Dieudonn and Iran

The Dark Side of Comedy

March 2014

1
Abstract
With the outburst of the 'Affaire Dieudonn ' in late 2013, the world discovered the French
comedian Dieudonn, his controversial joes and his !uenelles"
Des#ite the number of articles written on Dieudonn and on the !uestion whether the !uenelle is
anti$%ewish or reflects anti$establishment views, we did not read much articles remindin& the
#rivile&ed relations Dieudonn has with 'ran or at least had with former 'ranian (resident )ahmud
Ahmadinejad"
*owever, such articles do e+ist and have been #ublished since 200,, when Dieudonn be&an to
dis#la- his #ro+imit- with .ehran"
We do not #retend to innovate, nor to discover hidden bounds with this #a#er, but rather to
remind the reader of the relations Dieudonn has with 'ran, in a wor &rounded on articles
#ublished in French #ress between 200, and 2013"
We will tr- here to sum u# our nowled&e about Dieudonn's ties with 'ran, drawin& the main lines
of a relationshi# which has #roved itself as central in Dieudonn's activities"
2
Table of Contents
l. Ideological Ties......................................................................................................................4
1" /ommon &round""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""4
a) Negationism"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""0
b) Conspiracy theories and Shoah business"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""1
c) Sunna and Shi'a""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""",
2" 2eferences and mutual admiration""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""7
ll. The Facts...............................................................................................................................8
1" .ri#s to 'ran, 3ebanon and 4-ria"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""8
a) 2006: Lebanon and Syria""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""5
b) ran""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""10
2" An acnowled&ed case of financial su##ort 6 L'!ntis " mite """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""12
lll. The Anti-ionist !ist and Iran...............................................................................................1"
1"(resentation""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""1"
a)Main #atterns"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""13
b) Composition"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""10
c)$esu%ts"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""11
2" /ontrovers- about 'ran's involvment in the list"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""1#
a) &ac'ground: (irst Suspicions""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""1,
b) Sora%'s inter)ie* and dissidence o+ !hmed Mua%e' ,""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""1,
c) $ue -.'s inter)ie* o+ /ieudonn" and Sora%"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""15
3" Does the actual amount reall- matter7 3e&al issues"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""18
Conclusions..............................................................................................................................2$
3
l. Ideological Ties
1. Co%%on ground
Ahmadinejad's 'ran and Dieudonn shared a similar ideolo&- on certain to#ics, the main
common #oints bein& ne&ationism, anti$8ionism and cons#irationism"
We assume that the reader nows Ahmadinejad's #oint of view on these subjects and therefore
this #a#er will not dee#en in Ahmadinejad's ideolo&-"
a) Negationism
'0esterday1 met an a%ien 2 3hy are you %aughing4 Shut up5 !%iens do e6ist5 ts not %i'e the gas chambers story1
+or a%iens *e')e got proo+s'
9(o6trot, 2012:
.his !uote is characteristic of Dieudonn" *e is alwa-s callin& into !uestion the veracit- of
the *olocaust and lies to as if ';We< could see the #lans' of the &as chambers"
=n December 2,
th
, 2005, Dieudonn invited onsta&e 2obert Faurisson, a well$nown advocate of
*olocaust denial, and ased the audience to a##laud him" %ac- 4i&au+, Dieudonn's lo-al assistant
and dressed as a concentration cam# #risoner for the occasion, then handed a fae #ri>e to the
