"The
text of the book review of 'Children
of Abraham: An Introduction to Islam for Jews' by Khalid Duran with
Abdelwahab Hechiche, which appeared on page 82 of the Summer 2002 issue of the
Middle East Quarterly, although
bearing the signature of Abdul Hadi Palazzi, was
altered without the endorsement of the
author and in a way which changes the judgment of the author about
the book to the
opposite of that intended".
"Sheikh Professor Abdul Hadi Palazzi
never wrote that
the book is "excellent",
and never claimed that "There
have even been threats against the author". On the contrary, Sheikh
Professor Palazzi sees in the book a "deliberate
intent to be provocative" and does not believe in the existence of death
threats against the author".
"Please find below the text of the
authentic book review
written by Sheikh Palazzi..."
JERUSALEM,
Israel, 25 Tammuz, 5763 -
July 25, 2003 - 25 Jumad Awal, 1424
Root & Branch
Information Service rb@rb.org.il
http://www.rb.org.il
1 - MESSAGE FROM SHEIKH PROFESSOR ABDUL HADI PALAZZI
To: Dr. Martin Kramer
Editor
Middle East Quarterly
kramerm@post.tau.ac.il
MEQ@MEForum.org
Rome, June 24, 2002
Dear Dr. Kramer,
The Middle East Forum recently sent me a courtesy copy of the current issue of
The Middle East Quarterly (Summer 2002, Volume IX, number 3).
I was shocked when I saw it.
On page 82 there is a book review of "Children of Abraham" by Khalid Duran.
Notwithstanding the declaration "The opinions expressed in the articles and
reviews in this journal are those of the authors alone", this book review is
signed with my name, but it is not the text of the book review which I actually
wrote and does not express my opinions.
On July 6, 2001, Daniel Pipes asked me to review Khalid Duran's book.
On August 23, 2001, I sent Mr. Pipes my book review via email.
The text of my review of Khalid Duran's book which was published in your
quarterly was manipulated to the point of attributing to me the opposite of what
I wrote and of what I think about the book.
My judgment about Khalid Duran's book was negative.
Someone deleted part of my text and added words that I never wrote in order to
change my judgment from negative into positive.
As Mr. Pipes asked me to review Khalid Duran's book, and as the review
attributed to me appears in a section entitled "Brief Reviews by Daniel Pipes",
I am inclined to think that Mr. Pipes is responsible for the manipulation of my
review.
Here is the text published with my name in the Summer, 2002, Middle East
Quarterly:
***[BEGIN TEXT/FALSIFIED BOOK REVIEW]***
Children of Abraham: An Introduction to Islam for Jews
by Khalid Duran with Abdelwahab Hechiche
Hoboken, N.J.: Ktav Publishing House, 2001.
354 pages, $19.95, paper
"Conceived as a response to requests by Jews wanting to learn more about
Islam directly from Muslims, Duran's book offers an excellent opportunity to be
informed about the belief, the practice, and the culture of Islam by a scholar
who, apart from being a Muslim, is also especially involved in interfaith
dialogue and in the analysis of the contemporary Islamic world".
"Being published by a Jewish organization and paired with a companion book that
introduces Judaism to Muslims, Duran's study aims to promote and stimulate
inter-Abrahamic dialogue. It underlines the theological and moral resemblance
that exists between Islam and Judaism: it also investigates the factors that
caused the relations between the two religions to be sometimes shaped by
peaceful coexistence, mutual influences, and emulation, and at other times by
misunderstandings, rivalries, and conflicts".
"Given that promoting understanding between Jews and Muslims is an aim of the
book, it was to be expected that the militant Islamic organizations in the
United States -- branches of a network that promotes anti-Jewish hatred as an
essential aspect of their agenda -- have been unhappy about its publication and
have spared no effort to slander the author and to alienate possible Muslim
readers from the book. There have even been threats against the author".
Abdul Hadi Palazzi
***[END TEXT/FALSIFIED BOOK REVIEW]***
Here is the real text I actually wrote and sent to Mr. Pipes:
***[BEGIN TEXT/ORIGINAL BOOK REVIEW]***
Children of Abraham:
An Introduction to Islam for Jews
by Khalid Duran with Abdelwahab Hechiche
[No indication about the place of publication]
The Harriet and Robert Heilbrunn Institute for International Interreligious
Understanding
American Jewish Committee, 2001
354 pages. [no indication of price]
This book is conceived as a response to the requests of those Jews who want
to learn Islam directly from Muslims, and gives them the opportunity to be
informed about the belief, the practice and the culture of Islam by a scholar
who, apart from being a Muslim, is also especially involved in interfaith
dialogue and in the analysis of the features of the contemporary Islamic world.
