This Historian Sees a Parallel Between Islamist Terrorists and Hitler

A renowned historian and author of books and other materials about the Holocaust presented lectures Monday in observance of Holocaust Remembrance Day, which was Sunday.

In his 45-minute lecture,"Auschwitz, Catastrophic Terrorism and the Clash of Civilizations," Rubenstein warned against religious extremism. He criticized Hitler for being a Christian extremist, and he also sees terrorist acts fueled by Muslim extremists to be a warped path to an all-Islamic culture.

He added that Muslim terrorist bombings in the United States, Israel and Spain are committing genocide just as Hitler did -- a common thread being a spiritual reward after death.

But soon after Sept. 11, many Muslims around the world including leaders from the Columbus Islamic Center said the airplane hijackers hitting New York's twin towers weren't true Muslims at all.

"What's all this fueled by?" Rubenstein asked rhetorically. Answering his own question, he said there's enormous resentment, comparing it to Germany's mentality following World War I. Hitler wanted a world fashioned in his own image, as suicide bombers hope to accomplish.