Subverting Islam The Role Of Orientalist Centres M. A.

Rahim This is a forceful polemic alerting the Muslim community to a present danger. The feeling of danger, the description of it, the attitude to ards it, and the means suggested for dealing ith it, are all e!pressed in the language of the "ur#an, often in direct $uotation. That is the best reason for ta%ing up this boo%. &ut one feels in it also the eight of the author#s long years of active commitment to the teaching of Islam ' in his native (gypt, in Algeria, in )igeria, in the *nited +ingdom, and ,most recently- in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi authorities e!pelled him because he spo%e publicly about their financial and political support for Orientalists and missionaries hose published or% denigrates Islam. The "ur#an is read by Muslims as an act of orship and also for consolation on occasions of crisis. &oth very proper purposes .r /horab sho s ho it can also be used for guidance, as a means of analy0ing and understanding ma1or current events. Specifically, he applies the verses about Muslim relations ith non'Muslims ,2.3456 2.3246 7.896 9.37:'946 ;.;36 9;. 3:'356 9<.22' 56 83.:6 ;5.39-, and some ahadith on the same sub1ect, to carry out a convincing #institutional analysis# of a ne %ind of centre for =estern scholarship about Islam. ,Some necessary bac%ground %no ledge about the old %ind is supplied in a compact s%etch in chapter 3.The need for these ne centres as felt at the beginning of the 35:4s hen the revival of Islam entered the ne s as the revival of an ancient threat to the values and interests of the =est. =hat is ne about these centres is ,a- that Muslim scholars or% together ith non'Muslims to do research on Islam and to produce materials for the teaching of Islam6 and ,b- that they are housed in prestigious =estern universities as #affiliates# but funded almost entirely by Muslims ,individuals and governments-. In this conte!t #Islam# is a sub1ect area that includes matters of faith and creed, la and formative history> in other ords, research or% at these centres is not confined to patterns on rugs or inscriptions on coins6 it touches on the very essentials. =hat is rong ith Muslims and non'Muslims or%ing together? Any moderate Muslim is bound to hope that these ne #centres for Islamic studies# or for #Christian'Muslim dialogue# represent, at last, a illingness on the part of =estern scholars to reciprocate the courtesies and respect generally accorded to them by Muslim scholars, to open their minds to the influence of Muslim perspectives about Islam. As .r /horab demonstrates, these are false hopes. Indeed, the danger is, as he sees it, that =estern hostility to Islam and the effort to ea%en the Muslims# commitment to the establishment of an Islamic order in their lives, can be more effectively pursued ith the participation, and using the resources, of Muslims themselves. The main aim of institutional analysis is not to disclose hidden conspiracies or conspirators> that, if it happens is an accidental by'product. The proper aim of such analysis is to sho ho po er is disposed and managed across different structures in order to achieve particular outcomes. .r /horab gives specific analysis of one *+ institution and names particular individuals involved in its establishment, financial support and so on. The concrete detail, the naming of names, is regrettable but unavoidable ' ho else ma%e the general argument convincing and realistic? In a careful account of the academic 1ournal produced by this *+ institution, the author distinguishes the 1ournal as an institution from the individual contributions in it. As the product of a =estern

academic institution, the 1ournal is procedurally and practically constrained to ta%e the usual =estern academic line about Islam. @e sho s very clearly that, even if the individuals riting in the 1ournal intend the very opposite of hat the 1ournal as an institution is intended to achieve, it is the 1ournal, not the ell'meaning individual Muslim contributor, that ill in most of the time. ,Anyone familiar ith super'po er manipulations of the *nited )ations ill understand the distinction bet een ell'meaning individuals and ell'phrased moral principles, and hat the institution really achieves.In the colonial era, =estern'bac%ed individuals and institutions in Muslim countries ere easily recogni0ed as such and re1ected by the mass of Muslims. The individual Muslims, engaged in these ne centres, hatever their intentions ,and they may be good-, are less easy to distinguish. Moreover, their or%ing alongside non'Muslims gives legitimacy to =estern assumptions about Islam and to =estern intentions for the reform of Islam. =hy does it matter so much to %eep a clear line bet een =estern scholarship about Islam and Muslim scholarship? Muslims do differ ith other Muslims on issues having to do ith faith, la , history, etc. &ut they differ ithin a shared frame or%> the differences they have ith non' Muslims are orlds apart. .r /horab lists the minimum conditions for Muslim study of Islam> ,3- To study Islam as a revealed religion ,this means to study it as the truth from Allah hose authority is not to be challenged but to be understood and, therefore, confessed intelligently. ,2To ta%e Islam from its o n original and authentic sources ,i.e. the "ur#an and Sunnah-. ,7- To ta%e it as %no ledge and practice ... Ai.e. not as academic pastime for libraries or museums. ,9To ta%e it from $ualified Muslim scholars. The $ualifications in $uestion are iman ,faith-, #ilm ,%no ledge- and ta$ a ,fear of Allah-. @e then contrasts these ith the minimum conditions for =estern study of islam> ,I- =estern scholars must not accept that Islam is a revealed religion. Their or% ill be condemned if they regard the "ur#an as the =ord of Allah. ,2- They must not ta%e Islam from its o n sources... they must specifically loo% outside those sources to get a true# picture... Orientalists regard "ur#an and Sunnah as the least reliable ,sources-, and others must be preferred in cases of conflict. ,7-They must not under any circumstances promote Islam as a ay of life or even of belief. It must be seen as a thing of the past... ,9- They must not have a personal commitment to Islam... Any Muslims... or%ing in a =estern academic environment must learn to suspend their beliefs hile they study Islam. It ould be an in1ustice to .r /horab not to ma%e clear hat he ma%es clear> non'Muslims cannot be e!pected to support or help the cause of Islam, and they have a clear right to set up institutions and to or% for their o n ob1ectives and according to their o n methodologies. &ut, by the command of the "ur#an, it is not right for Muslims to be allied to, or to be financing, those ob1ectives and methodologies. There is an easily understood space bet een a positive, respectful tolerance and the %ind of alliance or allegiance hich concedes to non' Muslims the upper hand in the affairs of Muslims.

.r /horab#s argument does not end negatively, saying only rites>

hat is

rong,

hat not to do. @e

B.it does not suffice to only %no hat is rong and feel badly about it. It is a part of Muslim conscience to ta%e the ne!t necessary steps ' to proclaim and publish that hich is rong so that..., the ill begins to form in the community to do something about it.... The further duty is to put right that hich is rong that means sitting do n ith li%e' minded Muslims to discuss, and then establish, ays of getting the appropriate education to Muslims, of giving them access to Islamic perspectives on Islamic history and civili0ation. .r /horab goes on to ma%e practical suggestions on ho to proceed, step by step to set up institutions hich, though small and lac%ing funds and prestige, ould have the merit and re ard of respecting and protecting "ur#an and Sunnah. As indicated above, names are named in this boo% ' something regrettable but unavoidable. &ut there is a duty in this regard hich the author has fallen short of. Cirstly, the institutional campaign against Muslims is only a part of a ider strategy of ne s and information management in the =est. The boo% could have pointed this out ' consider, for e!ample, ho carefully and subtly the mood of the non'Muslim public in the =est has been handled on the ar in &osnia. There are many perspectives, not only the Islamic, hich are not aired, and therefore left to cho%e. Muslims, as Muslims, o e a ide sympathy to fello human beings, all of hom must be regarded as Muslims of the future. Secondly, the author needs to have discussed hat is to be done ith the particular institution and individuals named in the boo%> are they only to be shunned and critici0ed? Is it not also a part of defending the Sunnah to reserve final 1udgement to leave room for some level of contact to be %ept going, in other ords, to maintain hope for them? Criticism of hat is rong is a duty6 but it is also a duty to put that criticism ,so far as possiblein the form of practicable counsel, not re1ection.

,An (!tract from the Core ord of .r. Ahmad /horab#s enlightening boo% =(ST(R) DEOT A/AI)ST ISEAM-

hich e!poses the satanic

F.r. Ahmad /horab is to be commended for his fine boo%, Subverting Islam> The Role of Orientalist Centres. @is courage and forthright honesty are an inspiration for concerned Muslims in search of the truth. @e has succeeded in identifying an important front in the current (uro'American crusade against the Islamic movement> the formation of an anti'Muslim net or% of institutions and scholars marching under the banner of #Islamic Studies#. ,These are the .epartments of #Islamic Studies# attached to the %uffaar universitiesG The Ma1lisIn his insider e!pose of FIslamic StudiesF, .r. /horab demonstrates ho the ne school of thought derives legitimacy by employing compliant Muslim scholars ,mercenaries ho have sold Islam do n the drain for dollars HThe Ma1lis- and professors, such as Ia#far Shei%h Idris, Jusuf al'"arda i ,The /habi ho had recently disgraced himself in South Africa H The Ma1lis-, Abdullah and A%bar Ahmed, to name 1ust a fe . Christian missionaries and professors, such as &ishop +enneth Cragg, Rev. Montgomerry =att and Iohn (sposito, are, as .r. /horab sho s, al ays close at hand to guide various #Islamic Studies# programmes, both in the Muslim orld and in various (uropean and American academic institutions. .r.

/horab provides a detailed discussion of the O!ford Centre for FIslamic StudiesF, and also mentions other institutions ith similar programmes, such as @artford Seminary, College of the @oly Cross, or Drinceton *niversity. &y naming people and places subverting Islam, .r. /horab has done a great service for the Islamic movement. Muslims ho are considering attending these institutions or consulting ith these scholars should first study .r. /horba#s boo% carefully. Many additional boo%s can, and should, be ritten about the numerous FIslamic StudiesF programmes proliferating in estern academic institutions. This is especially urgent, since some Muslim government'run institutes, such as Malaysia#s Institute of Islamic *nderstanding, manage their programmes almost e!clusively by FIslamic scholarsF from estern universities. Columbia *niversity in )e Jor% City, fits .r./horab#s description of a centre for subverting Islam. =hile there is no department of Islamic Studies per se, Islam is the focus of various components ithin the .epartments of Middle (ast Eanguages and Cultures ,M(EAC-, Religion, Music, and Anthrapology, as ell as the Middle (ast Institute. Though staffed primarily by Ie s and Christians, there are also a fe Muslim professors on hand for good measure. M(EAC is especially popular ith ne or ea% Muslims ho hope to increase their faith or learn more about their religion and history by ta%ing a fe courses in the .epartment. The faculty includes Maan Madina, @amid .abashi, /eorge Saliba, and Ieanette =a%in. Madina is an avid collector of Islamic art, and occasionally offers courses in affiliation ith the )e Jor% Metropolitan Museum of Art. To him, Islam is a vestige of the Arab past, to be revisited by estern scholars or curated in museums.F =a%in offers courses on Islamic te!ts. Although teaching at Columbia *niversity for many years, she apparently has no Dh..6 her academic legitimacy comes from being a student of Ioseph Schacht, the notorious orientalist ho sought to discredit the Shariah on the grounds that it as timebound and irrelevant to modern society. =a%in ascribes to this belief, as ell as to Schacht#s other #great contribution# to #Islamic Studies#, his insistence that the hadith are all fabricated and therefore unreliable as sourcesK =a%in#s courses, also disguised as language study, are carefully focused attac%s on the foundation of Islamic civili0ation.F DART 7 In the current era the plot of the orientalist H the plot to undermine and destroy Islam H has been ta%en over by the LIslamic StudiesM faculties of the various %uffaar universities. Iuhala Ignoramuses- H so' called professors H posing as Muslims, are the most successful accomplishment reali0ed by the estern orientalists. Some decades ago, the conspiracy as directly manipulated and given effect by non'Muslim professors. Today, this dirty and destructive or% has been handed over to the LMuslimM professors ho have been schooled, indoctrinated and brain ashed ith %ufr by the orientalist enemies of Islam. .r. Ahmad /horab ho as a professor at several estern universities, the last being the *niversity of Riyadh from here he as e!pelled hen he commenced to e!pose the elaborate orientalist plot in hich Saudi Arabia too is a big cog ith its finance, in his boo%, S*&N(RTI)/ ISEAM H T@( ROE( OC T@( ORI()TAEIST C()TR(S, reveals the bare facts and the names of the actors of these centres of conspiracy. Among the Muslim clerics employed by the plotters to give legitimacy to the Dlot, is J*S*C "AR.A=I, the /habi, ho had recently attempted to give Islamic credibility to omenMs LliberationM in South Africa by propagating the baatil idea of the permissibility of female influ! into the Musaa1id. This article is the third instalment reproduced from his boo%. Many of the students ho study languages at Columbia do so either to train for the Israeli Mossad or the American Central Intelligence Agency ,CIA-. American students ith mediocre grades, but ho desire such careers, get scholarships to continue studying in places li%e the American *niversity in Cairo or Robert College in Tur%ey. M(EAC ,Middle (ast Eanguages and Cultures- students also include Muslims training to serve American officialdom. One

