Militant Islam Monitor > Articles > Sofian Zakkout: Muslim Leader Spreads Claim 'Holocaust Was Faked' Is Member Of Crime Stoppers & Citizens Crime Watch
Sofian Zakkout: Muslim Leader Spreads Claim 'Holocaust Was Faked' Is Member Of Crime Stoppers & Citizens Crime Watch
March 15, 2016
node-title">Florida Muslim Leader Spreads Claim 'Holocaust Was Faked'
AMANA Director Sofian Zakkout shares material from website praising Adolf Hitler.
March 13, 2016 Joe KaufmanSofian Abdelaziz Zakkout, the Director of the Miami, Florida-based American Muslim Association of North America (AMANA), is advertising on social media a report claiming that the Holocaust perpetrated by Nazi Germany during the 1930s and 1940s was fabricated. This is just one example of many of how Zakkout has belittled and maligned members of the Jewish community and others with the most grotesque manifestations of bigotry – and that's just in this past month!
On February 14th, Zakkout took to Facebook to promote a report questioning the validity of the Holocaust, entitled, ‘How the Holocaust was faked.' The piece, which includes gruesome photos of dead bodies piled upon one another, begins, "The alleged ‘Holocaust' of ‘6 million Jews' at the hands of Adolf Hitler and National Socialist Germany during WWII is the biggest lie ever foisted upon humanity."
The piece was produced by The Realist Report, a white supremacist outfit located on the outskirts of San Diego, California that regularly targets Jews, blacks and homosexuals. On the group's website, its viewers are commanded to: "Fight White Genocide. Rise up against the destruction of your race!" while an accompanying video's narrator ominously states, "We are told to accept our inevitable brown future."
In April 2013, The Realist Report devoted an entire page on its website to offer birthday wishes to Adolf Hitler. The page states, "Happy Birthday, Adolf Hitler. You were and remain the greatest leader in modern Western history, and offer unparalleled inspiration and guidance to us all. God bless you, and may you forever rest in peace. Heil Hitler!"
Zakkout's embrace of material from white supremacists is nothing new. In the recent past, he has shared information on his Facebook page from Hitler devotees, and he has a long history of support for former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. Indeed, on February 26th, Zakkout wrote of Duke, "I respect him for his honesty!" Zakkout wrote this for a vile anti-Semitic Duke diatribe claiming to expose Jews "who orchestrate the destruction of European mankind." Previously, in October 2015, Zakkout praised Duke, referring to him as "David Duke, a man to believe in!"
Zakkout's promotion of Nazism and white supremacists is only eclipsed by his support for the terrorist organization Hamas.
On February 15th, Zakkout posted onto his Facebook site a video of Abdul Hakim Hanine, one of the founders of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the militant wing of Hamas. Zakkout described him as "courageous" and a "hero." On February 17th, he posted onto his Facebook site a video honoring a number of members of al-Qassam Brigades. In the images, the terrorists are depicted wearing their Hamas insignias and brandishing rifles and rocket launchers.
Zakkout has been up front in his feelings towards Hamas and violent Hamas doctrine. In August 2015, he stated in Arabic, "Hamas is in my heart and on my head." In February 2015, over a graphic of now-deceased Hamas founders Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi, Zakkout wrote in Arabic, "It is an obligation to kill those who left our religion. It is an obligation to kill those who fight our religion and to intimidate our enemies and the enemies of the religion. Everything is from the Quran, not from me." And he signed it, "Sofian."
In July 2014, Zakkout organized a pro-Hamas rally held outside the Israeli Consulate in downtown Miami. On video, Zakkout is shown smiling, as event goers repeatedly scream, "We are Hamas." Following the rally, Zakkout wrote the following in Arabic on Facebook, above photos from the event: "Thank God, every day we conquer the American Jews like our conquests over the Jews of Israel!" He signed it "Br. Sofian Zakkout."
As many in Hamas have done before, Zakkout repeatedly refers to Jews as "monkeys and pigs." In December 2015, Zakkout posted a photo of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot, who is a decorated veteran of many different wars and battles fought by Israel the last three-plus decades. Above the picture of Eizenkot, Zakkout wrote in Arabic, "You're a Jew, the grandson of a monkey and a pig." He signed it "Sofian."
Sofian Zakkout's enmity for Jews has given him the opportunity to embrace two vastly different streams of Jew-hatred, one of the streams being Nazism and the other being Islamism.
It has allowed him to use Hamas rhetoric, like labeling Jews "pigs and monkeys" and discussing the "conquering" of Jews, as he did following his pro-Hamas rally. It has allowed him to shower praise on white supremacist and former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. It has allowed him to collaborate with supporters of Hitler. And it has allowed him to propagate material saying that the Holocaust was "faked."
Sofian Zakkout is a raving anti-Semite and inciting hatemonger, and the fact that he is a recognized and respected official both within and outside the Muslim community – he sits on the boards of Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers and Miami-Dade Citizens' Crime Watch – is extremely disturbing. His violent and bigoted statements make him a potential danger to the community, especially the local Jewish community.
There is no justifiable reason for Zakkout's continued presence in the United States. He has been an unremitting voice for terror groups, like Hamas, and individuals and organizations which sow hatred and intolerance.
Sofian Zakkout came to the US as an immigrant, and the US government should turn him around so that he can leave the way he came in.
