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title: author: publisher: isbn10 | asin: print isbn13: ebook isbn13: language: subject publication date: lcc: ddc: subject:
Voice of an Exile : Reflections On Islam Abu mid"# Nelson, Est$er R" r ! ̄amid"# ̄ Zayd, Nas %reen&ood 'ublis$in( 'ublis$in( %rou) *+-./+-*./*+-./+-*/ ./*010*12311 En(lis$ Abu ̄ Zayd, Nas r ! ̄amid, 4c$olars, 5uslim66E(y)t667io(ra)$y, Intellectuals66 E(y)t667io(ra)$y, Islamic rene&al66E(y)t, Islamic modernism66E(y)t" +**2 7'/*"A+.-A0 +**2eb +.8"*.+ Abu ̄ Zayd, Nas r ! ̄amid, 4c$olars, 5uslim66E(y)t667io(ra)$y, Intellectuals66 E(y)t667io(ra)$y, Islamic rene&al66E(y)t, Islamic modernism66E(y)t"
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Page i Voice of an Exile
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Page i Voice of an Exile
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Page iii iii Voice of an Exile Ref lections lectio ns on Islam NASR NASR ABU ZAID WITH ESTHER ESTHER R. NELSON
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Page iv Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Abu Zayd, Nasr Hamid. Voice of an exile : reflections on Islam / Nasr Abu Zaid it! "st!er #. Nelson. $. cm. Includes bibliogra$!ical references and index. I%&N '()*+(-)+'(+ al. $a$er0 1. Abu Zayd, Nasr Hamid. ). %c!olars, 2uslim3"gy$t3&iogra$!y. 4. Intellectuals3 "gy$t3&iogra$!y. 5. Islamic reneal3"gy$t. +. Islamic modernism3"gy$t. I. 6itle. &P-'.A)+A4 )''5 )*7.')3dc)) 8&9 )''4')5)* &ritis! ;ibrary
)''5 by Nasr Abu Zaid and "st!er #. Nelson All rig!ts reserved. No $ortion of t!is boo may be re$roduced, by any $rocess or tec!ni?ue, it!out t!e ex$ress ritten consent of t!e $ublis!er. ;ibrary of
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Page v To Cliff, who like Nasr, is Sensei of the sensei—Teacher of the teacher
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Page vii Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter " Chapter ' Chapter * Chapter 7 Chapter + Chapter & Chapter 1. Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13
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Preface by Esther R. Nelson Exiled My Early Years Badriyya, Karima, Ayat, ad !heree A #el$ctat !ch%lar (ere ) !tad My America Advet$re %ig -apaese E/tehal My 0eachig -%$rey A ecet #et$r 0he ex$s %f 0he%ry ad Practice %%4ig Ahead 0he 5ay 6%rard Appedix %tes )dex
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ix 1 17 37 "& *3 +' 1.3 11& 13' 1'3 1*' 1+1 1&& 2.& 213 217
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Page ix Preface I first became acquainted with Nasr Abu Zaid after reading Mary Anne Weaver ’s article “ev!luti!n by "tealth# in The New Yorker $%une &' ())&*+ I was immediately drawn t! his st!ry+ Islamists f!rced Nasr fr!m ,air! -niversity' his alma mater and the instituti!n where he currently taught' charging him with heresy+ .is crime/ Nasr had stated in his writings that hist!ry and culture must be ta0en int! acc!unt when inter1reting the 2ur’an+ In a dditi!n' Nasr argued f!r a meta1h!ric inter1retati!n !f the 2ur’an rather than an inflexible' literal understanding !f that sacred text+ In %une ())3' the ,air! ,!urt !f A11eals f!und “that Abu Z4a5id’s writings in and !f themselves 1r!ved him t! be an a1!state+#( Islamists threatened his life+ .e n! l!nger was able t! te ach+ 6uards' armed with machine guns' surr!unded his h!me+ Islamist lawyers attem1ted t! se1arate him fr!m his wife' 7r+ 8btehal 9!unes' als! a 1r!fess!r at ,air! -niversity' !n the gr!unds that a Muslim w!man cann!t be married t! a n!n:Muslim+ Nasr' having been declared an a1!state' c!uld n! l!nger be c!nsidered a Muslim+ "ubsequently b!th !f them fled t! the Netherlands' and since then Nasr has been t eaching Arabic and Islamic "tudies at ;eiden -niversity+ In <===' my husband began w!r0ing f!r an !il c!m1any in "audi Arabia+ "ince then' I’ve s1lit my time between "audi Arabia and the -nited "tates+ When I’m in the "tates' I teach religi!us studies in the "ch!!l !f W!rld "tudies at >irginia ,!mm!nwealth -niversity in ichm!nd+ In ?ebruary <==<' I disc!vered Nasr all !ver again in an
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Page xi on my sister Betty’s kitchen table in Redwood, Virginia, and began to peck away at the keys of a laptop computer. Not only did Betty ignore the clutter in her kitchen, she proided a co!y home for me in the midst of my gypsylike existence. " kinder and more loing sister would be hard to find. #n addition, Nasr’s patience seemed endless as he tirelessly unfolded #slamic doctrine to me while simultaneously weaing that doctrine into his own life experience. $hroughout the text, Nasr demonstrates that personal experience cannot be separated from scholarly achieement. %xperience proides the stuff from which scholarship sprouts. &y first meeting with Nasr happened in a coffee shop underneath 'eiden’s train station in &ay ())(. "s we chatted oer coffee and tea, # noticed the sleees on Nasr’s nay blue suit *acket inching higher and higher. %entually, a good six inches of white shirt on each arm lay exposed. # couldn’t help but think that here was a man ready to roll up his sleees and get to work. "nd that’s exactly what happened. But een more noteworthy was that as we continued to talk underneath the rumbling of commuter trains, # felt Nasr’s warmth, compassion, and generosity flowing from what # can best describe as the heart of a born teacher. # suggested that Nasr write a book about himself, not merely focusing on the eents that led to his exile +although that would be included, but also showing the path that carried him along his scholarly *ourney. -ow did he come to see and interpret the ur’an from a perspectie that today is at odds with mainstream understanding/ 0# would loe to write such a book in %nglish,1 Nasr assured me. 0 # speak %nglish so much better than #’m able to write it. $his is a problem for me.1 0$hat’s where # come in,1 # said. 0 #’ll help you craft your story. &y degree is in %nglish2writing and rhetoric.1 3hat follows is the product of our combined efforts. "boe all, we want to coney to our reading audience tha t #slam, like all ma*or world religions, expresses itself in a wide ariety of ways. $here is no single #slam. 3e also beliee dialogue among &uslims +as well as with non4&uslims regarding the arious expressions of #slam to be an essential ingredient in promoting understanding both within and outside #slam. #f our work contributes toward tha t end, we will count ourseles as haing been successful. %sther R. Nelson
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Page 1 1 Exiled I left Egypt—my home—in 1995. Ever since then, I’ve been a professor of Arabic and Islamic t!dies at "eiden #niversity in the $etherlands, a %ell&'no%n instit!tion established in 15(5. "eiden is located so!th of Amsterdam, a thirty&min!te train ride from the center of the city. )!ring the day, I’m b!sy s!pervising st!dents, digging a%ay at my research thro!gh my %riting, debating %ith my colleag!es, attending conferences, and spea'ing to the p!blic thro!gh comm!nity events and f!nctions. It’s %hat %e scholars do in o!r attempt to create and disseminate 'no%ledge. At night, tho!gh, I dream of Egypt. I %as born in Egypt. *he %aters of the $ile flo% thro!gh my veins. Egypt has shaped me. *o this day, I remain thoro!ghly Egyptian. +orn on !ly 1-, 19/, in 0!hafa, a small village near *anta in the $ile )elta, to ordinary, poor, hard%or'ing parents, I learned early on abo!t the concept of !stice. !stice lies at the heart of the 0!r’an. I’ve %or'ed on and de veloped this idea of !stice in my scholarship—especially as it applies to social iss!es. +!t I’m getting ahead of myself. I live in e2ile. ome of the facts s!rro!nding the case %hich led to my e2ile are %idely 'no%n. 3ther facts have not been as %ell p!blici4ed. *his is %hat happened In 6ay 1997, I applied to the )epartment of Arabic at 8airo #niversity for promotion to f!ll professor. I s!bmitted my p!blications eleven papers and t%o boo's: to the #niversity *en!re and Promotion 8ommittee. *his committee gave the material to a s!bcommittee of three professors to eval!ate. *hose
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Page 9 responsible responsible for assass a ssassinating inating Anwar Anwar Sadat, decreed de creed that it was an Islamic Islamic duty that I be killed. A week later a group of scholars, known as the Front of al-Ahar Scholars, Scholars, in an effort to force my repentance, repentanc e, called on the go!ernment to carry out the legal punishment punishment for apostasy "death. Islamists"including Shahin"were thrilled with the court#s ruling. $n %une &', &99(, while deli!ering his sermon at the Amr ibn al-As )os*ue, he had this to say about the ruling ruling of the Appeals +ourt he +ourt has issued its ruling ruling after ha!ing e/amined e/amined the case o!er o!e r a period of two years, and has become con!inced that the man 0Abu 1aid2 is an apostate who should be separated from his wife.34 $n %uly 5, &99(, the +ommittee on Acade mic mic Freedom of the )iddle )iddle 6ast Studies Studies Association Association of 7orth America wrote a letter lett er to President P resident 8osni )ubarak. )ubarak. hey were we re concerned. conce rned. he ruling, they said, placed drastic limits limits on the freedom of research and publication of our colleagues in 6gypt,3 and was incompatible incompatible with international norms of academic aca demic freedom and human hu man rights.3( rights.3( 6!en support such as this was not enough to re!erse the ruling against me. hen )ubarak came to power after Sadat#s assassination, he signed a law which guaranteed immunity to the public prosecutor and his deputies. 6gyptian intellectuals are generally happy that the :udiciary system en:oys an independe nce offered by this immunity immunity.. I am a m more interested in ha!ing the system run its course with my case, not ha!ing )ubarak"or or anybody else"inter!ene. $n the e!ening of %uly ;5, &99(, 6btehal and I were on a plane, on our way to Spain. 6btehal had made plans to be in )adrid for the month of September after ha !ing been awarded a professional fellowship. fellowship. She She had ha d initially initially intended to go alone, but because be cause of o f all the turmoil around us, we decided to t o go earlier and to go together. I remember telling telling her, I don#t want to go back to 6gypt"back to t he siege.3 hat#s hat#s all it it took. escribing certain things mentioned mentioned in the ?ur#an such a s the throne of @od, angels, de!ils, de!ils, :inn, :inn, paradise, and hell as myths of the past. ;. +alling +alling the ?ur#an a cultural product, thereby denying its its pre-e/istence in the preser!ed ablet. ablet.
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Page 10 3. Calling Calling the Qur’an Qur’an a linguisti linguisticc text. (The impli implication cation is that the Prophet Prophe t lied lied about receivi rece iving ng revelations revelations from od.! ". Calling Calling the Qur’anic sciences...#reactionar$ sciences...#rea ctionar$ heritage%& and sa$ing sa$ing that the shari’a is is the cause of 'uslim 'uslims’ s’ bac)ardness and decline. *. +a$ing +a$ing that a belief in the supernatural reflects a mind mind submerged submerged in m$th. m$th. ,. Calling -slam an rabic religion% thus den$ing its universalit$ universa lit$.. /. sserting sserting that the final version of the Qur’an )as established established in the Qura$shi idiom idiom in in order to assert the supremac$ of the Qura$sh tribe. tribe. (Prophet 'uhammad )as from the Qura$sh tribe.! . en$ing the authenticit$ of the sunna. 2. Calling Calling for emancipation emancipation from the authorit$ of religious religious texts. 10. Contending Conte nding that submitting to religious religious text is a form of slaver$., slaver$., There )as no doubt about it in the c ollective ollective mind of the courts. co urts. - )as guilt$ guilt$ ofkufr of kufr % therefore% considered an infidel or an apostate. g$ptian intellectuals groaned% no)ing that t he +upreme Court’s decision )as irrevocable. s a result of this decisi dec ision% on% man$ intellectua intellectuals ls consider ugust *% 122,% to be the darest da$ in g$ptian histor$. histor$. spoesman spoesman for the g$pti g$ptian an 4rgani5ation 4rgani5ation for 6uman 7ights said the decision )as #a big shoc shoc to us...a damaging blo) blo) to g$pt8and g$pt8and a slap in the face of civil societ$% societ$% a restriction on freedom free dom of opinion and belief% and a license to murder.& murder.& nd 9ahmi 6u)a$di% 6u)a$di% a popular g$ptian columnist% columnist% called called the ppeals ppe als Court verdict #s$mptomatic of a breado)n in societ$. societ$. :obod$ debates debate s an$more% onl$ t)o channels are left% guns and ;udges.&/ The conservative conservat ive )riter r. r. 'uhammad <mara% no)n for his commitment commitment to t o freedom of thought% acno)ledged that m$ case )as an an intellectual one% not a legal one. -f m$ )or )as to be challenged% it ought to be done through debate% not taen to the courts. 6e noted that the Qur’an does not prescribe punishment for apostas$. eath for such an offense is based on the hâdith% hâdith% documented traditions of the Prophet’s teaching teac hingss and actions% )hich states% state s% #6e # 6e )ho changes c hanges his religion% religion% and deserts d eserts the 'uslim 'uslim communit$ communit$%% must be illed.& illed.& eserting the communit$% communit$% according to teachings )hich )hich )ere later ascribed to 'uhammad% )as seen as tantamount t antamount to treason. #9aith%& # 9aith%& said <mara% #is a matter of assent a nd certaint$ certa int$ in the heart.& heart .& The Qur’an Qur’a n asserts% #There shall be no compuls c ompulsion ion in religi religion& on& (+ura =>=*/!.
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Page 16 long. Egypt’s culture considers marriage and family sacred. How could Shahin get away with treating the institution so disrespectfully? Corruption. Corruption permeates everything aout E gypt. !t ma"es me terrily worried aout the future of my country. Shahin# elieve it or not# is a $% star. & corrupt society supporting a corrupt man. 'ecause of the investment scandal in which he was implicated# people "now he is a thief. People are lac"adaisical aout that. So what? they as". ! thin" if you are unale to confront a thief with his theft# there must e some s"eleton in your own closet. !t’s the stuff corruption is made of. Edward Said# professor of English and comparative literature at Columia (niversity until his death in )**+# delivered the commencement address at the &merican (niversity in Cairo on ,une 1-# 1. /uring his speech# he wondered if the university 0can survive as a real university if its governance and teaching mission ecome the oects of scrutiny and direct interference not of its teachers ut of powers outside the university.2 He continued# 03e must always view the academy as a place to voyage in# owning none of it ut at home e verywhere in it. $here can e no foridden "nowledge if the modern university is to maintain its place# its mission# its power to educate.2 Said added# 04$5he whole notion of academic freedom underwent a significant downgrading during the past three decades. !t ecame possile for one to e free in the university only if one completely avoided anyt hing that might attract unwelcome attention or suspicion.21) ! don’t "now whether Said had my case in mind when he made this speech. His words# though# certainly apply. 'y this time# Etehal and ! had long since made our decision to leave Egypt. 3e arrived in the etherlands on 7ctoer )8# 18# and !’ve een a professor of &raic and !slamic Studies at 9eiden (niversity ever since. !’m grateful to 9eiden (niversity and the /utch government for opening their collective arms to us. !’ve made some solid and lasting friendships as a result of my e:ile. !’ve supervised students;many of whom have made great strides in furthering !slamic scholarship. Egypt# though# is the mother who has nurtured me. !t is Egypt who calls to me at night in my dreams. !t is Egypt to whom ! long to return.