Iordanian'American Muslim student admitted he as mastering Arabic so he could pass a *S State department e!amination. Dolitically motivated language study disguised as #cultural# studies gives this department its legitimacy, and guarantees a continuous line of funding. M(EAC offers more than language courses. Saliba deals ith Islamic sciences, ascribing to @ans +ung#s school of thought and assigning boo%s li%e Iohn &urton#s Collection of the "uran hich attac%s the validity of the "ur#an as the ord of /od. .abashi is a disgruntled Iranian. Ei%e other professors, he teaches Islamic literature and philosophy through the prism of estern tradition, as noted by .r /horab> 3- denying the validity of revelation6 2- ignoring the reliability of Islamic sources6 7- refusing to promote Islam as anything other than an ob1ect of academic study6 9- avoiding any personal commitment to Islam. At Columbia ,*niversity-, political studies of Islam are the tas% of the Middle (ast Institute, a part of the *niversity#s school of International and Dublic Affairs, hich is a recruiting front for the CIA. The Institute houses orientalist historians li%e Richard &ulliet, as ell as a number of 0ionists. It has a siege mentality to ard the Islamic movement. Its past directors include Einda S =albridge, an American &aha#I scholar speciali0ing in Muslims of the *S, and hose husband, also a scholar of #Islamic Studies,# is currently editing the encyclopedia of &aha#ism. One e!pects to find this in departments hose stated goals are to study Islam and the Middle (ast. @o ever, other departments at Columbia are also staffed ith li%eminded people. Cor e!ample, the .ivision of (thnomusicology in the .epartment of Music is headed by .ieter Christensen, ho has a long and $uestionable history of studying the Islamic orld, including or% in Iran under the despised Shah. @e no has a magic carpet to Oman, invited by Sultan "aboos annually since 35:;. "aboos hires estern scholars to advise him on Muslim cultural policy, and Christensen runs the Centre for Traditional Music in Muscat. In his seminars at Columbia, Christensen' ho doesn#t %no a ord of Arabic'presents Islam as a hindrance for academic study, often complaining about #e!tremist# Omani Muslims ho ta%e too many brea%s for prayers, or ho Ramadhan disrupts his research schedule. At the same time, he gleefully boasts of s illing beer ith #modern# Omanis. @e also edits the Jearboo% for Traditional Music, hich 0ionist and anti' Muslim scholars use to attac% Islam and curate Muslim cultures. Christensen probably has lin%s to American, /erman and Israeli Intelligence agencies, and has a record of advising graduate students hose research in the Muslim or%s and else here is lin%ed to missionary activities. The Muslim Student Association ,MSA- at Columbia reflects #Islamic Studies# in practice. .uring the early 3554s, its president as a Ie ish convert to Islam , ho has reportedly no changed his mind-. A model #moderate# Muslim, he as a student in the .epartment of Religion, hich pro1ects Islam as a violent antithesis to &uddhism, the preferred religion for this department#s faculty. .uring his reign as MSA chief, it seemed that the campus rabbi had more po er in the MSA than Muslims. Cor e!ample, hen the regular room for Ium#ah as doubleboo%ed one Criday Hdespite advance re$uests by the MSA some Muslims suggested praying on the side al% in protest, since this had occurred in the past as ell henever another group needed space. After consulting his rabbi, the MSA chief intervened and arranged for Muslims to pray in the dungeon'li%e basement of the campus churchK Ei%e most other MSA chapters, the one at Columbia also ans ers to the Saudis. In 3552 hen Saudi ambassador &andar bin Sultan offered to 1oin hands ith a group of Oionists to commemorate the e!pulsion of Ie s and Muslims from Spain, MSA'central in Indiana $uic%ly called for implementation of this plan on its satellite campuses. =hen some Muslim students at Columbia suggested inviting .r T & Irving, a Muslim scholar of Islamic Spain, the Ie ish students protested, claiming that he as an #e!tremist# and an #anti'Semite,# the latter a 0ionist euphemism for anyone ho $uestions Israeli supremacy. The programme as subse$uently cancelled, after the Saudis and the 0ionists could not secure a #moderate# spea%er. These and other stories need to be heard and often. .r /horab has correctly identified many of the allegiances and dynamics found ithin #Islamic Studies# programmes. In fact, similar #Islamic Studies# agendas can be found in many different organi0ations outside academia. /iven all this, it seems incumbent upon concerned Muslims ho are affiliated ith any of these institutions or organi0ations to ta%e .r /horab#s initiative and help e!pose the programmes in their o n areas. Much or% along these lines needs to be done in the *S, the base of hat Syed "utb called #American Islam.# In the *S, people li%e (sposito are revered as Islamic scholars by several Muslim organi0ations. As .r /horab points out, (sposito as invited by the Saudis as far bac% as 35:7, hen he suggested

establishing an institute for #Islamic Studies# in the *S. Since then, Shay%h (sposito has had stints on the advisory boards of American Muslim organi0ations, most recently the American Muslim Council, sharing the latter distinction ith other #Islamic Studies# mainstays, including @assan @athout and Ali Ma0rui. The ubi$uitous Ia#afar Shei%h Idris also appears at AMC functions. The American Muslim Council ,AMC- needs to be investigated for ties to the Saudis and official Islam in places li%e (gypt, as ell as for its connections ith *S government agencies and corporations. Its debut as in Iune 3554, only t o months after board member @athout attended a Saudi'sponsored conference in Riyadh, according to .r /horab. The first AMC ne sletter came out in the fall of 3554, at a time hen the Saudis ere building Muslim support for the murderous American oil ar against Ira$. One of the stated policy goals of the AMC is to entangle Muslims ith American party politics, hich is also a *S government policy goal recommended by CIA analysts and the RA). Corporation in a special report prepared for the *S department of .efence in 3554. Counding AMC member Robert Crane, hose long history of *S government service includes an appointment as ambassador to the *nited Arab (mirates by *S president Reagan, is one of the AMC ideologues. @e fits .r /horab#s description as someone ho is see%ing to FreviseF e!pediency. The AMC also appears to be playing a role in dividing Muslims bet een #moderates# and #e!tremists#, fulfilling another agenda item for #Islamic Studies#, as is evidenced by public statements on Steve (merson#s 0ionist 1ihad# against Muslims or on the rigged #trial# of Shai%h Omar Abdel Rahman and other Muslims in )e Jor%. .r /horab lays the methodological foundation for systematically identifying and e!posing #Islamic Studies# programmes in estern and Muslim institutions. @e has lin%ed them to the ongoing estern crusade against the Islamic movement, sho ing that such programmes operate in the service of taghut. Concerned Muslims can and should find ays to continue his efforts and help prevent #American Islam# from gaining any further ground, Insha#Allah. Toronto, August 3, 3558

DART 9 The LIslamic StudiesM faculties of secular universities are cogs in the estern conspiracy to undermine Islam and to rip the *mmah from its Islamic moorings. *nder guise of LIslamic StudiesM, %ufr and nifaa$ are imparted to the gullible students. .r. Ahmad /horab, in his boo%, LS*&N(RTI)/ ISEAM H T@( ROE( OC T@( ORI()TAEIST C()TR(SM e!poses this dar% plot and satanic snare in hose meshes countless Muslims have become entangled at the cost of sacrificing their Imaan. POrientalism or the =estern study of Islam began in medieval (urope and has continued into modern times. =hoever %no s its long history ill recogni0e in it the influence of the mentality of the Crusades and the rancour of the Ie s against Islam. It soon becomes clear that the Orientalists are net or%s of Christians and Ie s ho, behind the faQade of academic institutions and the pretence of scholarly curiosity and ob1ectivity, have been engaged in an unrelenting effort to distort Islam in all its aspects H "urMan, Sunnah, A$idah ,creed-, Shariah ,la -, and the hole culture and civilisation derived from them. A number of =estern scholars, after their conversion to Islam, have illingly e!posed the pre1udices of the Orientalists, their lac% of honesty and ob1ectivity and, therefore, their lac% of fitness to study Islam. This alone, ho ever, is not enough to e!plain its feelings as regards Islam. @ere, and here alone, the =estern attitude is not one of indifferent disli%e as in the case of all other LforeignM religions and cultures6 it is one of deeprooted and almost fanatical aversion6 and it is not only intellectual, but bears an intensely emotional tint. (urope may not accept the doctrines of &uddhist or @indu philosophy, but it ill al ays preserve a balanced, reflective attitude of mind ith respect to those systems. As soon, ho ever, it turns to ards Islam the balance is disturbed and an emotional bias creeps in. =ith very fe e!ceptions, even

the most eminent (uropean orientalists are guilty of an unscientific partiality in their ritings on Islam. In their ritings it almost appears as if Islam could not be treated as a mere ob1ect of scientific research, but as an accused standing before his 1udges. All in all, the techni$ue of the deductions and conclusions adopted by most of the (uropean orientalists reminds us of the proceedings of those notorious Courts of the In$uisition in the Middle Ages6 that is to say, they hardly ever investigate facts ith an open mind, but start, almost in every case, from a forgone conclusion dictated by pre1udice. They select the evidence according to the conclusion they a priori intend to reach. =here an arbitrary selection of itnesses is impossible, they cut parts of the evidence of the available ones out of the conte!t, or LinterpretM their statements in a spirit of unscientific malevolence, ithout attributing any eight to the presentation of the case by the other party, that is, the Muslims themselves. The result of such a procedure is the strangely distorted picture of Islam and things Islamic that faces us in the orientalist literature of the =est. This distortion is not confined to one country. It is to be found in (ngland and in /ermany, in Russia and in Crance, in Italy and in @olland H in short herever (uropean orientalists turn their eyes on Islam. This ilful Orientalist distortion clearly has t o main ob1ectives. Cirstly, to create revulsion against Islam in the hearts and minds on non'Muslims. Secondly, to embarrass Muslims themselves about their beliefs, traditions and history, so as to cause them to doubt and, ultimately, to apostasies> PMany of he Deople of the &oo% ant to ma%e you unbelievers after you have believed, through the envy from their o n selves, and after the truth has been made clear to themB.R ,Al'&a$arah, 2>345The history of Orientalism sho s that it as closely connected ith the needs and purposes of colonialism and ith Christian missionary ambitions. That connection remains. It has no become a part of the geopolitical strategies of =estern governments and their intelligence services. =estern study of Islam as a formal discipline has long been established in specialist faculties called LOriental InstitutesM, the best %no n founded as long ago as the early and mid'eighteenth century. They have since spread much further and are no called LcentresM for LIslamic studiesM. The change of name is certainly intended to deceive Muslims ho, naturally enough, ould distrust the Oriental Institutes. The purposes and pre1udices of Orientalism are no offered as LIslamic studiesM6 and the purposes of Christian missions are no presented as LChristian'Muslim relationsM. In the *nited +ingdom, e!amples of the former are centres in O!ford, (!eter and =ales, and of the latter Selly Oa% College in &irmingham and in the *SA, the @oly Cross College in )e Jor%. It is no coincidence that such centres should have sprung up in the early or mid'eighties. They are part of the long'term strategy of response to the revival of Islam. Centres for so'called LIslamic studiesM no e!ist in the prestigious academic settings of the universities of @arvard, Drinceton, )e Jor%, O!ford, Cambridge and Daris. Many of them are, in significant measure, financed, and also directly patronised, sponsored and supported by Arab governments, especially the Saudis. The support from Arab governments includes the appointment to the boards of these centres of L*lama as'Sultan ,court scholars- in the role of LtrusteesM or LconsultantsM. These Muslim names help to legitimise the LIslamic studiesM and so deceive the Muslims further. In these centres, atheist, Christian and Ie ish scholars have at least an e$ual, usually greater, authority than Muslim scholars in the choice and framing of topics for research in Islamic history and civilisation and in teaching of Islam. The Lcourt scholarsM ,among hom are Jusuf "arda i, Abdullah )aseef, and Abdullah Tur%i- are rarely, if ever, present in the centres, attending only ceremonial meetings, at most once a year> they do not supervise or monitor or direct or decide anything. Their only 1ob is to provide a faQade of legitimacy and to establish the fact of collaboration. @o should e 1udge this collaboration ith Orientalists other ise than as the "urMan commands us to 1udge? One of the duties of Muslim scholars is to invite non'Muslims, especially the Deople of the &oo%, to Islam, not to or% alongside them in denigrating Islam> PSay> LO Deople of the &oo%, come to an agreement bet een us and you H that e shall orship none e!cept Allah, and that e shall associate no partner ith @im, and that none of us shall ta%e others for

lords beside Allah.M Then, if they turn a ay, then say> L&e surrendered to Allah-.R H Aal'e' Imraan, 7>89

