Roger Garaudy or Ragaa (born July 17, 1913, in Marseille) is a French, philosopher. A prominent communist author, he then converted to Islam and wrote books controversial because of his radically anti-Zionist positions and denial of the Holocaust. Although he has been largely condemned in Europe and North America, he has won considerable praise in the Islamic world.
Early Life, Politics and Religion
Born to Catholic and atheist parents, Garaudy converted at age 14 and became a Protestant, but eventually became a prominent Communist. During World War II, Garaudy joined the French resistance, for which he was imprisoned in Djelfa, Algeria, as a prisoner of war of Vichy France. Following the war, the Communists became powerful, occupying most of Eastern Europe, and Garaudy joined the French Communist Party. As a political candidate he succeeded in being elected to the National Assembly and eventually rose to the position of deputy speaker, and later senator. He became a leading party theoretician and authored scores of scholarly works.
Although a Communist, Garaudy remained a Christian and eventually converted to Catholicism. He was befriended by one of France's most prominent clerics of the time, the Abbé Pierre, who in later years supported Garaudy, even as regarded the latter's most controversial views.
In 1970, Garaudy was expelled from the Communist Party following his outspoken criticism of the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.
Garaudy converted to Islam in 1982, later writing that "The Christ of Paul is not the Jesus of the Bible," and also forming other critical scholarly conclusions regarding the Old and New Testaments. As a Muslim, he adopted the name Ragaa and has become a prominent Islamic commentator and supporter of the Palestinian cause.
Garaudy has authored more than 50 books, mainly on political philosophy and Marxism.
Holocaust Denial and Conviction
In 1996, Garaudy published his most controversial work Les Mythes fondateurs de la politique israelienne, later translated into English as The Founding Myths of Modern Israel. Because the book contained Holocaust denial, French courts banned any further publication and on February 27, 1998 fined him 240,000 French Francs. He was sentenced to a suspended jail sentence of several years.
Support from the Islamic World
Following his trial and conviction in France, Garaudy was hailed in the Muslim world and received substantial financial, political and public support. In the Islamic Republic of Iran, 160 members of the parliament signed a petition in Garaudy's support. Senior Iranian officials invited him to Tehran and received him warmly. Iranian leaders condemned Israel and the West for bringing Garaudy to trial. Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei cited Garaudy for his work in exposing the Zionists’ "Nazi-like behavior."[1] Iranian President Mohammad Khatami described Garaudy as "a thinker" and "a believer" who was brought to trial merely for publishing research which was "displeasing to the West." [2][3]
Garaudy has been praised through the Islamic World:
- In June 1999, Jordanian intellectuals named Garaudy "the most important international cultural personality of the 20th century."
- Former Syrian Vice President Abdul-Halim Khaddam has called Garaudy "the greatest contemporary Western philosopher."
- Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi has stated that Garaudy is "Europe's greater philosopher since Plato and Aristotle."[4]
- Garaudy was awarded the King Faisal International Prize for Services to Islam.
Support from Hezbollah
In February 2006, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah described Garaudy as "a great French philosopher." Nasrallah went on to praise Garaudy for exposing "alleged Jewish Holocaust in Germany" and stated that Garaudy "proved that this Holocaust is a myth." Nasrallah also criticized France for putting Garaudy on trial.[5]
Recent Activities
In recent interviews, Garaudy has stated that the attacks of September 11, 2001 were organized by the United States Government. He has also repeated his claim that the Holocaust is a myth, stating that the genocide of Jews by the Nazis during the Second World War was "invented as a myth by Churchill, Eisenhower and De Gaulle" to justify the destruction and occupation of Germany.[4]
In December 2006, Garaudy was unable to attend the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust due to health reasons. However, he reportedly sent a videotaped message supporting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's view that Israel should cease to exist.[4]
References
- ^ IRNA, 20 April 1998 − DR.
- ^ Tehran TV, 19 Jan. 1998 − DR.
- ^ Iran, the Jews and the Holocaust by David Menashri (Professor in the Department of Middle Eastern and African History, Director of the Center of Iranian Studies and Incumbent of the Parviz and Pouran Nazarian Chair for Modern Iranian Studies, Tel Aviv University).
- ^ a b c Roger Garaudy: Itinéraire d'une négation book Review by Amir Taheri, Asharq Alawsat Newspaper (English), November 4, 2007.
- ^ Hizbullah Leader Nasrallah: Implementing Khomeini's Fatwa against Salman Rushdie Would Have Prevented Current Insults to Prophet Muhammad; Great French Philosopher Garaudy Proved Holocaust a Myth, MEMRI - Special Dispatch #1088, February 7, 2006.(retrieved on December 15, 2008.)