Beila Rabinowitz, Director of Militant Islam Monitor, contributed to this report.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/262143/florida-muslim-leader-spreads-claim-holocaust-was-joe-kaufman
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AMANA Overview
The American Muslim Association of North America (AMANA) has served the Muslim community since 1992. It was established to do da'wah, the work of conveying the messages of God. According to them, da'wah is one of the most honorable works a Muslim is called to do, which they believe is actually the work of all prophets. AMANA aims to articulate what they believe is the truth about Islam. Description of the Center The head office of AMANA is located in North Miami, Florida in a room 400 square feet. It has its own library which provides many Islamic books as well as brochures, bulletins, magazines, stickers, CDs, cassettes, and so forth to be distributed. Right now, AMANA has three branch offices which are in Puerto Rico, Georgia, and Pennsylvania.
They are also planning to open new branches in other states. Structure of the Organization as of September 2004 AMANA Board: Br. Sofyan Abdelaziz, Director Br. Mustafa Nassar, Assistant Director Br. Hisham Abdelhadi, Assistant Director Sh. Hossam Khedr, Imam & Islamic AdvisorDr. Wilfredo Amr Ruiz, Esq., Director, Puerto Rico OfficeImam Zafer Awad, Director, Atlanta, GA Office Br. Esam Hamed, Director, Pennsylvania Office AMANA Legal Advisors Imam Ibrahim Dremali, Masjid Boca RatonImam Munir Khan, IMOFImam Rafiq Mahdi, Masjid Al-Imam, Ft. Lauderdale Br. Shazam Mohammad, Masjid Shamsuddin Br. Omar Ali, Muslim AccessBr. Adnan Kazi, Online Advisor Activities Their website indicates that they "work to provide many services for both Muslims and non-Muslims, such as distributing Islamic books, counseling to victims of domestic violence and child abuse, and working with the disabled, orphans, deprived children, and widows."
In addition, they are also advocates against discrimination of Muslims in the work place and other locations. Their website details some of their other activties. AMANA's View on 9/11 The 9/11 attack did not have any significant impact on AMANA's activities. All the programs and activities described above are basically continuations of those which were established before 9/11. The Director of AMANA emphasizes that 9/11 is also a Muslim tragedy. Some Muslims died as victims of the attack. Unfortunately, some people, especially the media, only showed it as an attack by Muslims. It is inevitable that some people who commit violence will claim to be Muslims, but they do not represent Islam. According to the Director, the attackers were not true Muslims because Islam does not allow violence in that context. According to AMANA, Islam teaches Muslims to use violence only to defend themselves and recommends that Muslims respect all people.
AMANA, however, never intended to respond to the tragedy of 9/11 frontally and exclusively. For AMANA, there are many things happening throughout the world even worse than 9/11, such as genocide, indiscriminate and ongoing civilian bombing, and series of mass murders. AMANA is attempting to fulfill the Islamic duty to deliver and implement the messages of God and the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad. God requires us, AMANA insists, to create peace, helping and taking care of each other no matter what others believe. They point us to the Prophet Muhammad who also recommended and taught us to be peaceful (i.e., he helped a Jew who was not even kind to him).
AMANA informs people through various speeches, the internet, and distribution of Islamic books. They seek to show what real Muslim communities are doing in this country and that Islam is a very peaceful religion. Affiliation with other Communities and Organizations AMANA is an independent Muslim organization without strong affiliations to other organization but has a good working relationship with other organizations that share some of AMANA's mission. For an example, the director of AMANA, Br. Sofian Abdelaziz, participates in many philanthropic organizations:
1. Member of the Florida State Advisory Committee (SAC) to the United States Commission on Civil Rights
2. Board member of Florida Regional Interfaith/Interagency Emergency Network in Disaster, FRIEND
3. Board member of The Miami Dade County Citizen Corps, which has established programs such as the Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT), Neighborhood Watch (NW), Medical Reserve Corps (MRC), and Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS).
4. Board member of The Jewish-Arab Dialogue
5. Member of the National Conference for Community and Justice, NCCJ, Broward
6. Board member of Israeli and Palestinian Orphans.
By being involved in non-Islamic organizations, AMANA tries to establish good relationships with non-Muslims. This involvement is seen as necessary for AMANA to explain Islam and for them to understand non-Muslims. In addition, AMANA encourages other Muslims to be responsible and involved in the public arena. In addition, AMANA believes that many 'religious' conflicts, as they are commonly described, are actually 'political' conflicts (i.e., Palestine). In this country, AMANA does not think Muslims have any problem with other religious groups, such as Jews or Christians, but rather appreciates and supports each other. Through their involvement with the Neighborhood Watch program, for an example, AMANA tries to show this principle at work.
Our mission at AMANA is to make our communities stronger, safer, and best prepared to respond to the danger of Islamophobia and the threats of terrorism, hate crimes, public health issues and disasters of all kinds (may Allah forbid). Our mission is to provide a better understanding of Islam to Muslims and information on Islam and Muslims to non Muslims. Our mission is to build more understanding, more knowledge and respect between the Muslim and non-Muslim communities.
It is important to work with other community leaders with no exception of race, color, religion and origin hand by hand so that our country the United States of America will be a safer and more secure place to live in.
http://www.amanavoice.org/index.php/about-us
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