itness that

e are Muslims ,those

ho have

To collaborate ith Orientalists is, in practice to ally ith them, hich is the opposite of hat the "urMan commands. &ut hy do e call such collaboration an alliance? &ecause it ta%es the form of material and moral assistance to the activities of the Orientalists for their purposes. This helps to sustain their attac% on Islam and to continue their ridicule of the "urMan and the )abi, sallallahu alaihi a sallam. PThose ho choose unbelievers for their allies instead of believers H do they loo% for po er at their hands? Surely, all po er belongs to Allah. @e has already revealed to you in the &oo% that hen you hear the revelations of Allah re1ected and made fun of, you should not sit ith them until they are in some other conversation. Cor surely, if you ,did stay ith them- you ould be li%e them.R H ,an' )isaa, 9>375 H 394Alliance ith the enemies of Islam is forbidden. Also forbidden is receiving Islam from them. Muslims may not learn Islam from non'Muslims. @o should believers receive Islam from those ho not only disbelieve in Islam but are hostile to it. @o should they receive right guidance from those ho are misguided? Refusing to or% ith the Deople of the &oo% in the study of Islam is, it is argued, an e!pression of intolerance hen, as e all %no , Islam re$uires Muslims to be tolerant. &ut this argument is $uite false and based upon a dishonest confusion bet een tolerating the Deople of the &oo% and being loyal to their purposes. A Muslim is re$uired to be tolerant of the Deople of the &oo%, but he is forbidden to give them loyalty. DART ; ,&y .r. Ahmad /horab- The so'called LIslamicM Studies faculties attached to secular esterni0ed universities are ell'planned plots in the =estMs master conspiracy to undermine and destroy Islam. In these institutions of the =est, %ufr and nifaa$ are disguised and presented under the subterfuge of LIslamic StudiesM hich are courses designed to brain ash unsuspecting Muslim students ith ideas hich stri%e at the very roots of Islam. Coated ith the poisonous sugar of LenlightenmentM, and administered in mild doses, the student loses his Imaan ithout even reali0ing hat has struc% him. .r. Ahmad /horab, in his e!cellent treatise> Subverting Islam H The Role of Orientalist Centres, e!poses this insidious plot hich is funded by the Arab oil states. Continuing the e!posure, .r. /hotab states> PThe MuslimMs ay of supporting his .een and ma%ing a reality of its uni$ue order ,i.e. the Shariahcannot be harmoni0ed ith the ay of the Deople of the &oo% ,the Jahud and )asaara-. )o matter ho much friendship a Muslim sho s them, he ill never get their approval or acceptance for him to remain a Muslim or to ma%e a reality of the Islamic order. @e ill never prevent them from allying ith each other in ar and conspiracy against Islam. It is a naSve heedlessness hich thin%s that they and e are travelling the same road, especially in the face of atheism, because hen the battle is against Islam they stand alongside the atheists. The Deople of the &oo% are li%e the Ie s ,in Madinah- ho used to describe the mushri%in ,polytheists- as better guided than the Muslims H And they say so to the unbelievers> PThese ,the idolaters- are more rightly guided than the believers.R ,An')isa 9>;3- H and ho used to help the Mushri%in against the Muslim community in Madinah and indeed gave them substantial assistance. The Deople of the &oo% are those ho aged the Crusades against the Muslims for t o centuries. It is they ho committed the atrocities in al'Andalus ,Spain-. It is they ho,in collaboration ith atheist Communists, made the Arab Muslims refugees in Dalestine and installed the Ie s in their place. Again, it is they ho have driven the Muslims from their homes in Abyssinia, (ritria, Somalia, Algeria. And

they are also co'operating ith atheists in Jugoslavia, China, Tur%estan, India and in every place. Those Muslims ho in name of see%ing some LrapprochementM bet een the follo ers of the revealed religions, have sought to blur the decisive difference bet een being tolerant ith them and being their loyal allies, are in error. They are in error both in their understanding of the meaning of the deen and in their understanding of the meaning of tolerance. Cor the one true revelation is the last namely, Islam, and tolerance is in personal inter'relations, not in matters of faith ,A$idah- nor in socio'political order. The tolerance of Islam is also e!pressed in the MuslimsM not coercing them to accept Islam ,that is, in leaving them to follo their religion-. PThe .een ith Allah is al' Islam. Those ho received the scripture ,before- differed only after %no ledge came to them, through transgression of their o n. =hoever disbelieves in sthe revelations of Allah> @e is s ift in rec%oningKR ,Aal'e'Imraan, 7>35The only .een accepted by Allah is Islam. =hoever accepts a religion other than Islam accepted and he ill be lost in the life to come> ill not be

PAnd hoever see%s a religion other than al'Islam, it ill not be accepted from him, and he ill be a loser in the hereafterR. ,Aal'e'Imraan, 7>:;T@( OTCOR. C()TR( COR PISEAMIC ST*.I(SR 3. The Centre and hy it e!ists> Since the very beginning of the Islamic revival around the turn of the century, the Orientalists have , ithout ever changing their ob1ectives- been re'thin%ing their general approach and ad1usting their tactics. One of the ne tactics has been to persuade certain of their Muslim students to act as their agents, especially in Islamic countries H men li%e Taha @ussein and Ali Abdur Ra00a$ in (gypt. The former denied the truth of the "urMan hen, in his or% on pre'Islamic poetry, he denied the truth of the "urManMs account of the Drophets Ibrahim and Ismail, alaihimas salaam. That particular point ,as ell as the arguments and purpose that go ith it- is one specifically taught by Orientalist scholars li%e Margoliouth, @urgron1e and others. Ali Abdur Ra00a$, in his or% on Islam and the principles of governance, argued that Islam is merely a cult and has no political order at all. The purpose of this familiar and patently absurd thesis as to persuade Muslims, through a nominally Muslim scholar, that they could accept the rule over them by any government, even one hostile to Islam and its Shariah ,la -. @aving planted such thoughts in the minds of Muslims, the Orientalists them proceed to spread them by praising the or% of Muslims ho LacceptM those thoughts and recommending it to subse$uent generations6 hile, at the same time, not mentioning and not recommending the or% of those truly Muslim scholars ho totally re1ect the arguments of Taha @ussein and Ali Abdur Ra00a$. =here not mentioning and not recommending could not succeed H for e!ample, ith such ell%no n riters as Sayyid "utub, the Orientalists ere obliged to try and marginali0e and vilify their or% as Le!tremistM, LfanaticM, LfundamentalistM, and so on. &roadly spea%ing, a t intrac% strategy is operated H to give importance to those Muslims ho collaborate ith the Orientalists6 programme, and to attach opprobrium to those ho re1ect it. This means according the authority and prestige of =estern scholarship to Muslims ho agree ith =estern purposes, and the neglect or contempt of =estern scholarship to those Muslims ho refuse =estern purposes. Drestige and funds are allo ed to the former and denied to the latter. A more recent e!tension of this strategy is the establishment in the =est of ne centres for Orientalist studies and calling them centres for LIslamic studiesM. The intention is to attract Muslim scholars to co'operate ith them in these centres H in order to legitimi0e their approach and, more important, to gain for them credibility in Muslim eyes as scholars of Islam. &ut changing the name does not change the substance of hat is renamed. Any genuinely Islamic study of Islam has the follo ing minimal initial conditions H and I stress minimal conditions> intelligently U to ta%e Islam from its o n original and authentic sources ,i.e. the "urMaan and the Sunnah-.

U To ta%e it as both %no ledge and practice6 ,meaning that the fruits of study are not intended as academic pastime, nor is its immediate purpose the display of or% in a library or museum6 rather, the aim is to improve and e!tend consciousness of Allah and to inform submission to @is =ill. U To ta%e it from $ualified Muslim scholars. The $ualifications n $uestion are Imaan ,faith-, Ilm ,%no ledge- and ta$ a ,fear of Allah-. There are other conditions, also important, but these are the barest minimum. (ven a passing ac$uaintance ith modern ,i.e. post'(nlightenment- =estern tradition tells us that its minimum conditions for the study of Islam are the e!act opposite in every case> 3. =estern scholars of Islam must not accept that Islam is a revealed religion. There or% ill be condemned as unacademic if they regard the "urMan as the =ord of Allah. 2. They must not ta%e Islam from its o n sources. On the contrary, they must specifically loo% outside those sources in order to get a LtrueM picture. Drecisely because the Orientalists regard the "urMan and the Sunnah as the Islamic e$uivalent of hat Christians call LcanonicalM, these sources must be seen as the least reliable, and others must be preferred in cases of conflict. 7. They must not, not under any circumstances, promote Islam as a ay of life or even of belief. It must be seen as a thing of the past in terms of relevant for the discipline of the in$uirer H anthropology, sociology, philology or history or hatever. The result of study must be or%s that can be shelved in the libraries of universities, government ministries or Christian missions. They must not have a personal commitment to Islam. &eing Muslim is a serious handicap and ould cast grave doubt on their or%. =hile Christian and Ie ish accounts of Islam ,and also of Christianity and Iudaism- are trust orthy6 Muslim accounts of Islam ,and, of course, of Christianity or Iudaism- are suspect. Any Muslims ho find themselves or%ing in a =estern academic environment must learn to suspend their beliefs hile they study Islam. It is obvious that Orientalists regard the "urMan not as .ivinely revealed, but as a humanly inspired boo% put out by the Messenger, or%ing alone or ith the help of others, hose identity is obscure. They do not regard the Messenger, sallallahu alaihi asallam, even as a Messenger, let alone as the last. The best they can manage is to say that he as a great leader, or great social reformer or something of this %ind H but even then only in relation to his time and place, meaning that his greatness is an academic matter, having no relevance no . If only for this one reason, the OrientalistsM studies of Islam cannot be accepted. &ut bearing in mind also their historical pre1udices, e can only conclude that they are not $ualified to teach Islam, nor is anyone else $ualified to do so ho shares their manners and traditions and their conditions for 1udging the truth H regardless of hether or not that individual is presented as a believing Muslim.

DART 8 .r. Ahmad /horab in his boo% S*&N(RTI)/ ISEAM H T@( ROE( OC T@( ORI()TAEIST C()TR(S has identified and e!posed a sinister front in the estern crusade against Islam, vi0, the anti' Islam net or% of institutions and LscholarsM conspiring under the banner of LIslamic StudiesM faculties attached to secular universities. @e e!plains in detail ho the O!ford Centre for LIslamic StudiesM and similar other centres and institutions are involved in the conspiracy to undermine Islam ith the aid of LMuslimM agents recruited from the products of these universities. These Orientalist centres ith their LMuslimM agents are all lin%ed to the global plot to undermine Islam ith the ob1ective of ma%ing the Muslim *mmah a docile people subservient to the estern imperial LmastersM.

PB.=e can no turn to a specific case, the recently set up O!ford Centre for LIslamic StudiesM, hose ne official patron, as proudly announced by the CentreMs o n )e sletter, is the future head of the Church of (ngland, Charles, the Drince of =ales, and hose principal financier is the Saudi royal family. =hat are the aims of this institution? It must have aims distinct from the long'established and ellstaffed LIslamM department of O!ford *niversityMs Oriental Institute. This is ho the spo%esman of the Centre e!plained its ob1ectives hen $uestioned about them> PB.to produce boo%s and research hich can be consulted as published sources, ritten either from an Islamic point of vie or from a moderate non'Islamic point of vie . It is therefore natural for the Centre to open the pages of its 1ournal ,i.e. the Iournal of Islamic Studies, published by the O!ford *niversity Dress- to hoever ants to rite an academic essay or article of high standard, even if that essay or article should be in conflict ith the Islamic point of vie .R This statement contains a number of very misleading and deceptive propositions> 3. To offer the ritings of non 'Muslims as ritten sources to be consulted about Islam goes against the "urMan and Sunnah and the consensus of Muslim scholars throughout Islamic history. 2. To divide the ritings of non'Muslims into LmoderateM and Lnon'moderateM has never been recogni0ed in Islam in a ay that ould authorise a non'Muslim to teach Islam to Muslims ,or indeed non' Muslims-, no matter ho moderateM. 7. The distinction of moderate and non'moderate is a specious one. =hat LmoderateM actually means is that hatever is cruelly insulting to Muslim belief and sensibilities is e!pressed in a form that promises to be less cruel, though substance and content remain. Cor e!ample, in medieval times, it as re$uired as a proof of Christian allegiance to condemn the Drophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi a sallam, as an impostor and liar ho deliberately deceived in order to obtain po er over the minds of his follo ers. The LmoderateM version of this proof of Christian allegiance is e!emplified by Reverend Montgomery =att, hose biographical studies of the Drophet state that he as most probably not a liar or an impostor H no, but the revelation he received came from Lthe creative imaginationM, a disturbed mental state. The implication is that he did not deceive others intentionally6 he as self'deceived. The conse$uence for Muslims of either position, the moderate or the non'moderate, is the same> the authenticity of the "urMan is condemned in terms hich are calculated, by =att, not only to insult the MuslimsM beliefs but also their intelligence. @e says e!plicitly that PnotBall the "urManic ideas are true and soundR, i.e. the "urMan contains falsehood. Curther, since according to =att, Pthe creative imaginationR can be for good or evil, he thin%s it $uite proper to clarify his meaning by this comparison> In Adolph @itler, the creative imagination as ell'developed, and his ideas had ide appeal, but it is usually held that he as neurotic and that those /ermans ho follo ed him most devotedly became infected by his neurosis.R =hat that comparison means for the readersM estimate of the Drophet, sallallahu alaihi asallam, and of his Companions, is as obvious as its intention is evil. &ut it is best to 1udge the intention of the O!ford Centre for LIslamic StudiesM by its production, and not merely by the ords in hich those intentions are so ineptly disguised by its spo%esman. =e shall loo% briefly at actual ritings hich the Centre, using the resources of Muslims, has put for ard in its first ma1or production, the Iournal of Islamic Studies, as published or% for Muslims to consult about Islam and Islamic history and civilisation. The first double' volume ofthe Iournal is plainly intended to declare the intentions of the Centre, to define the tone, the academic space, hich the Iournal intends to occupy. The prefatory L(ditorialM announces that the Iournal is open to a range of opinions and to a range of sub1ects having to do ith Islam and Islamic civilisation. The reality is that the hole, i.e. the overall, character of the Iournal is =estern in its perspectives and its style> it ma%es no room hatever for articles or authors hose style or content of thought belongs ithin

