Roger Garaudy
Roger Garaudy | |
---|---|
Senator for Seine | |
In office 26 April 1959 – 31 October 1962 | |
Member of the National Assembly for Seine | |
In office 2 January 1956 – 8 December 1958 | |
Member of the National Assembly for Tarn | |
In office 21 October 1945 – 4 July 1951 | |
Personal details | |
Born | King Faisal International Prize | 17 July 1913
Roger Garaudy (French:
Early life and education
Roger Garaudy was born in
Political career
Garaudy joined the
Garaudy remained a Christian and eventually re-converted to Catholicism during his political career. Eventually he converted to Islam.[9] 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.[10]
Garaudy was expelled from the Communist Party in 1970, because he had criticized the party's position on the student movement and the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia.[7] His philosophical and political views were characterized as revisionist by Soviet commentators.[11] He had, however, accepted the invasion of Hungary in 1956.[6]
Academic career
He obtained a
Garaudy lectured in the faculty of arts department of the University of Clermont-Ferrand from 1962 to 1965. Due to controversies between Garaudy and Michel Foucault, Garaudy left. He later taught in Poitiers from 1969 to 1972.[2]
His main research subject was foundations of revolutionary politics.[5]
Political and philosophical views
As of 1940s, Garaudy was critical of Jean-Paul Sartre's view of freedom, maintaining that it lacks any social, economic, political or historical context.[8] He criticized Being and Nothingness for what he deemed not going beyond the domain of metaphysical pathology, and Sartre's novels for "depicting only degenerates and human wrecks" and describing his existentialism as "a sickness".[8]
Garaudy's faith in communism was shaken in 1956, after
In 1974, Frederic Will described him as sympathetic towards Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Gabriel Marcel. He held that the Western culture was something of a coalition between the idealistic philosophy and the elite class, which is devoted to turning man away from the material world.[13] The goal of socialism in his view was not simply economic or providing social justice, but also giving each individual their personal chances for creativity.[5]
Conversion to Islam
Around 1980, Garaudy read
In The Case of Israel: A Study of Political Zionism (1983), Garaudy portrays Zionism as an isolationist and segregationist ideology that is not only dependent on antisemitism to nourish, but also willfully encourages it to achieve its goals.[14]
Holocaust denial
Conviction of violating Gayssot Act
In 1996, Garaudy
Garaudy v. France
Garaudy appealed this decision to the European Court of Human Rights, stating that his book was a political work criticizing the policies of Israel that did not deny that the Nazis had committed crimes against humanity, and that his freedom of expression was interfered by the French courts. At his hearing, Garaudy stated that his book in no way condoned National Socialist methods, and that book was an attack on the mythologizing and use of "the holocaust" by Israeli government as policy. He argued that his book dealt with the Israeli government's use of "the holocaust" as a "justifying dogma" for its actions, mainly in Palestine and toward Palestinians.[17]
His appeal was rejected as inadmissible.[16][18] The ECHR ruled that Garaudy has denied historical facts in his book which is not a research work. It also argued that the interference pursued two of the legitimate aims included in Gayssot Act articles and is not a violation of Garaudy's right for free speech. The ECHR did not use this rationale in Perinçek v. Switzerland.[19]
Iranian support
In
In December 2006, Garaudy was unable to attend the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust in Tehran, Iran owing to ill health. He reportedly sent a videotaped message supporting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's view that Israel should cease to exist.[24][25]
Death and legacy
Roger Garaudy died in Chennevières-sur-Marne, Val-de-Marne, on Wednesday 13 June 2012, aged 98.[26]
According to Azzam Tamimi, Tunisian thinker Rached Ghannouchi was inspired by Garaudy in the early 1980s, after he read a translation of his book on women. He subsequently authored a treatise on women rights and on the status of women in the Islamic movement, partly influenced by Garaudy's work.[27]
Awards and honours
- Croix de Guerre[28][6]
- Médaille de la déportation et de l'internement pour faits de Résistance[28]
- King Faisal International Prize for Services to Islam (1986), jointly with Ahmed Deedat[29]
- Prix Kadhafi des droits de l'homme (2002)[30][31]
Bibliography
Books by Garaudy
The author of more than 70 books,[32][33] some his translated works include:
- Literature of the Graveyard: Jean-Paul Sartre, François Mauriac, André Malraux, Arthur Koestler, New York, International Publishers, 1948.
- Marxism and Religion, Australian Left Review, 1949.
- Science and Faith in Teilhard de Chardin, in collaboration with Claude Cuenot, Garnstone Press, 1967.
- Karl Marx: The Evolution of his Thought, International Publishers, 1967, Greenwood Press, 1967, Lawrence & Wishart, 1967.
- From Anathema to Dialogue: The Challenge of Marxist-Christian Cooperation, Collins, 1967.
- From Anathema to Dialogue: A Marxist Challenge to the Christian Churches, Vintage, 1968.
- A Christian-Communist Dialogue: Exploration for Co-operation between a Marxist and a Christian, in collaboration with Quentin Lauer, S.J., New York: Doubleday, 1968.
- Marxism in the Twentieth Century, HarperCollins Distribution Services, 1970, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1970, Collins, 1970.
- The Crisis in Communism: The Turning Point of Socialism, Grove Press, 1970.
- The Turning Point of Socialism, New York: HarperCollins Distribution Services, 1970, London: Fontana, 1970.
- Socialism's Unanswered Questions: Europe 1968, Sydney, Australian Left Review, 1970.
- The Whole Truth, Fontana, 1971.
- The Alternative Future: A Vision of Christian Marxism, Simon & Schuster, 1974.
