A Genealogy of Evil
Anti-Semitism from Nazism to Islamic Jihad

Based on scrutiny of sources from Nazi and Jihadist ideologues, David Patterson argues that Jihadist anti-Semitism stems from Nazi ideology.

David Patterson (Author)

9780521132619, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 18 October 2010

312 pages
22.8 x 15.2 x 2 cm, 0.43 kg

'Patterson's extensive inquiry into the origins and spread of Islamic jihad ought to be wide[ly] read … [He] ought to be congratulated for his thorough research and well-written narrative.' The Jerusalem Post

Based on extensive scrutiny of primary sources from Nazi and Jihadist ideologues, David Patterson argues that Jihadist anti-Semitism stems from Nazi ideology. This book challenges the idea that Jihadist anti-Semitism has medieval roots, identifying its distinctively modern characteristics and tracing interconnections that link the Nazis to the Muslim Brotherhood to the PLO, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, Al-Qaeda, the Sudan, the Iranian Islamic Republic, and other groups with an anti-Semitic worldview. Based on his close reading of numerous Jihadist texts, Patterson critiques their antisemitic teachings and affirms the importance of Jewish teaching, concluding that humanity needs the very Jewish teaching and testimony that the Jihadists advocate destroying.

Introduction: the essence of the Jihadist evil
1. Nazi ideology and Jihadist echoes
2. Modern Jihadist ideological foundations
3. The Nazi seed in Islamic soil
4. The evil spreads: the Muslim Brotherhood
5. Jihadist brothers: the Sudanese National Islamic Front, Islamic Jihad, and Hamas
6. 'Religious' offshoots: the Islamic revolution, Hezbollah, and Al-Qaeda
7. 'Secular' offshoots: the Baath Party and the PLO
8. Concluding thoughts: humanity's need for Israel.

Subject Areas: Jewish studies [JFSR1], Judaism [HRJ]