the Islamic tradition. On the contrary, all of those riters hose names suggest that they are Muslims, by submitting or% to the Iournal have submitted their Lbeing MuslimM to the ethos of modern =estern academic attitudes, hich dominate the Iournal absolutely. All or% is under a number of constraints hich ma%e it conform to a non'Muslim ethos. The first constraint is that no riter for this publication, not even a believing Muslim, may in any ay signal his or her belief ' therefore it is forbidden to begin any article ith &ismillaah. It is li%e ise forbidden to rite, after mention of the Drophet, sallallahu alaihi asallam. To admit these formulas ould betray the first purpose of the Iournal, hich is to train Muslim authors to affect the distance and neutrality hich =estern academics, $uite falsely, claim for themselves hen riting about Islam. Implicit in this constraint is the acceptance that any or% submitted by Muslim authors must fit in ith =estern academic manners and must not be presented by them as part of their Lbeing MuslimsM. The unspo%en assumption behind this apparently small matter of manners is that intellectual orth, $uality and coherence of information or argument, can only be found in dissociation from the manners proper to a Muslim riting as a Muslim. Any Muslim contributors to the Iournal begin therefore in a position of inferiority. It also follo s that, since all contributions are e$ual in being non'Muslim in their manners and purpose, the reader has no ay of %no ing hether the information and argument they convey are, from a Muslim vie point, reliable and trust orthy. The only ay the reader has of %no ing is either to guess from the scholarMs name hether he or she intends to be read as a Muslim or to classify the sub1ect of the article to strictly LreligiousM. The Muslim reader is thus forced to read according to the rules of the =estern'Christian separation of secular and religious. Thus, the Iournal by and large acclaims and relays =estern academic attitudes to Islam. Insofar as Muslims, particularly those abroad, are fooled by the presence of Muslim names in the list of consultant editors ,or in the list of contributors- into thin%ing that the contents of the Iournal are sound and reliable, the intention and achievements of the Iournal are pernicious in the e!treme. It does not, in any degree ,as it promises to do- acclaim Muslim attitudes to Islam6 nor does it relay hat Muslims as Muslims thin% about Islam to =estern scholars. In fact, it does hat the academic 1ournals of Oriental Institutes have been doing for so long, namely promote =estern modes of thin%ing about Islam. The danger is that the collaborative loo% of the Iournal and the fact that Muslim scholars lend their names to the venture, may deceive Muslims into believing that those =estern modes of thin%ing are the only ones that deserve consideration.

DART < In his commendable boo%, S*&N(RTI)/ ISEAM H T@( ROE( OC ORI()TAEIST C()TR(S, .r.Ahmad /horab e!poses the Saudi governmentMs collaboration ith the %uffaar orientalists to moderni0e and undermine Islam. Saudi Arabia has clearly become enmeshed in the satanic orientalist, estern plot to destroy Islam. =estern control of the Eands of Islam and their natural resources is possible only if the destruction of Islam could be achieved. This is the plot, and Saudi Arabia is an active participant in the %uffaar conspiracy of the est. This collaboration e!plains hy Saudi Arabia has al ays been in the lead to organi0e and fund the %ufr Interfaith conferences. .riven by its insane fear of being displaced by some Muslim or Shiah po er, the Saudi government is paying the price of undermining Islam for voluntarily becoming a protectorate of the *.S.A. It believes that its survival is dependent on the protection of America. *nder the caption> SA*.I EOJAETJ TO T@( +*CCAAR H SA*.I ASSISTA)C( TO T@( ORI()TAEISTS, .r. /horab lists several incidents to sho the Saudi collaboration ith the orientalist enemies of Islam. These episodes are reproduced hereunder.

3. SA*.I ASSISTA)C( TO T@( ORI()TAEISTS> It is very important that readers should understand ho Saudi collaboration ith the Orientalists and missionaries operates, ho the Saudis give the assistance that they give. Sometimes the relationship is deliberately open, the ell publicised case of the O!ford Centre for VIslamic Studies# being an obvious e!ample. @o ever, the relationship is not, and could not, be a matter of continuously open public policy. It is established slo ly, $uietly, under' handedly. The direction of these lin%s is nonetheless clear. So too is the danger they pose to the ellbeing and security of the *mma. The best ay to spell out for the reader hat is happening is to relate a number of incidents, the truth of hich I can attest both as observer and direct participant. These incidents disclose the inter eaving connections bet een, on the one hand, senior government officials on the Saudi side and Muslim scholars sponsored by the Saudis and, on the other hand, those Orientalists ,academic or missionary- and other =estern agents ho have a long'term interest in LdevelopingM Muslims and Islam. The general purpose of these connections, ,never directly stated- is> Wto introduce the =estern 'Christian perspective into Muslim minds at source6 that is, to ma%e future and present teachers of Islam see and thin% their religion and ay of life in that perspective6 W to ma%e the hearing of, and dealing ith, that non'Islamic ,in fact, anti'Islamic- perspective seem as normal and proper as the hearing of, and dealing ith, differences bet een Muslims themselves6 W to achieve certain specific changes in the religion and ay of life of Islam. These specific ob1ectives are> i. to have Muslims treat and discuss the "ur#an according to the principles and manners in hich the scripture of the Ie s and Christians is discussed6 ii. to separate the belief in and orship of Allah from the practice of Islam as a socialpolitical order under Shari#ah6 iii. to alter radically the relationship bet een the Shari#ah as a body of principles of la and the implementation of those principles in positive la s> it is intended that Muslims should regard certain Shari#ah provisions as Vtrue# but no longer relevant. Cor e!ample, the proportions of inheritance for males and females or the prohibition against non'Muslims inheriting from Muslims and vice versa. It is difficult, at first, to see ho so large and dangerous a programme should be embedded in activities so seemingly innocuous as people of different cultural bac%grounds sitting around the same public platform, or%ing in the same library, riting in the same 1ournal. &ecause hat one sees on any single occasion is only particular individuals trying to get along ith each other, listening to, or reading each other#s vie s. &ut in actual reality, this inviting of different individuals to give an address from the same public platform, this sitting them in the same academic space, this providing them ith funds to run 1ournals and institutes together, is systematically creating an ethos here one party dominates and controls the agenda for thought and discussion, here one party defines and controls the intellectual space. That party ith the upper hand in the affair is not the party of the "ur#an and Sunnah. Incident 3 In 35:7, Iohn (sposito, or%ing at @oly Cross College, a missionary'academic establishment in )e Jor%, as invited to +ing Abdula0i0 *niversity in Iiddah to give a lecture entitled #Islamic Studies in America#. The reader should %no that academic visits of this %ind do not happen in Saudi Arabia ithout e!plicit permission of the university and government authorities at the highest level. .id those authorities thin% that they ere inviting a spea%er ho as interested in the spreading of Islam in America or even the understanding of Islam? It is unli%ely. At any rate, Iohn (sposito spo%e to ards the end of his lecture of a pro1ect he had in mind for the *SA. This pro1ect as the establishment of an institute for the study of Islam in hich both Orientalists and Muslim scholars ould collaborate. That, to the best of my

%no ledge, is the first public statement of a policy to get Muslims to cooperate ith non'Muslims in teaching ,or in preparing people to teach- Islam. =hen a Christian missionary ma%es such an offer, hat should a Muslim thin%? As I gradually came to the reali0ation that (sposito#s pro1ect as to be set up not only in the *SA but also in (urope and perhaps even in Saudi Arabia ,about hich more later-, I felt that the senior #*lama# in the country should be alerted to do something about it. I therefore rote an open letter on the sub1ect to Shai%h #Abd al'#A0i0 bin &a0. Sadly, the most senior #Alim in Saudi Arabia did nothing. (sposito#s pro1ect as reali0ed not only in the *SA but also in the *+, at O!ford. The O!ford Centre for #Islamic Studies# as initiated in 35:; ith the help of the Saudis. At O!ford itself the #idea# for such a centre as not the dream of a Muslim, ,though a young Muslim, .r Carhan )i0ami, as appointed its .irector-, but of his very much older colleague at St Cross College, O!ford, .r .avid &ro ning. .r &ro ning is not a Muslim, not a Christian missionary, not an Orientalist. @e is a geographer hose field of specialty is ' not the Middle (ast ' Eatin America. @e has retired from his academic commitment to geography and no devotes himself e!clusively ,and very strenuously- to the cause of promoting the O!ford Centre for #Islamic Studies#. @o .r &ro ning fits into the picture is obscure unless one %no s that, through his or% abroad as independent #foreign observer# of national elections, he has very strong connections ith the &ritish Coreign Office. That ministry is sometimes incorrectly described as pro' Arab#. It is not in the least pro'Arab6 it is pro'Arab oil. Its anti'Islamic postures and policies are doubtless an integral part of the =est#s strategic interest in suppressing the Islamic movements and controlling the oil resources of the region. DART : In his boo%, S*&N(RTI)/ ISEAM H T@( ROE( OC T@( ORI()TAEIST C()TR(S, .r. Ahmad /horab e!poses the treacherous role of Saudi Arabia ho is funding the estern %uffaar enemies of Islam in their pernicious schemes of undermining Islam through the avenues of the so'called LIslamic StudiesM faculties of universities hich churns out 0indee$s, mulhids and murtads. Incident 2 &et een 3:th and 2;th October, 35:8, a conference as held at *niversity College, O!ford, entitled #@o to deal ith Muslims in the Middle (ast#. The conference, organi0ed by &ishop .r +enneth Cragg, as held in association ith the O!ford Centre for #Islamic Studies#, its .irector being personally present there, as ell as .r #Ali al'/hamidi, the Saudi .irector of the Islamic Cultural Centre, attached to the Regents Dar% mos$ue in Eondon. As I happened to be in O!ford at the time, a Muslim ho %ne me suggested that I should attend and, if allo ed to do so, try to ans er .r Cragg. It is certain that someone should respond to Cragg#s very long and subversive campaign against Islam. @e has openly stated his aim as not trying to convert Muslims , hich he dismisses as the #numbers game#- but as getting them to e!per ience Chr ist ianity#s Christ. To this purpose Cragg has, over almost three decades, dedicated a number of boo%s, including studies of the "ur#an and Sirah, and also pic%ed out for public e!posure Muslim ritings that support his programme. An e!ample is his translation of Muhammad +amil @usayn#s "aryah Oalimah as City of =rong, in hich a Muslim #imagines# his ay into the Christian e!perience. Readers should not be misled into thin%ing that a merely hypothetical or literary #e!periencing# of Christianity is offered. On the contrary, the aim is, after such #e!periencing#, for Muslims to mend their ays. Cragg ould li%e, for instance, Muslims to end the legal prohibition on Muslim omen marrying Christians. @e also supports the surreptitious presentation of Christian itness# to Muslims in the Arab orld> committed Christians are to accept or% in their professional fields in, say, Saudi Arabia, and through the contacts they ma%e as doctors ,especially omen doctors ho can gain