controversed historian
1
"
Dieudonn shot several videos on ?outube and a movie 97he !nti8Semite, 2012: with Faurisson
2
,
and often #raises the man and his wors in his one$man$shows
3
"
@oth of them are #roud of their mutual friendshi# and do not tr- to hide it, !uite the o##osite"
1 htt#6AAwww"-outube"comAwatch7vB0=-aCaDw#o , (aris, 2,"12"2005
2 For e+am#le6 htt#6AAwww"dail-motion"comAvideoA+5rrcEdieudonne$faurisson$le$setchEfun
3 (articularl- in Mahmud 92010:" For e+am#le6 '*e ;Faurisson< is the onl- historian looin& for the truth F and toda-
his life is in dan&er, the )ossad wants to ill him'
4
.his #ublic friendshi# is even nown outside of
France6 Faurisson and Dieudonn have been invited
to&ether in .ehran, alon&side with re#resentants of
the Geturei Harta sect, to attend a conference
about '*oll-woodism and 8ionism' in Februar-
2012 within the conte+t of the 30
th
'nternational
Film Festival in .ehran"
b) Conspiracy theories and Shoah business
'n a #ress conference &iven in Al&iers in Februar- 2001, Dieudonn #roclaimed that the
/2'F
0
is 'a mafia that has total control over French #olic- e+ercise'"
*e also uses a lot of antisemitistic fi&ures in his shows or videos such as the fictional character of
'Finielcrotte' 9litterall- 'Finielcra#', a #un created from the
name Finielraut, belon&in& to a well$now French %ewish
#hiloso#her: who accordin& to Dieudonn #ossesses the e-s of
all French .I studios 9$ende98nous :"sus5, 2011: or who &ives
orders to world's most #rominent leaders 9:'ai +ait %'con, 2005:
on the soundtrac of the ;od+ather"
*e also often de#icts the Jl-se as the 'most famous 'sraeli
or&ani>ation', su##osed to be waitin& for 'orders from above'"
About the D4H affair, he said6 '?ou now, elections are for jers
who believe that the #eo#le #artici#ates" D4H alread- had his sli##ers in the Jl-se (alace" When
the- cau&ht him, all were shoced in the Kreat 4-na&o&ue of %erusalem F L#ut -our dics awa-,
&u-sML'
1
"
0 /2'F 9/onseil 2e#rsentatif des 'nstitutions juives de France N 2e#resentative /ouncil of French %ewish 'nstitutions:,
is an umbrella or&ani>ation of French %ewish or&ani>ations
1 $ende98nous :"sus, 2011
5
!hmadine<ad presents (aurisson *ith an
a*ard1 (ebruary 2012
Dieudonn also uses of another well$nown #attern6 the belief in a 4hoah industr-" Got
onl- has the *olocaust been sta&ed, or at least did not ha##en as de#icted in the 'official *istor-',
but it has also been sta&ed on #ur#ose, in order to &rant %ews the ri&ht to 'racet the world' and to
do whatever the- want to the (alestinian #eo#le"
.his is far awa- even from the most e+treme anti$8ionist and #ro$(alestinian movements which
claim that 'the victims of -esterda- have become toda-'s tortioners' but reco&ni>e the e+istence of
the *olocaust" For Dieudonn, the ver- e+istence of the *olocaust is to be called into !uestion6 it
has been sta&ed ans serves as a blan chec for 'srael which uses it to justif- ever-thin&" *olocaust
is a fictional 'memorial #orno&ra#h-'
,
servin& as a #olitical levera&e tool"
c) Sunna and Sh'ia
Another as#ect that Dieudonn and Ahmadinejad have in common, althou&h not as well
nown as the #revious #oints, is their #articular stance toward 4unnism"
Althou&h he has been at first close to Abdelaim 4ifrioui, leader of the Co%%ecti+ Chei'h 0assine
O
,
Dieudonn #ro&ressivel- moved awa- from the 4unni movement, &ettin& closer and closer to 4hi'i
movements and, finall-, to 'ran"
With the time, there has been a clear evolution in Dieudonn's re#resentation of the Cmma" An
admirator of *amas
5
at first, he now sees the movement N and in fact ever- 4unni movement,
includin& Al$Paeda N as an =ccidental #awn, conned b- 4audi$C4 #etrodollars"
*is #ositions on the 4-rian /ivil War case led to &rave tensions within his 's#here' $ the
'Dieudos#here' $ and even to a micro$schism amon& his audience" .he defection of Ahmed )uale
in #articular, 4unni, o##osant to Asad's re&ime and the founder of La ban%ieue s'e6prime, had
severe conse!uences for the 'Dieudos#here', as we shall demonstrate further"
, htt#6AAwww"dail-motion"comAvideoA+33bu#Edieudonne$#orno&ra#hie$memorielle$sEnews , Al&iers, 1,"02"2001