- God, Marx, and the Future: Dialogue with Roger Garaudy, in collaboration with Russell Bradner Norris, Fortress Press, c. 1974.
- Karl Marx: Evolution of his Thought, Greenwood Press, 1976, Praeger, 1977, ABC-CLIO, 1977.
- The Case of Israel: A Study of Political Zionism, Shorouk International, 1983.
- Mosquée, miroir de l'Islam, The Mosque, Mirror of Islam, Editions du Jaguar, 1985.
- The Founding Myths of Israeli Politics, published by Aaargh, 1996.
- The Mythical Foundations of Israeli Policy, Studies Forum International, 1997.
Books and theses about Garaudy
- André Dupleix, Le Socialisme de Roger Garaudy et le problème religieux, Toulouse: Privat, 1971.
- Michael B. Hughes, The Christian-Marxist Dialogue as Reflected in the Thought of Josef L. Hromadka and Roger Garaudy, M.A. thesis, Kansas State Teachers Collegeof Emporia, 1970
- Charles Joseph McClain, Jr., From Ideology to Utopia: The Marxist Careers of Ernst Fischer and Roger Garaudy, Ph.D. thesis, Stanford University, 1972
- Serge Perottino, Roger Garaudy et le marxisme du XXe siècle, Paris: Seghers, 1969 (Philosophes de tous les temps)
- Michaël Prazan and Adrien Minard, Roger Garaudy, itinéraire d'une négation, Paris: Calmann-Lévy, 2007
- Julian Spencer Roche, Marxism and Christianity: Taking Roger Garaudy's Project Seriously, thesis, Edinburgh Research Archive, University of Edinburgh, 2021
Articles about Garaudy
- Maurice Cranston, "The Thought of Roger Garaudy," Problems of Communism, vol. 19, no. 5 (Sept.-Oct. 1970), pp. 11–18.
See also
References
- ^ "French philosopher Roger Garaudy dies". 15 June 2012.
- ^ a b c Cross, Tony (15 June 2012). "From French resistance to Holocaust denial – Roger Garaudy dies at 98". RFI English.
- ISBN 9780313345388.
- ISBN 9783110288148.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-231-03717-4
- ^ a b c d "Roger Garaudy: Veteran of the Resistance who later became a Holocaust denier". The Independent. London. 24 June 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- ^ ISBN 9780191735004
- ^ JSTOR 23512854
- ^ "French philosopher Roger Garaudy dies". BBC News. 15 June 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ "Ce qui a fait chuter l'abbé Pierre", L'Express, 02-05-1996, (in French).
- ^ See Marxism and the Renegade Garaudy and Scientific Communism and Its Modern Falsifiers.
- ^ Wetter, Gustav Andreas (1960), Dialectical Materialism: A Historical and Systematic Survey of Philosophy in the Soviet Union, F. A. Praeger, p. 241
- JSTOR 295973
- S2CID 146147436
- ^ "From French resistance to Holocaust denial – Roger Garaudy dies at 98 – Africa – Radio France Internationale". 15 June 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
- ^ a b "Writer fined for 'holocaust' writings". BBC News. BBC. 27 February 1998. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- ^ "Writer fined for holocaust writings". BBC News. BBC. 27 February 1998. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- ^ Inadmissibility Decision in the Case of Garaudy v. France, European Court of Human Rights, 7 July. 2003.
- ^ Gorton, Sean (2015), "The Uncertain Future of Genocide Denial Laws in the European Union" (PDF), The George Washington International Law Review, 47 (2): 421–445[permanent dead link]
- ^ Black, Edwin (13 January 2012). "Denial of Holocaust nothing new in Iran / Ties to Hitler led to plots against British and Jews". SF Gate. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- ISBN 9781317983477.
- ^ a b Menashri, David. "Iran, the Jews and the Holocaust". The Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism, Tel Aviv University. Archived from the original on 1 February 2009.
- ISBN 9783110288216.
- ^ Taheri, Amir (11 April 2007). "Roger Garaudy". Asharq Al-awsat. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
- ^ "The Real Challenge in the Middle East is Ideology". The Times of Israel. Jewish News Service. 2 July 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- ^ "Controversial French philosopher Garaudy dies". France-24. 15 June 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- ISBN 9780195395891)
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of January 2024 (link - ^ a b Luc Cédelle, "Roger Garaudy : mort d'une figure du négationnisme", Le Monde, 15 June 2012. Retrieved 2012.
- ^ "Service to Islam | King Faisal International Prize". Archived from the original on 6 January 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
- Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace, 15 June 2012. Retrieved 2012.
- ^ "Jean Ziegler refuse le «prix Kadhafi des droits de l'homme»", Le Temps, 2 October 2002. Retrieved 2012.
- ^ "Décès de Roger Garaudy, un ex-intellectuel communiste devenu négationniste", France Info
- ^ "DISPARITION DE ROGER GARAUDY, DE STALINE À MAHOMET", L'Humanité
External links
- Full text books by Roger Garaudy on Persée, Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur, de la Recherche et de l'Innovation
- Roger Garaudy research papers, academia.edu
- Roger Garaudy at French Senate
- Bernard Schmid, Der politisch-ideologische Werdegang des Roger Garaudy. Oder: Die schrittweise Zerstörung der Vernunft (German text)
- Goetz Nordbruch, The Socio-historical Background of Holocaust Denial in Arab Countries: Arab Reactions to Roger Garaudy's The Founding Myths of Israeli Politics, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2005
- Julian Spencer Roche, Marxism and Christianity: taking Roger Garaudy’s project seriously, University of Edinburgh, 2021 (Ph.D. thesis)