admission to the heart of the family-, pharmacists, engineers, teachers, etc., to run private gatherings through hich the Muslims can discreetly be offered Christianity. Cor non'Muslims to hold such a conference is their right6 for Muslims to attend in order to defend an Islamic vie of the religion and history of Muslims is also, un$uestionably, proper. &ut hy should Muslims assist in the setting up of such a conference? That is not proper. Still orse is it to deny Muslims the right to defend their religion and history, to restrict their freedom to do so, and to ta%e punitive action against them if they do. I as at that time teaching in the .epartment of Islamic Studies at +ing Saud *niversity ,+S*- in Riyad. =hen I returned, I as summoned for disciplinary investigation by .r Mustafd al'A#0ami, then the @ead of .epartment. )o , it seems to me, that hat I had said at the conference in O!ford could in principle be $uestioned by any concerned Muslim ' for its content or its manner. I had not imagined that the right ,actually the duty- to spea% on matters of deep concern to Islam and to Muslims could also be $uestioned. &ut that is precisely the line that .r al'A#0ami too%. @e did not $uestion hat I had said6 he $uestioned that I had said it. The complaint as presented as a procedural one> it is not permitted, I as told, for any faculty member of a Saudi institution to spea% at any conference or other public occasion ithout e!press permission to do so. =hat this means, in practice, is that henever ,and herever- such collaborative conferences are held, only those Muslims ill be allo ed to spea% up ho, broadly spea%ing, agree ith Muslim'non'Muslim collaborative ventures in this field. Incident 7 In Ianuary 35:8, the Caculty of Arts of +S*, began issuing a 1ournal entitled al'#*sur ,(ras- hose editorial board is made up of Muslims and non' Muslims. Among the Orientalists on that board of consultants is Rev .r Montgomery =att ho, as ell as being the author of several mischievous and misguiding or%s in the field of Sirah, is one of the editors of The Muslim =orld, published by the missionary centre in Selly Oa%, &irmingham. This 1ournal as established in 3533 by the notorious Samuel O emer and is published 1ointly ith the @artford Seminary in Connecticut, *SA. Among other Orientalist names on the editorial board of al'#*sur are> Re! Smith ,*niversity of .urham- and Richard Chambers ,*niversity of Chicago-. )o , it has been claimed that a =estern university ould not permit the setting up of an academic centre for the study of Islam unless that centre had a management in hich =estern ,non'Muslim- academics ere sufficiently represented H in other ords, that the price of the prestige of a place li%e O!ford is the acceptance that non'Muslim have a say in ho Islam is to be studied and taught. As e have seen, that is a price Muslims should never illingly pay, unless they mean to ea%en and betray their religion. &ut supposing all that is true of a =estern university, ho can it possibly be true of a Muslim university in a Muslim capital built on Muslim land ith e!clusively Muslim resources? =hat necessity can e!plain the Saudi authorities follo ing the same pattern of collaboration ith non'Muslims as is follo ed by, for e!ample, the O!ford Centre for #Islamic Studies#? The ans er, alas, is that it is so not by necessity but by volition, by policy, chosen and implemented. Incident 9 On 32th August, 35:5, I as invited to spea% by the student members of the O!ford Islamic Society on #An Islamic perspective on Orientalism#. In this address, I critici0ed Orientalists and the role of the O!ford Centre for #Islamic Studies# in furthering their programme. To address a small undergraduate society, even in O!ford, is no ma1or event. @ardly orth anyone#s notice. There are many small societies in the *niversity6 many spea%ers6 many addresses. I as surprised, therefore, that a report on the occasion should have been ritten, let alone that it should then be sent all the ay to Riyad, to .r al'A0amK, my @ead of .epartment at +S*. Incident ;

On 28 Safar 3934 ,3554-, at a meeting of the .epartment of Islamic Studies of +S*, I tal%ed about the responsibility of the #*lama#, especially of those ith influence in Saudi Arabia, to at least impede, if they could not stop, the infiltration of Orientalists into the field of Islamic studies ' something surely possible here universities ere under direct Muslim administration and ithin the 1urisdiction of Muslim governments. I mentioned by name #Abdullah )aseef and #Abdullah al'Tur%i ho are certainly influential in Saudi Arabia. They are also trustees of the O!ford Centre for #Islamic Studies#. I advised them to fear Allah for giving, in their position, encouragement and support to the Orientalists. DART 5 .r. Ahmad /horab ho as a professor at many secular universities, in his boo%, S*&N(RTI)/ ISEAM H T@( ROE( OC T@( ORI()TAEIST C()TR(S, e!poses the estern conspiracy to undermine Islam and ean Muslims from the Sunnah and the Shariah. @e e!plains lucidly and candidly the subversive role hich Saudi Arabia plays in this despicable game of treachery. Continuing the e!posure, .r. Ahmad /hirab says> Incident 8 On 24 Ra1ab 3934 ,3554-, after praying salat al'#isha# in the Riyad mos$ue used by university staff members, I stood up before the congregation and criticised t o Saudi policies> a- their encouraging Orientalist studies of Islam6 and b- their tribalist policy of preferring a Saudi to a non'Saudi for university entrance to postgraduate courses ,a policy idely %no n about and fre$uently criticised in the non' Saudi Arabic press-. I $uoted in this tal%, the verse from al An#am revealed on the occasion hen the "uraysh as%ed the Drophet, sallallahu #alaihi a sallam, to dismiss from his circle the non''Arabs and the poor ,i.e. the socially ea%- among the Muslims, men li%e &ilal, Salman al'Carisi, Suhayb ar'Rumi, +habbab, #Ammar, and #Abdullah ibn Mas#ud. The "uraysh as%ed that these #riffraff ,Aradhil- be removed from his presence and then they ould 1oin his circle and hear his preaching. Allah then revealed in @is &oo%> .o not dismiss Afrom your circleX those ho call upon their Eord at morning and evening, see%ing @is countenance. Jou are not accountable for them in anything, nor are they accountable for you in anything6 if you should dismiss them you ould be a rongdoer ,al An#am, 8>;2I $uoted also the hadith recorded in all Sahih collections that the search for %no ledge is Caridah, an obligation. I concluded ith the appeal> Cear Allah, O Mansur al'Tur%iK Cear AllahK Cear AllahK ,Mansur al'Tur%i as the Nice 'Chancellor of +S*.- Many people in the congregation approved and applauded and indeed re1oiced because this matter had at last been aired in public, and in a mos$ue. About an hour later, after I had returned home, t o men called at my flat. One of them is the brother of @asan ibn Said ho is a member of the Saudi intelligence service in the Ministry of the Interior. This man threatened that my contract ould be terminated if I did not go and apologise to Mansur al'Tur%i. I refused. T o months later, the threat as carried out. Another conse$uence of my spea%ing in the mos$ue as the dismissal of Mansur al' Tur%i from his post. The dismissal as of course called a resignation. The reason he as dismissed as not the policy he pursued but the fact that he had allo ed that policy to be criticised in public by a member of his university. Incident < .uring Sha#ban 3934 ,3554- a large seminar as held in the Intercontinental @otel in Riyad on the sub1ect of .a# ah ,the dissemination of Islam- in the orld. The chairman as #Abdullah al'Tur%i. Among

participants ere> Muhammad "utb, Rashid al'/hannoushi, @assan @athut. I as%ed to ma%e a comment and, in my short comment, I referred to the danger to Islamic .a# ah in (urope of allo ing non'Muslims to collaborate in the presentation of Islam in the =est, since, inevitably, that presentation as a mispresentation, a distortion. I pointed out that, for that mispresentation and distortion of Islam those Muslims ho are collaborating ith it are responsible. I gave the O!ford Centre for #Islamic Studies# as an e!ample. Many students ere there and approved openly and re1oiced. )ot so #Abdullah al'Tur%i ' understandably, as my comment certainly included his contribution to the activities of the Orientalists, as a trustee of O!ford Centre. Incident : @ans +ung, the dissident Catholic theologian, $uite ell %no n in Saudi Arabia, as invited to give a tal% entitled #Original Christianity> bet een the /ospels and the "ur#an#, on the evening of Monday, 39th May 3554, in Riyad. In the morning of that day, he came, accompanied by .r Ia#afar Shei%h Idris and other figures from Imam *niversity, to the .epartment of Islamic Studies here I as still or%ing. I attended the informal meeting that follo ed. In e!planation of hy @ans +ung as invited, it as emphasised that he as an Orientalist sympathetic to Islam and sympathetic to the Arab'Dalestinian cause. The meeting as chaired by a professor of physics, also an Islamic scholar, .r Muhammad al' Mas#ari, ho encouraged me to spea% up and ans er +ung. ,In the summer of 3557, .r Muhammad al' Mas#arl as dismissed from his post in +ing Saud *niversity and subse$uently 1ailed and tortured for being the spo%esman of the Committee for the .efence of Eegitimate Rights. ,#Eegitimate rights# means those rights granted to human beings by Allah as established in the Shari#ah.- In April 3559, .r. al 'Mas#ari escaped from Saudi Arabia and arrived in Eondon. @e is no see%ing political asylum in &ritain.- Some students from +S* also attended this informal, get'to'%no 'thespea%er meeting. .uring this meeting, I as%ed @ans +ung the follo ing $uestions> 3. Crom here did he derive his %no ledge about Islam? The ans er> from various Orientalists, especially Daret, +ung#s teacher in Tiibingen *niversity. (vidently, +ung as not $ualified in Arabic or Islamic studies. 2. @e is famous for denying the infallibility of the Dope6 did +ung also deny the infallibility of the Drophets, #alaihim assalam? The ans er> he did deny it, and certainly therefore, he denied the infallibility of the Drophet Muhammad, sallallahu #alaihi a sallam. 7. @o did he vie the position and role of the Americans on the Dalestinian $uestion? The ans er> he felt the Americans# attitude as favourable to the Dalestinians. )ot surprisingly, after this discussion, some students got in touch ith the organi0ing authorities and as%ed them to cancel +ung#s lecture. Cearing a public disturbance, the authorities consulted the Ministry of the Interior. I turned upat the time and place appointed for +ung#s lecture6 so did many others> e found that it had been cancelled.

DART 34 .r. Ahmad /horab ho as a professor at many secular universities, in his boo%, S*&N(RTI)/ ISEAM H T@( ROE( OC T@( ORI()TAEIST C()TR(S, e!poses the estern conspiracy to undermine Islam and ean Muslims from the Sunnah and the Shariah. @e e!plains lucidly and candidly the subversive role hich Saudi Arabia plays in this despicable game of treachery. Continuing the e!posure, .r. Ahmad /hirab says>

@ans +ung on Islam On that occasion, by the mercy of Allah, subhanahu a ta#ala, the truth about @ans +ung#s attitudes and purpose ith regard to Islam and the Muslims ere e!posed by his o n ords uttered, 1ust as they are e!posed in his published ords for those ho ill ta%e the trouble to read them before, in neglect of their responsibilities to their religion and ay of life, they invite him to address Muslims. +ung#s vie s on Islam are very e!plicitly presented in his boo%, Christianity and the =orld Religions. ,35:86 Collins, Eondon, 35:<. Dage references in the discussion immediately follo ing in this section refer to this edition of +ung#s boo%.- In the part of the boo% dealing ith #Islam and Christianity# ,pp.7'37;-, +ung advocates for Muslims hat he calls critical method# in reading their Scripture. This is the procedure applied, from the early nineteenth century, to Christian study of the &ible. +ung refers to various Orientalists hose or%s have follo ed this approach. Among them are> 3. Iohn =ansborough#s "uranic Studies ,35<<-, in hich the author claims that the "ur#an as shaped over a period of t o centuries by the Muslim community interpreting hat ere ta%en to be Drophetic sayings. ,p.772. Iohn &urton#s The Collection of the "uran ,35<<- hich follo s a similar approach but confines the period of Vcollection# to the Drophet#s lifetime. ,p.797. /unter Euling#s The Rediscovery of the Drophet Muhammad ,35:3- based on On the Drimitive Nersion of the "ur an ,35<9- hich claims to distinguish in the "ur#anic te!t a primitive Christian'Arabian "ur#an attributed to the Drophet and the rest attributed to a much later period. ,p.799. Angel i%a )eu i r th#s Studies on the Composition of the Meccan Suras ,35:3- ith hich +ung appears to be particularly pleased> #=ith her training in the formal'critical approach to the Old Testament, )eu irth can prove that, hatever the case ith the rest of the "ur#an, the Meccan suras ere put together by the Drophet himself for liturgical recitation...#. ,p.79=hat business can intelligent Muslims %ind? ho care about and for their religion have ith #curiosity# of this

It is a curiosity about Islam hose techni$ues are directly copied from =estern models, regardless of hether the techni$ues are appropriate, and hose aim is a determination to reproduce among Muslims the same reservations about the "ur#an, as Ie s and Christians are bound to have about the &ible. To add insult to in1ury, +ung offers this line of scholarship as the road to peace and reconciliation bet een Muslims and Christians hat he means is that Muslims ill believe and thin% as modern Christians do. +ung maintains that the oral influence of Iudaic and Christian traditions on the composition of the "ur#an cannot ,and should not- be denied by Muslims. There ere contacts bet een Muslims and the Deople of the &oo% during the Drophet#s lifetime, sallallahu #alaihi a sallam6 and many of the &iblical prophets are mentioned by name in the "ur#an, as ell as Mary, the mother of Iesus, #alaihis'salam. Ming infers that all these prophets ere %no n to the Drophet Muhammad, sallallahu #alaihi a sallam, before revelation came to him. Sometimes a ilful blindness accompanies arrogance> ho can any scholar ho, presumably, has at least read the "ur#an in translation, have missed the fact that this particular line of argument is anticipated and ans ered by the "ur#an itself? It is the very argument put for ard by the arrogant polytheists and Ie s during the period of the Revelation hich ans ered them> This is Asome partX of the tidings of the unseen hich =e reveal to you. Jou yourself did not %no it, nor did your people, before this ArevelationX ,@ud, 33>93-. The Drophet, sallallahu #alaihi a sallam, is altogether innocent, by the testimony of the "ur#an, of hat the Orientalists ,li%e the unbelievers before them- mischievously allege. Their aim is to enlist the support of Muslims themselves in ma%ing these allegations. They begin by saying that the "ur#an is, li%e their o n discredited scriptures, only partly true. +ung himself states ,p.79- that he believes the "ur#an to be both revealed and the or% of the Drophet. @e then goes on to of fer this posi t ion to #educated modern# Muslims as a ay for them to apply to their Scripture the %ind of criti$ue that as applied to the

