Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has made many speeches attacking Israel and the Jewish people. Now a report in London's Daily Telegraph shows that Ahmadinejad's family has Jewish roots. In fact, the president apparently was born to a Jewish family which later converted to Islam after his birth.
A photograph of the Iranian president holding up his identity card during elections in March 2008 was magnified by the Daily Telegraph staffers shows lettering that is clearly readable. 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.
You can read more in the Daily Telegraph at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/6256173/Mahmoud-Ahmadinejad-revealed-to-have-Jewish-past.html.