7 A 4unni #ro#alestinian movement, #oliticall- and ideolo&icall- close to *amas and the )uslim @rotherhood $
http://soutien-palestine.blogspot.co.il/
8 *e sent his con&ratulations to the movement after it won decisive majorit- in the (alestinian (arliament in %anuar-
200,6 htt#6AAwww"#rochoi+"or&Ac&iAblo&Ainde+"#h#A200,A01A30A1035$dieudonne$felicite$le$hamas
6
2. &eferences and %utual ad%iration
2eferences and com#liments for the 'ranian re&ime, and its allies 9mainl- Asad's 4-ria and
*e>bollah: are #articularl- #resent in his show Mahmud 92010:, so called as a tribute to
Ahmadinejad, and where he describes the former iranian (resident as a true and charismatic
leader, a hero fi&htin& almost alone the evil forces of C"4" im#erialism and %ewish neo$colonialism"
'nterviewed b- 'ranian media in Juro#e and durin& his visits in 'ran, he alwa-s have been ver-
laudator- towards .ehran's re&ime"
.his admiration for the re&ime and its allies is
e+#ressed throu&h different forms6 in his shows
of course, but also in the videos he u#loads to
?ou.ube where he often affirms his su##ort to
Asad, on the #osters of his one$man$shows or
even in the name of the loun&e in his .hQtre
de la )ain d'=r6 the '*e>bollah /lub'"
Dieudonn and Ahmadinejad's 'ran thus clearl- shared a common ideolo&- &rounded on
ne&ationism, official anti$8ionism and cons#irac- theories but also on a distrust towards 4unnism
seen as corru#ted b- #etrodollars and which has bowed down to the C"4" and &lobal %ewr-" .he-
share &ood friends and allies and this relation is #ublicl- claimed b- Dieudonn"
4ince 200,, claims have become facts and Ahmadinejad also had the occasion to show his
admiration to the French comedian"
7
7he %ogo o+ =e9bo%%ah on the o++icia% poster o+ /ieudonn"'s
)ahmud >2010)
ll. The Facts
Words have been translated into action since 200," .herefrom, Dieudonn has often been
seen in .ehran or Damascus" *ere follow some e+am#les of his )iddle$Jastern travels and
businesses"
1.Tri's to Iran( !ebanon and )*ria
a) 2006: ebanon and Syria
Dieudonn travelled to southern 3ebanon in late Au&ust 200, 9he landed on Au&ust 25
th
: to
su##ort *e>bollah fi&hters and 3ebanese #o#ulation after the end of the 200, 3ebanon war"
*e was accom#anied $ amon& others
R
$ b- Alain 4oral
10
and .hierr- )e-ssan, founder and chairman
of the Ioltaire Getwor, an or&ani>ation officiall- #romotin& freedom of e+#ression and
secularism, and denouncin& C4 im#erialism
11
"
't is interestin& to notice that one of the de#ut- chairmen of )e-ssan's Ioltaire Getwor is no
other than 'ssa Jl$A-oubi, who is also a #rominent member of the infamous 4-rian 4ocial
R .he full team included Dieudonn, 4oral, )e-ssan, /hatillon and Ahmed )uale
10 Alain 4oral is a French #olitician, essa-ist and #ublisher" (revious #un, communist, and e+$ Front Gational active
member, he calls himself a leftist$nationalist"
*e wrote ?nderstanding the @mpire, where he drew the o##osition between nations and the 'Jm#ire' ruled b-
banin&, #rotestantism, free$masoner- and 'srael"
For him, 'srael and the %ews use the #ower of their mone- as a mean of &lobal &overnance"
*e sees himself as a hero who stands a&ainst mainstream conformism, sa-in& what other #eo#le do not dare to sa-
because of the dreadful mi&ht of the #rinci#al enem- N 'srael"
4oral is the founder of J&alit S 2conciliation, a #olitical association mainl- active online and which has #roven itself
as !uite efficient6 'soralian' is now a stand#oint in French far$ri&ht world" )an- neo$nationalists indentif- to his
a##roaches and call themselves 'soralians'" *owever, the- are often moced b- 'white nationalists' who nicname
them 'baboosh sucers' as 4oral #rones 'national reconciliation' and union between '#ure' French and 'new' French $
mainl- Gorth African and 4ub$4aharan immi&rants N in order to fi&ht a&ainst mondial %ewr-"
An old friend of Dieudonn, he was also #resent on the anti$8ionist list led b- Dieudonn and ?ahia Kuasmi for the
Juro#ean elections of 200R
11 .hierr- )e-ssan is also the author of the cons#irationist best$seller .A11: 7he &ig Lie 9/reate4#ace 'nde#endent
(ublishin& (latform, 2003:
8
Gationalist (art- 944G(:
12
