Muslim Brotherhood Retracts Holocaust Statement

23 December 2005 -- A spokesman for Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood today retracted a comment made earlier by the group's leader in which he said the Holocaust was a myth.

Mohammed Mahdi Akef's remark -- made on the Muslim Brotherhood's website -- echoed comments made recently by Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad.


Today, Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Essam El-Eriane said the use of the word "myth" was inappropriate. El-Eriane said the "Holocaust happened to Jews like it happened to other groups, and we can't deny that."


In Iran, Mohammad-Ali Ramin, an official in charge of defending the rights of Muslim minorities in the West, suggested that Ahmadinejad establish a committee for clarifying the "real extent" of the Holocaust.


(dpa)

Iranian Anti-Zionism

Iranian Anti-Zionism

President Ahmadinejad visiting the tomb of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in October (Fars)

READ

Each year in Iran, the last Friday of Ramadan is celebrated as Qods (Jerusalem) Day, officially a day for expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people.
"I have been notifying the Muslims of the danger posed by the usurper Israel," Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, father of Iran's Islamic Revolution, said in an August 1979 announcement. "I ask all the Muslims of the world and the Muslim governments to join together to sever the hand of this usurper and its supporters...and, through a ceremony demonstrating the solidarity of Muslims worldwide, announce their support for the legitimate rights of the Muslim people..." (more)

SEE ALSO:

Iranian President's Latest Comments About Israel Spark Further Condemnation

Iranian President Says Light Surrounded Him During UN Speech

INTERVIEW: On December 22, 2005, RFE/RL's Radio Farda spoke with FRED ZEIDMAN, director of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Zeidman commented on Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's anti-Israeli comments.


LISTEN

Hear the complete interview (about nine minutes):
Real Audio Windows Media

ARCHIVE: For an archive of RFE/RL's coverage of Iran, click here.