Calling Hamas Nazis is a firing offence, because historical facts may hurt feelings. Calling Jews Nazis, praising terrorist orgs and saying death to Israel is okay. (Gospel of the U of Guelph 2025)
If you believe in the importance of free speech, subscribe to support uncensored, fearless writing—the more people who pay, the more time I can devote to this. Free speech matters. I am a university professor suspended because of a free speech issue, so I am not speaking from the bleachers. The button below takes you to that story.
Please subscribe and get at least three pieces /essays per week with open comments. It’s $6 per month and less than USD 4. I know everyone says hey, it’s just a cup of coffee (with me, not per day but just one per month), but if you’re like me, you go, “Hey, I only want so many cups of coffee!”
But I only ask that when you choose your coffee, please choose mine. Cheers.
Adapted from Professor David Patterson’s Essay, “From Hitler To Hamas” (2023) 1
The historical connections between the Muslim Brotherhood and Nazi ideology are stark and disturbing. Founded in March 1928 by Hasan al-Banna, the Brotherhood was grounded in a creed that glorified jihad and martyrdom in the name of Allah. From its inception, al-Banna sought inspiration from Adolf Hitler, absorbing his propaganda techniques and his virulent antisemitism. Hitler’s claim that Zionism was a façade for Jewish global domination resonated deeply with al-Banna. Hitler’s infamous rhetoric, which branded Jews as the root of all evil, directly influenced the Brotherhood’s ideology, particularly its belief in the necessity of exterminating Jews as a divine obligation.
By the mid-1930s, the Brotherhood had established a propaganda division, borrowing heavily from Nazi tactics to incite hatred against Jews. Delegations from the Brotherhood attended Nazi rallies in Nuremberg, and Arabic translations of Mein Kampf and The Protocols of the Elders of Zion were widely distributed at Brotherhood-organized events. Their alliance was not limited to propaganda; in 1939, the Brotherhood bombed a synagogue in Cairo and supported Nazi Germany during World War II. After the war, when Nazi war criminal Haj Amin al-Husseini found asylum in Egypt, al-Banna celebrated him as a hero and a champion of jihad.
Al-Husseini’s collaboration with Hitler, including recruiting Bosnian Muslims for the Waffen-SS and supporting the Holocaust, cemented the ideological bridge between the Nazis and Islamist movements like Hamas.
Haj Amin al-Husseini: The Jihadist Connection to Nazism
Haj Amin al-Husseini rose to prominence after being appointed Mufti of Jerusalem by the British in 1921, despite a prior conviction for inciting anti-Jewish riots. He declared jihad against Jews and the British, aligning himself ideologically and practically with Nazi Germany.
Al-Husseini’s 1941 meeting with Hitler marked a turning point; the two discussed their shared goal of exterminating European and Palestinian Jewry. For al-Husseini, this was not merely a political alliance but a theological imperative: killing Jews was, in his view, a divine command.
Under Nazi patronage, al-Husseini recruited thousands of Bosnian Muslims for the Waffen-SS, forming units like the infamous 13th Handschar Division. These units actively participated in atrocities against Jews and others deemed undesirable. After the war, despite being charged with war crimes, al-Husseini evaded justice and continued his anti-Jewish activities in the Arab world. He mentored Yasser Arafat, who later founded Fatah and became a central figure in the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO). Al-Husseini’s legacy of linking jihad with the extermination of Jews directly influenced the ideologies of both the PLO and Hamas.
Hamas: Ideological Heirs to Hitler
Hamas, established in 1987 during the First Intifada, emerged as the militant wing of the Muslim Brotherhood. Its founders, including Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, drew heavily from the ideology of al-Husseini and Nazi antisemitism. The Hamas Charter, published in 1988 and titled The Charter of Allah, encapsulates this ideology. It quotes Hasan al-Banna’s declaration: “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam obliterates it.” This is not a political statement but a theological decree that equates the annihilation of Jews with fulfilling Allah’s will.