Christians scriptures. +ung#s point, evidently, is, to imply that any Muslim ho ta%es the hole "ur#an to be verbatim the ord of Allah ' hich has al ays been an a!iom of Muslim belief H is neither educated nor modern. @e rites ith the conviction that =estern culture has triumphed and it is up to the Muslims to adapt ,i.e. submit- to it> and his, the Christian scholar#s tas% is to ma%e that submission easier, and to loo% among Muslim scholars for individuals ho have been illing to submit and can therefore be applauded for their #constructive# approach. @ere, in a nutshell, is the hole ambition of the collaboration hich is offered to Muslims and in hich, alas, so many nominal Muslims are illing to participate> Christians and Muslims today need to continue their conversation about this difficult but fundamental point of ho to understand revelation... (veryone %no s that in various Islamic countries right no there are po erful movements for Islamic rene al at or%... Derhaps over the long haul, in a more selfconscious Islamic orld that is trying in so many ays to catch up ith =estern science and culture, historicocritical study of the holy boo% ill eventually be allo ed to become a reality. ,p.7;It is only natural for the enemies of Islamic rene al to ish to divert its energies into directions hich harmonise ith cultural and religious preferences hich have nothing to do ith Islam. Cor Muslims to collaborate in any such programme is to capitulate. &ut it is to Allah that Muslims'no matter hat their circumstances ' are re$uired to surrender, not to the enemies of their religion. The tragedy is that people li%e +ung are able to find accomplices not only among officials of Muslim governments but also among Muslims hose scholarship should have guarded them against any such betrayal of the din.

DART 33 ,(TDOSI)/ T@( +*CR I)T(RCAIT@ CO)SDIRACJIn his boo%, S*&N(RTI)/ ISEAM> T@( ROE( OC ORI()TAEIST C()TR(S, .r. Ahmad /horab ho as a professor at many secular universities, e!poses the estern conspiracy to undermine Islam. In this nefarious plot Saudi Arabia is a prime role player. The recruits for this satanic movement are LMuslimM products of the LIslamicR Studies Centres of the many +uffaar universities. Continuing his e!posure, .r. /hirab says> @o ill the "ur#an be esteemed if the collaborators have their ay? @o else but as +ung relatively, intermittently, adaptably. In his o n ords ,p.786 the italics are +ung#s-> ishes '

Funderstanding the "ur#an as a living message, continually heard ane ... as the great prophetic testimony to the one and only mighty and merciful /od... A consistent testimony that may and should be handed do n in a variable form, al ays freshly adapted to the time, place, and individuals in $uestion, so as to provide an unambiguous, constructive solution for the present'day conflicts ith science and history, as ell as the modern ethos and sense of la . That ould be a historicocritical approach...F &ut it is Ie s and Christians ho adapt their scriptures to their o n transient needs and purposes, ho fit their religion to the prevailing #ethos#. =hereas the distinction of the Muslims has al ays been, by the mercy of Allah, to have a Scripture perfectly preserved, to hose commands they adapt themselves and so ma%e the "ur#an the #prevailing ethos#. It is indeed difficult to believe that there could e!ist scholars ho, hile calling themselves Muslims, are nonetheless illing to go along ith the #adaptive# approach commended by modern Christians and Ie s. The intense pressure for this approach since the early eighties, the denigration of all other Muslims as #fanatics# and #fundamentalists#, is evidence that the Deople of the &oo% ,having failed in their attempts at conversion, especially in the face of the rene al of Islam, resort to subversion-, invite Muslims to a #living message#, hen hat they really mean ,and ant-

to do is to stifle and %ill that message. =hen, later in his study of Islam, +ung deals ith the $uestion of the Shari#ah, he follo s the same procedure and reaches the same conclusion. Muslims are invited to learn the familiar Christian distinction bet een la , hich, in the Christian perspective, must become legalism- and faith, to learn to see the "ur#an as a source'boo% for ethics and not, as those ho first heard it and then gave their lives in the effort to establish it, as the source for la s as ell as values. Again, ithout much irony, he is able to suggest that Muslims have had little choice in the matter in recent centuries and certainly none no > the #fundamentalist# programme for the reintroduction of Islamic la ,the hadd punishments for e!ample, particularly for apostasy and adultery, and the prohibition of riba ,interest- are doomed to fail, +ung thin%s, because =esternisation is too ell'entrenched-. @e seems to believe that herever education ,he means secularisation- lifts the Muslims out of their #medieaval# cast of mind, they are certain to see% the fle!ibilities of a modern Christian attitude to sacred la . And, once again, +ung is able to enlist the vie s of #modernist# or #reformist# Muslim scholars ,#(fforts at an intra'Islamic criti$ue of the Ea #, pp.88'5- and $uotes e!tensively, and ith particular relish, from Ca0lur'Rahman. It soon becomes clear hat the contents of the reforms desirable for Muslims in the modern age are> Cirst of all, Muslim must grasp the central ,Christian- point that #the shari#ah e!ists for the sa%e of man, and not man for the sa%e of the shari#ah. Man is therefore the measure of the la # ,p.8;6 +ung#s italics-. @aving grasped that, Muslims ill be able to get rid of #the scandalous shortcomings of Islamic la # ' +ung especially ants #dissent# ,he means blasphemy- and the charging of interest to be made acceptable, and he ants all the hadd penalties to be abolished. @e praises the Mu#ta0ila as being nearer to the truth because they believed the "ur#an to be #created# and #therefore modifiable#' he fails to point out that the Mu#ta0ila scholars ,ho ever large a place is given to them by =estern Orientalistshad rather less influence on Muslim thought in general than those Christians had on Christian thought in general, ho urged the Church to allo polygamy. It comes as no surprise that +ung is #against# polygamy ' it does not fit the modern ethos. @e calls for Muslims to 1oin the omen#s liberation movement ,p.:9-, to eliminate the differences bet een male and female rights of inheritance, and to ma%e legal testimony e$uivalent for both se!es ' all such la s ere all very ell in the seventh century, he feels, but not in the t entiethK That must suffice as an illustration of +ung#s sympathetic attitude to Islam. =e turn no to his sympathy for the Dalestinians# cause against the Oionists. @is attitudes on this $uestion are e!plicit in his boo% Iudaism> The Religious Situation of Our Time. ,SCM Dress Etd., Eondon, 35526 trans. Iohn &o den from .ie Religose Situation der Oeit> .as Iudentum, R. Diper /mb@ Y Co, +/, Munich, 3553. Dage references in the discussion immediately follo ing refer to the translation.=e need to note that this boo%, dedicated #Cor my Ie ish friends throughout the orld#, as most armly elcomed by Ie s ' as an e!ample see the revie in the Eondon Times ,#A Catholic on the Ie s#, 28 March, 3557- by Rabbi .r Albert @. Criedlander. +ung devotes several paragraphs in his preface to reassuring the reader that he en1oys close and friendly relations ith Israel, ith its institutions, ith its religious and political leaders inside and outside the country. @e records his lecture visits to the Nan Eeer Institute in Tel Aviv and the *niversity of @aifa, his association ith the S iss'Ie ish society, and #numerous conversations and meetings# ith the Israeli Coreign Office and other representatives of official Israeli politics. +ung does not mention any meeting, association or conversation ith any Dalestinians either inside or outside the country for hich, being secure in his o n homeland, he e!presses such interest and concern. +ung#s basic political understanding is that the Ie s believe themselves, e!clusively, to be /od#s chosen people, and on the basis of belonging to a race, have a right to the promised land, that is, Dalestine. +ung is $uite unembarrassed by this endorsement of divine favouritism. @e is also $uite unembarrassed H despite his o n passionate argument in favour of a historicocritical reading of all sacred scriptures ,the "ur#an included- ' by the reduction of the Old Testament to a legal deed of title to a piece of land. The inhumanity of forcible eviction of that land#s native population H

despite their centuries'long tolerance of the Ie s already living there ,in contrast to Christian practice in that same holy land- and hich bro%e do n only hen the Oionist programme became too blatant to be ignored ' is accepted by +ung as an inconvenience. Eest the reader should thin% I am mispresenting ,or e!aggerating- +ung#s position, I here $uote his o n ords ,pp.9;' 8-> F...for Iudaism, hich preserved its primal bond ith the land of Israel ,@ebre (ret0 Israel-, even in the time of the #dispersion# ,/ree% .iaspora-, the relation to this particular land, the #promised land#, is $uite essential... =hether or not it is convenient for others, Jah eh#s chosen people and the promised land no belong together.F +ung sho s no a areness that accepting the belonging together of Ie s and Israel is also, necessarily, an acceptance of the dispossession of the land#s original inhabitants in favour of (uropean colonists, of the forcing apart of Dalestinians and Dalestine. &y hat stretch of imagination can this non'a areness ,or denial- of the Dalestinians# rights be described as #sympathetic#? +ung#s position is not, in fact, based upon genuinely sympathetic assessment of the needs or rights of the Dalestinians. On the contrary, it is based upon a typically (uropean'Christian cynicism about the realities of po er. That cynicism derives, in turn, from the Christian attitude to legality as an alternative domain to the domain of rightness, and practical morality as an alternative to ideal spirituality. Islamic civilisation has al ays refused this division, although, unfortunately ,for man%ind in general, as ell as for Muslims-, there are some eminent Muslims ho are illing to play the game of po er, 1ust as Christians and Ie s do, for its o n sa%e, divorced from any commitment to the life of submission and devotion to the ill of Allah> indeed, they achieve eminence precisely by accepting that game of po er and its rules. =hen they do so, they are hailed as moderates, men of vision, progressive, open'minded, tolerant, and so on> and, the faithful, they, alas, are reviled as fanatics and regressives. In short, e should not be surprised by the cynicism ithin +ung#s pro1ected #compromise#, nor should e be surprised that the main elements of that compromise are attributed to one of the =est#s favourite Muslims, the former Dresident of (gypt, An ar al'Sadat. DART 32 SA*.I DOEITICAE A). MIEITARJ COEEA)ORATIO) =IT@ T@( +*CCAAR In his boo%, S*&N(RTI)/ ISEAM> T@( ROE( OC ORI()TAEIST C()TR(S, .r. Ahmad /horab ho as a professor at many secular universities, e!poses the estern conspiracy to undermine Islam. In this nefarious plot Saudi Arabia is a prime role player. The recruits for this satanic movement are LMuslimM products of the LIslamicR Studies Centres of the many +uffaar universities. Continuing his e!posure, .r. /horab says> P+ung tells us that Ie s, Christians and Muslims #are bound together by the ma1or characteristics hich they have in common#. These are> Semitic origin, belief in the same One /od of Abraham, their tribal ancestor, belief in prophetic proclamation and revelation laid do n once for all in scripture and hich remains normative6 the basic ethos of a fundamental humanity founded in /od#s ill, and the ten commandments, etc. ,pp. 3<'3:-. @e advocates peace on the basis of a recognition of these common characteristics, and commends some hat vaguely- the idea of one nation, one religion, one prayer. @e advocates the e!pression of this ancient community in a literal coming together to pray> Ie s and Christians already have shared te!ts6 it should not be too difficult to find te!ts ,and avoid rubrics- hich ould enable Muslims to 1oin in and address the same ords to /od in the same place on the same occasion ,p.;:4-. It all seems very charming and positive until the full implications ,for legal and political 1ustice, for hat is morally and spiritually right in the situation- become clear. @o are Ie s, Christians, Muslims to proceed ith this charming idea in practice? +ung tells us>