" Go wonder then that Dieudonn and his friends met the current leader
of this movement, Ali Panso
13
"*e had been with )ichel Aoun and his Free (atriotic )ovement
9F(): a central actor in the creation of the 5 )arch Alliance, a coalition created with *e>bollah as
a reaction to the /edar 2evolution and thanin& 4-ria for its hel# in 3ebanon"
4uch a #leasant com#an- allowed Dieudonn to meet *e>bollah senior officials
10
, and even to #a-
a visit
11
to *e>bollah's .I channel Al$)anar
1,
"
'n 4-ria, the role of another member of the dele&ation is to be hi&hli&hted N Frdric
/hatillon, /J= S founder of a communication a&enc-, 2iwal" .his a&enc- is nown for bein& a
service #rovider to the French nationalist #art- Front Gational
1O
" *owever, there is a less$nown
facet of the societ-6 its '2iwal$4-ria' branch, worin& for Asad's re&ime and close to the (resident's
inner circle
15
" .his coo#eration with the hi&hest authorities e+#lains how Dieudonn succeeded to
meet senior 4-rian fi&ures such as the @ri&adier Keneral of the 4-rian 2e#ublican Kuard )anaf
.lass 9who then was still lo-al to Asad's re&ime:"
12 .he 44G( is a #an$4-rian secular #olitical #art-, founded in @eirut in 1R32" 't has been the object of wide criticism
due to ideolo&ical, or&ani>ational and s-mbolical resemblances to Ga>ism" After the 3ebanese /ivil War, *e>bollah,
facin& a lac of recruits, offered the 44G( to join the resistance in southern 3ebanon and created the Sayara a%
Mu'a*ama, a 44G( formation militaril- de#endent of *e>bollah, but reli&iousl- inde#endent" Abdel Harim
Gasrallah, the father of *asan Gasrallah, was a member of the 44G(
13 Conspiracy 3atch, 21"01"200R
10 4ee 4oral's interview about his journe- in southern 3ebanon6 htt#6AAwww"e&aliteetreconciliation"frAAlain$4oral$
raconte$son$vo-a&e$au$3iban$en$200,$10552"html
15 '3iban6 )bala )bala au chevet du *e>bollah', www"iran$resist"or&, 01"0R"200,
16 ?ou can also find an interview of Dieudonn, 4oral and )e-ssan6
htt#6AAwww"dail-motion"comAvideoA+l11jeEdieudonne$alain$soral$et$thierr-$me-ssan$en$s-rie$1$2Enews S
htt#6AAwww"dail-motion"comAvideoA+l11mEdieudonne$alain$soral$et$thierr-$me-ssan$en$s-rie$2$2Enews
1O 'Frdric /hatillon, l'im#rimeur radical du Front national', Les nroc's, 20"01"2012
15 '/omment un ancien du KCD fait la #romo de la 4-rie', Le Monde, 15"12"200R S 'Des rseau+ francais au service de
la 4-rie', Lib"ration, 0R"02"2012
9
7he *ho%e team, (rom %e+t to right: !hmed Mua%e'1 /ieudonn"1 7hierry
Meyssan1 !%ain Sora% and (r"d"ric Chati%%on
'n his show Mahmud 92010:,
Dieudonn relates his tri# to 4-ria in
200,, statin& that he met in Damascus
several *e>bollah senior members and
even (resident *u&o /hTve>" Althou&h
baced b- the Ioltaire Getwor
1R
, this
information is difficult to chec"
'n 200,, Dieudonn did met in 3ebanon and 4-ria senior officials of different or&ani>ations, all
havin& a stron& relationshi# with 'ran"
b) !ran
Dieudonn has been several times in 'ran, for e+am#le for a 'Wee$end of resistance in
.ehran'
20
in 200O, where he met )ohammad *onardoost, Iice (resident /ommunications S
'nternational Affairs of the '2'@
21
and Iice (resident of the Asia$(acific @roadcastin& Cnion"
'n Govember 200R, there were #reliminar- tals about a cinemato&ra#hic coo#eration between
Dieudonn's #roductions de %a #%ume, the ranian /ocumentary and @6perimenta% (i%m Center
9DJF/:
22
and the 'ranian )inistr- of /ulture and 'slamic Kuidance
23
"
'We received a substantial bud&et allowin& us to mae movies, on #ar with *oll-wood, which
serves as the lon& arm of 8ionist culture' commented Dieudonn, durin& a #ress conference in his
.hQtre de la )ain d'=r a few da-s later"
.he same -ear, he has been received b- )ahmud Ahmadinejad
20
and ';the-< discussed that the
1R htt#6AAwww"voltairenet"or&Aarticle10321,"html
20 htt#6AAwww"labanlieuese+#rime"or&, 1R"02"200O
21 .he 'slamic 2e#ublic of 'ran @roadcastin& =r&ani>ation, which notabl- launched lastl- a Hu$band television
broadcast over Juro#e and the )JGA re&ion via the Juro#ean .elecommunications 4taellite =r&ani>ation 9Jutelsat:
22 htt#6AAwww"defc"irAenA
23 'U.he Anti$4emiteU comin& to Fajr film festival', 7ehran 7imes, 02"01"2012
