Amin al-Huseini is undeniably one of the key figures of the twentieth century. He was the religious head of the Palestinian Muslims for sixteen years, their political leader for thirty years and for a time he was the most important representative of the Arab world. Gensicke examines the time that Amin al-Husaini spent in Nazi Germany from 1941 to 1945. He looks at what the Mufti was hoping to gain politically and ideologically while he was there. His interest is directed primarily at the four years which the Mufti of Jerusalem with his staff of some 60 persons and a secret service of his own spent in Berlin as a guest and at the expense of the Third Reich. Only a matter of four years and yet even today they continue to poison the Israeli-Arab relationship. Al-Husaini cooperated eagerly with the Nazis to prevent Jews emigrating from Europe to Palestine. Aware of what was happening he wanted to see the Jews destroyed. He also expected a high position for himself in the Arab World after the Nazis had won the Second World War. Germany s enemies became his enemies and he waged a campaign of hate against the British and Americans, who were, he claimed, pawns of the Jews. This began the path towards anti-Americanism and the struggle against Western depravity in the name of Islam. The book shows how he used murder, terrorism, intrigue, extortion and the abuse of religion to obtain his goals. His broadcasts to the Muslims in North Africa during the Second World War were appeals for martyrdom in order to help the Germans as that would guarantee Paradise. After the War he continued to act in precisely the same manner. His greed for wealth, hunger for power, despotism, ruthlessness and intransigence were all factors that brought disaster upon his people and have, unfortunately, set a standard that remains valid in Palestinian politics today. AUTHOR: Klaus Gensicke is a political scientist. He studied at the Technical University Berlin and the Free University Berlin and has long been engaged in the subjects of National Socialism and the Middle East.