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Page 17 2 My Early Years I am firmly convinced that life experience is at the heart of this thing we call knowledge. Our experiences are what give knowledge its shape. Knowledge is not an independent entity. It does not exist apart from our understanding and interpreta tion of facts or events. That interpretation to a large degree comes from our own individual experiences. !or that reason two people may witness the same event yet give two different accounts of it. One reason for writing this "ook is to show how connected and interrelated my life experiences are with my academic scholarship. I came into the world short round and heavy. I#ve "een "attling my weight for my entire life. $y father was also heavy%no dou"t I inherited this proclivity for poundage from him. &s in most societies my weight made me vulnera"le to ridicule from other children while growing up. I wasn#t nearly as agile as they so I learned early on to compensate for this lack of agility. I took up reading as a ho""y. I en'oyed reading and I soon reali(ed that reading was the one activity at which I could excel. )uhafa a small village located in the *ile +elta area of northern ,gypt is the place I call home. Tanta a mere ten-minute walk from )uhafa when I was a child/ is the capital of this district. )uhafa is one of many villages in the area each of which has its own local administration./ In spite of "eing so close to Tanta most folks were reluctant to travel to the "ig city where cars sped through the streets giving the place a "oisterousness that )uhafa lacked. )uhafa had no
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Page 22 led by Sa‘d Zaghlûl, as well as the older revolution when the Egyptian officer Ahmad ‘r!b" went up against #hedive $awf"%&a revolt that was suppressed by the 'ritish( ) learned a basic history of Egypt from these men( $oday, ) consider this e*perience to be my first real school( After my father died and ) had matured somewhat, some of these men, blessed with longevity, became my friends as well( ) also learned about private things( $hese men spo+e in code when discussing se*ual matters( hen they tal+ed to each other about se*, they would say, - So, yesterday you were traveling, right./ )f a man had splashed some fragrant scent on himself, it was a dead giveaway( $hat meant he had ta+en a bath, and when a man too+ a bath in 0uhafa, he most certainly had en1oyed a se*ual escapade with his wife( Since our village had no running water, people bathed in metal tubs( ) learned that if a woman tossed out sweet2smelling water from a metal tub into the street, that was another sure sign that intercourse had recently ta+en place in that household( 3or a child of ten, this was e*citing stuff( hile ) was tending the shop one morning, the wife of one of my father4s friends stopped by( ) had seen her throwing out bathwater from a metal tub early that morning( ) said to her, -ell, ) thin+ ncle 5uhammad 6the woman4s husband7 was trave ling yesterday(/ $he woman gave me a %ui88ical loo+( She said, -$raveling. ) don4t +now&)4m not sure(/ ) was toying with her, and when ) loo+ bac+ on the incident, ) am ashamed of myself( 9ater on, ) learned that when ncle 5uhammad arrived home from wor+, his wife as+ed him, -ere you traveling yesterday./ -ho told you that./ he demanded( -$he son of :amed Abu Zaid,/ she replied( ncle 5uhammad immediately reali8ed that ) had been listening to and&even worse&understanding their afternoon conversations in front of the grocery store( :e told my father( 5y father, not +nowing what else to do, gave me the usual punishment doled out by a father in Arab society; :e hit me( At the same time, ) felt my father too+ great pride in my budding se*ual interest and development( ) was eavesdropping at my parents4 bedroom door later that day when ) heard my father say to my mother, -
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Page 27 After a couple of hours, people noticed me standing by the front door of my house with a white bundle be side me. “ What’s happening? Where are you going? they as!ed. " had no choice but to tell them what had happened. #ight began to settle. $ore and more people gathered around me, demanding to !now what !ind of problem would ha%e dri%en my mother to such a desperate act. &hey !noc!ed on the front door. 'he did not answer. “What could possibly be wrong? fol!s wondered aloud. “ We !now she is inside. &he %illagers summoned certain men in our e(tended family to come o%er and help sort out this problem of my sudden homelessness. &hese men possessed an enormous amount of authority in our community. $y father would submit to them whene%er t here was a dispute of some sort. When they arri%ed, one of them shouted, “$a)#asr *mother of #asr+, open the door, $a)#asr. And she did. “What happened? he as!ed when he was inside. “Why is your son outside? " could hear the whole con%ersation uite well. “#othing happened, she replied. “ -e is outside because he does not belong here. &his woman, my mother, was playing it cool. " hardly recognied her. “What do you mean? the man as!ed. “-e does not belong to me. "f you would li!e to ha%e him, help yourself/ he is not my son. 'he was strong and determined. 'he was about to get rid of me without so much as batting an eye. “#o, you cannot do this, the man declared. And then he tried begging. “Please, for my sa!e, do not do this. $y mother was emphatic. “ #o, #asr does not belong with me. &he man became furious. #o man in the family had e%er said no to him, but here was my mother, a woman, standing her ground, refusing to do what he as!ed of her. As if to remind my mother of her duty, he said, “0ou are not listening to me. 'he was bold. “0ou listen to me. #asr is my son. -e threw a pair of scissors in my direction. #ow, he is a boy. " am feeding him. What can we e(pect from him in a few years? -ow will he treat me then if he throws scissors at me now1while " am feeding him? &he man was speechless. $y mother continued, “ "f #asr would li!e to return, " ha%e one condition. -e must !iss my feet. 'he brought our only chair into full %iew of the %illagers who were hanging around. 'he sat down and stretched out her legs. 'he astonished e%erybody. &o me, she loo!ed li!e ueen 3leopatra. " bent down and li!e a dog, " !issed her feet. 'he the n allowed me bac! in the house
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Page 33 When I’d come home from work at the end of the day, my mother always had supper prepared for us. If I did not like the food, I insisted on eating something else. She didn’t cater to my gastronomical whims, but one evening when the children were in bed for the night, she said, I would love to serve you fancy, e!pensive meals. "ou reali#e, of course, that it would cost you. When I c ook something that you refuse to eat, all your brothers and sisters refuse to eat it as well. I end up throwing it away. It’s your money, though, so you decide what you’d like me to do.$ I got the point. %ever again did I complain about the food she served. &fter several years, my mother’s health began to fail. We had moved to 'airo by this time. (y youngest brother, )sama, wanted to marry. I felt he was too young. *e had no apartment. I was against the whole thing. %onetheless, he did marry, and lived with his wife in my mother’s apartment. %ot wanting to be in the way of the newly+weds, my mother announced, I would like to visit your brother (uhammad in the village.$ I understood that she wanted to give )sama and his bride some space, so I asked, *ow long will you be with my brother (uhammad$ )ne month, maybe two,$ she offered. &fter two weeks, she became -uite ill. he doctor diagnosed her with a heart valve problem. *e recommended that she change her dietary habits, but the moment her doctor told her to refrain from eating certain foods, she demanded them. I’d visit her every week, trying to keep her spirits up. (y brother’s wife said, I cannot refuse her any food she asks for. "ou must understand my position. If I refuse her, I will be sub/ect to her anger.$ I told my mother, If you do not follow your doctor’s advice, you will die.$ She became -uite angry. his is none of your business. I would welcome death. &nd by the way, don’t come and visit me again. 0ven if I die, don’t come.$ %o, if you die, I should be there. People will be e!pecting me to be present to receive their condolences.$ What else could I say to her "ou are giving me a hard time by telling me what to eat and what not to eat,$ she wailed. &ctually, I am not telling you, the doctor is,$ I offered. I paid her doctor, Ibrahim 1adran, a visit. *e was the president of 'airo 2niversity at the time. 3ater he became the minister of health.
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Page 34 Thanks to the efforts of my friend Ahmad Mursy, a close friend of the doctor, the doctor made a courtesy visit to check my mother in the village. I returned to Cairo with oth of them. The doctor told me, !"isten, we could #erform a technically sim#le o#eration on your mother to fi$ the valves in her heart. The #rolem with your mother, it seems to me, is that she has decided to die. %e would most likely e clinically successful o#erating on your mother, ut we doctors always say the surgical outcome has much to do with the #atient.& 'e glanced at me. 'e knew I was ske#tical of what he was saying. 'e continued, !I think your mother has decided to die.& In (gy#t at that time, #eo#le avoided hos#itals if at all #ossile. The doctor e$#lained that he would e willing to #erform the o#eration, ut the hos#ital stay would e stressful for her. !I e$amined your mother thoroughly. )he is a woman osessed with cleanliness. )he will have a terrile time with #eo#le washing and caring for her in the hos#ital.& My mother did not have the o#eration. %e sto##ed fighting with her aout her diet. I visited her every wee k at my rother *s home. (very week she would ask me for money. %hen my silings visited her, she asked for money from them as well. %henever a nyone asked, !+o you need anything& her standard res#onse was, !-es, I need money.& ne day the mood was light, so I asked her, !%hy do you need all this money ur rother should e #roviding for all your needs. If he is not doing so, tell me.& !/o, no, he is taking very good care of me,& she insisted. !%hen I ask you for money, 0ust give it to me. I rought you u#. I #rotected you. /ow that you are grown, you should not 1uestion me.& !2, Mother,& I said. !ut I need to know if you are going to remarry. If you are collecting this money to estalish a new household, let me know, so I can hel# you. f course, I must know who the groom will e.& )he laughed, ut continued to ask for money. The night she died, she ca lled my rother to her side and gave him all the money she had een egging from her children. )he said, ! This money is for my funeral. I need a res#ectale urial. I*d like two ur*an reciters5the fa mous ones we see on T65to lead the ceremony at my funeral. I didn*t want to urden you with this e$#ense when I died.& My mother died while I was on my way to visit her. efore I ste##ed out of the car, I knew she was gone. I could see many #eo#le
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Page 35 milling in and about my brother’s house—a sure sign that death had visited this home. I immediately went to the room where she had been laid out. I uncovered her face and kissed her on the cheek. She had lived to see her sixtieth birthday. y brother came in the room and said! "#ere is the money that our mother has been asking for over the $ast months.% y mother had s&uirreled away five hundred 'gy$tian $ounds—&uite a dec ent sum of money at the time. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I ended u$ doing a little of each. (e honored her re&uest for a res$ectable funeral. It was the least we could do. (hen I reflect on the $erson my mother had become over the twenty)five years since my father’s death and com$are her with the woman I knew *ust before my father died! I have to marvel. +ver the years! she develo$ed a strength and confidence that suited her well. She had been forced by her circumstances to engage the world in a way t hat had been closed off to her when my father was still alive. ,hat engagement transformed her into a different $erson! and the transformation intrigued me. She radiated an inner bea uty—something I found much more attractive than her $hysical charms.
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Page 37 3 Badriyya, Karima, Ayat, and Shereen After living in al-Mahallala Kubra for some years while I worked at the police headuarters there! we moved to "airo# I had enrolled in "airo $niversity in %&'(! when my youngest sister! Ayat! was still in elementary school# )oth Karima and *sama had graduated from high school by that time# )y %&7+! I had earned my undergraduate degree# Moving was hard on the family! especially on my mother# ,he had really balked when I first moved the family to al-Mahallala Kubra from uhafa in %&'+# At that time! she actually refused to move# I could understand her reluctance to be uprooted# ,he had her own house in uhafa and raised chickens! ducks! and rabbits! producing much of the food we consumed# In al-Mahallala Kubra! we lived in a small apartment and had to buy all our food# It cost more to .ust live# My mother stayed alone in uhafa for a week while the rest of us went on ahead# /hen ,ayyid0s brother! who worked in a department store in al-Mahallala Kubra! paid my mother a visit# 1,ayyid! my cousin! was the man who became our unofficial guardian after my father died#2 ,ayyid0s brother told my mother how difficult life had become for us since moving and how badly the children suffered as they attempted to ad.ust to their new situation# 4asr! especially! is doing terrible!5 he said# 6is report had the desired effect# /he net day! my mother boarded a train and .oined us in our small apartment in al-Mahallala Kubra#
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Page 41 In Egypt, there are financial responsibilities for both families when a couple decides to marry. So even if we thought it might be a good thing for Karima to marry one of her suitors, we would not have been able to come up with the necessary money. I new Karima had a special suitor because I found some letters. I worried. In Egyptian society, there is this matter of honor. ! girl dishonors herself and her family if she engages in se" before marriage. #ould Karima be one of those girls$ It terrified me to be responsible for teenage girls. I certainly had made my share of mistaes. I learned valuable lessons from them. #hy should my younger sisters not have that same privilege%maing mistaes and going on with their lives$ &his is unheard'of in the !rab world. #hen !yat, my youngest sister, was a student at the university, one of my friends came to me and in an angry voice ased, ( )id you now that !yat is seeing someone$* (+o,* I replied, (but why are you so angry$* (!rent you afraid of what might happen$* he ased. (+o. If I were afraid, I would never ha ve consented for her to be at the university, where boys and girls mi" freely. So what$ She is seeing somebody.* -y friend was appalled at what seemed to him to be my indifference. (#ell, you now, the boy she is seeing is one of your students,* he said. ( !re you telling me that you will ust loo the other way$* (Im telling you that Im trying to bring up my sister in an appropriate way,* I responded. (#ell, suppose she maes a mistae and allows this boy to have intercourse with her$ #hat will you do then$ &his has to do with honor,* he reminded me. (I will not be very happy about her decision,* I told him, (but do you really thin that a girls honor lies within this little piece of sin%the hymen$ /ertainly, I thin it would be a big mistae for her to have intercourse with him. I dont thin she will, but if she did, I am not going to ill her.* &he boy whom !yat was seeing came to me one day and ased to spea with me privately. 0e was one of my favorite students. (Im in love with your sister,* he blurted out. (So$* &hat was my gut response. It surprised me. ()ont you have anything to say to me$* he ased. (+o,* I assured him. (If you were to come to me asing to marry !yat, then I would have something to say, but you are telling me you are in love with her. I dont now if she is in love with you. ou are
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Page 44 It took an hour to get home. I could feel myself shaking. I reminded myself that this would be Karima’s choice. She was mature enough to make her own decision regarding marriage. Even if I didn’t like her decision, I would go along with her. hen we arrived home, Karima o!ened the door. "er eyes widened and she gas!ed. e sat down and dra nk some tea. I was holding my breath. #Karima,$ I began, #I !romised Sayyid almost si% years ago that if you were still interested in each other after you graduated, I would give my blessing to the wedding. &ow, it’s u! to you. 're you interested($ )he moment stretched into what seemed an e ternity. Karima said nothing for a minute or two. )hen she said, # *ook, Sayyid, we were very young. e were children.$ Sayyid stared blankly ahead of him. "e had heard enough. "e looked over to me and asked, #+ay I !lease be e%cused($ #ou are welcome any time in this house,$ I offered. -eeling relieved by Karima’s res!onse, it wasn’t difficult to be hos!itable. #)hank you,$ he said. #ou’ve ke!t your word, and now I will go.$ I walked with him to the bus sto!. hen I returned home, I found Karima in tears. I comforted her the best I could. #It’s K. ou’ve made a difficult choice. I know it wasn’t easy for you.$ Internal conflict always seems to accom!any difficult decisions. #I have so many fond memories of our time together,$ Karima sobbed. #es, of course. )hese memories become !art of who you are. hy would you want to erase them($ I asked. #hat did you e%!ect the outcome to be($ Karima asked. #I really did not know. If marrying him would have made you ha!!y, I would have moved forward with the wedding. It was really u! to you.$ Even though I had reservations about the marriage, I meant what I told her. Karima !ushed me even further. #hat would you have me do in my situation($ #I would like you to have a family someday with someone who has made a life for himself, not with somebody de!endent on his father.$ I s!oke with com!lete honesty. Karima worked for two or three more years, e%!eriencing much of the vibrant life that / airo offered. ne day she told me she had found somebody she wanted to marry. I had confidence in her 0udgment. I never regretted giving her enough freedom to make her own
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Page 46 “I don’t want to take anything that doesn’t belong to me,” I replied. “We can be friends, of corse, bt yo don’t ha!e to call me "ad.” “#t I’d like to call yo "ad.” $he was already acting like a daghter, pshing to get her way with me %st as my yonger sisters had done with me many times. “Well, &',” I finally conceded. “If yo really want to, tha t’s fine. I ha!e so many children, what’s one more( #t not e!en my brothers and sisters)people I helped to raise)call me "ad.” *e!ertheless, $hereen began to call me "ad. When +bteha l and I married, $hereen celebrated with s. +btehal and I then tra!eled. $hereen tra!eled as well, earning her .-. and Ph.". de grees along the way. When my case became national news, she pblished an article spporting me. We remained in close contact e!en after I had gone into eile. In /001, $hereen and I met in &ford to attend a hge conference. $he was a participant on one of the panel discssions. $hereen teaches +nglish literatre at 2airo 3ni!ersity and accepts speaking in!itations from all o!er the world. er most recent pro%ect has to do with -rab women athors who write in +nglish. I arri!ed at the airport two hors before her flight was de)that’s how eager I was to see her. I wanted to be sre I was there to greet her when she landed. -s soon as she arri!ed, we went to the cafe teria. We spent hors sipping coffee, catching each other p on or li!es. I noticed the sky darke ning as night began to fall. “We shold make or way toward &ford,” I said. When we arri!ed at &ford, or accommodations were not yet ready, so we were forced to check into a nearby hotel. 5here was only one room a!ailable. $hereen noticed me fidgeting. “What’s yor problem(” she demanded. “I don’t ha!e a problem,” I lied. I ha!e a conser!ati!e backgrond. +!en thogh $hereen had long ago declared herself to be my daghter, how cold I %st check into a hotel and stay in the same room o!ernight with this beatifl yong woman( $hereen was matteroffact. “ 7es, "ad, yo ha!e a problem. We don’t ha!e a choice. We need to share this room, that’s all there is to it.” “I do ha!e a problem, yo’re right,” I conceded. “I snore.” “5hen I’ll %st pt earplgs in my ears,” she said. -nd that was that.