24 4ee L'@6press, 20"11"200R6 htt#6AAwww"le+#ress"frAactualiteAmondeAdieudonne$ahmadinejad$nouveau$tandem$
tra&i$comi!ueE530,,1"html
10
With Chatillon (L) and Tlass
world is dominated b- im#erialism and that one cannot mae use of art to de#ict this" We also
discussed the censorshi# conducted b- the 8ionist lobb- in Juro#e and their influence on the
media'"
'n 2012, Dieudonn has been invited once a&ain b- (resident Ahmadinejad, this time with
*olocaust denier 2obert Faurisson for the 30
th
'nternational Film Festival in .ehran
21
"
Accordin& to a document released b- the )iddle Jast )edia 2esearch 'nstitute 9)J)2':
within the conte+t of its !ntisemitism /ocumentation #ro<ect
2,
, Dieudonn #aid another visit in
.ehran in 4e#tember 2011" 'nterviewed then b- 'ranian 4ahar .I, he e+#lained that 'After all,
8ionism illed /hristM 't is 8ionism that claimed that %esus was the son of a whore, whereas in 'slam
there is res#ect F %ust lie what we see is ha##enin& in 3ebanon, we need to convince the
/hristians to join this &reat universal, 'slamic movement" 'slam is not a boundar- N it is the &atewa-
to freedom"'
Dieudonn then #raised his hosts6 ')odern 'slam, o#en to all, was launched b- the 'slamic
2evolution b- 'mam Hhomeini" 't #rovides a ver- broad, universal #ers#ective, which affects the
entire #lanet" 3et us fi&ht injustice" 'njustice has a name N 8ionism F )- son is here with me toda-"
*e loos around and is im#ressed to see a #roud countr-, standin& on its own two feet" What we
need is a model" We need to see that there is a life after 8ionism'"
Dieudonn had also been interviewed b- Kisoo )isha Ahmadi for 'ranian (ress .I
2O
in A#ril 2010,
at a (ress .I's branch in the Cnited Hin&dom"
25 '*olocaust Denier 2eceives Award at 'ranian Film Festival', 7he =u++ington #ost, 13"02"20126
htt#6AAwww"huffin&ton#ost"co"uAjose#h$weissmanAfaurisson$iranian$film$festivalEbE12O01O2"html
2, )J)2', !ntisemitism /ocumentation #ro<ect6 'From the )J)2' Archives6 French /omedian Dieudonn (raises
Antisemitic 'Puenelle' 4alute, /alls For /ou# d'Jtat in France', 4#ecial Dis#atch Go"11R0, 0O"01"2010
27 htt#6AAwww"-outube"comAwatch7vB#2tn&wut/RCVtBR,
11
2. An ac+no,ledged case of financial su''ort - '"ntis # mite
As reminded before, Dieudonn, the 'ranian )inistr- of /ulture and 'slamic Kuidance and
the /ocumentary and @6perimenta% (i%m Center hold #reliminar- tals on their coo#eration for the
#roduction of Dieudonn's movie 7he !nti8Semite 9released in 2012: in Govember 200R"
Jventuall-, Dieudonn's #roductions de %a #%ume teamed u# with =a+t !seman Cinematic Company
9*A//: and the DJF/, as #recised in the o#enin& credits of the movie"
)ohsen Ali$Abari, /J= of *A//
25

underlined to a French news#a#er
that ';he< acce#ted to #roduce the
movie because of ;his< anti$8ionist
beliefs'"
.he information of the co#roduction
has been confirmed b- Alain 4oral's
own website, J&alit et 2conciliation"fr" 'n an article entitled 'Dieudonn #roduces his movie in
'ran'
2R
, his or&ani>ation confirms the information s#read b- L'@6press one da- before
30
"
4ince 200,, Dieudonn multi#lied his visits in 'ran and allied countries" Jnjo-in& an
e+cellent re#utation in 'ran, Dieudonn has found there what he could not reach in France6 a
media #latform, business contacts, and last but not least, a si&nificant financial su##ort"
@ut this su##ort could even have taen an ille&al as#ect in the case of the anti$8ionist list"
25 Lib"ration1 01"0,"2011
2R htt#6AAwww"e&aliteetreconciliation"frADieudonne$#roduit$son$film$en$'ran$,5,1"html
30 L'@6press, 01"0,"20116 htt#6AAwww"le+#ress"frAcultureAcinemaAdieudonne$#roduit$son$film$en$iranERR5503"html
12
lll. The Anti-ionist !ist and Iran
1. .resentation
.he Anti$8ionist 3ist has been #resented b- the anti$8ionist (art- 9(arti Antisioniste, (A4: for
the Juro#ean (arliament elections in 200R"
a) $ain patterns
.he (A4 has been founded in 200R b- ?ahia Kuasmi, who is also the (resident of the French
4hi'i Federation and the founder of the /entre 8ahra
31
, a 4hi'i or&ani>ation based in northern
France"
/entre 8ahra is not onl- a reli&ious foundation su##ortin& the
develo#ment of 4hi'ism in France, where 4unni 'slam is
