews. Through a wide-ranging chanin of mosques and Islamic centers, the Islamic Republic spreads anti-Semitism across Europe.

Thus, in Europe, Jewish communities are experiencing the highest pressure since Hitler’s time. The situation has become so dangerous that even some Jews are not willing to reveal their religion, lest they should be harassed and terrorized. It is precisely with regard to these facts that the founding of the Swedish-Israeli Friendship Association becomes a necessity so that a way can be found out of this pitfall that threatens the common interests of both Israel and European countries.