Jump to content

Mohammad-Ali Ramin: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
No edit summary
Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit
Monkbot (talk | contribs)
m Task 20: replace {lang-??} templates with {langx|??} ‹See Tfd› (Replaced 1);
 
(48 intermediate revisions by 24 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|Iranian politician}}
{{Infobox President
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Mohammad-Ali Ramin
| image = [[File:Mohammad Ali Ramin.jpg|200px]]
| name = Mohammad-Ali Ramin
| caption = Mohammad Ali Ramin
| image = Mohammad Ali Ramin.jpg
| caption = Mohammad Ali Ramin
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1954}}
| office1 = [[Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance|Vice Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance]]<br />for Press Affairs
| birth_place = [[Dezful]], [[Iran]]
| term_start1 = 1 November 2009
| order1 = [[Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance|Vice Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance]]<br>for Press Affairs
| term_end1 = 25 December 2010
| term_start1 = November 2009
| president1 = [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]]
| term_end1 = December 2010
| minister1 = [[Mohammad Hosseini (politician)|Mohammad Hosseini]]
| president1 = [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]]
| predecessor1 = Alireza Malekian
| minister1 = [[Mohammad Hosseini (politician)|Mohammad Hosseini]]
| successor1 = Mohammad-Jafar Mohammadzadeh
| predecessor =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1954|02|04}}<ref name="arman">{{cite journal |script-title=fa:احمدی‌نژاد به شدت طرفدار هاشمی بود؟!|journal=Ārmān-e Emrooz|date=8 June 2014|issue=2487|page= 6|url=http://www.pishkhaan.net/Archive/1393/03/13930318/ArmanRavabetOmoomi651141109710949515653159.pdf|accessdate=6 November 2017|location=[[Tehran]]|language=Persian}}</ref>
| successor =
| birth_place = [[Dezful]], [[Khuzestan Province]], Iran<ref name="arman"/>
| spouse = Sousan Safavardi
| spouse = Sousan Safavardi
| children = 3
| children = 3
| alma_mater = University of Dezful
| alma_mater = [[Clausthal University of Technology]]<ref name="spiegel"/><br />[[Karlsruhe Institute of Technology]]<ref name="spiegel"/>
| party = [[Coalition of the Pleasant Scent of Servitude]]
| party = [[Coalition of the Pleasant Scent of Servitude]]<ref name="arman"/>
| religion = [[Shi'a Islam]]
| otherparty = [[Front of Followers of the Line of the Imam and the Leader]] <small>(before 2005)</small><ref name="arman"/>
}}
}}


'''Mohammad-Ali Ramin''' (born 1954 in [[Dezful]], [[Iran]]) is an Iranian politician, political analyst and writer who served as the [[Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance|Vice Minister of Culture]] and a presidential advisor under President [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]].<ref>[http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=207014 "Mohammad-Ali Ramin becomes deputy culture minister for press"] Tehran Times, November 2nd, 2009</ref> He is known for organising the [[International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust]] which took place in Tehran in 2006.<ref>[http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,401326,00.html "Iranische Holocaust-Konferenz „Unser Präsident meint es nur gut“"], 17. February 2006, {{de icon}}</ref>
'''Mohammad-Ali Ramin''' ({{langx|fa|محمدعلی رامین}}, born 1954) is an Iranian politician, political analyst and writer who served as the [[Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance|Vice Minister of Culture]] and a presidential advisor under President [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]].<ref>[http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=207014 "Mohammad-Ali Ramin becomes deputy culture minister for press"] Tehran Times, November 2nd, 2009</ref> He organised the [[International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust]], a conference involving [[Holocaust denial|Holocaust deniers]], which took place in Tehran in 2006.<ref name="spiegel"/>


==Early life and education==
==Early life and education==
Mohammad-Ali Ramin was born in 1954, in [[Dezful]], [[Iran]]. He attended the University of Dezful.<ref>{{cite web| title = Mohammad-Ali Ramin| url = http://www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8808101647| website = FARS news agency | date = November 2009| access-date = January 2016}}</ref> He has a degree in Mechanical Engineering and teaches comparative philosophy at [[Payame Noor University]] in [[Tehran]].<ref name="Can Iran Change">{{cite web| title = Can Iran Change?| url = http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/04/13/can-iran-change| website = New Yorker| date = 13 April 2009| access-date = January 2016}}</ref>
Mohammad-Ali Ramin was born in 1954, in [[Dezful]], [[Khuzestan Province]].<ref>{{cite web| title = Mohammad-Ali Ramin| url = http://www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8808101647| website = FARS news agency| date = November 2009| access-date = 9 January 2016| archive-date = 26 January 2016| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160126113819/http://www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8808101647| url-status = dead}}</ref>