dominant, but also a #olitical or&ani>ation, havin& a ver- clear
stand#oint about 'srael and 8ionism6 'We, /entre 8ahra France,
alon&side with some 4unni brothers who join us on this #oint,
curse the 8ionist 4tate of 'srael in each and ever- of our five dail-
#ra-ers, for we now that this 4tate is evil'
32
"
.he website hosts articles on 'ran, interviews and declarations of
some #rominent fi&ures such as Ali Hhameini or *assan Gasrallah
and even 'ranian reli&ious .I series"
(osterior to the /entre 8ahra, the (A4 has been founded after =#eration /ast 3ead, durin&
the first months of 200R" .he declared &oal of this #art- is 'to liberate France from 8ionist
31 A sin&le visit on the website 9htt#6AAwww"centre$>ahra"comA: of the association shows the reader what relations
/entre 8ahra ee#s u# with the 'ranian re&ime
32 htt#6AAwww"centre$>ahra"comAactualiteAe+istence$fin$israel$1O12"html
13
7he o++icia% %ogo o+ #!S
occu#ation'
33
" 'ts fiteen$#oints #ro&ram is all about 8ionist occu#ation N not of (alestine, but of
France6 for e+am#le the first #oint, e+#ressin& the wish 'to s#irit awa- 8ionist interference in
national affairs', or the si+th one, callin& for the 'liberation of the media from 8ionist
stran&lehold'
30
"
Accordin& to the website 'ran
Focus
31
, Kuasmi is 'a son of
Hhomeini in France' and is a
re#resentant of the core &rou# of
the su##orters of the 'ranian
re&ime, as he calls Ali Hhameini
'3eader of )uslims'" For the
author, this conce#tion clearl- shows that Kuasmi is a member of the most e+treme #ro$'ranian
fran&e which sees Hhameini the leader not onl- of the 4hi'i world 9and even this #oint is dis#uted
amon& the 4hi'a, as man- A-atollahs do not reco&ni>e Hhameini's leadershi#: but of all the
Cmma
3,
"
'f we have a loo to the com#osition of the list of the (A4 for the 200R Juro#ean Jlection, we find
other infamous #ersonalities"
b) Composition
.he list was led b- Dieudonn and counted into its rans several #ersons nown for their
33 ?ahia Kuasmi in an interview &iven to L'@6press" 4ee '3es amis trWs #articuliers du /entre 8ahra', L'@6press,
2,"02"200R
34 .he fifteen$#oints #ro&ramm of the (A46 htt#6AAwww"#artiantisioniste"comA#ro&ramme" (lease note the lo&o of the
#art-" .he numerous articles concernin& 'ran on the website are ver- hel#ful to understand the nature of the
relation, and the stren&th of the ties between the (A4 and 'ran
35 Puoted b- Mediapart6 htt#6AAblo&s"media#art"frAblo&Ajean$moulin$franceA2O1012A-ahia$&ouasmi$un$enfant$de$
limam$homein-$en$france
3, For more informations on ?ahia Kuasmi, #lease refer to %ean$GoXl /o&he, Le b%ues du reporter 93e /astor Astral,
2002:" 'n this boo, /o&he, who has been a re#orter in the )JGA re&ion for French radio 2.3 from 1ROR to 1RR5
relates his interviews with '?a>id', a #seudon-m for ?ahia" Amon& other informations, the author ar&ues that
Kuasmi has been sus#ected for the attem#t to murder an 'ranian o##osant in 3ondon in 1R50
14
Screenshot +rom Centre Bahra 3ebsite: ;uasmi and /ieudonn" in ran
#articular stance toward the *olocaust or the cons#irac- theories"
?ahia Kuasmi was of course #resent on the list, and so were Alain 4oral and Ahmed )uale" .here
were also Gomie )onta&ne $ Dieudonn's #artner, )aria (oumier, a well$nown French$/uban
*olocaust denier, and Kinette *ess$4andrani who had been de#icted as an anti$4emite and a
ne&ationist b- Juro#alestine
3O
, which denounced her 'dis&ustin& words'
35
"
*ess$4andrani and )aria (oumier founded @ntre %a #%ume et %'@nc%ume, a website s#eciali>ed in
the denunciation of the 4hoah business" As #roclaimed on the website's home#a&e6 '.he *olocaust
is the #rinci#al wea#on of 'srael's #ro#a&anda arsenal" ' we bear witness that the *olocaust was a
m-th, then 'srael will lost its central wea#on'
3R
"
c) %esu&ts
40
.he anti$8ionist list reached a &lobal score of 1"30Y in the whole 'le$de$France re&ion 93,
3O0 voters:"
3O Juro#alestine is a French GK= which sees its #ur#ose in #ressurin& the Cnited Gations, the Juro#ean Cnion and
the French &overnment in order to 'end the occu#ation of the (alestinian territories', in com#liance with CG4/
2esolution 202" .he or&ani>ation also su##orts the scientifical and academical bo-cott of 'srael" Dieudonn ran in