FDerhaps the suggestion of a Muslim can help us here, that of An ar al'Sadat, to hom Israel o es peace ith (gyptF ,p.;<:-. Sadat#s suggestion, also based on emphasising common origins and sharing orship and places of orship, as to build a ne place of orship dedicated by the adherents of all three religions and to build it near St Catherine#s monastery in Sinai. +ung goes yet further. =hat need is there of building a ne place? A perfect site already e!ists> the .ome of the Roc%. The mos$ue could also serve as synagogue and church. ,pp.;<5':4The implications are rather star%. The Muslims do not need to recover Ierusalem> they can have it by ma%ing a formal present of it to the Ie s and Christians. =e hardly need offer a comment on this suggestion ' even if it ere not cynically motivated, it ould be unacceptable. =e do need, ho ever, to remind ourselves of the "ur#anic position on the #community# bet een Muslims and the Deople of the &oo%> the "ur#an does invite the Deople of the &oo% to consider themselves one nation ith the Muslims, going bac% to the Drophet Ibrahim, #alaihissalam, and to do so on the basis that he as neither Ie nor Christian, but Muslim> Abraham as not a Ie , nor yet a Christian6 but he as an upright Muslim ,hanifan musliman- and he as not of the idolaters. ,Ali #Imran, 7>8<The political and military association bet een the Saudi authorities and the %uffar is not, in fact, so much a relationship of collaboration as of sub1ection. The Saudi authorities sub1ect the lands, seas, and all the resources hich they should administer for the benefit of all Muslims, to =estern, specifically American, political interests in the region. That has been the case ,though not so idely %no n as no - since the founding of the %ingdom under &ritish imperial #protection#. It has come to be idely accepted since the /ulf crisis of 3554. At the #invitation# of the /ulf Arab rulers, notably the Saudis, the military forces of the %uffar occupied the Arabian Deninsula in order to prosecute their ar against Ira$6 thereafter, having destroyed that country#s civil as ell as military structures, they continue to have a very large and po erful military presence in the /ulf countries. This is done ith much less publicity than during the /ulf ar but ith not much effort at concealment. The policy of non'concealment also has its purposes apart from its effect of proving the /ulf regimes helpless, it ma%es them vulnerable to the discontent of their o n people hich in turn ma%es them more dependent upon the =estern presence. The situation is not very different from the protection rac%ets run by the mafia> the /ulf Arab regimes are re$uired, in e!change for #protection#, to spend huge sums of money on the purchase of arms and other e$uipment , hich, if the Arabs could use them effectively ould not be sold to them- and other bac%'up services, hich returns the petrodollars to the =est and %eeps the =estern military industry ell'enough supplied ith funds to go on producing ne %inds and grades of eapons hich their victims cannot match. It is a vicious circle in every sense. The ambition to dominate the Arabian Deninsula is not a ne one. The goal has its roots in the missionary activities hich ere initiated in the /ulf to ards the end of the nineteenth century. Samuel O emer, the American Christian ho established the first mission in the area as long ago as 3::5, founded many schools and churches in the coastal to nships. O emer is e!plicit in his understanding of the situation at that time ,See VAbd al'Mali% al'Tamnni, Al' Tabshir fi'Manti$at al'%hali1 al'Arabi, ,Missionary activities in the Arab /ulf area- +u ait 35:2, pp. 9:ff.-. The Christian missionaries are to consider themselves as the allies of the Ie s in their hopes and plans for the creation of a Ie ish homeland in the region. O emer 1ustifies this on the grounds that the region had #belonged# to Christ> before Islam came to dominate, there had been Christian communities in the Deninsula ,in )a1ran- and, similarly, Ie ish communities ,in Jathrib ,Madinah-, +haybar, etc.-. =estern po ers had the right, in his vie , to bring the region #bac%# to its former religious affiliations. An American Orientalist, Iohn +elly, ho served as adviser to the Dresident of the *nited Arab (mirates, advocates the reoccupation of the /ulf area by =estern po ers to reverse or replace the ithdra al of the &ritish (mpire east of Sue0 ,See Iohn +elly. Arabia, the /ulf and the =est, Eondon 3554 p.;49.-.

The primary motivation may be to control the oil reserves of the region, but missionary ambitions ,religious and cultural-, and, most important of all, control of the peoples and of the Islamic revival in the area, are a part of the strategic commitment. The heartlands of Islam, the direction of daily prayers for millions of Muslims and the focus of the annual pilgrimage to the holy cities of Ma%%ah and Madinah, could, if managed for the sa%e of the Muslim *mma, unify and organise the efforts and resources of all the disparate Islamic revival movements orld' ide. The political potential of this region is therefore immense and the =estern po ers are only too ell a are of this. As noted above, it is a matter of open %no ledge that the Americans and the &ritish have permanent military bases in each of the countries of the /ulf e!cept Jaman. +u ait &ahrain, the (mirates, Oman, "atar, each have at least one significant American military installation. Saudi Arabia is host to several military bases hich are huge comple!es cut off from the rest of the country and run $uite independently of it.R DART 37 SA*.I DOEITICAE A). MIEITARJ COEEA&ORATIO) =IT@ T@( +*CCAAR In his boo%, S*&N(RTI)/ ISEAM> T@( ROE( OC ORI()TAEIST C()TR(S, .r. Ahmad /horab ho as a professor at many secular universities, e!poses the estern conspiracy to undermine Islam. In this nefarious plot Saudi Arabia is a prime role player. The recruits for this satanic movement are LMuslimM products of the LIslamicR Studies Centres of the many +uffaar universities. Continuing his e!posure, .r. /horab says> PP=ho is responsible for the presence of the %uffar in the holy lands of Islam? (vidently, those ho invited them, the rulers of these countries, and the *lama# as'Sultan ho authori0ed their invitation. The authorisation as given publicly in a formal document ,called the Ma%%ah .ocument- on the 34th October, 3554. Among the signatories ere Syed Abul @asan )ad i, Jusuf al' "arada i, Shai%h &in &a0, and Manna# al'"attan. The argument of these V*lama# as based mainly on an appeal to necessity hereby that hich is normally forbidden may be temporarily permitted, or hereby one may be temporarily e!cused from doing hat is normally obligatory. The argument of necessity is plainly meaningless or unprincipled if the temporary allo ance becomes permanent. &ut leaving that aside, let us loo% closely at the argument of necessity as it as used in this case. The necessity in $uestion as, of course, the threat of invasion and ar from Ira$ under Saddam @ussain. =e can begin by as%ing> ho convinced the Saudis that this threat e!isted? Of course, the Americans. They claim to have sho n the Saudi authorities secret pictures of Ira$i troop movements, ta%en by secretly operated satellites, pictures hose interpretation re$uires very specialised training hich is also secret. In short, the Saudis too% the Americans# ord for it> they did hat they ere told. ,Ira$ invaded Iran also, e may recall6 there as no similar response, not from the =est nor from the /ulf Arab states, nor from the #*lama# as''Sultan.In fact, there is no evidence of any immediate threat to Saudi Arabia. The moment for the Ira$is to invade Saudi Arabia, had they had any intention of doing so, ould have been immediately after the occupation of +u ait, or, at the least, ell before the #allies# had time to establish themselves in that country. In the end H surely a uni$ue event in military history H the Americans en1oyed si! full months of a totally unopposed landing. (ven assuming criminal intention on the part of Saddam @ussain ,not a difficult assumption to ma%e-, one ould have supposed that he must $uic%ly attac% and occupy the oil'fields in the northeast of Saudi Arabia, a perfectly realistic option in the first month of the crisis, and hold them in order to bargain for +u ait. &ut the Ira$is made no such move. =e begin by noting, therefore, that the necessity to hich the #*lama# as'Sultan appealed as not correctly 1udged> they had only the ord of the %uffaar that any such necessity e!isted. &ut let us allo that this as an error of 1udgement on their part, not a ilful attempt to legitimise the demolition of Ira$. Eet us allo that they had no ish to

help the enemies of Islam %ill huge numbers of Muslims by long'range air and missile bombardment, to so thoroughly destroy the roads, bridges and utilities of Ira$ as to cause many hundreds of thousands of deaths for years to come. Eet us allo that they did not foresee or ish any of this to happen. They sa it as a necessity that Saudi Arabia should be defended. Nery ell, but events have unfolded. =e %no hat did happen, hat as done to Ira$ and to its people. The hole orld %no s. It as televised night after night. @ave the #*lama# as'Sultan e!pressed some sorro or regret for the loss of so many human lives? @ave they no cause to un ish hat they did? (vidently not, for these learned men have remained $uite silent on the sufferings of the Ira$i people6 nor, no that the necessity e!ists no more, have they had anything to say on the continuing military presence of the Americans and the &ritish and the Crench in Saudi Arabia and else here. Jet, even if e accord to these scholars the best of motives for hat they did, it cannot ma%e hat they did right. They are obliged, insofar as they are Muslim scholars, to give advice and 1udgement according to the "ur#an and Sunnah. They did not do so. Their 1udgement as, by the "ur#an and Sunnah, false 1udgement, a grave surrender of their responsibility in favour of a slavish submission to hat the Saudi government needed6 certainly, their silence about it ever since is an un$ualified evil. The conditions and principles to be ta%en into account hen a Muslim government, in any situation of necessity or other ise, solicits or accepts the help of non'Muslims, are ell'established and ell%no n. &efore the battle of &adr, a man came to the Drophet, sallallahu #alaihi a sallam, and said that he anted to 1oin him in the fighting. The Drophet as%ed him if he believed in Allah. The man said he did not. The Drophet then said to him> #/o bac% Aor go a ayX. I ill not call on the help of a mushri%#. And ho does not %no hat the odds ere that the Muslims face at that time? ,This hadith is in the Sahih of Muslim.At the time of *hud, as is recorded in the Sirah of Ibn @isham ,As'Siratu n' )aba iyyah. Cairo, n.d., vo3.7, p.89.-, the Drophet did not ish, again despite the circumstances, to see% the help of the Ie s in Madinah. The Drophet, sallallahu #alaihi a sallam, said> =e do not call for the help of a mushri% against mushri%, nor of a %afir against a %afir. There are t o precedents in particular hich the #*lama# as 'Sultan offered as prete!ts for the 1udgement that they gave. Cirst they cite the case of Saf an ibn *mayyah at the time of the battle of @unayn. The Drophet borro ed from this Saf an certain eapons even though he as, at that time, a mushri% &ut borro ing or buying eapons or any other e$uipment or technology from unbelievers is not the same thing as calling on them to fight ith you. Also, the Muslims certainly had the upper hand and ere in full control of the affair ' the incident referred to occurred after the con$uest of Ma%%ah. Cinally, it is important to remember that Saf an as %no n to be sympathetic to Islam and, indeed, soon after ards became a Muslim. The contrast ith the /ulf =ar is all too obvious> the Arabs did not have the upper hand and ere certainly not, in any sense, in control of the affair. The reverse is true. The ar as conducted by and for the Americans under the leadership, on the field of battle, of /eneral Sch ar0%opf ho is not, and as not, in the least bit sympathetic to Islam. The situation is directly contradictory to hat is re$uired of the Muslims and promised to them in the "ur#an, a verse I $uoted earlier> ...Allah ill not give the unbelievers any Aright off ay over the believers ,an')isa#, 9>393-. Secondly, the #*lama# as'Sultan cite the precedent of the hi1ra to Abyssinia here the Muslims put themselves under the protection of the )egus, the Christian ruler of that country. &ut this as not a situation involving fighting and ar and, again, the )egus as not only sympathetic to the beliefs and cause of the Muslims but himself accepted Islam. The Drophet himself, sallallahu #alaihi a sallam, did the funeral prayer for the )egus hen ne s of that noble man#s death reached him. ,The incident is reported in the Sahih of Muslim.- The help that the emigrant Muslims received from the non'Muslim Christians of Abyssinia as not of a military nature, not a part or phase of a military campaign. In sum, there is no permissible alliance in fighting bet een Muslims and non'Muslims. ,That it may have happened in the later periods of Muslim history does not ma%e it permissible since these periods of history have no value e!cept as negative precedents, teaching us hat not to do.- The reason that the Muslims do not fight alongside the %uffaar is that they have altogether different aims H one springing

from iman, the other from %ufr. And about this reason there cannot be the slightest dispute ' it is given in the "ur#an ,an')isa6 9.<8-> Those ho believe do battle for the cause of Allah, and those ho disbelieve do battle for the cause of idols... The Drophet, sallallahu #alaihi a sallam, as as%ed in regard to people fighting to get booty or a reputation for bravery or for various other reasons> #=ho is fighting fi sabil Allah ,in the ay of Allah-.?# The Drophet said> #=hoever fights to cause the ord of Allah to be the highest, he is fighting fi sabil' Allah#. ,This hadith is recorded in all ma1or collections6 in the version in Muslim#s Sahih among the reasons not acceptable are al'hamiyyah al1ahiliyyah ,pagan tribal pride- and riya# ,vainglory, pretension-.- All the %uffaar, hether of the e!'Communist (ast or the e!' ChristianZIe ish =est, fight for the rong reasons ' for control of populations ,labour resources- and ra materials, for national glory, for arrogant dominion, or for the love of violence, the e!citement of defeating others and displaying massive force H li%e the Dharaohs and all other tyrants throughout history. )one of their purposes can ever be fi sabil Allah. It follo s that there can never be a purpose common to believing Muslims and unbelievers hich might lead Muslims to fight alongside andZor under the direction of non'Muslims.R DART 3; SA*.I DOEITICAE A). MIEITARJ COEEA&ORATIO) =IT@ T@( +*CCAAR In his boo%, S*&N(RTI)/ ISEAM> T@( ROE( OC ORI()TAEIST C()TR(S, .r. Ahmad /horab ho as a professor at many secular universities, e!poses the estern conspiracy to undermine Islam. In this nefarious plot Saudi Arabia is a prime role player. The recruits for this satanic movement are LMuslimM products of the LIslamicR Studies Centres of the many +uffaar universities. Continuing his e!posure, .r. /horab says> PThe nature of the alliance bet een the %uffar of the =est and the rulers of Saudi Arabia has three defining characteristics. Eet us no e!amine these characteristics in the light of the "ur#an and Sunnah> W that the alliance constitutes a 1oining of forces bet een the %uffar and the Munaafi$un, the unbelievers and the hypocrites. The Munaafi$un are those ho pretend to rule according to Islam but in reality have an alliance ith the %uffar by hich they are maintained in prestige, po er and privilege. It is an historical fact that the po er of the Saudi royal family as established by the &ritish ho paid +ing #Abdul #A0i0 regular salary and surrounded him ith #advisers and helpers#, notably the notorious &ritish spy, Iohn Dhilby. Such an alliance and collaboration is indicated in the "ur#an> Convey to the hypocrites the ne s that for them there is a painful doom ' those ho choose unbelievers for their allies instead of believersK .o they loo% for Do er at their hands hen surely all po er belongs to Allah? ,an')isa#, 9>37:'5W that their relationship is not one of e$uals but of master and servant. The psychology of illing servitude to human masters is such that, inevitably, the servants do more to ingratiate themselves ith their masters, more even than is as%ed, becoming ever more eager to please. In the end, they not only betray their religion, their nation, but little by little ac$uire the habit of vilifying both religion and nation by ord and deed, and lose all sense of 1udgement and decency until, in the case of the Saudi princes and princesses, they have become the source of contempt in the orld. W that there is a po erful tendency for the rongdoers and the corrupt to be attracted to one another so that they floc% supporting each other in their rongdoing and corruption. This condition is described in the "ur#an>