Ramin studied and lived in [[Germany]] from 1971 to 1994 until he was deported, allegedly for links with the far-right [[National Democratic Party of Germany]].<ref name="PBS">{{cite web |title =The Political Craft of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad {{!}} Part 2: The Great Balancing Act |url =http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2010/11/the-political-craft-of-mahmoud-ahmadinejad-part-ii-the-great-balancing-act.html#ixzz3wn3P2Fbp| website = PBS| date = 29 November 2010| access-date = January 2016}}</ref> He speaks fluent German.<ref>{{cite web| title = Iran's Leading Holocaust Denier Named Deputy Minister| url = http://www.rferl.org/content/Ahmadinejads_Holocaust_Adviser_Named_Deputy_Culture_Minister_/1867427.html| website =Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty| date = 2 November 2009| access-date = January 2016}}</ref> He founded the Islamische Gemeinschaft in Clausthal.<ref>{{cite web| title =Die völkisch-religiöse Bewegung im Nationalsozialismus|url =https://books.google.com.au/books?id=RBnmachN8vkC&pg=PA261&lpg=PA261&dq=Islamische+Gemeinschaft+in+Clausthal+e.V.&source=bl&ots=ABHHE3Ryxx&sig=H6c41tEKc9GnzsXUsUZWAP6NVHk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiI1uqf7J_KAhVEX5QKHV1AB6IQ6AEIRDAF#v=onepage&q=Islamische%20Gemeinschaft%20in%20Clausthal%20e.V.&f=false| website = Google books| date = June 2012| access-date = January 2016}}</ref>
He attended [[Clausthal University of Technology]] and [[Karlsruhe Institute of Technology]] in Germany, studying Mechanical Engineering and Process Engineering.<ref name="spiegel">{{Cite news|last=Wittrock|first=Philipp|date=2006-02-17|title=Iranische Holocaust-Konferenz: "Unser Präsident meint es nur gut"|trans-title=Iranian Holocaust Conference: "Our President only means well"|url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/iranische-holocaust-konferenz-unser-praesident-meint-es-nur-gut-a-401326.html|access-date=2021-04-07|newspaper=Der Spiegel|language=de}}</ref> Ramin lived in [[Germany]] from 1971 to 1994, until he was deported, allegedly for having close ties and links with the far-right [[National Democratic Party of Germany]].<ref name="PBS">{{cite web |title =The Political Craft of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad {{!}} Part 2: The Great Balancing Act |url =https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2010/11/the-political-craft-of-mahmoud-ahmadinejad-part-ii-the-great-balancing-act.html#ixzz3wn3P2Fbp| website = PBS| date = 29 November 2010| access-date =9 January 2016}}</ref><ref name="spiegel" /> He speaks fluent German.<ref>{{cite web| title = Iran's Leading Holocaust Denier Named Deputy Minister| url = http://www.rferl.org/content/Ahmadinejads_Holocaust_Adviser_Named_Deputy_Culture_Minister_/1867427.html| website =Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty| date = 2 November 2009| access-date =9 January 2016}}</ref> He founded the Islamische Gemeinschaft in [[Clausthal-Zellerfeld|Clausthal]].<ref name=Backes>{{cite book| title =Die völkisch-religiöse Bewegung im Nationalsozialismus|url =https://books.google.com/books?id=RBnmachN8vkC&q=Islamische+Gemeinschaft+in+Clausthal+e.V.&pg=PA261| date = June 2012| access-date =10 January 2016|isbn = 9783525369227|last1 = Backes|first1 = Uwe|last2 = Moreau|first2 = Patrick| publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht }}</ref>


