Zionismus, Palästina und Osmanisches Reich : eine Fallstudie zu Verschwörungstheorien im Nahen Osten

On the basis of a largely indisputable historical issue, the attitude of the Ottoman government towards the Zionist movement and settlement in Palestine during the last few decades before World War I, it can be demonstrated how national historiographies, in particular conspiracy theories (with the alleged principal actors: Freemasons, imperialists, Jews, Young Turks, and Zionists), lead to the misinterpretation of historical facts. By analyzing Arabian and Turkish popular science literatur from the second half of the 20th century, it is shown how anti-semitic patterns of explanation are embedded into the superior context of conspiracy theories. Exhaustive analyses of the function and mode of functioning of conspiracy theories in the Middle East are lacking so far. A comparison with other regions will prove useful in order to work out the "anthropological constancy" of conspiracy theories.