A dirge for gallant Garaudy

I first knew about Garaudy, who authored about 60 books and hundreds of articles, in 1998 through Abdur-Rahman Shuaibu, a childhood friend of mine. Since then I have come to appreciate his works which, to me, are more than classical. Garaudy made the headlines with his book in 1986, titled The Founding Myths of Modern […]

I first knew about Garaudy, who authored about 60 books and hundreds of articles, in 1998 through Abdur-Rahman Shuaibu, a childhood friend of mine. Since then I have come to appreciate his works which, to me, are more than classical.

Garaudy made the headlines with his book in 1986, titled The Founding Myths of Modern Israel. In the book, he delivered one powerful blow after another to the pernicious historical myths cited for decades to justify Zionist aggression and repression, including the Israeli legend of a “land without people for a people without land,” and the most sacred of Jewish-Zionist icons, the Holocaust extermination story. For financial gain, as an alibi for indefensible policies, and for other reasons, Jews have used what the author calls “theological myths” to arrogate for themselves a “right of theological divine chosenness.” The war-time suffering of Europe’s Jews, he contends, has been elevated to the status of a secular religion, and is now treated with sacrosanct historical uniqueness.

The book also thoroughly documented study, examines the brutal dispossession and mass expulsion of Palestine’s Arabs, exposes the farce of the Nuremberg victors’ show trial, and shows that the notorious German “final solution” term referred to a “territorial” program of resettlement, not extermination. Founding Myths details the secret collaboration of prominent Jews with the young Nazi regime, and the 1941 offer by some Zionists, including a future Israeli prime minister, to join Hitler’s Germany in a military alliance against Britain. The author presents a frank assessment of the powerful Jewish-Zionist lobby in the United States, showing how it effectively controls US policy regarding Israel, and plays a crucial role in shaping American public opinion.

Garaudy was awarded a doctorate degree in literature by Sorbonne University in 1952 and another doctorate in science in 1954 by the Soviet Union Academy of Sciences.

The Founding Myths of Modern Israel was banned by a French court as a result of pressure from the Israeli lobby in France, because it included a denial of the Holocaust. Nearly 30 books by the French thinker have been translated into Turkish.

Born in Marseilles on July 17, 1913 to Catholic and atheist parents in Marseille, Garaudy converted at age 14 and became a Protestant. During World War II, Garaudy joined the French Resistance, for which he was imprisoned in Djelfa, Algeria, as a prisoner of war of Vichy France. Following the war, Garaudy joined the French Communist Party. As a political candidate, he succeeded in being elected to the National Assembly and eventually rose to the position of Deputy Speaker, and later Senator. He became a leading party theoretician for the party and authored scores of scholarly works.

Garaudy remained a Christian and eventually re-converted to Catholicism during his political career. He was befriended by one of France’s most prominent clerics of the time, the Abbé Pierre, who in later years supported Garaudy, even regarding the latter’s most controversial views.

In 1970, Garaudy was expelled from the Communist Party following his outspoken criticism of the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.

Garaudy converted to Islam in 1982, later writing that “The Christ of Paul is not the Jesus of the Bible,” and also forming other critical scholarly conclusions regarding the Old and New Testaments. As a Muslim, he adopted the name “Ragaa” and became a prominent Islamic commentator and supporter of the Palestinian cause.

I pray to Almighty Allah to overlook Garaudy’s shortcomings in life and rest his soul. May He also admit him into paradise.