Ramin heads the Society for the Defence of Muslims in the West and the founder of a group called The Cells of the Martyrs of the Velayat (velayat: the conversion of the dogma within Shia Islam).<ref>{{cite web| title =Die völkisch-religiöse Bewegung im Nationalsozialismus|url =https://books.google.com.au/books?id=RBnmachN8vkC&pg=PA261&lpg=PA261&dq=Islamische+Gemeinschaft+in+Clausthal+e.V.&source=bl&ots=ABHHE3Ryxx&sig=H6c41tEKc9GnzsXUsUZWAP6NVHk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiI1uqf7J_KAhVEX5QKHV1AB6IQ6AEIRDAF#v=onepage&q=ramin&f=false| website = Google books| date = June 2012| access-date = January 2016}}</ref>
Ramin heads the ''Society for the Defence of Muslims in the West'' and the founder of a group called ''The Cells of the Martyrs of the Velayat'' ([[Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist|velayat]]: the conversion of the [[dogma]] within [[Shia Islam]]).<ref name=Backes />

===Personal life===
Ramin is married to Dr.Susan Safaverdi and has a son, Mohammad Yasin Ramin. He is the father-in-law of Iranian actress [[Mahnaz Afshar]].<ref>{{cite web| title =Mahnaz Afshar and her mother in law, father in law and daughter | url =http://www.soozheha.org/afshar-mother-father-daughter/#sthash.c0MLKocU.dpuf| website = Soozheha| date = 6 June 2015| access-date = January 2016}}</ref>


==Career==
==Career==


===Deputy Culture minister===
===Deputy Culture minister===
In November 2009, the Minister for Culture [[Mohammad Hosseini (politician)|Mohammad Hosseini]] appointed Ramin as his Deputy Culture Minister. He continued this position until December 2010.<ref>{{cite web| title = Mohammad-Ali Ramin| url =http://www.defenddemocracy.org/mohammad-ali-ramin/| website = Foundation for Defence of Democracies | date = 2012| access-date = January 2016 }}</ref>
In November 2009, the Minister for Culture [[Mohammad Hosseini (politician)|Mohammad Hosseini]] appointed Ramin as his Deputy Culture Minister. He continued this position until December 2010.<ref>{{cite web| title = Mohammad-Ali Ramin| url =http://www.defenddemocracy.org/mohammad-ali-ramin/| website = Foundation for Defence of Democracies | date = 2012| access-date =9 January 2016 }}</ref>


Sanctions were placed on Ramin on the 23rd of May 2012 by the [[European Union]] for 'abuse of human rights'. The EU identified Ramin as having been complicit in censorship activities while he was in government.<ref>{{cite web| title = "Council Regulation (EU) No 264/2012 of 23 March 2012 amending Regulation (EU) No 359/2011 Concerning Restrictive Measures Directed Against Certain Persons, Entities, and Bodies in View of the Situation in Iran."| url =http://http//eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2012:087:0026:0036:EN:PDF| website = The Council of the European Union | date = May 2012|access-date = January 2016}}</ref>
Sanctions were placed on Ramin on 23 May 2012 by the [[European Union]] for 'abuse of human rights'. The EU identified Ramin as having been complicit in censorship activities while he was in government.<ref>{{cite web| title = Council Regulation (EU) No 264/2012 of 23 March 2012 amending Regulation (EU) No 359/2011 Concerning Restrictive Measures Directed Against Certain Persons, Entities, and Bodies in View of the Situation in Iran.| url = http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2012:087:0026:0036:EN:PDF| website = The Council of the European Union| date = May 2012| access-date =9 January 2016}}{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>


