Did Hitler have an opinion of Islam and Muslims?

by slashking354
norfolktilidie

Yes, he largely admired the religion of Islam. Albert Speer, the main Nazi architect, reported that Hitler told him that Germany had the wrong religion. He believed the pacifism of Christianity was characterised by "meekness and flabbiness" while Islam and its justification of violence was "a religion of men" more suited to the "Germanic temperament". During this period, Islam and Naziism shared a common distaste for the Jews, the Soviet Union and liberal democracy.

Hitler also greatly admired the achievements of Ataturk, who was believed to have followed the "Fuhrer principle". He had forced religious authorities to submit to the power of the state, and racially cleansed Turkey of Armenians, without concern for Western criticism. He also appreciated the Young Turks movement for rejecting the post-war order following the First World War. Germans of Turkish and Iranian descent were believed to be Aryans and were excluded from the Nuremburg laws.

Source: own knowledge, Ataturk in the Nazi Imagination by Stefan Ihrig.

Ivashkin

On a somewhat related note, is there any truth in the Ba'ath Party being heavily influenced by the Nazis?