SUMKA

[[File:Flag of SUMKA.png|Fravashi, is that you?|thumb|165px]]
{{nazism}}
[[File:SUMKA ceremony 1950's.jpg|thumb|200 px|A SUMKA ceremony in the 1950s. Note the nazi-inspired uniforms.]]
The '''National Socialist Workers Party of Iran''' (SUMKA) was an [[Iran]]ian [[Neo-Nazi]] party founded by [[Davud Monshizadeh]], an Iranian Neo-Nazi and a supporter of [[Nazism]] during and after [[World War II]]. Monshizadeh and his party continued their activism after WWII ended and the Nazi party dissolved.

Like the Nazis, SUMKA was a militant nationalist organization. Their logo was a simplified Faravahar, a [[Zoroastrianism]] symbol (Zoroastrianism is an ancient religion of Iran, a reference used by SUMKA as part of their Aryan heritage).<ref>Leonard Willy Michael, [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13530194.2021.1945430 National socialist propaganda in late Reza-Shah Iran: the case of Khaterat-e Hitler by Mohsen Jahansuz]. ''British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies'', Volume 50, 2023, p. 180-198.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.loeser.us/flags/hate3.html#top|title=Political Flags of Extremism - Part 3 (o-z)|last=Loeser|first=Pete|publisher="Historical Flags of Our Ancestors"}}</ref>

==A bit of history==
While [[World War II]] was raging on in Europe, some countries such as Iran showed sympathy to the Nazis for their "[[Aryan]] cause".<ref>Reza Zia-Ebrahimi, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/23033306 Self-Orientalization and Dislocation: The Uses and Abuses of the "Aryan" Discourse in Iran]. ''Iranian Studies'' 44:4, July 2011, pp. 445-472.</ref> One of these people was [[Davud Monshizadeh]], one of [[Hitler]]'s biggest fanboys outside of Germany. He even fought in the battle of Berlin in 1945 and was wounded in the aftermath. Monshizadeh had been living in Germany in 1937 prior to the rise of the Nazi Party, and became an [[SS]] member during that time. In 1940, Monshizadeh founded SUMKA alongside fellow neo-Nazi Morteza Kossarian. Kossarian was also an [[SS]] member who fought in the {{wpl|Battle of Kiev (1941)|first Battle of Kiev}} and the Battle of Stalingrad, and was wounded in the process. Monshizadeh would heal from his wounds and return back to Iran after the end of the war.

==Later activities==
SUMKA would go on to spread violence against the opposition (as fascists do), namely against [[Mohammad Mossadegh]] (the prime minister of Iran at the time) and the Tudeh Party, a [[communist]] party in Iran. SUMKA supported the Shah [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]] and demanded that he stay in power. They got their wish, but at a price: their activity eventually waned after the 1950s when the [[CIA]] led a coup against the democratically elected Mossadegh and gave the Shah absolute power. This led the Shah to crack down on various groups, with SUMKA being one of the groups (though the Shah and his government were accused of funding the group at one point).<ref>Abrahamian, Ervand. “The 1953 Coup in Iran.” ''Science & Society'' 65, no. 2 (2001): 182–215. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40403895.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1952/08/27/archives/neofascist-chief-arrested-in-iran-police-seize-partys-quarters-step.html|title=NEO-FASCIST CHIEF ARRESTED IN IRAN; Police Seize Party's Quarters -- Step Held Consequence of Attack on Soviet Center|date=August 27, 1952|publisher=''[[The New York Times]]''}}</ref>

==Eventual end==
SUMKA’s activity seemed to eventually end sometime during the 1970s, when the ayatollah took power and outlawed all protest and opposition. SUMKA’s activities after this time were not known.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/states-ideology-iran|title=The State(s) of Ideology in Iran|last=Arjomand|first=Said|date=February 29, 2016|publisher=The Washington Institute}}</ref>

==Legacy==
Despite the party officially no longer being active,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/ir%7Dnswp.html|title=Iran National-Socialist Workers Party|last=MacDonald|first=Ian|date=December 07, 2013|publisher=Flags of the World}}</ref> advocates for Nazism exist today on blog sites for Nazism, mostly among the younger generation fed up with the current Islamic regime.<ref name="ban">{{cite web|url=https://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2010%2F11%2F22%2F126944|title=Iran lifts ban on pro-Nazi website|last=al-Zahed|first=Saud|date=November 22, 2010|publisher=''Al-Arabiyah News''}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://en-humanities.tau.ac.il/iranian/publications/irans_pulse/2010-2|title=RECENT NAZI INCLINATIONS IN THE VIRTUAL DOMAIN OF IRAN|last=Hendelman-Baavur|first=Liora|date=December 6, 2010|publisher=ACIS - The Alliance Center for Iranian Studies}}</ref><ref>Leonard Willy Michael (2023) National socialist propaganda in late Reza-Shah Iran: the case of Khaterat-e Hitler by Mohsen Jahansuz, ''British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies'', 50:1, 180-198, DOI: 10.1080/13530194.2021.1945430</ref> Though they are currently small, they are unfortunately an increasing minority.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/mena/iranian-ministry-denies-authorising-neo-nazi-website-1.512238|title=Iranian ministry denies authorising neo-Nazi website|last=Sinaiee|first=Maryam|date=November 23, 2010|publisher=''The National''}}</ref><ref name="ban"/><ref name=france24>{{cite web|url=https://observers.france24.com/en/20101118-association-iranian-nazis-aryan-race-persian-nationalism|title=Who's behind the 'Association of Iranian Nazis'|last=Galliot|first=Lorena|date=November 11, 2010|publisher=France 24}}</ref> SUMKA's legacy remains as a way for Iranian youth to become radicalized into neo-Nazism and [[white supremacy]], creating an online army of rabidly xenophobic youth becoming radicalized against minority groups in the country such as Muslims and Arabs.<ref name=france24 /> There are even a few chat forums formed around Nazism (think an Iranian version of [[Stormfront]] or ''[[The Daily Stormer]]'').<ref name="ban"/>

==External links==
* [https://www.reddit.com/r/SUMKA/  One such site]
* [https://gnet-research.org/2022/09/27/resurrecting-the-reich-middle-eastern-and-north-african-digital-nazi-communities/ "Resurrecting the Reich: Middle Eastern and North African Digital Nazi Communities"], Global Network on Extremism & Technology.

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:Far-right political parties]]
[[Category:Fascism]]
[[Category:Iran]]
[[Category:Neo-Nazism]]
[[Category:Racism]]
[[Category:White supremacy]]
[[Category:Iranian politics]]

Categories: Far-right political parties, Fascism, Iran, Neo-Nazism, Racism, White supremacy, Iranian politics