===Views on the Holocaust===
===Views on the Holocaust===
{{main|International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust}}
{{main|International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust}}
in December 2006, Ramin organised the [[International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust]] which took place in [[Tehran]]. Prominent attendees included [[far-right politics|far right]] political activist Dr.[[David Duke]], revisionist historical scholar [[Robert Faurisson]] and Haredi Rabbi and anti-zionist activist [[Yisroel Dovid Weiss]] among others. Ramin personally invited German psychologist Bendikt Frings, a member of the far-right [[National Democratic Party of Germany]].<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2006/12/13/professor-holocaust061213.html | title = Canadian prof's presence at Iran forum 'abhorrent': university | work=CBC News | date=2006-12-13}}</ref><ref name=PBS/> The conference provoked international criticism.<ref>[[Amir Taheri]]. ''The Persian Night: Iran Under the Khomeinist Revolution'', Encounter Books, 2010, p. 143.</ref>
in December 2006, Ramin organised the [[International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust]] which took place in [[Tehran]]. Prominent attendees included [[far-right politics|far right]] political activist [[David Duke]], revisionist historical scholar [[Robert Faurisson]] and Haredi Rabbi and anti-Zionist activist [[Yisroel Dovid Weiss]] among others. Ramin personally invited German psychologist Bendikt Frings, a member of the far-right [[National Democratic Party of Germany]].<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/canadian-prof-s-presence-at-iran-forum-abhorrent-university-1.619659 | title = Canadian prof's presence at Iran forum 'abhorrent': university | work=CBC News | date=2006-12-13}}</ref><ref name=PBS/> The conference provoked international criticism.<ref>[[Amir Taheri]]. ''The Persian Night: Iran Under the Khomeinist Revolution'', Encounter Books, 2010, p. 143.</ref>


According to [[Aftab News]], Ramin was the one who initiated the idea of "relocation of [[Israel]]" and also the idea that the "[[Holocaust]] is a myth". He himself accepted the full responsibility of this action, as Aftab News reported. In an interview with ''[[Financial Times]]'', Ramin stated that he has also initiated the "Holocaust commission" and he is the founder of the Conference on Holocaust in [[Tehran]].
According to [[Aftab News]], Ramin was the one who initiated the idea of "relocation of [[Israel]]" and also the idea that the "[[The Holocaust|Holocaust]] is a myth". He himself accepted the full responsibility of this action, as Aftab News reported. In an interview with ''[[Financial Times]]'', Ramin stated that he has also initiated the "Holocaust commission" and he is the founder of the Conference on Holocaust in [[Tehran]].


Ramin suggested that former Iranian president [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]] establish a committee for clarifying the "real extent" of the Holocaust.<ref>[http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/12/eb626c11-5a41-40c9-bf86-fc637fbfd2ca.aspx?rapage=2 Radio Free Europe]</ref>
Ramin suggested that former Iranian president [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]] establish a committee for clarifying the "real extent" of the Holocaust.<ref>[http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/12/eb626c11-5a41-40c9-bf86-fc637fbfd2ca.aspx?rapage=2 Radio Free Europe]</ref>


Ramin praised Ahmadinejad for having voiced his doubts over the Holocaust and the need for relocating the [[Jews]] to Europe if Europeans really did the massacre during the Second World War.<ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=661803&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1 Muslim Brotherhood backtracks on leader's remarks denying Holocaust]</ref>
Ramin praised Ahmadinejad for having voiced [[Holocaust denial|his doubts over the Holocaust]] and the need for relocating the [[Jews]] to Europe if Europeans really did the massacre during the Second World War.<ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=661803&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1 Muslim Brotherhood backtracks on leader's remarks denying Holocaust]</ref>


Following his ideas and suggestions about the Holocaust, President Ahmadinejad appointed him as an advisor.<ref name = aftabnews>[http://www.aftabnews.ir/vdcb8fbrhzbga.html این مرد« افسانه» هولوکاست را در دهان احمدی نژاد انداخت]</ref>
Following his ideas and suggestions about the Holocaust, President Ahmadinejad appointed him as an advisor.<ref name=aftabnews>{{cite web |url=http://www.aftabnews.ir/vdcb8fbrhzbga.html |script-title=fa: این مرد« افسانه» هولوکاست را در دهان احمدی نژاد انداخت |publisher=Aftab News |language=fa |access-date=2006-02-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926221236/http://www.aftabnews.ir/vdcb8fbrhzbga.html |archive-date=2007-09-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref>


