Reinhard Mueller says he's not a bigot and doesn't hate Jewish people.
But ancient writings have declared him the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and left him in charge of their future, he says.
"I hold a spiritual office. With it comes my authority over the destiny of the Jewish people," Mueller told a jury Tuesday.
As part of his role, he is not allowed to hate Jews, nor advocate their murder, he said.
"But I have the right to chastise them. That is my right. It comes with the office I hold."
Mueller, 62, is on trial for operating an anti-Semitic website called Federation of Free Planets that denied the Holocaust and described Jewish persons as "sub-humans" and "demons."
The site also claimed Jews are responsible for creating the Ebola and AIDS viruses, the collapse of the World Trade Centre towers and the Columbia space shuttle disaster.
It is believed to be the first Internet hate crime trial in Alberta.
Mueller, who changed his name to Reni Sentana-Ries following his arrest last year, admits he wrote the material and posted it on the website between 1999 and 2003.
He claims he was simply exercising freedom of speech. He has pleaded not guilty to a charge of wilfully promoting hatred.
The jury is to begin deliberations today.
Crown prosecutor Steve Bilodeau told the jury that Mueller's ideas and even references to outer space may seem outrageous, but his mental state is not an issue at trial.
"He knows the difference between right and wrong," Bilodeau said. "He knows what's socially appropriate."
Representing himself without a lawyer, Mueller spent several hours talking to the jury.
He said he worked as an engineering technician for 35 years and once ran as federal candidate for the Social Credit party. He now considers himself an investigative journalist.
"The reason I write is to make this world a better place to live in," he said.
He told the jury that 350,000 Jews -- not six million -- died in the Holocaust. The media, controlled by the Jewish elite, inflated the number and wrongly blamed Adolf Hitler, he said.
Bilodeau said Mueller is entitled to believe what he wants and talk about his ideas to his wife and friends.
"The danger arises when hateful opinions are voiced to the public for the purpose of persuasion," Bilodeau said. "When he tries to persuade others, then it's criminal."
He said Mueller had a worldwide audience through his website, and police found several e-mails from readers.
One 16-year-old who e-mailed Mueller wrote: "It's hard to find people who think like you... The Jews are the real criminals and the bad, rotten apples of the world."