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Page 47 The following morning, the rooms at Oxford were ready and we moved into separate quarters. We spent a delightful week together. any of my friends, present from all over the glo!e, looked at us skepti"ally. # $s she really your daughter% &er na me is different from yours.' #(es,' $ assured them. #)he de"ided to !e my daughter. This is our "hoi"e.' *or many +ra!s and uslims, it takes time to a""ept the fa"t that you have a daughter who is not your !iologi"al offspring. $n addition, many of the men would smile as if to say, #$ts O-, $ understand.' any folks have diffi"ulty thinking that friendship without sex is possi!le !etween women and men. One day she "alled mein e"stasy. #/ad, $ am going to get married. We are in love. +fter our marriage, we are "oming to visit you.' $ spoke with her hus!and0to0!e on the phone. &e was a movie dire"tor. $ knew him !y name. 1ut after they had !een married a year, he died. #Where should $ go% What should $ do%' $ asked her over the phone. y instin"t was to rush to her side, !ut she "ame to me instead, staying with 2!tehal and me for a week. +s a result of her visit, $ reali3ed in a new way how mu"h $ had grown to love and "are for this human !eing. )he suffered after losing her hus!and, !ut she was ready to pi"k up and keep going. The morning she left, $ told 2!tehal, #That girl is strong. )he will do well.' +nd she didin spite of some diffi"ulties with her hus!ands family over inheritan"e. #They the family5 want me to disappear into thin air,' she told me later as we spoke !y ph one. # $m not going to do that. $ have "ertain rights.' There was no dou!t in my mind shed take "are of herself. When $ was appointed to the 6lerevinga 6hair 8999:899;< at =eiden >niversity, $ wanted )hereen to attend the "eremony. #(es, $ am "oming,' she assured me. $ addressed her in my spee"h as my daughter. Tradition di"tates that the family stands together in the re"eption area after all the spee"hes have !een delivered. )he was in"luded, of "ourse. #?ow, $m offi"ially your daughter,' she said. # )ee, its right here on paper. (ou "annot deny it anymore.' $ would not even think of denying our !ond. Over the years, $ve developed a fatherly pride in the person she isas well as taking pride in her a"hievements. We re"ently met in /amas"us to att end a "onferen"e. The organi3ing "ommittee had !ooked uhammad unir, a famous singer, to entertain us in the evening after our workshops. $
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Page 48 know Munir. We were students together. He began to sing—beautiful words that unfortunately lose something in translation. “Raise your voie in singing!"ongs are still #ossible.$ % found myself &uite moved by the words and the musi. %s it #ossible' %s it really still #ossible' (an we still sing' )or me* of ourse* singing here is a meta#hor—a symbol of re+oiing in life* ha##iness* and intelletual freedom. %s singing still #ossible' Munir re#eated the #hrase over and over* and before long* % reali,ed that my fae was wet. Munir-s song had touhed me in a de e# #lae* and my tears flowed freely. My thoughts were about gy#t—the gy#t that % love and the gy#t that % hate. Part of my sorrow had to do with the wound gy#t had inflited on me. "hereen-s #resene omforted me. /he ne0t day "hereen took #art in a #anel disussion. % arefully wathed her #erformane. "he was under attak. "he talked about how ensorshi# these days seems to be oming from the grass roots of soiety. /here is a sense in the 1rab world that so many of our #roblems and so muh of our suffering are a diret result of Western influene. /he 1rab world res#onds to this sense by e nsoring. "hereen* in her attem#t to show that ensorshi# ould never ahieve the kind of soiety many Muslims envision* s#oke out against the #ratie. )olks in the audiene were trying to “take her down.$ "he res#onded artiulately and learly* and used her sense of humor to ease the tense situation. 1fterward* % envelo#ed her in my arms* omforting her the best % ould. /he disussion had taken its toll on her. Many young #eo#le look to me as a father figure. % love them all. 2ver the yea rs* though* "hereen has taken her #lae beside my siblings—the hildren % raised. % am fortunate indeed to be able to laim her as my daughter.
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Page 49 4 A Reluctant Scholar As soon as I finished my undergraduate studies at Cairo University in 1972, I was appointed as an assistant teacher in the universitys !epartment of Ara"ic, #acu$ty of %etters& I fe$t honored& 'hese appointments are awarded to those who graduate with high mar(s& I fe$t fortunate as we$$& I had a$ways dreamed of teaching, and that dream was fina$$y "eing rea$i)ed& I *uit my +o" at the po$ice head*uarters and de$ved into my responsi"i$ities with a newfound )ea$& 'he net academic hurd$e I faced was choosing a fie$d of research for my graduate studies& 'he facu$ty in the !epart ment of Ara"ic, who had recent$y "ecome my co$$eagues, to$d me they had an urgent need for a specia$ist in the fie$d of Is$amic -tudies& 'hey strong$y advised me to go in that direction for "oth my .&A& and Ph&!& theses& I was re$uctant to ta(e their advice& .y re$uctance to focus on Is$amic -tudies stemmed from the reading I had done even "efore enro$$ing in the university& -ince I was we$$ into my twenties when I "egan my forma$ university education, I had more reading tuc(ed under my "e$t than most students have when they matricu$ate& 'hrough my reading, I "ecame aware of the danger of wor(ing within Is$amic -tudies& I $earned a"out the case against /A$0 A"de$3)i* in 192& 5e wrote a "oo( tit$ed Islam and the Foundation of Political Authority&1 In his "oo(, he argued for an end to t he ca$iphate system of government& 'he ca$iphate, he asserted, is not essentia$ to Is$am& It is nothing more than a po$itica$ system of government used "y .us$im peop$e&
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Page 54 When I was teaching at Cairo University, I invited Khalafallah to come and speak to my class. his is one of my teaching strategies!inviting professors from o"tside the "niversity to share their e#perience and wisdom with my st"dents. $e hesitated. %&o" are part of the history of Cairo University, whether the "niversity likes it or not,' I reminded him. %(ven the pro)lems yo" e#perienced with yo"r thesis are part of the history of this "niversity. &o" are an Islamic *t"dies scholar. I wo"ld like my st"dents to meet yo". We co"ld have some good disc"ssion.' $e finally agreed to come. $owever, as I was a)o"t to leave my apartment to pick him "p on the day he was to speak to my st"dents, he phoned me. % +ook, asr, I am sorry. I am "na)le to come. I have not )een to Cairo University in fifty years, and I -"st cant do it.' I "nderstood at the time. I "nderstand even )etter today. I wonder if I co"ld go )ack and teach at Cairo University after )eing away for eight years. /any times I feel like an a)andoned child. Khalafallah m"st have felt -"st as deserted. *o I was aware of all this history in the 0epartment of 1ra)ic *t"dies when I )egan my grad"ate st"dies at Cairo University. (ven tho"gh Islamic *t"dies had always interested me and I had at one time every intention of p"rs"ing a degree in the field, I resolved not to go that ro"te. I felt the risk wo"ld )e too great. I wo"ld work on literary criticism instead. he department, tho"gh, e#erted considera)le press"re on me, insisting that the newly appointed assistant lect"rer sho"ld )e an Islamic *t"dies scholar. I o)-ected. People in the department didnt seem to "nderstand. %Why2' they asked. I said, %&o" know the pro)lem!the pro)lem of 31l 1)del678i9, the pro)lem of 7h7 $"sayn, the pro)lem of /"hammad 1hmed Khalafallah.' /y professors downplayed my concerns, saying that the pro)lems these men had were personal, -"st something )etween professors!an internal affair. hey were "naware how deeply I had delved into the history of the department. :ne of my professors asked, %Why do yo" think that this will happen to yo"2 0o yo" think yo" are going to say something new2' his, of co"rse, is the "s"al thinking. If yo" work within the field of Islamic *t"dies, the ass"mption is that yo" will discover no new knowledge. Islamic scholars, generally speaking, e#plain what has already )een esta)lished. *cientific investigation is considered
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Page 59 One day he came to see me. I had traveled back to Quhafa for a brief visit, and I was happy to welcome him to my home. I noticed right away, though, that he was trembling from head to foot. I have to talk with you,! he managed to blurt out. I thought for sure disaster had struc k him. "s soon as he closed the door behind him, he began to cry. #hat$s the matter% #hat happened%! I asked. I saw him. I saw him. I saw him. I cannot keep the secret any longer,! he lamented. #hat secret% #hom did you see%! I demanded. &ears rolled down his face. I saw the Prophet. "nd I talked to him and I said, 'I love you, Prophet (uhammad.$ )e said, 'I love you, )asan.$! #hat is wrong with that%! I wondered aloud. *on$t you see% +ow, I am revealing the secretthe secret of seeing the Prophet in a dream,! he said. I could only look at him blankly. -o what%! I will be punished,! he insisted. )e will never show himself to me again. ut I couldn$t keep it inside. I had to talk to someone.! "t the time, I didn$t fully understand the turmoil )asan was going through. "ll I could do was wonder about the nature of the burden he carried. If he believed there would be adverse conse/uences as a result of his confession, what drove him to do such a thing% #hen I read about Ibn '"rab0mysticism, the vision, the secret, how to keep the secret, and punishment for revealing the secret to people who are not ready)asan$s e1perience began to make some sense. I was in the 2nited -tates when I began my research about Ibn '"rab0. #hile I was reading, )asan$s e1perience was right there before me, weaving its way in between the words of the te1t. I think this is what gives my research and writing its flesh and blood. #hen I write about something, it$s not 3ust an intellectual e1ercise. (y reading, my research, and my e1perience all fuse. &his fusion, I believe, is essential to the process of creating knowledge. It$s also what$s missing from so much work done today in the academy. I finished work on my doctoral thesis in 496, the year I returned to 7gypt from the -tates. #ithin a couple of months, I was awarded my Ph.*. (y dissertation on Ibn '"rab0 was published under the title The Philosophy of Hermeneutics.8 It was my second book.
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Page 61 I keep returning again and again to the same questions. What is the Qur’an? What does it mean to me, the individual? What does it mean to the umma, the community o !uslims? Islamic theology has not developed much "eyond the thirteenth century. #he "asic questions remain ro$en. #he %ork that I do&my critical scholarship&has everything to do %ith making Islam relevant to our lives at the present time.
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Page 63 5 Here I Stand Iconsider myself to be very, very Egyptian. What I mean by that is that I feel I can communicate at a gut level with Egyptian people. I know how to oke with them. I know how to connect with them no matter what their status within our society. I take them as they are. Perhaps my father!s death when I was fourteen years old forced me out into the world at an earlier age than most folks. I didn!t have the lu"ury of lingering in adolescence. I had to learn early on how to survive. I got to know the street and the life of the underprivileged in Egyptian society. I think the ordinary e"periences of day#to#day living in my home village of $uhafa set the stage for what later developed into my passion for ustice. %uch of my early religious education in the kuttâb was rote. &ecitation and memori'ation of the $ur!an took center stage. (orrect pronunciation of the )rabic words and clear enunciation of the te "t were our goals and highly pri'ed by our teachers. Even though I had the entire $ur!an memori'ed by the time I reached my eighth birthday, I did not comprehend much of what the te"t said. %y father, my mother, the preacher in the mos*ue, and other folks in the village e"plained the te"t!s meaning to me. I prayed five times a day and fasted during &amad+n. here were people in my village who did not observe those rituals-rituals so central to Islam. hat was /. hese people were not ostraci'ed. I never considered ritual to be the essential part of Islam. Even as a child, I understood tha t Islam had everything to do with how you lived your life. he emphasis was on orthopra"is 0proper
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Page 64 behavior), not orthodoxy (proper be lief or doctrine). Within my small community, I learned that the spirit of Islam as all about helping the poor and the ea!. "oday, I stand ith the oppressed#hoever they are and herever they may be. $eteen %&&' and %&&#the years I as accused and finally convicted of apostasy#my picture appeared freuently in *gyptian papers and periodicals. +nce, a caricature of me in the form of the devil stared me in the eye as I opened my nespaper to c atch up on the days events. "he -devil had /ust stabbed the 0uran. $lood gushed copiously from the sacred text. *gyptian people ere uite familiar ith my situation. +ne evening, on our ay home from the university, *btehal and I stopped at the supermar!et to get some provisions for our long ee!end. 1s *btehal and I gathered some items together and placed them in our cart, a very old man !ept staring at me. 2e reminded me of my father and my grandfather#all the fathers in *gypt. I !ne he recogni3ed me. 2e al!ed around me, froned at me, loo!ed me up and don, and then as!ed, -1re you... I !ne hat he as about to as!. Whenever Id go out in public, people ould often as! if I as -that man accused of heresy. Id alays anser, -5es, yes, I am that man accused of heresy. +ften my tone ould be one of moc! impatience mixed ith a healthy dose of boredom. "his elderly man became angry and started to shout at me. ol!s gathered all around *bte hal and me. - 1rent you ashamed of yourself 5ou should be ashamed. I !no that your father is a 7uslim. Isnt that right -5es, I said. - 7y fathers name is 2amed. In the 1rab orld, if your name is 2amed, there is no doubt about your religious affiliation. "he man !ept at me. -2o can you call yourself a 7uslim 2o is it that your father as a 7uslim and your mother as a 7uslim and no you bring disgrace to the 0uran, to the Prophet 7uhammad, and to Islam 1rent you ashamed of yourself 5ou must be cra3y. "he man repeated these uestions several times#only changing the order of his uestions and accusations. -Please, did you finish I finally as!ed him. -5es, I have finished, the man replied. -+8, no please listen to me, I said. -5ou have been atching me for ten minutes here in this supermar!et. 5ou have seen every inch of my body, every inch of my face. Is this true
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Page 65 “Yes, it is true,” he agreed. “Tell me,” I said. “If you didn’t know my reputa tion, what impression would I gie you! "o I look like I’m in need of psy#hiatri# interention! $r do I appear normal! You a#tually do not know me personally. %hat’s your erdi#t!” “You seem to look like eery&ody else,” he admitted. “'o I’m not out of my mind! I’m not #ra(y!” I asked. “)o,” he said. “ You don’t seem #ra(y.” “Tell me,” I said, pushing forward with the #onersation, “ if someone who is not #ra(y, &ut normal like you or like your son, and if he worked in the uniersity in a *uslim so#iety like +gypt, and if he wanted to get a promotion in order to raise his salary to meet the eerrising #ost of liing, would you think this person normal if he asked for a promotion and then showed himself as an atheist to the uniersity!” The old man seemed to &e listening, so I #ontinued. “I’m not talking a&out whether or not this man is a#tually an atheist. %e hae un&elieers in our so#iety who pass themseles off as &elieers. -ut if you were not fasting during amad/n, would you go out in pu&li# and e at! )o, of #ourse not. You would eat &ehind #losed doors. 'o een if I am not a &elieer, would I flaunt my atheism and then ask the uniersity to promote me! %hat would you think a&out someone who would pull a stunt like that!” “They would &e #ra(y,” he said. “-ut you 0ust said that I am not #ra(y,” I reminded him. “"o you think I’m #ra(y!” “)o,” he said. “That’s right,” I responded. “ 1 sane person like myself would hae made a de#ent presentation to the uniersity2something faithful to Islam. Then, after I had re#eied my promotion, then may&e I would make a show of my atheism &e#ause I am 0ust like you. 3ife is ery hard. I need my salary. 1nd this is my wife. 4I introdu#ed +&tehal to the man. You know the pri#es here.” The man, who 0ust a few minutes ago had &een ready to atta#k me, started to #alm down and asked me, “%hat is the pro&lem, then! Those people who hae a##used you2they are not stupid, they are good, holy men.” “Yes,” I agreed. “They are good, holy men. “"o you want to know what the pro&lem is!” “Tell me,” he insisted.
