Icon of Evil

Dalin and Rothmann offer this extensively researched investigation into the relationship between 1920s' Palestinian political and spiritual leader Haji Amin al-Husseini and Adolf Hitler. Together, the pair guided the so-called "Final Solution" of Hitler's Third Reich, that being the devastation brought upon the Jews. Though Hitler met his end with the downfall of the Nazi regime, al-Husseini escaped to Egypt, where he continued to spread his anti-Semitic propaganda and helped to fuel modern-day views and fascists such as Yasser Arafat. Narrator Michael Prichard reads with an eye for detail, offering little in the way of improvisation or vocal theatrics. Despite his straightforward approach, Pritchard's reading is compelling and invites repeated listens. L.B. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

April 28, 2008
Middle East scholars Dalin (The Myth of Hitler's Pope
) and Rothmann collaborate in this harrowing account of Haj Amin al-Husseini, the British-appointed Mufti of Jerusalem and the political and spiritual head of the Palestinian Arab community from the 1920s on, who helped seal a powerful bond between Islamic radicals and Nazi officials. A longtime admirer of National Socialism and personal friend of Himmler and Eichmann, al-Husseini championed the Final Solution, made propaganda broadcasts to the Middle East, encouraged Muslim participation in the Waffen SS and called for exterminating Palestine's Jewish population. His advocacy of a holy war against Jews and their British supporters culminated in the massive Arab Revolt of 1937. Escaping to Egypt as the Third Reich collapsed, al-Husseini found his hopes for an “All-Palestine government” frustrated; however, the Islamization of anti-Semitism proved to be his enduring legacy—he imported and localized Nazi slogans and counted among his acolytes his cousin, the young Yasser Arafat. The authors draw persuasive links between al-Husseini and current contemporary events—notably the execution of journalist Daniel Pearl—giving this history a haunting relevance.