Being published by a Jewish editor, and conceived as the companion of another
book which introduces Judaism to the Muslim public (Children of Abraham: An
Introduction to Judaism for Muslims, The Harriet and Robert Heilbrunn Institute
for International Interreligious Understanding of the American Jewish Committee,
2001), Duran's book aims to play an important role in promoting and stimulating
inter-Abrahamitic dialogue.
It underlines the theological and moral resemblance which exist between Islam
and Judaism, and also investigates the factors which caused the relations
between the two religions to be in some cases shaped by peaceful coexistence,
mutual influences and emulation, and in some others by misunderstandings,
rivalries and conflicts.
Since promoting understanding between Jews and Muslims is among the declared
finalities of the book, it is quite natural that the militant Islamist
organizations of America -- branches of a Network which considers promoting
anti-Jewish hatred as an essential aspect of their agenda -- have been
disappointed by its publication, and have spared no effort to slander the author
and to alienate possible Muslim readers from the book, even before its
publication.
One must admit that, notwithstanding the praiseworthy intentions of the Author,
the book nevertheless contains some theological and historical mistakes which
sensitively reduce the degree of its reliability and its impact on the Muslim
public in general.
Moreover, in some cases Duran makes affirmations which it is hard not to
interpret as a deliberate intent to be provocative, and to cause a negative
reaction in the overwhelming majority of the traditional Muslim readers, even of
those who are not Islamist at all.
This risks to some extent to avert from the dialogue one of the parts which he
seem intentioned to involve, and practically can give the Islamists an
opportunity to formulate some critics which are acceptable even for Sunni
Muslims who dislike the policy of the Network and oppose its totalitarian
project.
Abdul Hadi Palazzi
***[END TEXT/ORIGINAL BOOK REVIEW]***
Obviously, as a publisher, if Pipes disagrees with my judgment of Duran's
book, he can simply refuse to publish my review, and eventually ask someone else
to write a review of the same book.
Neither Pipes nor anyone else has any right to publish in my name their own
falsifications, or to make me define as "excellent" a book which I on the
contrary consider as containing "theological and historical mistakes which
sensitively reduce the degree of its reliability" and as expressing a
"deliberate intent of being provocative".
Moreover, no one can attribute to me the declaration that "there have even been
threats against the author" (a sentence that I never wrote), when on the
contrary I believe that such alleged "threats" are a forgery of the author in
order to promote the sale of his book.
I must defend my reputation against anyone who attempts to attribute to me
statements I never made, especially when by doing so my reputation as a Muslim
cleric and as a scholar is seriously injured.
No one has the right to damage my reputation by claiming that I consider as
"excellent" a book which in some point manifests the deliberate intention of
offending the religious feelings of the Muslims, and which contain theological
and historical mistakes that not even a teenager on the junior-high level in a
Muslim school would ever make.
If Pipes considers Duran's book to be "excellent", he has no right to attribute
that judgment to me.
If Pipes wishes to circulate fictions about "death threats" against this author,
he is welcome to do so in his own name, not in mine.
I am working hard to promote Jewish-Muslim dialogue and understanding, and I
will not tolerate that someone attributes to me a supposed positive evaluation
of a book which I consider as a slap in the face of those who promote authentic
understanding between Jews and Muslims.
I sincerely hope that Pipes's unethical and unprofessional behavior toward
myself will be condemned by you and the staff of your distinguished quarterly.
I am formally asking you to honor the truth and to publish in the next issue of
the Middle East Quarterly the following disclaimer:
***[TEXT OF DISCLAIMER]***
"The text of the book review of 'Children of Abraham: An Introduction to
Islam for Jews' by Khalid Duran with Abdelwahab Hechiche, which appeared on page
82 of the Summer 2002 issue of the Middle East Quarterly, although bearing the
signature of Abdul Hadi Palazzi, was altered without the endorsement of the
author and in a way which changes the judgment of the author about the book to
the opposite of that intended".
