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Dr Kaukab Siddique | Editor-in-Chief Mohurram 8,1428/January 28, 2007 #9

Dr. Siddique gently advises a young Muslim mislead by "Imam" Magid. Scroll way down for letters.

URGENT BREAKING NEWS:
Dr. Sami Al-Arian On a Hunger Strike

TAMPA-

On Monday Jan. 22, Dr. Sami Al-Arian began a hunger strike to protest continued government harassment.That day, Dr. Al-Arian appeared before a new grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, where he was subpoenaed by a rogue federal prosecutor to testify a second time in the same case. After Dr. Al-Arian expressed his ethical stance against testifying, a judge in the Eastern District of Virginia held him in civil contempt, once again prolonging his suffering and imprisonment by up to 18 months. Dr. Al-Arian's originally scheduled release date is April 13.

Last November, the same judge placed Dr. Al-Arian in civil contempt for not testifying. At the time, his attorneys argued that cooperation was a clear violation of the plea agreement he reached with Florida prosecutors last May. One month after he was held in contempt, the grand jury term expired. However, less than a month later, a new grand jury was once again impaneled by Gordon Kromberg, a federal prosecutor whose racist statements against Arabs and Muslims are well-known.

During yesterday's court appearance, Dr. Al-Arian's attorney requested to delay the judge's decision until further evidence could be brought to light supporting Dr. Al-Arian's decision not testify and the highlighting the government's abuse of power. However, the judge denied the request and ordered that Dr. Al-Arian be held in civil contempt. Please see below Dr. Al-Arian's statement before the judge.

This is the second hunger strike by Dr. Al-Arian, who is a diabetic, during his nearly four-year imprisonment. Following his February 20, 2003 incarceration, he went on a 140-day hunger strike to protest the government's political persecution. During that time, he was hospitalized and lost 45 pounds.

In recent weeks, Dr. Al-Arian has been placed under particularly arduous conditions after he was moved from Warsaw, Virginia to Atlanta because of what prison authorities deemed a "mistake." Not only did the nonsensical move further isolate Dr. Al-Arian from family and friends, but he was also denied phone calls and visitations in Atlanta.

These latest developments in Dr. Al-Arian's case are a clear and outrageous display of government corruption and abuse of power. In spite of an agreement intended to resolve his case once and for all, the government has continued to harass Dr. Al-Arian and mire him further in legal purgatory. He will remain on a hunger strike until the government ends its vindictive campaign against him and allows him to return to his wife and children.
Contact: www.freesamialarian.com if you would like to protest or help.

CENSORSHIP on the EVE of the Auschwitz Anniversary
CENSORSHIP is a violation of the FIRST AMENDMENT to the U.S. Constitution. However, on January 26, 2007 the U.S., with the help of Israel, Britain, Germany, Denmark, Poland and other European powers steam rollered a resolution through the UN General Assembly which would make unlawful and CENSOR all writings which would challenge the Jewish story of the Holocaust. Please scroll down to Mr. Bradley Smith's paper on the subject presented at the Holocaust Conference in Tehran. New Trend thanks Mr. Bradley Smith for the paper which shows that the last bastion of freedom in America, the universities, have been censoring discussion of the Holocaust. Mr. Smith lives in San Diego, California.

AMERICA's IRONY: Democracy or Shamocracy? On January 27, 2007 tens of thousands of protestors representing more than 1400 organizations assembled on the National Mall in Washington, DC. They condemned President Bush's determination to continue the war in Iraq during a day of speeches and rhetoric.
More than 70% of Americans oppose the war in Iraq and most want the troops to come home. In November the Democrats won both the Congress and the Senate because the people wanted them to stop the war. However, it is now clear that the Democrats are playing along with Bush. They issue "non-binding" resolutions and talk a lot to discredit the Republicans and to win the presidential elections in 2008, but they don't stop the funding of the war.

URGENT: Imam Jamil's Hearing Coming Up from Br. Khalil Abdur Rahman

As-Salaamu alaikum wa Rahmatullah-- The habeas corpus hearing for Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin will be on February 27, 2007 in Reidsville Ga--inshallah. Anyone interested in attending this hearing is encouraged to contact either Amir Sahib Abd Salaam at 248-943-7540(cell) or e-mail at sahib1@bellsouth.net or Yahya Abdus Sabur at 216-215-0165(cell) or akiyahya@hotmail.com in order for a coordinated effort to be made in this endeavor. Also, special permission forms to visit with Imam Jamil at Georgia State Prison are available. Please contact the aforementioned brothers for the forms.....and hold fast, all of you together, to the rope of ALLAAH. masalaam

Call for Supplication: Reader and activist Shaikh Hyder [Canada] needs our du'as for the shifa and recovery of his mother-in-law who is in hospital now. His mother-in-law, Najmun Nissa Shaikh is about 85 years old.