Juro#alestine's list for the 2000 Juro#ean Jlection, but !uicl- distanced himself from the or&ani>ation, &ettin&
closer to 4oral N and *ess$4andrani
38 'Dieudonn sur une #ente trWs &lissante', Juro#alestine's website, 2R"10"20006
htt#6AAwww"euro#alestine"comAarticle"#h#37idEarticleB1010Slan&Bfr
39 4ee the website, full of such affirmations and of cons#irac- theories6 htt#6AAwww"#lumenclume"netA " As of
Februar- 2010, the website also hosts man- articles in su##ort of Dieudonn, #resentin& him as the sca#e&oat of
the 8ionist s-stem
40 =fficial results, the data is on free access on the website of the French )inistr- of 'nterior
9htt#6AAwww"interieur"&ouv"frAJlectionsA3es$resultatsAJuro#eennesAelecresultEEeuro#eennesE200RA:
15
3ith 0ahia ;uasmi >2nd %e+t) and !hmadine<ad
'n 4eine$4aint$Denis, a de#artment nown for the massive #resence of new immi&rants 9most of
them from the )JGA re&ion or 4ub$4aharan Africa:, 2"53Y of the #o#ulation voted for the anti$
8ionist list, with #eas reachin& 1"15Y in /lich-$sous$@ois and 0"R2Y in 4tains"
.hese elections has been a failure for the (A4, as the list #resented b- Juro#alestine &athered 10Y
of the voters in some cities in the 'le$de$France re&ion"
@ut whatever the results were, there has been a controvers- over 'ran's im#lication in the
list" 'f this su##osition is to be ascertained, the conse!uences could be ver- severe for the
'Dieudos#here'"
2. Contro/ers* about Iran0s in/ol/%ent in the list
a) 'ackground: first suspicions
.he fact that a well$nown 4hi'i or&ani>ation &rounded a #olitical list naturall- arose
!uestions about a #ossible financial su##ort b- other 4hi'i or&ani>ations N and b- 'ran"
.he com#le+ #ersonalit- of Kuasmi and his mist- #ast onl- stren&thened the !uestionin&" 3acin&
of facts, those who considered the fundin& of the list as sus#icious have remained relativel- !uiet"
b) Sora&'s inter(ie) and dissidence of "hmed $ua&ek *20+,)
.he turnin& #oint occurred lastl-, in 2013, four -ears after the election" .wo main events
allowed to re$o#en the case and to !uestion a&ain 'ran's role in the fundin& of the anti$8ionist list"
.he first revelation has occured in the joint interview &iven b- Alain 4oral and Kabriele Adinolfi, an
'talian neo$fascist
01
, to J&alit S 2conciliation .I
02
in Gice on )arch R
th
, 2013"
.he interview becomes interestin& after 10620, when 4oral e+#licitl- affirms that 'if we ;the (A4<
succeeded to raise the anti$8ionist list which costed 3 million euros, it is thans to 'ranian mone-'
03
"
01 Adinolfi has been one of the founders of 7er9a #osi9ione, an 'talian militarist, anti$ca#italist, anti$#arliamentarist
and neo$fascist #art- of the O0s" Adinolfi is also famous for havin& baced the 'Kuardia d'=nore )ussolini'
initiative, an or&ani>ation that &uards )ussolini's &rave
02 4oral's channel, #articularl- active on ?outube
43 .he video is on free access on ?outube for the moment6 htt#6AAwww"-outube"comAwatch7vBvhP1ehAwObsVtB,O2
16
A few months later, another catastro#he for the 'Dieudos#here' and the (A46 Ahmed
)uale slams the door and leaves his alliance with Dieudonn, JS2 and the (A4, as a result of his
isolation concernin& the /ivil 4-rian War N he was the sole fi&ure within this &rou# to o##ose
Asad's re&ime"
'n a video #ublished in Au&ust 2013 and entitled 'Alain 4oral, where is the war boot- of the (A47'
00
,
he calls his #revious friends to accounts and char&es them with financial malfeasance6 'As far as '
new, the anti$8ionist list was #rovided with financial su##ort of 300"000 euros F 4oral, where is
the war boot-7 Where are those three million 7'"
't is overtoned here that 'ran did finance the anti$8ionist list, the dis#ute dealin& onl- with the
#oint of the amount of such a su##ort"
For )uale, the fundin& is about three million euros and he &rounds his belief on 4oral's interview
of )arch 2013" .hree da-s after )uale #ublished his video, JS2 #ublished an article on their own
website e+#lainin& that 'three million was a sli# of 4oral's ton&ue' due to his 'tiredness'
01
"
't is interestin& to not that 4oral did not contradict the insinuation of 'ranian su##ort, claimin& that