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Page 66 “I criticized those holy men who supported the Islamic investment companies. These are the same men who robbed the Egyptian people,” I said. “od curse all o! those people,” the old man shouted. Eve ry Egyptian was !amiliar with the scandal surrounding the Islamic investment companies. "s he told me his story, I learned that the old man#s son had wor$ed in %uwait !or ten years. &e had put all o! the money he earned overseas into one o! these investment companies and lost it all. “'o this is the reason !or all this commotion around you(” he as$ed. “This is e)actly the reason,” I answered. “ *ou $now the name o! this man+he was a religious counselor to these companies. That#s why I criticized him. I#m ust an Egyptian li$e you. -eca use I had no money to invest, I didn#t get bil$ed out o! my savings, but I was de!ending you, your son, and your grandson. Those people have been able to steal money !rom the people in the name o! religion.” The man bro$e down. “h, my son, I didn#t $now. I am so sorry. I didn#t $now.” "nd he came toward me and $issed me and hugged me, and I held him close to me right there in the middle o! the busy supermar$et. I !elt relie! and contentment on the !orty/$ilometer drive home. I said to Ebtehal, “0hat I really need to do is meet every Egyptian citizen and e)plain mysel!. &ow can I do that(” 0ith T1, o! course, I could communicate well with !ol$s. &owever, it would have to be live T1. Piecing together !ragments o! conversation ust would not wor$. This is what I mean when I say I#m very, very Egyptian. I#m able to c ommunicate with people !rom di!!erent educational bac$grounds as well as with people who have no education at all. Egyptian people have always e)pressed themselves in a wide variety o! ways. ur recent h istory in particular re!lects this variety. 0hile I was growing up, Egypt had what came to be $nown as the 2ree !!icers 3evolution 456789. " select number o! Egypt#s military o!!icers went up against the royal regime, wresting power !rom the monarchy. This became a t urning point !or Egypt. People were tired o! the corruption that had seeped into every part o! the society, much o! this corruption stemming !rom the royal !amily, the -ritish occupation 4since 5::89, and some minor parties all vying !or power. The Egyptian peo ple were su!!ering. 'o the 2ree !!icers got themselves together, got rid o! the $ing, declared Egypt a republic, and started
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Page 70 by coming up with even more of a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam than al-Mawdudi’s. Qutb proclaimed that even though asser claimed to be Muslim! his behavior " proved# he was not. asser’s government! he thought! would neutrali$e Islam. %herefore! it was e very Muslim’s duty to do what they could to remove him from power. %hese were unusually difficult times that called for dramatic action. Qutb wrote& %he Muslim community has long ago vanished from e'istence.... It is crushed under the weight of those false laws and customs which are not even remotely related to Islamic teachings.... (e need to initiate the movement of Islamic revival in some Muslim country ...in order to fashion an e'ample that will eventually lead Islam to its destiny of world dominion. %here should be a vanguard which sets out with this dete rmination and then )eeps wal)ing on the path.* In *+,*! an underground movement of the dissolved and illegal rotherhood was uncovered. Qutb was among those arrested and persecuted. ive years later! he was sentenced to death and e'ecuted. efore he was hanged on /ugust +! *+,,! he said! "%han) 1od! I performed 2ihad for fifteen years until I earned this martyrdom.# %he rotherhood3those left after the purge3went on about their business in secret. asser had pushed them underground. asser’s regime! aware of the rotherhood’s clandestine meetings and activities! )ept on hounding them! arresting them when fea sible! 2ailing them when possible. (hat the government could not do was stamp out its ideas. 4ntil the *+,0s! I sympathi$ed with the Muslim rotherhood. I li)ed their interpretation of Islam. 5ocial 2ustice was at the heart of their message. I applauded that message. %he rotherhood tried to establish a more 2ust society by penetrating social institutions such as schools and hospitals. %hey even branched out into commercial establishments. Many 6gyptian people supported their cause . %he rotherhood filled a need. 6ven the more radical Islamic groups that arose in the *+0s a nd *++0s continued to provide services to people who had no other means of obtaining such things as education and health care. %he *+,0s! though! saw the Muslim rotherhood veer in a fundamentalist direction. More than anyth ing else! the rotherhood feared that 6gypt’s move toward moderni$ation meant that religion would be eradicated from 6gyptian society. It felt s8uee$ed out! unable to par
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Page 73 somehow I really did know the woman a nd had been unwilling to admit that when I got involved with this situation. “Look,” I said, “this is very nice, but I cannot accept this. I am at work. I cannot eat on the ob.” “Please take it home,” she suggested. “!onsider it as a gi"t "rom your sister.” I did as she suggested. I was living alone at the time. #he woman had come in to withdraw her complaint against her husband. $he e%plained to me t hat what she wanted was "or the police to admonish her husband in some way, not to be physically abusive with him. “&"ter all, he is my husband and the "ather o" my children.” “'o you love him(” I asked. $he didn)t seem to understand the *uestion. “+e is my children)s "ather,” she said again. “'oes your husband hit you o"ten(” I asked. “o,” she said. “+e was very angry about some problems.” #he man was a street peddler, selling "ruit. -ecause we were in the middle o" summer, !airo was hot. & lot o" the "ruit had spoiled that "ate"ul day, and in anger he had lashed out at his wi"e. “ould it help i" I visited you(” I asked the woman. “&"ter all, you brought me some "ood, which means you invited me to your house.” “#hat would be wonder"ul,” she said. “I will come only with your husband)s permission, though. -ut bringing me "ood indicates that we are "riends.” I didn)t want her husband to "eel threatened by my presence. I visited them. #hey had three children. #hey were e%tremely poor. #he man was *uite a decent "ellow. $he had told him about my inter"ering with her case at the police station and that I had taken her to the hospital. $he wasn)t at all shy. $he had also told him that he, her husband, should have been the one to take her to the hospital. #his incident showed me that sometimes the poverty that people endure a""ects them to such an e%tent that it ta%es their unstated love and respect "or each other in ways that the wealthy cannot even imagine. I saw a host o" problems like this one/many o" them appeared to me to stem "rom an unbalanced power structure. #he woman)s husband asked me, “ hy aren)t you married( 0ou have a good ob and are steadily employed.” I told him I had a "amily to care "or. #his incident happened when I was living alone/be"ore the "amily oined me in !airo "rom
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Page 81 When I look at Jewish history, there is no way not to stand against the oppression that the Jews have been subject to over the years—including the Holocaust !o downplay the Holocaust is a gross "istake It doesn#t "atter how "any Jewish people were killed It#s not a "atter o$ nu"bers It#s a "atter o$ persecuting people just because they are di$$erent in so"e way Israel, though, has at this point beco"e an oppressor %long that sa"e line, nothing justi$ies the cowardly, terrible attack against the %"erican people on &epte"ber 11, '((1 )othing* !his was cri"inal behavior, and cri"inals "ust be con$ronted with their cri"e I a" against any kind o$ oppression &o"eti"es it is di$$icult to di$$erentiate between an oppressor and one who is oppressed I see it in ter"s o$ the power$ul and the weak Power can be wielded in the political sphere, within the "ilitary, and certainly within the religious cadre People can use physical power to e +ploit as well &o"eti"es the powerless beco"e power$ul and then beco"e oppressors the"selves !he issue has nothing to do with speci$ic religious or social a$$iliation !hese boundaries are $luid, changing easily )owadays, I a" a de$ender o$ the rights o$ opts in "y country %lso, I work $or the rights o$ wo"en I#ve written a book on that subject, titled Circles of Fear: Analysis of the Discourse about Women- &o"eti"es, within an .gyptian conte+t, I#ll de$end the right o$ Isla"ists to speak out in a $ree political "arket How could I not/ &o, even though I had so"e initial "isgivings, it pleased "e no end to accept the 0reedo" o$ Worship edal in conjunction with $our other recipients at the 0ranklin 2 3oosevelt 0our 0reedo"s %wards cere"ony in June '((' !he 0our 0reedo"s edal was given to )elson andela4 the 0reedo" o$ &peech %ward went to 3adio 0ree .urope53adio 6iberty4 the 0reedo" $ro" Want edal was awarded to 2r 7ro Harle" rundtland4 and the 0reedo" $ro" 0ear edal was presented to .rnesto 9edillo Ponce de 6eon I was in Paris when I received the letter no"inating "e $or the 0reedo" o$ Worship edal I wondered why the 0ranklin and .leanor 3oosevelt Institute, an %"erican institution, would select "e to be the recipient o$ this award Why "e/ Why this year/ la"e it all on "y critical "ind When .btehal and I discussed "y "isgivings, she thought that the reputation o$ an institute such as the one carrying 3oosevelt#s na"e went beyond %"erica
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Page 82 I agreed. But I feared the reaction in Egypt as well as the rest of the Muslim world. I just knew people would say, !". #ou now ha$e the official %lessing of &merica. 'e thought you were their puppet all along, and it looks as though our suspicions were not unfounded.( )ellow Muslims ha$e often accused me*especially since +2*of %eing hea$ily influenced %y the 'est. I discussed my dilemma with friends, of course. !ne friend*someone I thought for sure would tell me to steer clear of accepting such an award*told me he-d come from airo to %e with me during the presentation. I ended up taking the ad$ice of my friends, %ut I remem%er telling E%tehal, I will go to the ceremony where the /ueen of the 0etherlands and &merican people will %e present. I will insist on wearing the Palestinian scarf on my shoulders %ecause I want to send a message to the &merican people and to the world.( & few days %efore the ceremony, &m%assador 'illiam 1. anden 3eu$el, the co4chairman of the )ranklin and Eleanor 5oose$elt Institute, came to the 0etherlands. 'e had dinner together. 3e said, I-$e read a%out you. I-m fascinated with your ideas.( 6hank you,( I said. I do ha$e a /uestion for you, and I need an honest answer. 'ere you specifically looking for a Muslim to award this pri7e to this year( 3onestly,( he said, yes.( 3is candor took me a%ack. I-m not accustomed to such honesty from officials. 3e continued, 'e needed to gi$e a message to the Muslim world and to the &merican people that we are not against Muslims. 6o tell you the truth, we had no idea a%out you.( 3ow is it, then, that you found out a%out me( I asked. I knew that the pri7e is gi$en during odd years in &merica and in the 0ethe rlands during e$en years. 6he 5oose$elts, of course, c ome from a 9utch %ackground. &m%assador anden 3eu$el said that they had held a meeting and decided that if they could find a Muslim scholar or indi$idual who %elie$ed in the %asic principles 5oose$elt stood for, they-d like $ery much to award the pri7e to that indi$idual. 'e left that matter in the hands of the people of :eeland in the 0etherlands, and to our surprise the editor of the newspaper of :eeland pointed us in your direction.( 6he editor was at ;eiden 4month scholarship. 3e knew me only %y na me, and forwarded my name to a representati$e from the Institute with this ca$eat, I don-t know anything
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Page 83 about Abu Zaid’s work.” During the time this particular editor was studying at Leiden most pe ople knew about the problems ! had "aced in my country#problems that e$entually "orced me into e%ile. &he editor also passed on the na me o" Pro"essor 'illiam (tokho" e%ecuti$e director o" Leiden )ni$ersity’s !nternational !nstitute "or Asian (tudies the man behind bringing me to Leiden )ni$ersity in *++,. Ambassador -anden eu$el contacted Pro"essor (tokho" who then nominated me "or the award. /'e belie$e the pro"essor’s nomination was remarkable#0uite e%cellent” the ambassador assured me. !n light o" this con$ersation it became an e$en more pressing issue "or me to wear the Palestinian scar" draped o$er my shoulders as a symbol o" solidarity with the Palestinians who su""er daily. &he Americans ha$e something to say and ! ha$e something to say as well. A Dutch reporter at the ceremony asked me / Don’t you think that the !nstitute is e%posing itsel" to a lot o" criticism gi$ing you this medal because you are a 1uslim2” /ou may be right” ! said /but !’m always e%posed to a lot o" criticism. !" the !nstitute is sacri"icing something please be aware that ! am making a sacri"ice as well in accepting it.” /&his is $ery arrogant” he shot back at me. /4o your 0uestion is arrogant” ! insisted. / !" this !nstitute is making a sacri"ice ! too am making a sacri"ice” ! repeated. !n the end the ceremony went o"" well. &he American ambassador attended the e$ent. ! was especially mo$ed by the speech o" Anna 5leanor 6oose$elt a direct descendant o" 7ranklin and 5leanor. 9oth 5btehal and ! wore the black and white Palestinian scar" around our shoulders symbolically representing our brothers and sisters whose $oices are not being heard.
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Page 85 6 My American Adventure I greatly benefited from an exchange program in place between Cairo University and the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. I was awarded a scholarship that enabled me to live and study in the United States for two years !"#8 through !"8$. I was wor%ing toward my Ph.&. at the time. 'fficially I was to study fol%lore and learn about the methodology of fieldwor%. (nd I did)on my own terms. I traveled all over the United States visiting several campuses including UC*( +er%eley and Princeton. I also visited libraries throughout the country and toured interesting places in the ,est)-evada California and 'regon. I was young. I purchased roundtrip tic%ets on buses planes and trains. I spent a good deal of my money on transportation. It was worth it. I wanted to learn as much as possible. ,hat better way than to visit a wide variety of places/ 'ne day 0ust after I had returned to Philadelphia from a trip around the country 1om -eff caught up with me. 1om was the director of t he Institute of 2iddle 3astern Studies and I was responsible to him. 4e loo%ed somewhat fraled. 4e grabbed me by the arm and as%ed 6 ,here have you been for the past two months/7 6I made a trip across the United States7 I answered. 6&id you visit universities/7 he as%ed. 6'f course. I visited libraries as well.7 I told him about the stac% of photocopied boo%s I had managed to gather together.
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Page 86 “ OK,” he said. “I “ I can pay pa y you back bac k for this trip. Bring Bring me your ticket stubs. hat you!"e been bee n doing is is a## part of your scho#astic effort$I don!t consider it a %aste of tim t imee at a##.” I %as stunned, but de#irious#y de#irious#y happy. I had e#e"en do##ars and some change c hange #eft o"er from my tra"e#s. hen I first first arri"ed in the &tates, I began my e'p e'p#oration #oration %ith %ith Phi#ade#phia itse#f. I found that Phi#ade#phia is di"ided$not di"ided$not (ust into )orth Phi##y Phi##y and &outh Phi##y Phi##y, but underground and abo"eground. abo" eground. Buses, genera##y speaking, speaking, %ere for %hite fo#ks. &ub%ays, &ub%ays, on the other hand, ha nd, %ere the domain of b#ack peop#e. pe op#e. &ometimes, &ometimes, I!d go go to c#ubs that b#ack peop#e fre*uented. fre*ue nted. I a#%ays a #%ays had a good time #istening #istening to the music and #etting myse#f myse#f get caught up in the atmosphere. I had a terrifying e'perience, though, one night after #ea"ing one of these c#ubs to head home. It %as *uite #ate, and I noticed se"era# b#ack teenagers teena gers (ust (ust hanging about in the sub%ay station. +hey encirc#ed me. I thought for sure my number %as up. I p#ayed it as coo# as I cou#d. One of them asked me, “here are you from” “ -frica,” -frica,” I ans%ered. +hey seemed interested, so I asked the m, “-re you fami#iar fami#iar %ith -frica -frica I am from a p#ace in -frica -frica ca##ed c a##ed gypt.” I had been in the &tates #ong enough by this this time time to kno% that most b#ack b#ack -mericans kne% their ancestors came from -frica, -frica, but they t hey didn!t kno% much e#se about that continent. “I am teaching and studying,” I continued. “Oh, he!s a teacher. /ou hear that 0e teaches.” +hey %ere mocking me. “hat do you teach” one of the more outspoken boys demanded. “I teach -rabic,” I ans%ered. ans%ered. 0e then asked, “hy don!t you in"ite us to your p#ace to ha"e a drink” “ /es, %hy not” I ans%ered. an s%ered. “It! “It !s "ery #ate. If you %ou#d #ike #ike to come, %e can ha"e ha "e something to drink together. together. 0o%e"er, I must must get to bed be d soon because I ha"e to teach a c#ass in the morning.” +hey seemed surprised at my response. 1rank#y, 1rank#y, I cou#d not be #ie"e #ie"e I %as asking a sking these young men to come home %ith me to ha"e a drink, but I %as afraid to te## them no. e took the sub%ay. 1or the ent ire trip, my thoughts thoughts centered cente red on the si' si' of them the m getting inside inside my apartment and ki##ing ki##ing me. me. hen %e fina##y fina##y did arri"e at my apartment, apart ment, one of them t hem asked, “ hat do you ha"e to drink I!d #ike #ike a beer.” “e##,” I said, “I don!t ha"e any beer, because I don!t drink a#coho#. But you can ha"e tea, coffee, orange (uice, or mi#k.”