'''Quotes:'''
'''Quotes:'''
*On Jews: "Historically, there are many accusations against the Jews. For example, it was said that they were the source for such deadly diseases as the plague and typhus. This is because the Jews are very filthy people. For a time people also said that they poisoned water wells belonging to Christians and thus killed them".<ref name = memri>[http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP118606 Iranian Presidential Advisor Mohammad Ali Ramin: ‘The Resolution of the Holocaust Issue Will End in the Destruction of Israel’]</ref>
*On Jews: "Historically, there are many accusations against the Jews. For example, it was said that they were the source for such deadly diseases as the plague and typhus. This is because the Jews are very filthy people. For a time people also said that they poisoned water wells belonging to Christians and thus killed them".<ref name = memri>[http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP118606 Iranian Presidential Advisor Mohammad Ali Ramin: ‘The Resolution of the Holocaust Issue Will End in the Destruction of Israel’]</ref>
*On Israel: "By taking the Jews to the Muslim world, they (the West) have created a situation where the Jews will be destroyed. And so you can see that Israel has been created to destroy not only Muslims but the Jews themselves."<ref name="Can Iran Change"/>
*On Israel: "By taking the Jews to the Muslim world, they (the West) have created a situation where the Jews will be destroyed. And so you can see that Israel has been created to destroy not only Muslims but the Jews themselves."<ref name="Can Iran Change">{{cite web|date=13 April 2009|title=Can Iran Change?|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/04/13/can-iran-change|access-date=9 January 2016|website=New Yorker}}</ref>
*On the West: "When the Islamic Revolution of Iran succeeded and attracted many people around the world, including Christians, the AIDS epidemic came about, and fear again overtook the world. After the September 11 attacks, the deadly epidemic broke out, which was destroyed when the U.S. invaded Afghanistan. On the eve of the invasion of Iran, the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) illness broke out, but disappeared after the invasion".<ref name = memri/>
*On the West: "When the Islamic Revolution of Iran succeeded and attracted many people around the world, including Christians, the AIDS epidemic came about, and fear again overtook the world. After the September 11 attacks, the deadly epidemic broke out, which was destroyed when the U.S. invaded Afghanistan. On the eve of the invasion of Iran, the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) illness broke out, but disappeared after the invasion".<ref name = memri/>
*On 9/11 attacks: "The Zionists have blamed it on the Muslims so that they have an excuse to attack some Muslim nations, but it was all for naught. The Jews had also helped Nero, and it had not saved the Roman Empire from collapse."<ref name="Can Iran Change"/>
*On [[September 11 attacks|9/11 attacks]]: "The Zionists have blamed it on the Muslims so that they have an excuse to attack some Muslim nations, but it was all for naught. The Jews had also helped Nero, and it had not saved the Roman Empire from collapse."<ref name="Can Iran Change"/>

==Personal life==
Ramin is married to Dr. Susan Safaverdi. Together they have two sons and one daughter, Mohammad Yasin Ramin (born 1981),<ref>{{Cite web|title=Iran Court Sentences Well-Connected Businessman, Married To Movie Star|url=https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-court-sentences-well-connected-businessman-married-to-movie-star/29951202.html|access-date=2021-04-07|website=RFE/RL|date=19 May 2019 |language=en}}</ref> Mohammad Amin Ramin (born 1987), and Salehe Ramin (born 1989). He is the father-in-law of Iranian actress [[Mahnaz Afshar]].<ref>{{cite web| title =Mahnaz Afshar and her mother in law, father in law and daughter| url =http://www.soozheha.org/afshar-mother-father-daughter/#sthash.c0MLKocU.dpuf| website =Soozheha| date =6 June 2015| access-date =9 January 2016| archive-date =27 January 2016| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20160127093644/http://www.soozheha.org/afshar-mother-father-daughter/#sthash.c0MLKocU.dpuf| url-status =dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Has Iran's award-winning actress left Iran to escape prosecution?|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2019/12/iranian-artist-becomes-controversy-between-iran-and-saudia.html|access-date=2021-04-07|website=Al Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East|date=11 December 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

He teaches at [[Payame Noor University]] in [[Tehran]].