'dissidence
0,
could have to tae the sha#e of a more #olitical institution and should be aware of
the #olitical realit-'"
'n a word, he invalidated the three million, but did not refute the ori&in of the fundin&"
44 4till available on ?outube6 htt#6AAwww"-outube"comAwatch7vBH254JeitG()
45 htt#6AAwww"e&aliteetreconciliation"frAAhmed$)ouale$s$en$#rend$lui$aussi$a$Alain$4oral$1RORO"html
0, 4oral lies to see himself and his friends as the 'Dissidence', i"e" as the few who success to thin out of the frame
im#osed b- the 'Jm#ire' and to o##ose the mainstream
17
!%ain Sora%
c) &ue 81's inter(ie) of Dieudonn# and Sora&
0O
'n Audre- /erdan and Golwenn 3e @levennec's interview for $ue -., 4oral this time denies
an- forei&n financial involvment in the list6 '' said 'ran because ' made an association of ideas F in
fact we could not have raised this list without the hel# of ?ahia Kuasmi, who embodies 4hi'ism in
France'" Dieudonn then added to the journalists that 'the '4hi'i leaders are in 'ran, so it maes
sense to draw the lin between Kuasmi and 'ran'"
't surel- does mae sense, but this lin could be more than a verbal a##ro+imation, #articularl-
when we now the su##ort Dieudonn &ot from 'ran in other fields before"
".Does the actual a%ount reall* %atter2 !egal issues
Go need to be a mathematician to understand that there is somethin& weird in this stor-"
First, 4oral s#eas about 3 million euros" .hen Ahmed )uale ass where the mone- is and as an
answer the 'Dieudos#here' seems to a&ree on the sum of 300"000 euros"
@ut there is a #roblem since accordin& to the Gational /ommission for /am#ai&n Accounts,
Dieudonn's list received onl- 1OR, euros in donations, for a &lobal income which never e+ceeded
O30, euros
05
"
Where did the 300"000 euros come from, and wh- were not the- declared7 .here could be here a
0O Golwenn 3e @levennec S Audre- /erdan6 '3es 'raniens ont$ils financ la liste antisioniste de Dieudonn7', $ue -.,
21"10"2013
48 .he data is from the official re#ort on the cam#ai&n accounts for the Juro#ean Jlection of %une 200R, #ublished in
the %ournal =fficiel, 15"02"20106
htt#6AAwww"cnccf#"frAdocsAcam#a&neAcnccf#E200REeuro#eennesEdaeE20100215"#df
18
financial malfeasance"
@ut the im#ortant #oint here is that if Dieudonn's list indeed &ot mone- from 'ran, it is #unishable
under the law, as e+#licited in Article 312$5 of the French Jlectoral /ode6 'Aucun candidat ne #eut
recevoir, directement ou indirectement, #our !uel!ue d#ense !ue ce soit, des contributions ou
aides matrielles d'un Jtat tran&er ou d'une #ersonne morale de droit tran&er' N 'a candidate
cannot acce#t, whether directl- or indirectl- F an- contribution or material su##ort from an-
forei&n 4tate or le&al entit-'"
Actin& in contravention with this article e+#oses the offender to a fine or a jail sentence, accordin&
to Article 3113$1 of the same Jlectoral /ode"
.he fundin& of the anti$8ionist #art- is a twili&ht >one, but is it reall- outside le&alit-7 =nl-
an official in$de#th in!uir- could determine whether or not the (A4 acted wron&full-"
19
Conclusions
Dieudonn and 'ran have maintained close contacts since 200," 'nvited in 'ran b-
#rominent #ersonalities, Dieudonn found there a su##ortive re&ime" *imself admirative of
Ahmadinejad, he discovered this admiration as bein& mutual and was #rovided a well$#aced
adress boo which allowed him to develo# business contacts and to enjo- a si&nificative financial
su##ort" .his su##ort is not a m-ster- concernin& his #ersonal #rojects such as the fundin& of a
film or the coo#eration with 'ranian cinemato&ra#hic com#anies"
*owever, the nature of this su##ort is wa- less clear concernin& the anti$8ionist list he led with
Kuasmi, a #rominent 4hi'i leader in France" 'f the nature of the coo#eration between the anti$
8ionist (art- and 'ran were to be financial, it would be #unishable under the French Jlectoral /ode"
.he ties between Dieudonn and 'ran are not secret and not franl- sur#risin& considerin& the
ideolo&ies Ahmadinejad and Dieudonn share"
't is ironic that Dieudonn, who denounces C"4" and Patari 'occu#ation' of France, serves as a
#olitical brid&e to Ahmadinejad in France and Juro#e"
20