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Page 92 as I went about my business. Since I could not depend on the authority of a father as I approached manhood, and because mothers do not carry that same authority in Egyptian society, I learned early in life that there were consequences I had to live with as a result of maing certain choices. I made some inappropriate choices. I learned by maing mistaes. !ut having that freedom to mae my own decisions"well, I wouldn#t want it any ot her way. So I chided my friends a bit, asing them, $%hen you decided to marry, did you consider my opinion& 'ot that I believe you should have, but if you don#t lie my wife, this is your problem. I#m not asing you to love my wife. %hat is your complaint with me&( )ost of them did not understand. *ow could they& +he Egyptian way of doing things was the only way they new. )y eperience in -merica broadened my worldview. I would often get together with other students and chat with them over coffee. I still count many of these people as my friends. !y living in a culture different from my own, I learned not to udge another culture by my own society#s standards. I became less ethnocentric. I became eager to learn what maes -merican people tic. %hat ind of thining fuels their perspective on things& %hen I first moved to Philadelphia, I rented an apartment from an elderly woman. -s she handed me the ey to my new quarters, she ased me, $%here are you from, son&( In the late /901s, people too one loo at me and new I wasn#t -mericanborn and bred. I#m short and round, and have a dar compleion. $I am from Egypt,( I said. $Egypt& %here is Egypt&( she ased. $Egypt is in -frica,( I answered. She stared at me with a blan epression, so I continued. $3ou now, the P yramids, the Sphin. Egyptian civili4ation has been around for at least seven thousand years.( $'o, that#s impossible,( she was quic to reply. $*ow so&( I ased. $%e are taling about history.( $%ell, according to the !ible, life began only about five thousand years ago,( she said. I didn#t discuss the issue further with her. It did not seem to me that anything fruitful would have emerged had we continued our conversation"so sure was she about her biblical facts. !ut as I began piecing -merican culture together, I reali4ed that there are a significant number of fols in the States who rely on the !ible as a primary
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Page 93 source of historical fact. (Many Muslims rely on the Qur’an in the same way.) I had another conversation with an elderly woman in an American suermar!et. "he was wheeling a cat around in her shoing cart. As the cat was a#out to $um out% I caught it and laced it #ac! in the cart. "he than!ed me and then as!ed me where I was from. I told her I was from &gyt. 'he woman frowned. o dou#t% in her mind% Ara#s were a monolithic lot. "he as!ed% *hy don’t you accet the +ews to live with you,- I assumed she was referring to Palestine and Israel. I #elieve it is the +ews in Israel who cannot accet the Palestinians living with them%- I said. 'he woman continued to frown. 'his is the Promised and that Isaac inherited from his father% A#raham.I calmly resonded% 'his is true. *e are tal!ing a#out the Promised and% #ut A#raham had two sons/Isaac and Ishmael. 0oes it seem right to you that A#raham would single out $ust one son% Isaac% for an inheritance,"he surrised me #y saying% 1es% yes% of course% A#raham had two sons.1ou are right%- I relied. I thin! that’s one of the reasons why the +ewish eole need to accet the Palestinians/the descendants of Ishmael/to live with them.&ngaging fol!s in conversations such as this heled me to understand the inherent assumtions eole have/assumtions that lay out in concrete ways through the #ehavior of individuals in any given society. *hen enough individual eole #ehave ali!e% the society ta!es on a distinctive shae or flavor. 0ating American women was a daunting e2erience for me. In &gyt% there was never any uestion as to who ays the #ill for dinner or even $ust coffee. 'he man does% of course. "ometimes% in my haste to ay the #ill% some American women accused me of atroni4ing them. If I were to hold a door oen for a college coed% I’d run the ris! of #eing accused of atroni4ing her. I learned to ad$ust. 5inding humor in my mista!eswent miles in easing these social situations. 6nce I was telling my friends a#out the great time my date and I had together. I mentioned that I wanted to satisfy- her. 'hey laughed% telling me that it would #e more aroriate for me to say that I wanted to lease- her. "atisfy- carries a se2ual connotation. I learned a lot a#out American culture #y loo!ing at how Americans use language. I
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Page 101 Tablet. This imagery, if taken literally, leads to an understanding of the universe that sustains a social order of royalty and tyranny. The early Muslim community may have understood only the literal level of meaning. It is more likely that the text reflects the early community’s lived reality.! This "ould be natural. #hat is not natural is that in s$ite of culture’s for"ard thrust, much modern Islamic discourse clings to an inter$retation of text attributed to the earliest community. This inter$retation takes on a "ooden, lifeless %uality irrelevant to our modernday sensibilities and needs. & meta$horic reading of the 'ur’an is alluded to "ithin its o"n text. (everal verses in the 'ur’an admonish believers, by "ay of almsgiving, to lend only to )od. This loan "ill be returned to them multi$lied several times. The *e"s living in Medina at the time of the Pro$het asked a logical %uestion+ o" is it tha t Muhammad’s )od $rohibits usury, yet $romises to give $rofits on loans-! In order to make sense, a literal understanding of the textone that $rohibits usurycannot logically be sustained. I o"e much of my understanding of hermeneutics to o$$ortunities offered me during my brief so/ourn in the nited (tates. The science of hermeneutics "idened my visiona vision I ho$e many more Muslims "ill glim$se as "ell.
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Page 103 7 Going Japanese When I received an invitation to go to Japan as a visiting professor in the Department of Arabic at Osaka University for oreign !ang"ages# I $"mped at the opport"nity% I didn&t think I&d ever be in a position to afford a ticket to s"ch an e'otic p(ace # so this seemed to me to be the best shot I&d ever get to see the ar )ast% I *as in Japan for a (itt(e over fo"r years+,arch 1-./ thro"gh J"(y 1-.-% he Japanese higher ed"cationa( system has a po(icy re"iring that their foreign (ang"age departments be staffed *ith at (east one native2speaking professor for each (ang"age they offer% I fi((ed a partic"(ar niche% o((eag"es of mine from airo University fi((ed the position before me as *e(( as after me% ,y teaching responsibi(ities at Osaka did not ta' me as they did in airo% In Osaka# a f"(( c(ass meant t*enty2seven or thirty st"dents# not the one h"ndred or so I had been "sed to in )gypt% In addition# the co"rses I ta"ght *ere e(ementary+t*o c(asses in Arabic# one c(ass in (iterat"re# and one c(ass in Is(amic tho"ght% I a(so s"pervised one st"dent *orking on his ,%A% I didn&t need a *ho(e (ot of time to prepare for c(ass% I discovered that I (iked this s(o*er pace% It a((o*ed me to trave( aro"nd the co"ntry a bit% As in the 4tates# I deve(oped my o*n fie(d*ork and *as a(so ab(e to conce ntrate on my o*n *riting% Japanese st"dents impressed me% hey *ere hard*orking and e'treme(y conscientio"s% Whate ver *ork I assigned# they comp(eted% Witho"t comp(aint5 4ometimes I *o"(d give them a t*o2h"ndred2verse# c(assic poem to read in )ng(ish% In spite of )ng(ish not being their native
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Page 117 quite a feat, it was familiar to me. It’s the same posture we Muslims assume when we pray. In many ways, I was much happier learning in Japan than I was in the States. Not a ay went !y in the States when I wasn’t homesic". #omesic"ness was not e$en a small part of my e%perience in Japan. Ne$ertheless, $isiting !oth the States an Japan enriche me in ways that woul not ha$e !ee n possi!le ha I not $enture outsie the !orers of my own country. My perspecti$e wiene as a result, gi$ing me $alua!le insights that ha$e foun their way into my writing.
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Page 119 8 Ebtehal When Ebtehal and I fell in love and married, it was as though the ship I had been sailing in all of my life had finally found a place to dock. Ever since my fathers death in 19!", I had felt like an orphan#alone and bereft. $ircumstances forced me to think continuously about my familys welfare, something that took most of my time and energy. I spent little time focusing on my own needs. %nd then one night in 199&, with Ebtehal by my side, I finally released all the grief I had stored up#grief I had kept bottled up since the day of my father s funeral when my relatives and friends were so concerned about my stiff upper lip. %s Ebtehals love encompassed me, I wept. I had been unable to shed those tears for twenty'five years. When I married Ebtehal, it was my second marriage. (y first marriage happened in 19)1, shortly after I returned to Egypt from my two years of study in the *nited +tates. I was thirty'eight years old. I should have been married much earlier, according to traditional Egyptian standards. (y mother, along with other members of my family, eerted considerable pressure on me to tie the knot, and I eventually gave in. % tragedy hit our family while I was in the +tates. -adriyya, my elder sister, died. +he was not uite forty years old. It tore my mother to pieces. +he became depressed. +he wept openly. /he first thing she asked me when I returned to Egypt from the *nited +tates after our two'year separation was, 0When are you going to marry 2our brothers and sisters have all married and settled down. What about you now3
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Page 123 outings, but nothing she saw in these places ever interested her enough to delve more deeply into the subject. She preferred to spend her days shopping. We were together alone. ife became increasingly tense and difficult. ! did not want to live li"e this. #owever, ! continued to plod along$ adjusting myself the best ! "new how to our mutual disappointment. When we returned to %gypt in 1&'&, the problems we e(perienced in )apan continue to flare. *he glue that had sealed our traditional marriage was losing its adhesive +uality. *he edges were fraying, and our life together was coming undone. nce bac" in %gypt, ! threw myself into my duties at -airo niversity. ! supervised a large number of students. /hl0m became jealous of the time ! spent with them as they wor"ed towards their ./. and Ph.. degrees. She accused me of behaving in inappropriate ways toward ce rtain students. She named several. /ll of them were women. *hey were beautiful as well. oo",4 ! e(plained, these students are li"e my daughters.4 Some of them were brilliant. We enjoyed hearty discussions. *hese students were e(tremely polite and respectful to /hl0m. /fter all, it wouldn5t do to be disrespectful to the wife of your professor. /hl0m and ! began to drift even further apart. She traveled with her family to the beach. She e(pected me to accompany her. 6o, ! cannot spend so much time away from the university,4 ! said, ! have my students and my research.4 6o, no, you should act li"e a proper husband and come with me to the beach,4 she said. !nevitably, an argument would erupt. 7inally ! told her, oo", ! am wearing myself out trying to e(plain to you my role with my students. !t5s not what you thin". ! have been a father all my life. *hese students are li"e my daughters, nothing else.4 /hl0m just didn5t get it. #er family tried to help smooth things out. #ow come after ten years of marriage you cannot settle down with him84 they5d as". We separated, but continued to live in the same apartment. -airo has a severe housing shortage. iving together, but apart, seemed the practical thing to do. 7or some reason, neither of us could or would initiate divorce proceedings. !n the /rab world, it is very easy to live separately, but together$all the while giving the appearance to your family, your friends, and your colleagues of a happily married couple. 9ut this "ind of life got
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Page 126 At times, Ebtehal would ask me, “Why do you seem unhappy? We know you don’t have poblems, but in spite o! that, you look unhappy" What is wong?# “$t has nothing to do with my li!e now,# $ lied" “ $t has to do with some unhappy events in my %hildhood" &he poblems always seem to be thee, %lose to the su!a%e"# '%%asionally, Ebtehal would visit us in ou apatment" Ahl(m knew he" When Ebtehal’s !athe died, Ahl(m and $ pa id ou espe%ts to the !amily" Ebtehal be%ame a !amily !iend, the kind o! peson that Ahl(m wel%omed into ou %i%le o! !iends" )in%e she did not %onside Ebtehal to be a beauti!ul woman in the popula sense, she e*pe ssed no +ealousy towad he, as she had done with some o! my students" Ahl(m was not able to see in Ebtehal what $ %lealy sawthe beauty and stength o! he %haa%te" Ebtehal’s !iendship nutued me, taking me into all sots o! inteesting pla%es" -ee was a woman $ %ould talk with about ideas, about %on%epts about li!e" $ didn’t want to damage this !iendship by saying something out o! tun" $ didn’t dae show my %ads" $ detemined to be satis!ied with en+oying ou !iendship and to !oget about anything moe than that" .ut it didn’t wok out that way" 'ne day Ebtehal and $ wee waiting !o some !iends +ust outside the gate o! /aio 0nivesity" &hey wee late" We wee on ou way to a !un%tion o! some sot" $t was autumn, a lovely time to be in /a io" We wee banteing ba%k and !oth as we usually did when $ said, “$t’s vey stange, Ebtehal" ou have many !iends, but you ae not maied o even engaged" $s that ight?# “es, that’s ight,# she said" “ey stange,# $ o!!eed, “that you have not yet maied"# “3o you have someone in mind?# she asked" “Ae you now a mat%hmake?# “Pobably,# $ said" “'4,# she eplied" “Put you %ads on the table"# )o $ did" “What about somebody like me?# “)omebody like you, o you?# she asked" “5e,# $ meekly esponded" “'4" $ agee,# she said" “$’m not +oking,# $ told he" “Who said you ae +oking?# she asked" “3o you mean that? $! you don’t mean that, take it ba%k"# $ %ould hadly believe she was seious"
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Page 127 “Yes, I mean it,” she said. “But you know that I am already married,” I reminded her. “I know. I also know that you are unhappy and I know that you are separated.” “How do you know that” I asked. “!ook, we ha"e #een $riends $or a year now, and I think I %an read you. I know that you are unhappy. I "isited you at home. I&"e met your wi$e. 'he&s a ni%e lady, #ut I know that you are unhappy.” (#tehal had read me right. )hat was it*it took +ust a $ew moments. )he year was 12. It a ll %ame out on that #right autumn day in $ront o$ the uni"ersity gate. “ )here must ha"e #een an underground %urrent $lowing #etween us $or some time,” I said. -id I really think this was news to (#tehal “Yes, yes. I wondered why it took you so long to tell me,” she mused. “ay#e it&s #e%ause I think I don&t deser"e you.” In spite o$ the $a%t that we were /and %ontinue to #e0 intelle%tually well mat%hed, I $elt as though I didn&t deser"e her. 'he is $i$teen years younger than I am*the same age as yat, my youngest sister. I raised my sister. 'he is like a daughter to me. I suddenly $elt old. It wasn&t so mu%h a matter o$ % hronology. I $elt as though I had a%%umulated enough eperien%e in my $orty3nine years to $ill se"eral li$etimes. But here I was, +ust ha"ing %on$essed to #e ing head o"er heels in lo"e with a woman who was not my wi$e. It was the push I needed to initiate di"or%e pro%ee dings. ("en so, initiating su%h a%tion was hard. I approa%hed hl4m, eplaining that the time had %ome $or us to di"or%e. “I promised I would tell you i$ and when I thought our marriage was not working out. 5ow is the time. I ha"e $allen in lo"e.” 'he asked immediately, “6ho is it” 'he rattled o$$ a #un%h o$ names. (#tehal&s name was not on the list. ("en though I wanted to keep the di"or%e low key, hl4m didn&t. Her $amily understood my position. I #ent o"er #a%kward trying to #e $air and +ust with the settlement. I legally trans$erred the new a partment and all the $urniture we had pur%hased together into her name. 'he didn&t ask $or it I ga"e it to her. nd e"en though we split all the money I had right down the middle, hl4m grew angry and em#ittered. Her sister told her, “!ook, at least the man is honest. He didn&t go sneaking around #ehind your #a%k like so many hus#ands do. -i"or%ing you is a sign o$ respe%t. You ha"e #een his partner $or a
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Page 133 time was unreliable, and we never knew when the thing would just stop dead in its tracks as we sped along the highway. There was a stretch of desert between our home and Ebtehals family. !er mother was firm. "#ont come now. $t will be dark soon. %ou can come tomorrow.& Ebtehals face was ashen as she hung up the phone. "'hat happened(& $ asked. ")y aunt died. )y mother told me not to come tonight, so $ will be going over there in the morning.& "%our mother gave you good advice,& $ offered. "$t would not be safe for you to drive to *airo alone at this hour.& $ dressed +uickly and told Ebtehal, "$ am going out.& "'here are you going(& he had a pu--led look on her face. "$ am going to *airo,& $ replied. "'hy( nd are you going to take the bus(& she asked. /us transportation in Egypt is notoriously inefficient. "$ll find some mode of transportation,& $ assured her. "'here are you going(& she asked again. "$ believe $ am going to your uncles house to offer my condolences. %our uncle is your aunts brother. $s that correct(& "%es,& she said. "'ell, $ know the man, so it is my duty to go to him at this time,& $ said. "$f you are going, $ will go as well,& she said. "/ut your mother told you not to go alone,& $ reminded her. "$f you are with me, then $ will not be alone. 'e will go together.& he was getting e0cited. $ had never really been involved with the family since our marriage, so $m sure Ebtehals mother thought $ would not darke n the door of the houseeven to offer condolences after the death of a family member. 2n such occasions, the women and men sit in separate places. Even so, Ebtehals mother had an inkling that her daughter had not come alone when we arrived at her house. "$s 3asr with you(& she asked Ebtehal. "%es,& Ebtehal answered, and told her the se+uence of events that led to our coming together. s is the custom, $ sat with the men and e0pressed my condolences to her uncle. !e then asked me, "'ould you like to offer condolences to Ebtehals mother(& "2f course,& $ replied, "if she would like that.& o $ went to the womens room and e0pressed my sorrow regarding her loss. 'e spent
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Page 134 some time together. Before long, it was time for Ebtehal and me to be on our way home. This event was catalytic in mending the familial rift. After we had said our goodbyes, Ebtehal!s mother wal"ed with us to the car, lingering along the way. #t was as if she did not want the visit to end. The incident underscored to me the im$ortance of su$$orting $eo$le during lifealtering events. #t would have been a shame not to ta"e advantage of the o$$ortunity to mend the bro"en fences that a time such as this offered.