"Sheikh Professor Abdul Hadi Palazzi never wrote that the book is "excellent",
and never claimed that "There have even been threats against the author". On
the contrary, Sheikh Professor Palazzi sees in the book a "deliberate intent to
be provocative" and does not believe in the existence of death threats against
the author".
"Please find below the text of the authentic book review written by Sheikh
Palazzi...(text of original review)".
Shaykh Prof. Abdul Hadi Palazzi
Director
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Cultural Institute of the Italian Islamic Community
http://www.islam.italy.too.it
mailto:islam.inst@flashnet.it
2 - MESSAGE FROM "MIDDLE EAST QUARTERLY" EDITOR DR. MARTIN
KRAMER
From: "Martin Kramer" <meqeditor@hotmail.com>
To: islam.inst@flashnet.it
Cc: mideastq@aol.com
Subject: Your letter
Date: Mon, 24 Jun 2002 16:54:13 -0400
X-OriginalArrivalTime: 24 Jun 2002 20:54:13.0324 (UTC)
Dear Sheikh Prof. Palazzi,
Many thanks for your message. Of course, I am distressed to learn that you are
dissatisfied with your review as it appeared in MEQ.
Your presumption is correct: Dr. Pipes is indeed the book review editor of MEQ.
As he is also the publisher of the journal,
I have referred your concerns to him. Whatever understanding the two of you may
reach will be acceptable to me.
Sincerely,
Martin Kramer
_______________________________
MARTIN KRAMER, Editor
MIDDLE EAST QUARTERLY
Middle East Forum
1500 Walnut Street
Suite 1050
Philadelphia, PA 19102-3523
----------------------------------------------
Voice Mail: (206) 984-1309
Fax: (419) 781-5213
E-mail: meqeditor@hotmail.com
Website:
www.mequarterly.org
3 -
At 12.18 Monday 24/06/02 -0400, Daniel Pipes <Meqmef@aol.com> wrote:
"I was shocked when I saw it."
I suggest ou tell him you had nothing
at all to do with the review and that Palazzi contact me if he wants to discuss
it further.
What a fruitcake.
DP
4 - MESSAGE FROM SHEIKH PROFESSOR PALAZZI
Date: Mon, 24 Jun 2002 19:22:01 +0200
From: Cultural Institute of the Italian Islamic Community
<islam.inst@flashnet.it>
Subject: Re: LETTER OF PROTEST TO DR. MARTIN KRAMER
X-Sender: fn034463@mbox1.flashnet.it
To: kramerm@post.tau.ac.il, MEQ@MEForum.org, Meqmef@aol.com
X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 5.1
X-Loop-Detect: 1
Dear DP,
Not only you had the nerve to rewrite my book review to say the opposite of what
I wrote, but now you dare to call me a fruitcake when I object to it.
I expect the Middle East Quarterly to print the requested disclaimer and
correction.
Shaykh Prof. Abdul Hadi Palazzi
Director
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Cultural Institute of the Italian Islamic Community
http://www.islam.italy.too.it
mailto:islam.inst@flashnet.it
Date: Tue, 25 Jun 2002 20:16:54 +0200
From: Cultural Institute of the Italian Islamic Community
<islam.inst@flashnet.it>
Subject: Re: Your letter
X-Sender: fn034463@mbox1.flashnet.it
To: Martin Kramer <meqeditor@hotmail.com>
Cc: mideastq@aol.com, Meqmef@aol.com
X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 5.1
X-Loop-Detect: 1
Dear Dr. Kramer,
I am disappointed to see that - instead of being distressed to learn that Pipes
manipulated my book review to the point of attributing to me the opposite of
what I wrote - you are only distressed to learn that I am dissatisfied with
Pipes's falsification and abuse of my name.
Since you are the editor of the Middle East Quarterly, it is indeed surprising
that you are not distressed to learnt that your review publishes falsifications,
but are only distressed that the victim of those falsifications does protest.
I have no intention to look for agreements with a dishonest man who supposes to
have the right to manipulate my writings as he deems better, and who dares to
call me a fruitcake when I protest for his unqualifiable behavior.
Since you are not in a position to rectify an abuse committed on a review of
which you are the editor (legally responsible for its contents), I will look for
more effective means in order to defend my reputation.
Best greetings,
Shaykh Prof. Abdul Hadi Palazzi
Director
-------------------------------------------------
Cultural Institute of the Italian Islamic Community
http://www.islam.italy.too.it
mailto:islam.inst@flashnet.it