==See also==
==See also==
Line 66: Line 69:


==External links==
==External links==
*{{Fa icon}} {{En icon}} [http://www.maramin.ir/ Mohammad-Ali Ramin's weblog]
*{{in lang|fa|en}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20100211144746/http://www.maramin.ir/ Mohammad-Ali Ramin's weblog]
*{{Fa icon}} [http://www.baztab.ir/news/56566.php An interview with Mohammad-Ali Ramin] ''(Baztab news 2006)''
*{{in lang|fa}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20070111152545/http://www.baztab.ir/news/56566.php An interview with Mohammad-Ali Ramin] ''(Baztab news 2006)''
*{{de icon}} {{YouTube|TLYT_QeCF2E|Video: Interview with Mohammad-Ali Ramin in Tehran, summer 2007, on his views on the US/Israeli military threat against Iran and his hope to die fighting against this evil enemy}}
*{{in lang|de}} {{YouTube|TLYT_QeCF2E|Video: Interview with Mohammad-Ali Ramin in Tehran, summer 2007, on his views on the US/Israeli military threat against Iran and his hope to die fighting against this evil enemy}}


{{Historical revisionism}}
{{Historical revisionism}}
Line 79: Line 82:
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:German people of Iranian descent]]
[[Category:German people of Iranian descent]]
[[Category:People from Khuzestan Province]]
[[Category:People from Khuzestan province]]
[[Category:Coalition of the Pleasant Scent of Servitude politicians]]
[[Category:Coalition of the Pleasant Scent of Servitude politicians]]
[[Category:Association of Muslim Journalists politicians]]
[[Category:Presidential advisers of Iran]]
[[Category:Vice ministers of Iran]]
[[Category:Far-right politics in Iran]]
[[Category:Iranian far-right politicians]]

Latest revision as of 03:58, 11 November 2024

Mohammad-Ali Ramin
Mohammad Ali Ramin
Vice Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance
for Press Affairs
In office
1 November 2009 – 25 December 2010
PresidentMahmoud Ahmadinejad
MinisterMohammad Hosseini
Preceded byAlireza Malekian
Succeeded byMohammad-Jafar Mohammadzadeh
Personal details
Born (1954-02-04) February 4, 1954 (age 70)[1]
Dezful, Khuzestan Province, Iran[1]
Political partyCoalition of the Pleasant Scent of Servitude[1]
Other political
affiliations
Front of Followers of the Line of the Imam and the Leader (before 2005)[1]
SpouseSousan Safavardi
Children3
Alma materClausthal University of Technology[2]
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology[2]

Mohammad-Ali Ramin (Persian: محمدعلی رامین, born 1954) is an Iranian politician, political analyst and writer who served as the Vice Minister of Culture and a presidential advisor under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.[3] He organised the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust, a conference involving Holocaust deniers, which took place in Tehran in 2006.[2]

Early life and education

[edit]

Mohammad-Ali Ramin was born in 1954, in Dezful, Khuzestan Province.[4]

He attended Clausthal University of Technology and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany, studying Mechanical Engineering and Process Engineering.[2] Ramin lived in Germany from 1971 to 1994, until he was deported, allegedly for having close ties and links with the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany.[5][2] He speaks fluent German.[6] He founded the Islamische Gemeinschaft in Clausthal.[7]

Ramin heads the Society for the Defence of Muslims in the West and the founder of a group called The Cells of the Martyrs of the Velayat (velayat: the conversion of the dogma within Shia Islam).[7]

Career

[edit]

Deputy Culture minister

[edit]

In November 2009, the Minister for Culture Mohammad Hosseini appointed Ramin as his Deputy Culture Minister. He continued this position until December 2010.[8]

Sanctions were placed on Ramin on 23 May 2012 by the European Union for 'abuse of human rights'. The EU identified Ramin as having been complicit in censorship activities while he was in government.[9]

Views on the Holocaust

[edit]

in December 2006, Ramin organised the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust which took place in Tehran. Prominent attendees included far right political activist David Duke, revisionist historical scholar Robert Faurisson and Haredi Rabbi and anti-Zionist activist Yisroel Dovid Weiss among others. Ramin personally invited German psychologist Bendikt Frings, a member of the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany.[10][5] The conference provoked international criticism.[11]

According to Aftab News, Ramin was the one who initiated the idea of "relocation of Israel" and also the idea that the "Holocaust is a myth". He himself accepted the full responsibility of this action, as Aftab News reported. In an interview with Financial Times, Ramin stated that he has also initiated the "Holocaust commission" and he is the founder of the Conference on Holocaust in Tehran.

