Well, this is interesting:
A photograph of the Iranian president holding up his identity card during elections in March 2008 clearly shows his family has Jewish roots.
A close-up of the document reveals he was previously known as Sabourjian – a Jewish name meaning cloth weaver.
The short note scrawled on the card suggests his family changed its name to Ahmadinejad when they converted to embrace Islam after his birth.
The Sabourjians traditionally hail from Aradan, Mr Ahmadinejad’s birthplace, and the name derives from “weaver of the Sabour”, the name for the Jewish Tallit shawl in Persia. The name is even on the list of reserved names for Iranian Jews compiled by Iran’s Ministry of the Interior.
Experts last night suggested Mr Ahmadinejad’s track record for hate-filled attacks on Jews could be an overcompensation to hide his past.
Ali Nourizadeh, of the Centre for Arab and Iranian Studies, said: “This aspect of Mr Ahmadinejad’s background explains a lot about him.
“Every family that converts into a different religion takes a new identity by condemning their old faith.
“By making anti-Israeli statements he is trying to shed any suspicions about his Jewish connections. He feels vulnerable in a radical Shia society.”
A London-based expert on Iranian Jewry said that “jian” ending to the name specifically showed the family had been practising Jews.
“He has changed his name for religious reasons, or at least his parents had,” said the Iranian-born Jew living in London. “Sabourjian is well known Jewish name in Iran.”
As Allahpundit says, Best. Mossad infiltration. Evah.
October 3rd, 2009 at 6:10 pm
I hate this kind of psychobabble. My guess is that it was PhotoShopped.
October 3rd, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Those “experts” are suggesting -SUGGESTING.
Agree with James Young wholeheartedly.
October 4th, 2009 at 12:11 am
Keep in mind that, Judaism is Matrilineal, and therefore under Halakhic Law, he only has “Jewish roots” if his mother was Jewish. It doesn’t matter if his father’s name was Jewish or even if his father was, indeed Jewish.
Merely having a “Jewish name” is not a valid premise for anyone to be presumed as coming from any religious group. A great many names in the Middle East have been claimed by various groups over the centuries, but the truth is that every group seems to have borrowed a bit of language and names, from others, from time to time.
He looks to be half Chimpanzee to me.
October 4th, 2009 at 8:15 am
“He looks to be half Chimpanzee to me.”
a retarded inbreed of a half chimpanzee if you ask me.
October 4th, 2009 at 8:38 am
Anybody ever heard of Hitler? I believe his mother was jewish. Let’s hope the idiot doesn’t repeat history.
October 4th, 2009 at 9:24 am
Thats nothing new, it is a well documented fact that the jews converted to Islam, Afghan’s are also Jews, they were the Bani Isreali tribe, one of the 12 lost tribes of isreal
they converted to Islam long long ago.
October 4th, 2009 at 9:53 am
Naiem Ahmad writes:
“..it is a well documented fact that the jews converted to Islam, Afghan’s are also Jews, they were the Bani Isreali tribe, one of the 12 lost tribes of isreal
they converted to Islam long long ago.”
This is another example of uneducated idiots re-writing history. First of all, the name is Bnei Yisraeli, and it refers to the Samaritans, a small group of Jews with their own interpretation of the Torah. Second, it is spelled Israel, not Isreal. This group has absolutely nothing to do with Afghanistan or Afghans. Go back to school, (not some Madrassa in Pakistan) and learn about history before shooting your mouth off and showing your ignorance of history.
October 4th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
To Stephen o’Malley
As an Irish descendant your words are very coarse, unlike Irish (i am a member of Irish Central news)
TO C. Green
You BELIEVE Hitler’s mother was Jewish. have you proof (I mean an article somewhere) I want to read it,it would be interesting for the world to see, or was you only fantasizing according to the shocking Ahmadinejad’s news?
TO James Young
Maybe you have photoshopped your own passport so you could think of something like that.