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Page 135 9 My Teaching Journey “Teaching is not a one-way trip,” I tell my students after they’e settled into the classroom on the first day of c lass! “In here you will need a round-trip tic"et!” Teaching inoles so much more than doling out information! Teaching and learning go hand in hand! #either one happens in a acuum! The teaching process re$uires that students %e engaged! To me, the classroom is li"e a la%oratory! The atmosphere must %e open a nd free as students %ring their $uestions and their arguments to %ear on whateer material we coer! &s we e'periment and wrestle with that material together, they help me deelop my ideas and refine my thoughts! (hen I first started teaching at )airo *niersity, my students thought me strange! I didn’t +ust lecturethe te aching method most professors use e'clusiely! I incorporated dialogue and discussion in my classroom! I wanted to "now what my students were thin"ing! I wanted to hear what they had to say! In gypt’s authoritarian atmospherean atmosphere that spills oer into the uniersitiesmy teaching methods seemed odd to them! .radually, as they %ecame more comforta%le participating in the process, they opened up! /ittle tender shoots tentatiely po"ed their heads through the stuff of our discussion, and %efore I "new it, loe %loomed! I %eliee loe is essential to education! If you do not loe your students, you cannot %e a good teacher! If your students do not loe you, they e'perience difficulty learning! <hough I hae no %iological children, I feel as though I hae
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Page 136 thousands of children all over the world—students I have taught over the past thirty years. My adviser for my master’s and Ph.D. theses !"d al#!$%$ al!hw&n% was my role model. 'e never gave me answers. 'e taught me "y raising (uestions. !nd he never seemed to run out of (uestions. !s I read and studied while wor)ing on the thesis for my M.!. I’d come up with ideas that addressed some of the (uestions he had posed. I incorporated that speculation into the draft of my thesis. *e )ept discussing and I )ept wor)ing. +ne day we were reviewing the wor) I had done so far when he said ,-o ahead print this up and "ring me a copy in a couple of days. /ven though I was uncomforta"le with his re(uest—I didn’t feel the thesis was at all finished—I did as he as)ed. 'e read my wor). 'e approved it. 0ut those hard (uestions he raised the ones that I did not address in my thesis rattled around in my head. I was not satisfied with my approved thesis. I felt the wor) needed more development "ased on those difficult (uestions that my adviser had posed. I ) ept wor)ing. /very couple of months he would as) me ,*here are you *here is your finished thesis ,I’m still wor)ing on it I’d answer. ,0ut I’ve already approved it he’d reply. ,0ut I have not I reminded him. ,2ome of your (uestions challenge the "asic argument. I have to "e sure. It too) me an etra year to get to the point where I felt the thesis passed muster. 4hose days when I used to hang out in front of my fa ther’s grocery store reading to my father’s illiterate friends vividly showed me that through the process of teaching I learned. 0ac) then I was very proud of the fact that these men my father’s friends needed me "ecause they could not read for themselves. !nd yes they did need me to get the tet off the page for them "ut they opened up the tet to me giving me insight and understanding. I never )new at what point they might interrupt my reading and get into a heavy discussion among themselves gra""ing and shaping into ideas those words which had suddenly ta)en on life for them as they leaped from the page. My students are not illiterate. 5evertheless whenever material comes alive and mallea"le in the classroom through discussion with my students I’m reminded all over again that the teaching process re(uires a roundtrip tic)et.
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Page 139 “If they imprison me, I am in solitary [like a pious mystic]. If they kill me, I am a martyr. If they force me into exile, I waner in the lan of !o." #e inspire much of moern Islamic funamentalism. $he topic of %hme&s thesis intereste me. 'airo (ni)ersity ha sent letters to grauate stuents affecte *y professors going a*roa or taking sa**aticals. “+ecause the professor super)ising your work is not a)aila*le at this time, you ha)e *een assigne a new super)isor." y name was on %hme&s letter. #e mae an appointment to come an see me one morning. I was sitting in my office when the secretary of the epartment came in an sai, “%hme is waiting for you. #e seems terrifie. #e&s e)en whispering )erses of the -ur&a n to himself. I ha)e ne)er seen him like this." “ho is %hme/" I aske. “#e is the stuent who was assigne to you afte r his super)isor took lea)e," she answere. “hy is he so afrai/" I aske. “I&m not sure, *ut he ha s a )ery long *ear. #e is an Islamist," she replie. $hen I unerstoo. #e was an Islamist an he was going to *e uner my super)ision. %t that time, there was no case against me, *ut I ha a reputation regaring my ieas on -ur&anic interpretation. “0houl I show him into your office/" she aske. “o," I answere. “ I will go out to meet him." I left my office, walke o)er to the reception area, an sai, “#ello, %hme." +ase on the secretary&s escription, I knew I ha ientifie him correctly. “oul you like to walk aroun the campus/ I want to stretch my legs." #e agree, an as we were walking, I sai, “2ook, %hme, you ha)e *een transferre to me to *e your super)isor, no ou*t against your will. $ake your time. $hink a*out it, te ll me which super)isor you woul like to work with, an then let me make a suggestion to the epartment." #e immeiately proteste my suggestion, *ut I interrupte him. “o, no, on&t say anything now. $ake your time," I sai. “ e on&t ha)e to rush. ou are 4ust at the *eginning of your work. ou ha)e e)ery right to *e comforta*le with your super)isor. $his right may not *e recogni5e in our system, *ut it is your right ne)ertheless. 2et me see what I can o as far as getting you a ifferent super)isor. hich professor woul you like to work with/" I ga)e him my home phone
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Page 140 number. “Just call me and let me know. I assure you I will go about your transfer in a proper manner.” He became more and more agitated as e !eemently protested my suggestion. “"re you sick#” I asked. “$o% no% I am tired. I tink I&ll go ome to 'ans(ra now% get some rest% and tink about it.” 'ans(ra is about a two)our bus ride from *airo. +ne week elapsed before e called me. “Ha!e you come to a decision#” I asked. “$o% I would like to come and meet wit you again%” e said. He came% and I took im on anote r walk around te campus. I didn&t want im to be sitting in my office. I felt it would be less formal and a lot less treatening to "med if we went somewere oter ta n my office. I didn&t a!e a pri!ate office% but sared space wit many oter people. I was oping% too% to make "med feel a little special. "s we walked% e said% “P rofessor "bu ,aid% I would like to work wit you.” I was somewat surprised. “ +-% if tat is wat you would like. ut% I must be up)front wit you. Please understand tat it&s not my /ob to con!ert you or sway you from your own con!ictions. 'y /ob is to make a scolar out of you.” I eplained to "med tat I took no issue wit wate!er religious or political con!ictions e eld. He ad e!ery rigt to come to is own conclusions. ut under my super!ision% I would epect im to do researc. I eplained tat a researcer does not coose standpoints to begin wit. +nly a missionary does tat. " researcer begins by asking uestions based on is or er scientific researc . 2esearcers are uman beings. "ll uman beings percei!e knowledge troug a particular lens. "s te researcer looks troug tat lens% gaps become e!ident% and tis is were a focus of study can emerge. 3cientific researc means a!ing an effecti!e metod of sueeing information from references and sources% categoriing and arranging it according to its importance% analying it in its istorical and social contets in order to disco!er meaning. "ny conclusions te researcer comes to are by no means final. 'etods of researc and tools of analysis and criticism constantly cange and rapidly e!ol!e. 3tagnation in a society appens wen knowledge freees. 5at&s wy it&s so important to train new generations of researcers were knowledge can always be reforming and e!ol!ing.
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Page 142 feed the baby in public. So Ebtehal asked her, “Would you like to find a room in the department here you can feed your baby!" #s Ebtehal escorted esco rted her to a suitable room, she asked Ebtehal, E btehal, “ $ou are Professor #bu %aid&s %aid&s ife, right!" right!" “'o did you kno!" Ebtehal asked. (f course, Ebtehal as the only oman at the graduation ceremony ho as not co)ered. *t could not ha)e been diff d ifficult icult to guess. “$es, “$es, * am." #hmed&s #hmed&s ife began talking nonstop, telling telling Ebtehal ho much #hmed talked about abo ut me to his family family and ho truly happy ha ppy #hmed had been orking ith me. “#hmed&s parents ould like )ery much to meet your husband," she added. +eanhile, in the ceremonial ce remonial hall, hall, some of my coll co lleagues eagues ere making fun of *bn aymiyyah aymiyyah right there in front of the hole audience, asking #hmed -uestions such as, “ o you think tha t *bn aymiyyah as really all that good in #rabic! /ook a t his riting riting style. style. *t&s aful. What do you ha)e to say about this style! style! 0ertainly looks like like somebody ho has not mastered the #rabic language." language." #nd they&d t hey&d laugh out loud. #hmed stumbled stumbled about, about , attempting atte mpting to gi)e a coherent cohere nt anser. * ish ish he had said that hat e ha)e in the tet is not the actual riting of *bn *bn aymiyyah. *bn aymiyyah aymiyyah lectured hile hile other othe r people took t ook don his ords. 'o can e udge the man&s #rabic based on the th e documents docu ments e ha)e, since a ll e e ha)e is his his recorded speech! spee ch! *n spite of this, #hmed as gi)en gi)en a grade of Ecellent. E cellent. * as )ery proud of him. him. * met #hmed&s #hmed&s father after a fter the ceremony. c eremony. 'e as elderly3seemed elderly3seemed -uite pleasant. “ #hmed is your son," he said. “ o," * replied. “ #hmed is your son. 'e is my student. $ou $ou are his father." he elderly man disagreed. disagreed. “ o, he reall rea lly y feels as though he is your son. * am grateful to you and +rs. Ebtehal for taking such good care of him. hank you." “We ere happy to do so," * said sincerely. “5ut tell me, hat do you think about all that has been said here today!" * as referring specifically specifically to my final comment during the cere mony here * commended c ommended #hmed&s #hmed&s ork, reiterating for the sake of those in the audience that scholarship is not about agreement or disagreement ith any particular point of )ie3eactly hat * had told #hmed at the outset of our ork together. “#hmed," * continued, “is a serious scholar, researched his material meticulously, and reached certain conclusions * don&t think he really anted to reach."
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Page 152 solutions. Today, to think something different from the conclusions our ancestors made is blasphemy, heresy, and apostasy. This is where we Muslims find ourselves today. ur teaching institutions no longer function as places to debate ideas!one of the ways human beings go about the business of creating knowledge. "ithout new knowledge, new perspectives, a culture ca nnot go forward. "hen # contemplate $gypt%s future, it causes me no small degree of anguish.
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Page 153 10 A Decent Return Every Egyptian I know longs to be buried in Egypt’s soil. I’ve told Ebtehal, though, that if I were to die while still in exile, not to return y body hoe for burial. !s a result of having been offi"ially de"lared an apostate by the Egyptian "ourts, I feel as though y other has re#e"ted e. $ow "an I rest pe a"efully in her boso after she has trea ted e so un#ustly% &hortly after going into exile, I visited an !eri"an university in the state of 'ashington. !n Egyptian attending the syposiu asked e, (!re you serious% )id you really tell Ebtehal not to return your body to Egypt for burial%* (+es,* I answered. (Every Egyptian ust be furious with you,* he said. (+ou are thinking of Egypt as a graveyard,* I iediately responded. ( I think of Egypt as hoe.* I have never wavered fro y initial positionnot to return y body to E gypt should I die outside her borders. -y de" ision was reinfor"ed in 1/ when 0i2r app2n4, one of the great &yrian poets, died. !lthough he died in ondon, he had been living in sei6exile for the last thirty years of his life in 7eirut, ebanon. In 1/, the -usli world was "elebrating the eight hundredth anniversary of the death of Ibn 8ushd 911:;<11/=, known as !verroes in the 'est. $is books were burned and he suffered the indignities of being "ondened as a hereti". I’ve always thought of !verroes as a an of enlightenent, a an who found fertile soil for his own growth
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Page 154 in the West, not in the Muslim world. The first paper I published after leaving Egpt was about !verroes. To whom does !verroes belong" Who is his biologi#al mother" M point was that he was born Muslim and perhaps he is the #hild we abandoned, having for#ed him into e$ile. When %app&n' died, his bod(as is the #ustom(was #arried to the mos)ue for funeral rites, but the entourage was for#ed to a #omplete stop before the #ould enter the building. Islamists stood shoulder to shoulder *ust outside the mos)ue, blo#+ing the wa, not allowing his bod inside the sa#red spa#e be#ause he was de#lared Kâfir , or atheist. %app&n' #ould perhaps be des#ribed as the )uintessential poet. e wrote about love, about women, and about phsi#al beaut. -e#ause he wrote in the #ommon, everda language of the people, his poetr was easil understood b fol+s, and therefore widel read. ! boo+ of his poems #ould be found under the pillow of ever girl(at least thats the popular legend. /ome Muslims #onsider poetr to be antitheti#al to religion. 0or Islamists, poetr(espe#iall %app&n's poetr(is obs#ene. When I saw all this #ommotion around %app&n's death, it reinfor#ed m de#ision not to have m bod returned to Egpt should I die outside her borders. !fter all, %app&n' had been labeled an apostate. /o had I. I would not want Ebtehal to fa#e a situation similar to the #ir#umstan#es surrounding %app&n's burial. f #ourse, barring m bod from the mos)ue ma not be something that would even happen in Egpt, but somebod might write an arti#le as+ing, 2Wh was the bod of this man 3!bu aid allowed to return to Egpt" e is an atheist.6 I want to spare Ebtehal this indignit. I +now how hurt she would be. Even though Ebtehal has traveled freel ba#+ and forth between Egpt and the 7etherlands ever sin#e 1885, I have not been home at all(even for a brief visit(e$#ept *ust re#entl, a two9wee+ period during :e#ember ;<<; and =anuar ;<<>. Ironi#all, I am still a professor at ?airo @niversit, having re#eived the title of full professor two wee+s before the final verdi#t that de#lared me an apostate. 3In 188A, divor#e pro#eedings were suspended b #ourt order. M apostas #onvi#tion remained. /o, offi#iall, I am a professor in the :epartment of !rabi#, 0a#ult of !rts, ?airo @niversit. Ever ear, I renew m leave. Ever ear, I pa into m pension fund.
