Download For Rushdie: Essays by Arab and Muslim Writers in Defense of Free Speech fb2

Over 100 Arab and Muslim intellectuals compiled this passionate book supporting freedom of expression; some have even urged Muslim intellectuals to re-read The Satanic Verses as a literary work of highest merit demonstrating original imagination and a compassion for the Islamic world. One must note that even though the book has not included Najib Mahfouz's contribution (Mahfouz is the Nobel price laureate for literature 1988), the Egyptian novelist expressed his condemnation of the Fatwa in the Arabic newspaper, Al Ahram (2 March, 1989, p: 7). Mahfouz challenged those who have not even read the novel to respond to Rushdie's engagement with sacred material with the same amount of originality and depth deployed in the novel's complex narrative. Furthermore, these brave intellectuals had experienced, as some of them freely admitted, forms of despicable cencorship, torture and abuse. Mahfouz himself understands this when 20 years before the publication of The Satanic Verses, he wrote his 'notorious' novel Children of Gebelawi, exploring the Nietzschean notion of the Death of God. The novel was banned in Cairo and published only later in Beirut in 1967. An English translation was published in 1981. The Religious Council of Al-azhar University interfered by deleting some parts of the Arabic text. With the publication of The Satanic Verses, there was even an association made by the same institution between the two novels. This book would have been written in any Islamic epoch where religious autocracts tried to control intellectual freedom. If anything this book invalidates the media's demonisation of 'Islam' and affirms that freedom of thought is very much and Islamic and Arab streak.One must not forget Islamic modernity that stretched from Arabia to Spain celebrating cultural diversity, freedom of expression and tolerence. It is absurd to believe that 'Islam' is inherently undemocratic. The media was certainly unfair to ignore such voices who adhere to freedom of expression not necessarily because of Western ideals of democracy, but because of their Islamic and Arab consciousness. Modernity is not exclusively western in origins nor in its impact on the world. Muslims played a fundamental role in creating modernity by translating scientific traditions of Greece, Iran and India and by spreading them over Europe and Asia. This is exactly the type of world The Satanic Verses portrays; an interconnected, hybridised world full of achievements and frustrations- but great promises for those who celebate difference in dissidence.

Given the gravity of this topic, I think that it is important explicitly to point out, to whoever reads this, that I am not an expert or an authority on Islam, in any way. However, like so many of us in these troubled times, I am trying to learn all that I can about the modern complexities of Islam. Probably most of you reading this are in the same frame of mind that I am! Therefore, in this humble capacity, I would like to share my thoughts on this brave, fascinating, timely anthology.
This book includes a selection of approximately one hundred essays, poems, and songs, by a vast array of thinkers, all writing from the very heart of the Islamic tradition. The voices collected here speak in a variety of modes, ranging from the literary, to the religious, to the philosophical. Some are heartfelt and emotional: others tough, rational, and lawyerly. All, however, join in emphatically, lucidly, intelligently criticizing Ayatollah Khomeini's fatwa against the author Salman Rushdie. All speak from an Islamic perspective -- indeed, there is even an opinion expressed by an actual Iranian ayatollah, Djalal Gandjeih.
These essays were originally penned by Islamic intellectuals in a wide-ranging panoply of occupations. Represented here are filmmakers, newspaper columnists, poets, psychoanalysts, sociologists, and more. They come from many countries. People familiar with Islam might not be surprised to find essays by relatively laid-back Moroccans, but there are also many sane, calm, clearly articulated voices coming out of Syria, Libya, Sudan... all over the Islamic world. What this variegated population of thinkers has in common, is an uncommon willingness to speak out, for what their faith tells them is right.
As an American, I was often struck by the kinship of spirit that many of these voices hold, to all that is best in my own country's heritage. If you read these essays, I can promise you that again and again, you will find yourself reminded of the First Amendment! The philosophical framework may differ, but the essential spirit of many of these essays cleaves to a very similar idea to (part of) that which the First Amendment embodies -- freedom of speech. I suppose that these essays demonstrate that what is best in humanity is, after all, universal, and might be expected to crop up in any society on Earth... I can tell you this much, I wish some of these Islamic thinkers were speaking out in America, during the McCarthy era! Their sane, fearless, moderating influence, even founded in the Islamic tradition, might well have had a highly beneficial impact upon the extremist, terror-laden, American political climate of the fifties. It may sound unusual to some readers that an Islamic religious philosopher from Syria could conceivably be more rational, reasonable, and worth listening to than a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, but, well, if you have trouble with the idea, you really might want to read this book. That's the value of the book to me personally -- it helps me to understand how much of the Islamic world can be sane, calm, humanistic, and sometimes even brilliant.
I would like to point out a few small, structural and stylistic issues about the book. For one thing -- writers are arranged alphabetically by last name. However, if you happen to be looking for a particular writer, you may need to roam around a little in the table of contents. For example, authors whose last name begins with "El" are sometimes listed under "E", and sometimes under the other part of their last name. Just be alert to that, and also to similar, possible alphabetizing errors that a copywriter might make, in transcribing from one alphabet to another. For browsing purposes, you might like to know that the table of contents includes each essay's author's name, country of origin, and profession. This can help you select what you'd like to read, if for example you'd like to clump the essays you approach, one country at a time. Furthermore, you might want to be aware that this book was originally published in French, and can, on occasion, sound almost distractingly Gallic in tone. (Not that there's anything wrong with that! Au contraire, I happen to remain a resolute francophile, despite the country's current lack of standing in the eyes of many Americans.) Anyway, sometimes the essays can sound oddly French, so just remember that many of the essays are TWO translations away from Arabic, and that they may have picked up a tincture of French stylistic features along the way.
Finally, to help you follow a few of the more esoteric, philosophical essays here, I would like to recommend that you consider seeking out a copy of "The Political Language of Islam," by Bernard Lewis, and/or "A History of Islamic Legal Theories: An Introduction to Sunni Usul Al-Fiqh," by Wael B. Hallaq.
Basically, I recommend the living daylights out of this book. I hope you are able to locate a copy, and if you're feeling ambitious, that you encourage your local librarian to find a way to display this book prominently. Books like this have the potential to go a long way toward developing a balanced view of Islam, amongst an all-too-often confused, fearful American populace.