The Innocence of President Jimmy Carter:

Carter is one of the very few American leaders who genuinely try to follow Jesus [peace be on him]. The issue of Palestine has been bothering him, so he wrote a book titled PEACE NOT APARTHEID. He took great pains not to offend Israel and made clear that he accepts Israel as legitimate. He said, he was simply highlighting the suffering of the Palestinian people in the "occupied territories." It didn't work. He was treated on the TV talk shows as if he is not a former President of the country but a petty anti-Israeli book peddler, even an "anti-semite."

Carter stuck to his guns, and lo and behold, the Directors of his own CARTER CENTER RESIGNED. The Zionists had infiltrated his own organization, right at the top, and he didn't know.

Unless someone among America's leaders has the courage to say, let's bring the Jews back home, America will continue to be mislead by the Zionists who have infiltrated all its top echelons.

Jamaat al-Muslimeen News [3 items]
P.O. Box 10881
Baltimore, MD 21234

Outreach to non-Muslims at the Mass anti-War Rally on January 27 [Where was MAS?]

Jamaat al-Muslimeen's boycott brochure highlighting businesses which support Israel was distributed on a big scale during the all day anti-war rally in Washington, DC. The brochure lists Coca Cola, McDonalds, Home Depot, Disney and others as major supporters of Zionism.

The demonstrators, mostly Christians and Left groups, accepted the boycott brochure. None of the big Muslim groups were there. A group of secularized Palestinians was very active and that was it for Muslim representation.

[Mahdi Bray's MAS-Net has been claiming that it more or less organized the rally and even tried to collect funds for it on line. However, other than an innocent sister put on stage to speak for 4 minutes before most people had arrived, there was NO MASNET contingent of Muslims to be seen anywhere in the rally all day. What is Bray up to? Something like what he tried earlier with bringing up Abdur Rahman al-Amoudi as a national leader who turned out to be working for the State Department!]

OUTREACH in BALTIMORE CONTINUES

On January 26, 2007 the four page outline of the Turkish Research Group's work on the anti-Islam network in America was distributed to the Muslim students of Johns Hopkins University after Juma. The outline shows with names, dollar amounts and sources, the network which has been created in America to bring forth a "moderate" or "American Islam." The research shows that ISNA is working within the framework created by this network. ISNA President Ingrid Mattson is the Assistant Editor of the Journal from Hartford Seminary which subtly spreads the missionary propaganda that all religions are alike. The work of Turkey's Gulen group is also within this framework.

It is to be hoped that Johns Hopkins students will understand the context of ISNA's activities.
[This was the reopening of JHU after the Winter break and prayer attendance was good.]

Latino Outreach: Plans for Masjid in deep south of Texas, Near Mexico

Br. Solano, Jamaat's National Shoora member from Texas, reports that with the steady increase in the numbers of Latinos and Latinas embracing Islam, the time is ripe to set up an independent Masjid in the deep south of Texas near the Mexican border.

Readers who would like to assist in this matter should write to Jamaat's address given above.

Letter
Encouragement from Veteran Da'wah Activist

Re: Imam Magid: ISNA's holocaust man+Huge Saddam rally: India+Padilla's 1307 d...

Shukrun wa Jazakallah Kaukab Bhai for keeping the Muslim Ummah updated about the events that are affecting its fate day in and day out.

Shamim Siddiqui [New York, New York]

ISLAMIC LEADER CALLS for OUSTER of Holocaust Visitor Imam Magid of ADAMS Center

Ya Sheikh Kaukab: As salaamu alaykum

Thanks much for the article on Magid and the ADAMS Center. I am still under federal house arrest. This despicable government has not returned my papers, writings, books, religious notes, passport, 8 computers and my photography items. What are they afraid of? I'm planning my civil rights suit but they have made it difficult for me by restricting me from visiting a lawyer. The believers at the ADAMS Center should rise up against Majid and remove him from officer. Please keep exposing him and any other Muslims who place themselves in the position of tools of those who hate true Islam.

Imam Warith Deen Umar [Albany, New York]

Letter
Kudos on the "Imam" Magid Report from a [very] young sister

the article on the ADAMS "imam" was one of the best I ever read!!! I have talked about it with everyone I know, and shared it with my yahoo group as well. i also encouraged everyone to subscribe-why wouldn't they?

Sis. Tazkiya

LETTER:
Imam Magid's Supporter Objects to Criticism of Holocaust Museum Visit and FBI Connection

[Dr. Kaukab Siddique's letter of advice follows the critical letter by Mansoor Kazi.]

I will break down the author's arguments one by one on Imam Magid's behalf.

