Language:
German
Year of publication:
2009
Titel der Quelle:
Jahrbuch für Antisemitismusforschung
Angaben zur Quelle:
18 (2009) 67-87
Keywords:
Protocols of the wise men of Zion
;
Antisemitism
;
Jewish-Arab relations
;
Islam Relations
;
Judaism
;
Jewish-Arab relations History 1945-
;
Antisemitism
Abstract:
Argues that the widespread propagation of the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" and Jewish consipracy theories in the Arab world affect antisemitism there more than Israeli politics. Conspiracy theories have gained a foothold among the general public, not only among radical Islamists. An Arab language translation of the "Protocols" appeared as early as the 1920s, and its ideas were quickly adapted to the socio-cultural context of Arab societies. Shows that antisemitism based on conspiracy theories has disconnected old anti-Jewish stereotypes from their religious sources and turned them into "flexible codes", as seen in the works of Egyptian Sayyid Qutb of the Muslim Brotherhood, who presents the Jew as the eternal enemy of Islam. The "Protocols" are currently present in Arab public institutions, media, and debates, where their theses are taken for truth. They are also present in schools and universities, although due to international protests, they have not officially been included in the curriculum. Conspiracy theories receive prime-time exposure in the media, as exemplified by the Ramadan series "Rider without a Horse" (2002) and "Diaspora" (2003). The Arab-language Wikipedia gives biased information about the "Protocols", and their readers are often urged to help unmask the conspiracy. Discusses the many functions of the conspiracy theory and its "usefulness" in countries whose inhabitants' power over their own lives is limited.
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