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."
A spokesman for the Israeli embassy in London said it would not be drawn on Mr Ahmadinejad's background. "It's not something we'd talk about," said Ron Gidor, a spokesman.
The Iranian leader has not denied his name was changed when his family moved to Tehran in the 1950s. But he has never revealed what it was change from or directly addressed the reason for the switch.
Relatives have previously said a mixture of religious reasons and economic pressures forced his blacksmith father Ahmad to change when Mr Ahmadinejad was aged four.
During this year's presidential debate on television he was goaded to admit that his name had changed but he ignored the jibe.
However Mehdi Khazali, an internet blogger, who called for an investigation of Mr Ahmadinejad's roots was arrested this summer.
Mr Ahmadinejad has regularly levelled bitter criticism at Israel, questioned its right to exist and denied the Holocaust. British diplomats walked out of a UN meeting last month after the Iranian president denounced Israel's 'genocide, barbarism and racism.'
9 comments:
By the way, the first sentence in the above comment was meant as sarcasm.
Up till now, his secret has been hidden. Can't wait to hear the yarn he spins when he is confronted with it.
The Jeeeeeeewwwwws did it!! LOL
He's a Joooey Khattab!
You people have lost your minds.
He is an undercover agent.
This is the final stage of a zionist plot. He is conspiring with Likud to create a situation in which Israel finally nukes Iran and destroys the islamic revolution. When this happens, Mahmoud will appear in Jersusalem waving the Star of David Flag and dynamite Al Aqsa, and then remove organs from palestinian children to implant in Bernie Madoff so he can live forever
Hell hath no fury like Jews hating their own kind.
Hitler was a jew and a homo. I wonder if the Iranian president is a little light in the loafers, too?
Turns out this isn't new information. Origially came out early this year. Funny how it didn't get widespread coverage until now.
Oh well. Now everybody knows. : )
Other people told me today they knew this a year ago.
Somehow it completely eluded me.
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