The Jewish Telegraph is reporting that U.S. Muslim Brotherhood leaders were among an interfaith group that called for an end to use of “inappropriate Nazi and Holocaust references” in public debate. According to the report:
A group of prominent religious leaders called for an end to the use of “inappropriate Nazi and Holocaust references” in public debate. In an open letter to religious leaders, politicians, pundits and the public, the group wrote that it has seen “an alarming number of public figures use the Nazis and the Holocaust as metaphors in public debate on issues critical to this country,” listing a number of recent examples. “The Nazi regime that perpetrated this mass genocide was one of the most horrific in world history,” says the letter, organized by the Interfaith Alliance and signed by Jewish, Christian and Muslim clergy and faith leaders. “There is no place in civil debate for the use of these types of metaphors. Perpetrators of such language harm rather than help both the integrity of the democratic process and the credibility of religious commentary.” The letter also asks that those involved in public debate to generally “help restore civility to our national dialogue.” Among the 15 signatories are Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism; Rabbi Jack Moline of Agudas Achim Congregation in Alexandria, Va.; Rabbi David Gelfand of Temple Israel of the City of New York; Imam Mahdi Bray of the Muslim American Society Freedom; and Sayyid Syeed of the Islamic Society of North America.
Both the Muslim American Society (MAS) and the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) are important parts of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood.
Statements of Holocaust denial and comparison of Israel with Nazi Germany are common on the part of the global Muslim Brotherhood and its leaders. The U.S. Brotherhood has been far more circumspect, at times condemning Holocaust denial, although groups such as the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) leaders have compared Israel to the Nazis. U.S. Brotherhood groups have also promoted appearances by “Christian scholar” William Baker who was reported by local media to have had an extensive right-wing extremist and anti-Semitic background which includes ties to holocaust denial activity.