Ramin suggested that former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad establish a committee for clarifying the "real extent" of the Holocaust.[12]

Ramin praised Ahmadinejad for having voiced his doubts over the Holocaust and the need for relocating the Jews to Europe if Europeans really did the massacre during the Second World War.[13]

Following his ideas and suggestions about the Holocaust, President Ahmadinejad appointed him as an advisor.[14]

Quotes:

  • On Jews: "Historically, there are many accusations against the Jews. For example, it was said that they were the source for such deadly diseases as the plague and typhus. This is because the Jews are very filthy people. For a time people also said that they poisoned water wells belonging to Christians and thus killed them".[15]
  • On Israel: "By taking the Jews to the Muslim world, they (the West) have created a situation where the Jews will be destroyed. And so you can see that Israel has been created to destroy not only Muslims but the Jews themselves."[16]
  • On the West: "When the Islamic Revolution of Iran succeeded and attracted many people around the world, including Christians, the AIDS epidemic came about, and fear again overtook the world. After the September 11 attacks, the deadly epidemic broke out, which was destroyed when the U.S. invaded Afghanistan. On the eve of the invasion of Iran, the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) illness broke out, but disappeared after the invasion".[15]
  • On 9/11 attacks: "The Zionists have blamed it on the Muslims so that they have an excuse to attack some Muslim nations, but it was all for naught. The Jews had also helped Nero, and it had not saved the Roman Empire from collapse."[16]

Personal life

[edit]

Ramin is married to Dr. Susan Safaverdi. Together they have two sons and one daughter, Mohammad Yasin Ramin (born 1981),[17] Mohammad Amin Ramin (born 1987), and Salehe Ramin (born 1989). He is the father-in-law of Iranian actress Mahnaz Afshar.[18][19]

He teaches at Payame Noor University in Tehran.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d احمدی‌نژاد به شدت طرفدار هاشمی بود؟! (PDF). Ārmān-e Emrooz (in Persian) (2487). Tehran: 6. 8 June 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e Wittrock, Philipp (2006-02-17). "Iranische Holocaust-Konferenz: "Unser Präsident meint es nur gut"" [Iranian Holocaust Conference: "Our President only means well"]. Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 2021-04-07.
  3. ^ "Mohammad-Ali Ramin becomes deputy culture minister for press" Tehran Times, November 2nd, 2009
  4. ^ "Mohammad-Ali Ramin". FARS news agency. November 2009. Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  5. ^ a b "The Political Craft of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad | Part 2: The Great Balancing Act". PBS. 29 November 2010. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  6. ^ "Iran's Leading Holocaust Denier Named Deputy Minister". Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty. 2 November 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  7. ^ a b Backes, Uwe; Moreau, Patrick (June 2012). Die völkisch-religiöse Bewegung im Nationalsozialismus. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. ISBN 9783525369227. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  8. ^ "Mohammad-Ali Ramin". Foundation for Defence of Democracies. 2012. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  9. ^ "Council Regulation (EU) No 264/2012 of 23 March 2012 amending Regulation (EU) No 359/2011 Concerning Restrictive Measures Directed Against Certain Persons, Entities, and Bodies in View of the Situation in Iran". The Council of the European Union. May 2012. Retrieved 9 January 2016.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ "Canadian prof's presence at Iran forum 'abhorrent': university". CBC News. 2006-12-13.
  11. ^ Amir Taheri. The Persian Night: Iran Under the Khomeinist Revolution, Encounter Books, 2010, p. 143.
  12. ^ Radio Free Europe
  13. ^ Muslim Brotherhood backtracks on leader's remarks denying Holocaust
  14. ^ این مرد« افسانه» هولوکاست را در دهان احمدی نژاد انداخت (in Persian). Aftab News. Archived from the original on 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2006-02-05.
  15. ^ a b Iranian Presidential Advisor Mohammad Ali Ramin: ‘The Resolution of the Holocaust Issue Will End in the Destruction of Israel’
  16. ^ a b "Can Iran Change?". New Yorker. 13 April 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  17. ^ "Iran Court Sentences Well-Connected Businessman, Married To Movie Star". RFE/RL. 19 May 2019. Retrieved 2021-04-07.
  18. ^ "Mahnaz Afshar and her mother in law, father in law and daughter". Soozheha. 6 June 2015. Archived from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  19. ^ "Has Iran's award-winning actress left Iran to escape prosecution?". Al Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 2021-04-07.
[edit]