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Page 155 In spite of my official title giving me the status of full professor, all of my books have been removed from Cairo University’s library. n !gyptian "ournalist contacted me, not long after I’d gone into e#ile, $hen he discovered that my books $ere missing from the library’s shelves. %&hat do you make of this development'( he asked. )y response $as one of disbelief. % I don’t believe you. *ou are lying "ust to get some kind of statement from me. I don’t believe that Cairo University $ould do this.( +y accusing him of lying to me, I thought I had insulted the "ournalist. ortunately, he did not take my initial, knee-"erk response to his probing personally. e actually seemed /uite appreciative of my reaction, taking it all in stride, assuring me that he $as grateful for such an honest response. s the story unfolded, he told me that he had gone to Cairo University specifically looking for my books in the library, but did not find them. is attempts to intervie$ the dean of t he faculty $ere unsuccessful. 0he "ournalist published the conversation he had $ith me. 0he title of his article $as %bu 1aid has full confidence in his university. is university has none in him.( !btehal $as furious that my books had been removed from Cairo University’s library. 2uring her ne#t visit to !gypt, she $ent to the university, insisted on a meeting $ith the dean of the faculty, and confronted him $ith the fact that my books $ere no longer available on the library’s shelves. %&hat is going on here'( she asked. %It’s appalling, but I have no idea $ho did this,( he lamely confessed. %34, you have no idea $ho did this, so you order an investigation,( !btehal said. 0he dean refused to order an investigation. %re you telling me,( asked !btehal, %that even though you don’t agree $ith such action, you refuse to order an investigation' If books are removed from the library, you shouldn’t "ust say, 5I don’t kno$ $ho did this’ and leave it at that.( !btehal $as not shy about applying some pressure. %6et me tell you something about bu 1aid,( she continued. % &e are not talking about my husband. &e are talking about Professor bu 1aid. &hy don’t you "ust fire all the professors that gave him his ).. and Ph.2. degrees' nd $hile you are at it, $hy don’t you "ust shut do$n the department from $hich he graduated'( 0he dean stared straight ahead. 7ilence filled the room.
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Page 157 Four years have passed since I made this offer. I know there was some effort on the part of certain people within my department to reconnect me with the university. Nothing came of this effort. The hard truth tha t I need to face is that airo !niversity doesn"t want me. ertain individuals within the department# of course# have $een friendly and supportive. The present cha irman of the department is a close friend. %e recently spoke on the phone. &e told me# '%e have e(tended your leave.) This is the eighth year that I"ve $een given an e(tension. *ccording to the law# five years is the limit. '+es# yes# this is all very nice# thank you very much#) I offered. &e continued $y telling me how appreciative many ,gyptian people are of my refusal to keep silent a$out the effects of corruption running rampant throughout the government-especially as that corruption evidences itself at the university level. '%e are so pleased with all of your accomplishments while in e(ile.) '/# I understand#) I said. ' 0ut why is it impossi$le to invite me to $e a ury mem$er of a thesis committee2) 'No# it is not impossi$le#) he 3uickly asserted. ' It ust so happens that there is no thesis that $elongs to your field.) 'Is that right2) I asked. 'ne of my students ust graduated two weeks ago.) &e acted shocked. '4eally2) '+es# really#) I replied. he had recently contacted me-even sent me her thesis# telling me# 'I am very ashamed to send you my thesis. It is not the thesis I was hoping to write# $ut you were not there. 6et"s pretend it is a draft. I"m ready to rewrite it.) I said to the chairman of the department# 'This is my student. The least the department could have done is to invite the e(supervisor-me-to $e a mem$er of the ury. This is the normal academic tradition. I reali8e that it would $e difficult to have me come to airo right now# $ut you are telling me that it is not impossi$le. I would like you to $e upfront and honest with me. 9on"t make things look nice to me $ec ause we are friends.) :y friend replied# 'I"m sorry. This is a terri$le university. This is a terri$le department. +ou should $e very happy that you are not here.) I get weary and frustrated when people o$fuscate the truth. 0e honest with me. 9on"t give me e(cuses. 9on"t give me this nonsense# saying# 'There are security precautions and it is not possi$le for you to return to the university at this time.) ,$tehal travels to airo every
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Page 163 Shereen, the daughter who chose me, didn’t seem all that pleased when she realized that I had met with the children alone in the village. “What was the wisdom in going at this alone! she demanded. “Wh" didn’t "ou ta#e $%tehal &nd would the meeting have included me i' I had %ee n there I get the 'eeling that "ou are treating me li#e a metaphor. (emem%er that I am still "our daughter)a real 'lesh*and*%lood daughter, li#e it or not.! Shereen had wanted to meet me on m" arrival at the airport. With the e+ception o' $%tehal, I wanted no%od" there to welcome me home. I wasn’t sure how the whole scene would pla" out a'ter m" eight*"ear a%sence. “his has nothing to do with metaphor,! I assured Shereen. “ -' course, "ou are m" daughter. I wouldn’t have it an" other wa".! &rriving at airo airport 'elt rather odd. &s soon as the plane landed, it seemed as though I had le't $g"pt onl" the da" %e'ore. Surprisingl", I e+perienced no strong emotions o' an" #ind. In spite o' $g"pt’s reputation 'or %ureaucrac", going through passport control and c ustoms too# onl" a 'ew minutes. & customs o''icial as#ed me, “/o "ou have an"thing to declare! I simpl" answered no. 0e then produced a hint o' a smile %e'ore sa"ing, “Welcome %ac#, P ro'essor.! I li#ed the sound o' it. I do %elieve that one da" I’ll %e %ac# in $g"pt 'or good. I’ll pro%a%l" wor# at m" home, receiving students who would li#e to communicate with me. I certainl" do not 'oresee wor#ing in tandem with airo niversit" in an" capacit". I thin# I’ll 'ind it di''icult even to have a 'riendl" chat with some o' m" 'ormer colleagues. 2ut m" recent trip home was all I had hoped it to %e)a decent return.
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Page 165 11 The Nexus of Theory and Practice When I do research as an Islamic Studies scholar, I painstakingly look for those things initiated by the Qur’an!ays of being and doing that did not e"ist before #uhammad recei$ed the re$elation% When I find such phenomena, I take note% I del$e into the te"t at this point, using this &uncture to de$elop and steer Islamic thought% In so doing, I !ould say that I am mo$ing in the same direction as the Word of 'od% I’m con$inced that folks !ho think that e$erything mentioned in the Qur’an is binding, should be obeyed, and should be follo!ed literally are going against 'od’s Word% It’s important for me to ha$e a handle on the direction my research takes% So, for e"ample, !ith regard to punishment for crime, the destination !e are after is &ustice% In order to establish &ustice, a society needs to punish people !ho commit crimes against that society% (ut the form of punishment mentioned in the Qur’an is a historical e"pression of punishment carried out by a specific society in a specific time and placeit is not a di$ine directi$e% Punishment for crime is a principle that, !hen carried out, establishes &ustice% )ustice is a principle reflected in the di$ine, uni$ersal Word of 'od% Punishment is part of constructing a &ust society, but the form punishment takes is historically determinedit is not fi"ed% *eading classical Islamic thought should be a critical e"ercise% What did our ancestors accomplish+ What can !e add or de$elop as a result of their accomplishments+ hrough my research and study, I’$e concluded that the Qur’anic ob&ecti$es that &urists long ago agreed upon
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Page 173 battle of Uhud (625). Muslims lost ten percent of the arm!se"ent #arriors!lea"ing man children orphaned. $he historical conte%t& as #ell as te%tual analsis& sho#s that permission #as granted to marr a #ido# or a female orphan so tha t she #ould be protected and pro"ided for in this particular societ& a societ that preed upon #ido#s and female orphans!often stealing their inheritance from them. $herefore& the 'uran admonishes *i"e orphans the propert #hich belongs to them. +o not e%change th eir "aluables for #orthless things or cheat them of their possessions, for this #ould surel be a grie"ous sin. -f ou fear that ou cannot treat orphans #ith fairness gi"ing them their inheritance/& then ou ma marr other #omen #ho seem good to ou t#o& three & or four of them. 0ut if ou fear that ou cannot maintain eualit among them #ithin a marital relationship/& marr one onl or an sla"egirls ou ma o#n. $his #ill mae it easier for ou to a"oid in4ustice. (ura 3) $he snta% of the third sentence is conditional!if ou are not sure that oull be able to treat orphans #ith fairness& then ou are allo#ed to marr t#o& three!e"en up to four other #omen. hat is the te%t taling about8 9ustice is the goal& and the means to reach that goal in these particular circumstances comes through the practice of polgam. Polgam is used as a solution to establish 4ustice. $he plural :orphans; here is feminine. $he focus is on doing 4ustice for orphans. -f that is not possible& there is a solution. here does the solution come from8 ?& if ou =rabs are so greed& #h dont ou marr them8; Marriage brings about a #hole ne# relationship. Marriage #ould be a means to bring about a more 4ust societ. $he solution established b the 'uran is not the same thing as establishing polgam. -t is using polgam as a solution to a real problem in the se"enth centur& the problem of orphans. Polgam #as #idel practiced alread. o #e cannot sa that polgam is 'uranic la#. -t is not a la#. -t is a practical solution to a pressing& historical problem. 9ustice is the broader issue.
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Page 180 about women and the rights of women, but treating their own wives with scorn and contempt. An acquaintance of mine invited me to his home to have dinner with his wife and family. I had ust met him and felt somewhat unc omfortable with the invitation. !o I said, "#ou cannot ust surprise your wife by bringing home a guest for dinner.$ "%o, no, don&t worry about it,$ he assured me. " 'y wife is gracious and hospitable.$ I still was uncomfortable with the situation. I wouldn&t surprise (btehal in this way. I reluctantly accepted his invitation, thin)ing that perhaps he and his wife had some sort of understanding about bringing guests home for dinner. *hen we entered his home, his wife graciously received us. +he husband too) off his ac)et flung it across the room, not ca ring where it landed and then clapped his hands three times as a signal to his wife that he wanted some service. "-igarettes, get me my cigarettes.$ is cigarettes were in his ac)et poc)et/the same ac)et that he had ust thrown across the room. *hat )ind of freedom is this *here is the respect, especially in front of a guest Perhaps a man might behave li)e this when he is alone with his family, showing how spoiled he is/but to do this in front of a guest 2ut the man was not staging a scene. +his was ordinary, everyday behavior. +his showed me what a wide gap e3ists between people&s tal) about freedom and ustice all that tal) has yet to ma)e a dent on the way many people live. -learly, we have not integrated our tal) into our wal). 4r, to put it in academic terms, theory has not made its way into practice.
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Page 181 12 Looking Ahead As I watched with sickening horror that sad sight of the Twin Towers going up in smoke against New York’s skyline on that bright and sunny eptember day in !""1# my immediate thought was $ This must be a mo%ie&' The scene slowly began to sink in# and gradually it dawned on me& The world# because of this attack# was going to turn upside down& (eaction would be strong& This was white blood& Year after year# Palestinian carnage has continued)no big deal& *ife goes on& Now# I’m certainly not without criticism of the Palestinian leadership& I’m con%inced Yasser Arafat is at the helm of a corrupt system of go%ernment& +ut somehow# Palestinians who die day in and day out don’t command the same kind of attention from the world that an attack on the Twin Towers and the P entagon demands& In the wake of eptember 11# !""1# I’%e been deeply concerned)e%en depressed)about the future of our world& I lost friends# both Americans and ,uslims# trapped in the burning Twin Towers& -%en in the middle of all the many crises I’%e li%ed through with my family# my uni%ersity# and my country# I ha%e ne%er felt so down as I do these days& A couple of years ago# a famous -gyptian actress# u./d 0usny# committed suicide in *ondon)at least it appeared that suicide was the cause of her death& he was popular when I was a youth I remember her as a cultural icon of sorts& In -gypt# she was known as 2inderella& (ecently -btehal and I were talking about 2inderella# and I a sked her# $3o you think depression could lead somebody to commit suicide4'
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Page 194 “Yes,” I said, “I agree with you, I do focus on outdated discussion—outdated in European countries like rance, places like the !or"onne in particular, where you li#e and produce your discourse$ %ut people die in our countries for lack of what you call outdated discussion$ &e can learn fro' you and the work you produce in your i#ory tower, "ut that does not gi#e you the right to under'ine our work$” (r$ )rkoun apologi*ed profusely$ “I+' sorry, I didn+t 'ean it$” “You didn+t 'ean it, "ut you i'plicitly said it,” I re'inded hi'$ “ You are the scholar who taught 'e that discourse is saying so'ething "eyond intention$ I a' not talking a"out your intention$ I+' talking a"out what you said—your discourse$ I deal with fallout fro' issues you call outdated e#ery day$” (uha''ad )rkoun su"seuently included a description of 'y work in an article pu"lished inThe Encyclopedia of the Qur’an$ -asr .a'id )"u /a0id, the first (usli' scholar to face the )ra"ic world directly "y writing in )ra"ic while teaching at 2airo 3ni#ersity, tried to "reak the 'any ta"oos which prohi"it the application of the 'ost rele#ant achie#e'ents of conte'porary linguistics to the ur+an$ %efore hi', (uha''ad 5halafallah tried to apply literary criticis' to narrati#e in the ur+an, and in spite of its 'odest scientific span, his essay caused a 'a6or uphea#al$ 7he works of )"u /a0id contain nothing re#olutionary if one places the' within the scholarly production of the last twenty years, since they e8plain uite straightforwardly the conditions necessary for applying the rules of defining and analy*ing a te8t to the ur+an Mafhum al-nass:$ ;nce 'ore, the #iolent reaction to atte'pts intending only to populari*e knowledge long since widely accepted, underlines the area in conte'porary Isla'ic thought of what 0'any "elie#e cannot "e and has not "een thought$< (r$ )rkoun and I 'et again se#eral ti'es at conferences and sy'posia$ .e surprised 'e when he started to e#aluate 'y work positi#ely$ 7his has encouraged 'e to press forward$ )t the present ti'e, (r$ )rkoun and I are in#ol#ed with other )ra" intellectuals in a fledgling organi*ation called the )ra" oundation for (oderni*ing )ra" 7hought$ ;ur goal is to "ring 'odern scholarship to "ear on )ra" thought$ -ot too long ago 199=:, scholars fro' all o#er the (usli' world—Indonesia, (alaysia, !udan, Egypt, Iran—as well as represen
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Page 198 the moment is not one in which many Muslims are of a mind to hear me. “ What is this man talking about?” they ask. “We are fighting against an enemy and he is talking about things that ha!e no rele!ance for us.” "t#s difficult$if not im%ossible$to con!ince %eo%le ready to fight for what they %ercei!e to be their own sur!i!al that what they really need is knowledge. "t#s downright scary.