Hamas does not distinguish between Jews, Zionists, or Israelis, treating all Jews as an existential threat. Articles in the Hamas Charter cite antisemitic canards from The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and Qur’anic interpretations to justify exterminationist violence. Article Seven, for example, invokes a hadith predicting a future where Muslims will kill Jews to usher in the Day of Judgment. This theological framing positions Hamas’s war against Jews as eternal and divinely mandated.
The Charter further asserts that Palestine is an Islamic waqf (endowment) consecrated for Muslims, rendering any compromise with Jews a betrayal of Islam. Article Thirteen explicitly rejects peaceful solutions, framing negotiations as sacrilegious. By embedding antisemitism into its religious and political worldview, Hamas adopts Nazi principles, amplifying them through theological justification.
Propaganda, Child Sacrifice, and Indoctrination
Hamas, like the Nazis, uses propaganda to incite hatred and glorify violence. Their leaders have repeatedly echoed Hitler’s belief in the value of sacrifice, even to the extent of child sacrifice. Article Eighteen of the Hamas Charter urges mothers to prepare their children for jihad, framing martyrdom as the ultimate act of faith. This ideological grooming not only perpetuates hatred but also normalises the use of children as instruments of war.
Hamas’s propaganda also dehumanises Jews, portraying them as metaphysical threats to humanity. Echoing Nazi rhetoric, Article Twenty-Two of the Charter accuses Jews of orchestrating global revolutions, controlling financial systems, and corrupting societies. This depiction positions Jews not just as political enemies but as embodiments of evil.
The Theological and Metaphysical Underpinnings
One of the most troubling aspects of Hamas’s ideology is its metaphysical framing of Jews as inherently evil. Articles in the Charter describe Jews as corrupters of faith and society, necessitating their eradication as a divine command. This metaphysical dimension elevates Hamas’s antisemitism beyond Nazi ideology by grounding it in what it claims is divine revelation. For Hamas, the extermination of Jews is not merely a political or military goal but a religious duty.
The Continuing Threat
The ideological lineage from Hitler to Hamas reveals a disturbing continuity of antisemitism, adapted and intensified through an Islamist lens. Hamas’s unyielding commitment to the destruction of Jews, enshrined in its charter, mirrors Nazi goals while amplifying them with theological justification. This fusion of political, theological, and metaphysical hatred ensures that Hamas’s war against Jews transcends territorial disputes, targeting the very existence of Jews worldwide.
Robert Wistrich aptly summarises this connection: while Hamas’s “Bible” is the Qur’an and not Mein Kampf, its worldview mirrors Nazi antisemitism, casting Jews as the ultimate enemies of humanity. Hamas’s ideology, like that of the Nazis, leaves no room for reconciliation or coexistence. Its metaphysical hatred drives its actions, ensuring that its war against the Jews remains eternal.
Conclusion
Hamas’s ideology, rooted in the Muslim Brotherhood’s foundations and influenced by Nazi antisemitism, poses a unique and existential threat. It is theological framing of Jew hatred, combined with its historical ties to figures like al-Husseini, underscores the need to recognise and address this ideology for what it is: a genocidal movement masquerading as resistance.
To confront Hamas is not merely to address a political conflict but to challenge a worldview steeped in hatred and committed to the eradication of an entire people.
Thanks for the deep dive into the origins of the hatred. I think some among us find it hard to believe how central to Islamist beliefs is annihilation of Israel and all Jews. Thank you for making it so clear. Your heading illustrates why the U. of Guelph’s behavior is so shameful. One wonders how its administration became so antisemitic.
Hamas ARE Nazis, as are Houthis, Hezbollah and, frankly, most of the inhabitants of Gaza and the West Bank.
Thanks for the deep dive into the origins of the hatred. I think some among us find it hard to believe how central to Islamist beliefs is annihilation of Israel and all Jews. Thank you for making it so clear. Your heading illustrates why the U. of Guelph’s behavior is so shameful. One wonders how its administration became so antisemitic.