Roger Garaudy

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Roger Garaudy : biography

17 July 1913 – 13 June 2012

Roger Garaudy or Ragaa Garaudy (17 July 1913 – 13 June 2012) was a French philosopher. Formerly a prominent communist author, he had since converted to Islam and wrote many controversial books.

Later activities

In later interviews, Garaudy stated that the attacks of 11 September 2001 were organized by the United States government. He 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. book Review by Amir Taheri, Asharq Alawsat Newspaper (English), 4 November 2007.

In December 2006, Garaudy was unable to attend the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust due to health reasons. He reportedly sent a videotaped message supporting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s view that Israel should cease to exist.

Roger Garaudy died in Paris on 13 June 2012, aged 98.

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 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."IRNA, 20 April 1998 − DR. 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.".Tehran TV, 19 Jan. 1998 − DR. 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).

Garaudy has been praised throughout 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 stated that Garaudy is "Europe’s greater philosopher since Plato and Aristotle."
  • Garaudy was a co-winner of the King Faisal International Prize for Services to Islam in 1986., page 25.
  • 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., MEMRI – Special Dispatch #1088, 7 February 2006.(retrieved on 15 December 2008.)

Praise for Garaudy after his death

Following his death in June 2012, Garaudy subsequently received praise from a number of sources (as translated by MEMRI):

  • Columnist Adam Yousef wrote in the Kuwaiti daily Al-Jarida that "Garaudy committed no crime. He merely pointed out that the number of Jews who lived in Europe during World War II did not exceed 3.5 million – so where did the [figure of] six million come from, on which Israel bases the myth of the Holocaust? This is a simple scientific question, [a matter of] proof…"
  • The Iranian Fars News Agency called him "the first denier of the Holocaust myth."
  • The Arab Writers Union in Syria, of which Garaudy is an honorary member, wrote that he proved that "truth and evidence-based credibility and scientific accuracy were possible."
  • Tunisian writer Tawfiq Al-Madina claimed in the Syrian daily Al-Thawra that Garaudy had "exposed the false the myths of the Zionists and their false propaganda regarding the Holocaust…"
  • Fares Al-Wabasha, a columnist for the Jordanian daily Al-Dustour, wrote: "Only rarely do we encounter a prominent Western philosopher and thinker like Roger Garaudy, who supports Arab causes and exposes in a rational and scientific manner the shameful claims of the Zionist movement, undermining its colonialist enterprise in the region…", MEMRI, Special Dispatch No.4817, 2 July 2012.