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Page 199 13 The Way Forward Islam, like any religion, speaks on several levels and from more than one perspective. Religious thinking in Islam, above all, is human expression about metaphysical reality. Islamic scholarship attempts to give a comprehensive and coherent understanding to the Qur an, !ods speech revealed to Prophet "uhammad by the angel !abriel. Islamic thinkers#scholars, $urists, and philosophers#have applied their o%n particular disciplines to the Quran in order to ferret out meaning from the text. &uman effort, grounded in and informed by a particular historical and social setting, distilled 'and continues to distill( the material of revelation into a precise intellectual form. )he *rab+Islamic Reform "ovement, begun in the nineteenth century, has been sidetracked. nder the %ider hea ding of $ustice, %e had begun to address issues concerning human rights, %omens rights, and the rights of minority groups. -e also started to deal %ith issues such as education, freedom, democracy, and progress. )oday %e must not let ourselves be defined by a phony identity that manifests itself in terms of back%ardness and resistance to progress, under the guise of defending Islam and our identity. ur aborted Renaissance looked to the future as it attempted to break free from outdated structures of thinking. Its high time for us to pick up the ball %here it %as dropped, and carry on. )o carry on, %e need an orderly %ay to talk about religion#a discourse. Religious discourse is human discourse#it consists of people talking about religion. )herefore, religious discourse has the ability to
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Page 209 Appendix FREEDOM OF WORSHIP AWARD SPEECH—ANNA ELEANOR ROOSEVELT On this eighth day of June 2002, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Freedom of Worship edal is a!arded to "asr #$ %&u 'aid, !ho holds the prestigious (leveringa (hair at )eiden *niversity, as a defender of freedom of thought and +ons+ien+e$ )ike )e iden Professor (leveringa, !ho in 9-0 spoke out against the dismissal of all Je!ish professors &y the "a.is, you/as a professor of slami+ 1tudies/have atta+ked &oth the slamists !ho advo+ate intoleran+e for those !ithin the uslim diaspora !ho do not a++ept their vie!s, and those in the West !ho in their ignoran+e and +ultural arrogan+e euate slam !ith terrorism$ %t great personal +ost, you have spoken the truth elouently and for+efully, a +hampion of intelle+tual freedom for professor and pupil, +leri+ and layman$ 3hrough it all you have remained firm in your +ommitment to the prin+iple that 4 man is alive only !hen his intelle+t is a+tivated$5 For this +ourageous, if lonely, position you !ere e6iled from 7gypt &y a +ivil +ourt in 998$ 3he +ourt pronoun+ed you a hereti+ and apostate, de+laring that you !ere no longer entitled to &e married to your dear !ife, Dr$ 7&tehal ounes$ "o! living in the "etherlands, a land
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Page 211 FREEDOM OF WORSHIP AWARD SPEECH—NASR ABU ZAID Besmi ‘Allahi ‘Rahman ‘Rahim In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful our Ma!est", our Ro"al #ighness, Miss $li%að Roose'elt, Miss Margaret Roose'elt, Am&assador (illiam )* +anden #eu'el, Mr* +an Gelder, the ueen-s Commissioner in .eeland, our $/cellencies, 0adies and Gentlemen, Al12alamu ‘ala"3um 4a rahmatu ‘Allahi 4a Bara3atuh Ma" peace and the merc" of God and #is &lessings &e upon "ou* It is a great honor to recei'e the medal of 5reedom of (orship this "ear* 6his great honor implies a great responsi&ilit"* 6he histor" of Islam, as the last of the A&rahamic religions, has made it 'er" possi&le to ac3no4ledge and respect all pre'ious religions and to esta&lish 7freedom of faith and freedom of 4orship8 as an essential component of the faith* $'en the traditional concept, identif"ing non1Muslims as the 7 protected people,8 reflects the e /istence of a sphere of freedom 4ithin the frame4or3 of traditional Islamic thought* Realit", ho4e'er, does not al4a"s reflect the ideal* #ence comes the responsi&ilit" of the intellectuals, the 4riters and the scholars in all cultures* 6he 7four freedoms89freedom of speech and e/pression, freedom of 4orship, freedom from 4ant, and freedom from fear9are meant for e'er" human &eing e'er"4here in the 4orld* 6he dream of 5ran3lin :elano Roose'elt has not "et, unfortunatel", &ecome true* ;ur 4orld of the third millennium is still a 4orld of fear, 4ant, oppression, and in!ustice* :estruction of houses of 4orship &" religious fanatics, militar" intrusion to altars &" politicians, genocide of others &ecause the" &elong to another faith, are still 4orld4ide phenomena* 6his ma3es the recei'ing of this great honor a 'er" hea'" responsi&ilit"* As a Muslim and a scholar of Islamic 2tudies, the first Muslim to recei'e such an honorar" a4ard, I feel o&liged to e/plicate 4hat I thin3
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Page 212 be misused, politicized, and manipulated to serve certain ideology. The Qur’an, the holy book of uslims, is silent! it does not speak by itself but people speak it out. "s the #ord of $od to man, its understanding and interpretation reflect the human dimension of religion. %t is then unacceptable to ascribe to %slam &hatever problems uslims might have in their sociohistorical e'istence. (et me take this e'tremely e'ceptional occasion to greet the great man of our time, r. )elson andela, the man &ho suffered th e utmost of human suffering for about thirty years to bring peace and e*uality in his country. ore than that, &hen he triumphed, he did not follo& the public emotional reaction of revenge! he insisted on propagating forgiveness and peacefully healing the &ounds of the past. +e also &illingly stepped do&n from- his political office to fight in another front, the front of human need all over the &orld. ear r. andela, % hope the lessons you taught the &orld &ill not be forgotten. %t is also a great honor to me to have my name mentioned alongside your great name. $od bless you all, wa al-salam ‘alaykum wa rahmatu ‘Allahi wa baraktuh.
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Page 213 Notes PREFACE 1. Mary Anne Weaver, “Revolution by Stealth,” The New Yorker (June 8, 18!" #$. 2. Mar% 1&"1'1&, Authori)e* +ing Jae- er-ion. CHAPTER 1 1. /au)i M. 0aar, “-lai /un*aentali- an* the ntelletual-" 4he 5a-e o6 0a-r 7ai* Abu a9i:*,” British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 2;, no. 2 (2$$$!" 1;. 2. 0a-r Abu ai*, Critique of Islamic Discourse (in Arabi! (5airo" Ma*bouli Pre--, 12!. 3. 0a-r Abu ai*, “nt,” Recht an de Islam 1' (18!" '2. #. 0aar, “-lai /un*aentali- an* the ntelletual-, ” 1#. '. bi*., 131#. &. bi*., 1#1'. ;. bi*., 1'. 8. bi*., 1&. . Weaver, “Revolution by Stealth,” ##. 1$. Ayan ?a%r an* =lliott 5olla, intervie@ @ith 0a-r 7ai* Abu a9i:* about i*eology, inter>retation, an* >olitial authority. “Silening - at the 7eart o6 My 5a-e,” Middle East Re!ort (0ovebereeber 13!" 2.
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Page 214 11. Abd al-Sabur Shahin, My Father Adam: The Story of Creation Between the Myth and Truth (in Arabic) (Cairo: Dar al-Nasr for sla!ic Publica"ion, 1##$). 12. Na%%ar, &sla!ic 'unda!en"alis! and "he n"ellec"uals, 1##. CHAPTER 4 1. Al* Abdel-+i, Islam and the Foundation of Political Authority (in Arabic) (Cairo: /g0"ian Public rgania"ion for 3oos, 1#25). 2. 6h 7usa0n, Pre-Islamic Poetry (in Arabic) (Cairo: Dar al-8a9arif, 1#2). ;. 6h 7usa0n, Pre-Islamic Literature (in Arabic) (Cairo: Dar al-8a9arif, 1#2<). 4. Nasr Abu =aid, The Trend of Rational !e"esis of the #ur$an: A Study of the Mu%ta&ilite$s Conce't of #ur$anic Meta'hor (in Arabic) (3eiru": 6he Arabic Cul"ural Cen"er, 1#$2). 5. bn Arab*, The Meccan Re(elation (in Arabic) (Cairo: 3ula, 1$5$). . Nasr Abu =aid, The Philoso'hy of )ermeneutics (in Arabic) (3eiru": 6he Arabic Cul"ural Cen"er, 1#$;). <. Nasr Abu =aid, The Conce't of the Te!t: A Rein(esti"ation of Classical #ur$anic *isci'lines (in Arabic) (Cairo: /g0"ian Public rgania"ion for 3oos, 1##>). CHAPTER 5 1. ?a@rence righ", &6he 8an behind 3in ?aden, The +ew ,orer (Se"e!ber , 2>>2): 2. 2. bid. ;. Nasr Abu =aid, Circles of Fear: Analysis of the *iscourse a.out /omen (in Arabic) (3eiru": 6he Arabic Cul"ural Cen"er, 1###). 4. 6he seeches of Anna /leanor +ooseBel" and Nasr Abu =aid, giBen a" "he 'ranlin D. +ooseBel" 'our 'reedo!s A@ard Cere!on0 in une 2>>2, are in "he aendi. CHAPTER 7 1. nao Ni"obe, Bushido0The /ay of the Samurai (Ne@ Eor: F. P. Pu"na!, 1#>5).
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Page 215 2. Nasr Abu Zaid, The Concept of the Text: A Study of the Science s of the Qur’an (in Arabic) (Cairo: Egyptian Public rgani!ation "or #oo$s, 1%%&). '. Nasr Abu Zaid, Critique of Islamic Discourse (in Arabic) (Cairo: ar ina, 1%%2). *. ieter eng+aas and Nasr Abu Zaid, -+e sla/ic 0orld and t+e odern Age in Development, Cultural Diversity and eace: !isions for a "e# $orld %rder (#onn: e3elop/ent and Peace 4oundation, 1%%). CHAPTER 8 1. Nasr Abu Zaid, The Concept of the Text: A Study of the Science s of the Qur’an (in Arabic) (Cairo: Egyptian Public rgani!ation "or #oo$s, 1%%&). CHAPTER 9 1. Nasr Abu Zaid, Critique of Islamic Discourse (in Arabic) (Cairo: adbouli, 1%%2). CHAPTER 10 1. nter3ie6 6it+ 4at+i A/er. riginally publis+ed in t+e Cairo ne6spaper al&Ara'i (No3e/ber 7, 1*, and 21, 1%%%). A3ailable at 666.geocities.co/8lrrs.geo8Zaid8!aidarabiinter3ie6.+t/. CHAPTER 11 1. 4or a "uller treat/ent and de3elop/ent o" t+e concept o" 9ustice, see Nasr Abu Zaid, -+e ur;anic Concept o" en.+t/. 2. %).
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Page 216 CHAPTER 12 1. Muhammad ‘Abduh, Islam Is the Religion of Science and Civilization (in Arabic) (Cairo: Dar al-Manar, 192). 2. Chinua Achebe, !rod. and dir. "ail Pelle##, Public A$$air% &ele'i%ion, 199, 'ideoca%%e##e. . ane Dammen McAuli$$e, ed., The Encyclopedia of the Qur’an, 'ol. 1 (*eiden: +rill, 21), 26. . a%r Abu aid, /0ea'en hich a34 AlAhram !ee"ly #nline no. 6 (5e!#ember 1217, 22): . CHAPTER 13 1. All 8uo#a#ion% $rom #he uran #a;en $rom The $oran. &ran%la#ed mid al-"ha?>l@, The Revival of the Religious Sciences (in Arabic) (Cairo: Al-0alabi, n.d.).
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Page 217 Index Abdel-Râziq, ‘Alî, 49-50, 54, 200 ‘Abduh, Muhammad, 30–32, 52–53, 149–51, 14, 1, 200 Ab! "a#$, 144–45 Ab! %u&'â(, Mu)â*i'a ib(, 144–45 ‘A&&â(, ‘+hmâ( ib(, 3, 144–45 Ah*â(î, Abd al-Azîz Al-, 55, 13, 141 Ali, Muhammad, 14 al-.aeda, 1–7 A/a', 12, 137, 152, 171, 13 A/ae, –, 10, 11–14, 147, 154, 15, 172 A$abia( Pe(i(ula, 52, 57, 95, 144, 147, 151, 12, 1, 1, 170, 173, 177, 13 A$#u(, Muhammad, 193 ‘Aâ), âil ib(, 55 Aau$#, Mua&a emal, 150 Ae$$e, 5, 153–54, 205– Azha$, al-, 9, 14, 202 "a((a, aa( al-, 9, 150 bi( 6ade(, ama, 15–7 8ai$ +(ie$i', 1–2, 4, 7–, 14–15, 33, 45–4, 50, 54–55, 77, 5, 103, 105, 121–23, 125–2, 12, 131, 13–39, 155–0, 13 ea$(ed deg$ee, 31, 49 a(d :behal, , 91, 124, 129, 132 e($lled, 37 ea;hi(g, 5, 135, 137, 154 8ali/h, 50, 55, 114, 144, 150, 12–3 8ali/hae, 49, 50, , 145, 150, 207 8lee$i(ga, P$&e$, 19 8lee$i(ga 8hai$, 47 8/i;, 19, 21, 39, 75, 12 8/, 20, 7–77, 1 :g'/ia( $ga(izai( &$ uma( Righ, , 10 faqîh, 14, 13, 195
>ebali, ?aha(i :l-, 179
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Page 218 hâdith, 7, 10, 60 Hanbal, Ahmad ibn, 55, 99 Hasan, al-, 145 Heresy, 11, 50–51, 53, 64, 152, 183 Hereti, 137, 153 hermene!tis, 57, 95, 101, 107, 109, 129, 146, 167, 182 hijâb, 12 hisba, 7 h"m"se#!ality, 88–89 H!sayn, al-, 145 H!sayn, $%h%, 31–32, 50–55, 67, 124, 137, 200 &bn 'Arab(, 58–60, 124 &dr(s, )*s!+, 179 ijtihâd , 2, 89 &nti+ada, 188 &slami e+"rmati"n ".ement, 185, 187, 197, 199 &slami /t!dies, 1–2, 4, 16, 26, 49, 53–55, 115, 148, 156, 165, 178, 185 &slamists, 4–9, 15, 77, 81, 128, 139, 154, 186 &srael, 74, 77, 81, 93, 170, 187–88, 191–92 &sraeli !ati"n, 79–80, 188 jâhiliyyah, 150, 169–70, 196, 203, 208 jihad , 60, 70, 74, 138 inn, 9, 23, 24 !stie, 63, 146, 165, 167–69, 173–78, 187, 189–90, 197, 199, 208 e"n"mi, 78 +reed"m and, 137, 170, 172, 180, 201–2 "ds, 56 s"ial, 1, 20, 26, 60, 67, 70–71, 76, 79, 110 hala+allah, !hammad Ahmed, 52–54, 194 hatt%b, mar ibn al-, 145 h"meini, 146, 195–96 h*l(, Am(n al-, 53, 55, 148, 197 kuttâb, 6, 18, 29, 63 ahallala !bra al-, 32, 37–38, 42, 71, 74 ah+"!:, ;ag!ib, 8, 69
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a, H"sni, 9 !hammad, Pr"het, 3, 10, 25, 50, 59, 64, 68, 97, 109, 113, 138, 143–46, 168, 175–76, 178, 190 ?!ran and, 11, 57, 60, 95–96, 165, 169, 199, 201 mushaf , 2–3 !slim @r"therh""d, 21, 67–71, 150 !'ta:ilites, 4, 55–58, 60, 98, 124, 203 ;asser, amal Abdel, 7, 67–71, 76, 78 sl" Peae A"rd, 170, 188 Palestine, 74, 77, 93, 186–88 Palestinian am, 79 e"le, 80, 83, 93, 181, 187–89 sar+, 82–83 territ"ries, 170 P"lygamy, 172–76 ?a%n(, ;i:%r, 153–54 ?!ha+a, 17–19, 21–24, 32, 37, 59, 63, 67–68, 75, 160–61 ?!raysh, 10, 144–45 ?!tb, /ayyid, 69–70 amad%n, 19, 63, 65, 104 ida, ash(d, 69, 184 /adat, An
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Page 219 Salama, Ma’mun, 6 Samad, Muhammad Samida Abd al, 6–7 Saudi Arabia, 143, 151, 161, 162, 189, 202 Shahin, Abd al-Sabur, 2–3, 5–6, 9, 14–16 shari’a , 7–8, 10, 50, 60, 68, 78, 89–90, 100, 150, 184, 203, 207 sheikh, 29–30, 76, 151 Shii, 143–46, 148, 195–96 Si!-"a# $ar, 74–76 Sla%er#, 10, 167, 174 Su&i'm, 20, 58 sunna, 7, 10, 68, 78, 89, 138, 146, 149, 151 Sunni, 143–46, 148, 196 ()lib, Al* ibn Ab+, 144–46 (ana, 17, 32, 45 (a#mi##ah, Ahmad ibn, 138, 141–43 'ur#, 5, 20, 101, 109–10, 168–69 $ahhab, Muhammad ibn Abd al-, 143 $ahhabi', 143, 185, 202 $i&e beaing, 174, 176–77 .ahirie', 146 .i/ni'm, 74, 208 .i/ni' hri'iani#, 191–92
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