FACE - Federation of Associations of young Citizens of Europe

Jürgen Todenhöfer

Dr. jur. Jürgen Todenhöfer – born 1940 - was a politician in Germany for 20 years and until 2008 chairman of the “Burda mediagroup”. Ever since then he concentrates on his vocation: writing about, travelling to and helping  the people of Afghanistan and Iraq.

He isn´t content with the information one gets from the media, but instead he visits conflict zones, to talk to the people. His pursuit of justice has determined his life and since his studying years he did investigative journalism locally. At the tender age of 20 he already traveled through Algeria during its wartime occupation by France.

The horrible life stories he came upon during his journeys motivated him to write books in which he harshly criticizes those in power. His stories about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq „Why do you kill“ and „Who will bother to weep for Abdul and Tanaya?“ became bestsellers and gave thousands of readers a reality check. Radical and without refurbishing the situation in these countries, he describes the unbelievable distress of the civilians and especially of the children. Right from the start he was disapproving of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and addressed several letters to President Bush to spare the people from punishment for the dictatorship in their countries. “How many children are you allowed to kill, to drive a dictator out of his office?” – Todenhöfer clearly answers his own question with: “None!” He doesn´t accept any collateral damage and points out that this will carry war – as an instrument for counterterrorism – ad absurdum.

Human rights are being violated massively in Afghanistan and Iraq. “Abu Ghuraib” - famous for the torture of its inmates - is not the only inhumane prison in Iraq. The US Army set it up as an important “hub for prisoners”, and this leads us exactly to the point: this is about  people, not goods.                                                                               

There is not a shadow of doubt that many soldiers are doing an honorable job in reconstructing Iraq and Afghanistan. But besides national forces the private security firm “Blackwater” has roughly 1000 mercenaries in the regions. These private soldiers are acting in a legal limbo and can - in the case of an indictment - claim diplomatic immunity. This is just one example how western occupying powers act in Iraq and Afghanistan and betray their promise of “bringing democracy” to these countries.

It is a proven fact that hundreds of thousands of Iraqi and Afghani civilians have been killed in George W. Bush's illegal war. Dr. Todenhöfer reminds us over and over again, that who is perceived as a terrorist depends on your point of view and emphasizes this with his statement: “For an Iraqi child, it makes no difference whether he is blown apart by an "Islamic" suicide bomber or a "Christian" bomb. For this child, George W. Bush and Tony Blair are just as much terrorists as Bin Laden is for us.”

In recent years we had to hear news of terrible terrorist attack in Afghanistan or Iraq almost daily. But are civilians who make a stand against crucial treatment and the fear of being shot any second really terrorists?                                                                            

One of the biggest achievements of Jürgen Todenhöfer´s work is the precise distinction between Islam and Islamism, occupation and peacekeeping, terrorists and resistance fighters. For his latest book “Why do you kill?” he caught up with the different resistance groups in Iraq and although he put himself in great danger, the result is impressing: For the first time the main protagonists of the “tragedy of Iraq” – the people - get a chance to speak and this gives a good overview of resistance in Iraq                                                                  Blindfolded suspected insurgents, Baquba, Iraq

(which is considered to be more than two thirds of all Iraqi). Terrorists kill people out of religious or political beliefs, resistance fighters oppose foreign occupation. Whether this is legitimate is questionable, Jürgen Todenhöfer says, it is. According to him this resistance is a multi-confessional group and “involves Sunni and Shiite Muslims, but Christians as well”. Furthermore there are many passive supporters, who are providing food, shelter and money. Also Todenhöfer has the courage to publicly say: “Nobody can take away from the Iraqis' their right to resist. It is a timeless inviolable right of all peoples, guaranteed by Article 51 of the U.N. Charter.”

To me his biggest achievement is the delivery of firsthand information about the peoples, religions and cultures of Afghanistan and Iraq, to his readership. His very moving books are a plea against war, which in the end are encouraging their readers to think more about this subject. How can we stand up for justice and human rights for people we don´t know anything of?                                                                                                                                       

Many people are manipulated by the distorted image they get from the western media, which makes it hard for them to have understanding and sympathy for Afghans and Iraqis. One of Todenhöfer’s main goals is to initiate a fair and public discussion about the relationship between the Western and the Muslim world. We can´t close our eyes forever, but instead should address the enormous violations of human rights, happening right now. Knowledge is the key to fight our own prejudices                                    Iraqi schoolgirls flee an approaching US Army patrol, Iraq

and to finally stop these wars. This is not naive pacifism but the logical conclusion of what has happened in the Middle East. 

To make an active contribution towards peace and human rights in the Middel East and not just condemn cruelty and inhumanity, Dr. Todenhöfer summarized his knowledge about the Muslim world and its relations for us. The resulting “10 theses” are – through their pragmatism and farsightedness – a big step toward this goal.                                                             

Besides of the research and educational work he delivers, he engages in charity a lot. With the royalties he earned from his books he built a home for 100 disabled Afghan boys and girls in northern Kabul and a hospital for children with HIV in Goma/ Kongo. Additionally he supports a project that promotes reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians (MEET), as well as a project helping injured Iraqi refugee children (IOM).

Those, who read Dr. Jürgen Todenhöfer´s books will be touched by the terrible fates and tragedies he describes and from then on will feel obligated to help these people and stand up for human rights in Afghanistan and Iraq.