)o =e have set you on a clear road of authority, so follo it, and do not follo the caprices ,ah a#- of those ho do not %no . Surely they can do nothing to help you ith Allah6 and surely the rong'doers, they are allies of each other, hereas Allah is the ally of those ho have ta$ a ,al'Iathiyah, 9;>3:'35-. The corruption of the rulers of Saudi Arabia has four ma1or attributes. Cirstly, their rule is dynastic, in a fashion very similar to that of the *mayyads> ,=e differ ith the author on the issue of LdynasticM rule. Monarchy is not haraam in Islam. Allah TaMala @imself had established monarchy. The "urMaan informs that Allah TaMala had created Ambiya and %ings among &ani Israaeel. If a %ing rules according to the Shariah, then he ill be a 1ust and a pious Nicegerent of Allah TaMala. @e ill be a legitimate +haleefah of Rasulullah ,sallallahu alayhi asallam-. The *mmayyad .ynasty had produced one of the finest Rulers the orld had ever itnessed, vi0., @adhrat *mar &in Abdul A0ee0 ,rahmatullah alayh- ho is %no n as *mar The Second Islamic government is an autocracy. The +haleefah, hether he is a monarch or one appointed by a small group of elite Muslims, ill be the legitimate ruler of the *mmah if his %hilaafate is according to the Shariah. The reign of the +hulafa'e'Raashideen as autocratic. They ere not appointed the Rulers on the basis of universal suffrage hich is alien to Islam. =estern democracy is haraam system hich Islam does not tolerate. The Cirst Cour +hulafa ere autocrats. After them, all the +hulafa ho rules the Islamic empire ere monarchs of three dynasties H *mmayd, Abbaside and Ottoman. G The Ma1lis- they have appointed for themselves the orst of advisors, and go far beyond the *mayyads in favouring members of their o n family. The in1ustice and illegitimacy of their government is such that they can trust no one else and so are obliged to trust the least trust orthy in their %ingdom, themselves. ,One American official is reputed to have remar%ed that the /ulf States ere the only countries he %ne of here it as considered unremar%able that all senior and 1unior ministers should have the same surname.- The purpose of this favouritism is not to e!ploit the special talents or patriotism of a particular family, but simply to retain all ealth and po er of patronage ithin one group, li%e a family business. The =estern po ers, having engineered this situation, are, naturally, very content ith it. It enables them to control, through the privileged family, the ealth and resources of the hole nation. The tyranny of the Saudis is described in the =est as a force for moderation and stability. &ut anyone ho has lived there %no s that the Saudi government is a hu%m al'Iahiliyyah6 it is very far removed indeed from having any Islamic character. Secondly, there is no shura or consultation in the Saudi government, nor any 1ustice. Their rule is based on strict policing and coercion, on massive bribery, and on the #protection# of the %uffar. Niolation of even minimal human rights is idespread ' the Shi#a minority , ho are the ma1ority in the main oil'producing region of the country- have been continually victimised for years ith many ell'documented cases of brutal tortures and %illings. More recently, there as the case of the e!pulsion of more than 844,444 Jamanis for no fault of their o n, but simply because the Jamani government had refused to support the %uffar in their ar against Ira$. Thirdly, the Saudis have consistently follo ed the policies, both domestic and foreign, dictated to them by the Americans, even hen these policies are obviously anti'Islamic. Cor e!ample, the Saudis gave support to Islamic movements hen these ere 1udged by the Americans to ea%en the forces of Arab nationalism. Then, hen the Americans 1udged that the danger to their interests as from the Islamic movements, the Saudis s itched their support to the Arab nationalists, no regarded as #moderates#. This is precisely hat has happened in Algeria. Again, in Sudan, no that the Islamic movement has become established there, the Saudis have been instructed to support the animistZChristian rebels in the south of that country against the Muslims, and they are doing so. Similarly, as the battle lines become clearer, the Saudis have been advised to give visible support to the cause of #peace in the region# hich is a euphemism for supporting the Israelis ho, able to cope ith Arabs fighting as nationalists, are unable to cope ith the resistance of Arabs fighting as Muslims. R

CO)CE*SIO) It should no be clear to any Muslim reader that the aim of these ne centres of Orientalist study of Islam are pernicious, and incurably so. It is no good hoping that, in time, ith longer and still more patient surrender to the perspectives and purposes of secularists and missionaries, someho Islam ill finally come to be tolerated in the =estern orld. It ill not. It is no good hoping that because, as patron of the O!ford Centre for #Islamic Studies#, Drince Charles, the future head of the Church of (ngland, has stood in the Sheldonian Theatre in O!ford *niversity AThese ords ere ritten before the Drince gave his O!ford lecture ,October 2<th,3557-.X to appeal for mutual understanding bet een #Islam and the =est#, that ith this a ne era of mutual understanding has really been ushered in. Car from it. All that is li%ely, if e learn anything from the history of the past or from present realities, is that Muslims ill be re$uired to accommodate themselves economically, politically, socially and morally,to the norms hich the =est perceives it necessary to maintain for the preservation of its dominance in the orld. The first duty of Muslims is to find out hat threatens the *mma, ho the threat is managed, hat its dimensions and resources are. I have, insha Allah, gone some ay to ards that in this boo%. @o ever, it does not suffice to only %no hat is rong, and feel badly about it. It is a part of Muslim conscience to ta%e the ne!t necessary steps ' to proclaim and publish that hich is rong so that people are idely informed of the danger that surrounds them, and the ill begins to form in the community to do something about it. Any Muslim ho reads this boo% and, after due consideration, agrees ith the general tenor of its argument, is duty bound as a Muslim to inform other Muslims, in particular imams, scholars, teachers and students and any others ho have influence in the community. More than that, a Muslim'reader is bound to ma%e the effort to be persuasive6 that is to persist in the tas% of proclaiming and informing. The further duty is to put right that hich is rong. In this case, that means sitting do n ith li%e'minded Muslims to discuss, and then establish, ays of getting the appropriate education to Muslims, of giving them access to Islamic perspectives on Islamic history and civili0ation. Earge funds prestige and po er ill be denied to any Muslim ho try to do this. That much can be anticipated ith confidence. @o ever, in most countries Muslims are free to organi0e informally in small circles, to learn the "ur#an and Sunnah, to invite informed spea%ers, and to read in Islamic history. Such humble programmes, intelligently and patiently follo ed through ' not simply begun and then let drop at the first or second hurdle could eventually lead, as Allah ills, to the establishment of an informal institution for higher learning hich by intelligent association ith recogni0ed Muslim institutions in Muslim countries could begin to function as a formal, reliable route for the training of Muslim scholars of the future. This is a ay that re$uires much sacrifice ' especially for the young. It can be difficult to turn do n the attractions of prestige and financial re ard that =estern academic institutions can offer to Muslim scholars ho ill fit in ith them. &ut Muslims able to ma%e such sacrifices must be found if the pernicious influence of this ne breed of Orientalist centres, partly staffed by Muslim collaborators and partly funded by nominally Muslim governments, is to be countered effectively. The "ur#an has arned $uite une$uivocally about the intentions of the Deople of the &oo%> Many of the Deople of the &oo% ant to ma%e you unbelievers after you have believed, through the envy from their o n selves, and after the truth has been made clear to them ,al'&a$arah, 2>345And the Ie s ill not be pleased ith you, nor ill the Christians, until you follo their religion. Say> #Surely, the guidance from Allah is the Aonly rightX guidance.# And if you follo their desires after the %no ledge hich has come to you, then you ill find in Allah no protecting ally or helper. ,al' &a$arah, 2>324&ut Allah has also said in @is &oo% that the believers should not be intimidated by the apparent po er of the enemies of Islam nor by their seeming to be so united in their opposition to Islam. They see% to age

ar and destruction from positions they thin% are impregnable. In reality, they are amongst themselves and their modes of thin%ing lac% true discernment>

ea% and divided

They ill not fight against you in a body save in ell'fortified places or from behind alls. Their enmity amongst themselves is very great. Jou thin% of them as a unified body hereas their hearts are at odds A ith one anotherX. That is because they are people ho lac% intelligence. ,al'@ashr, ;5>39The circumstances in hich believers presently find themselves, the odds against them, enemies ithin and ithout ' all these are tests and proofs of the $uality of belief. Cor it is not sufficient for believers to claim, #=e believe#, and then suppose that that claim ould not be put to the test> .o people imagine that they ill be left Ato live in easeX because they say #=e believe#, and ill not be tested ith hardship? ,al'#An%abut, 25>2a l''hamdu li'llahi rabbi lalamin. *D.AT( MAJ, 3559 Supporters of the O!ford Centre for VIslamic Studies#, and of the general policy of facilitating collaboration bet een Muslim scholars and Orientalists and missionaries, have been promoted to influential positions in Saudi Arabia. A fe specific e!amples are> 3. #Abdullah )aseef> promoted by +ing Cahd to the post of .eputy Chairman of the ma1lis ash'Shura, the socalled consultative assembly. 2. #Abdullah al'Tur%i> promoted to Minister of the ne ly 'created Ministry of Islamic Affairs. ,@e recently held a conference in Eondon for .a# ah, in hich papers ere delivered encouraging collaboration ith Orientalists.- &y contrast, those ho have had the courage to spea% out against Saudi policy, especially against Saudi /overnment violations of human rights, ere dismissed from their posts andZor arrested and imprisoned. Arrested and imprisoned 7. .r. Safar al'@a ali, formerly @ead of #A$idah .epartment of *mm al'"ura *niversity, and author of a long published letter to Shai%h &in &a0, in hich he ob1ects to the occupation of the holy lands by the %uffar, as deprived of his passport, dismissed from his post and imprisoned. 9. .r Ahmad Tu ai1ri, Drofessor of (ducation at the +ing Saud *niversity. ;. .r #Abdul #A0i0 al' =uhaibi, Drofessor of Dhysics at the +ing Saud *niversity. 8. .r Sa#d al'Ca$ih, Assistant Drofessor, Caculty of Medicine at the +ing Saud *niversity. <. .r Muhsin al'#A a1i, Assistant Drofessor, Caculty of Agriculture, at the +ing Saud *niversity. :. .r Salih al'=uhaibi, Eecturer in Eiterature at the +ing Saud *niversity. .ismissed from their posts, their telephones and fa!es cut, their or% stopped for forming the Committee for the .efence of Eegitimate Rights under the Shad#ah> 5. .r Muhammad al ' Mas#ari, Drofessor of Dhysics, at the +ing Saud *niversity, and the C.ER spo%esman, ho is no see%ing political asylum in &ritain ,see ch.7 footnote 234. Shai%h #Abdullah al'Mas#ari, his father, a retired 1udge and former head of the &oard of Complaints ,.i an al'Ma0alim-. 33. .r #Abdullah al'@amad, Drofessor at the Imam *niversity, Riyad, a university dedicated to Islamic studies. 32. .r #Abdullah al'Tu ai1ri, Drofessor at the Imam *niversity, Riyad. 37. @amad al'Sulayfih, senior officer in the Ministry of (ducation.

39. Shai%h #Abdullah al' Iibrin, senior member, under Shai%h &in &a0, of the administration of research and fat a. Sulayman al'Rashudi, a la yer hose office as shut do n, preventing him from or%ing.WR