First is the credibility of the author [Kaukab Siddique]. Not more than 2 or 3 years back, the author handed me a leaflet which said to boycott Coca-Cola products because Coke supported Israel or the IDF. Upon doing my own research, I learned that there was no evidence of Coke as a company supporting such causes. In fact, Coke in recent months has gone so far as publishing on their web page that they do not donate money to Israel. Do certain members of Coke's board support the IDF or Israel? Maybe, I dont know. But, if that is basis to boycott, then one should also boycott every product not 100% produced, handled, and sold by a Muslim as we will never know to 100% certainty if an employee donating to Israel did not profit from such a product whether in the form of wages or direct profit.

With the credibility of the author in mind, I read the article. Reading the article, the author first starts by degrading the ADAMS center and its activities. The author is Muslim, and his opinion is probably shared by others. I would propose doing a survey of those who attend, attended, don't attend intentionally, or live in vicinity of the center to understand their feelings on how ADAMS impacts their lives, positively or negatively, and how many "blessings" the center actually disseminates. My hypothesis is that an overwhelming majority of the respondents of the survey would believe that the ADAMS center does more good than harm, and its programs and activities are beneficial not only for Muslims, but for those interested in Islam, and even those not interested in Islam. Sure, just because the mass number of people say so doesn't mean its right, but if we then ask learned Islamic Scholars about the activities of the ADAMS center, they too will attest that it is a source of blessings.

My evidence for this is the numerous people I have interacted with from ADAMS from my days as MYNA President until now. The amount of knowledge, love for Islam, and love for the Masjid they display, on their own account, is a direct result of being involved in a Masjid/Islamic center which invested money and time into the youth, and into programs needed for Muslims growing up in this country.

The author then continues by speaking of a visit by Imam Magid, among others, to the Jewish Holocaust Museum. The author repeatedly states that Imam Magid has no knowledge of the Holocaust, and culminates by asserting he has had no Islamic or other education. I could point out that nothing leads me to believe the author is learned in Middle Eastern history--the facts stated could have been copied and pasted from a web site. However, I will contest the argument that Imam Magid has no Islamic education. Imam Magid holds an Ijaza in Islamic Studies. He holds the degree either from Islamic University of Medina (the most respectable Islamic Institution in the world with competition from perhaps only al-Azhar) or a University of which the name is currently slipping my mind. He has learned from Sheikh Muhammad Nur Abdullah, who is perhaps one of the leading scholars of Fiqh not only in the United States, but the entire world. He has partnered in educational endeavours with Sheikh Hamza Yusuf, director of Zaytuna Institute, and Sheikh Muhammad al-Shareef, director of al-Maghrib Institute. Currently, he runs the Qurtuba Institute. To say that he has no Islamic education is not only false, but a blatant deception of the truth.

The last point made by the author deals with Imam Magid's relationship with the FBI, and his handling of a TIME magazine article. Many assumptions are made as to what an "excellent relationship" means. But from what I read, thats all it is--an assumption. Not one bit of proof is provided as to why the author concludes his definition of "an excellent relationship". The use of a TIME Magazine article as proof, when TIME magazine has made erroneous claims in past stories (prior stories not dealing with Islam or Imam Magid), and the use of the TIME magazine's statements when Dr. Kaukab Siddique himself claims an American media bias/plot against Muslims early in his argument against Imam Magid seems to be an oxymoron.

Imam Magid explains his story in a statement posted on the ADAMS website. The author discounts this because it is not published in TIME Magazine. Did the author ever contact TIME Magazine editors to see if Imam Magid submitted a response that perhaps wasn't published? Is it ludicrous to think an American magazine would not publish the response of a Muslim in regards to a recently written article that depicts him in the wrong way?

Is it really wrong for a Muslim to help the F BI? Does it make him a bad person, a bad Muslim? The prophet (pbuh) told us that he did not come here for any other reason except to improve our character. Part of being of good character is being a good citizen. A Muslim taking part in community, political, and government affairs should not be looked down upon, rather advocated by Muslims. If we know of plots, it is our duty as Muslims to reveal them, not conceal. If we know of unjust, it is our duty as Muslims to report them to the proper authorities, not hide it. Being a Muslim does not mean picking and choosing when you can apply Islamic Shariah. It means applying Islamic Shariah every second of your life.

Maybe the ADAMS center did not suffer after 9/11 because the center had done a great job establishing the true image of Islam in the area prior to the attacks. Or maybe the demographic population surrounding the ADAMS center is one with higher rates of education, income, and therefore tolerance. Perhaps we as American Muslims have gotten so used to being the minority always being trashed in the media, that we won't believe a success story when we see one. ADAMS could very well be a success story, a Muslim community with such establishment and impact in the area that people actually see Muslims as the honest, good mannered, well-tempered, strong-in-faith person as opposed to the radical terrorist.

I probably am an idealist. I like to see the good in people. But its not my idealist nature that objects to an article which completely trashes the character of an individual. If we have a problem with someone, we should raise it with them. If we have tried, then we should find 70 excuses for each of his flaws. If we try that, we should pray to Allah (swt) to correct his flaws.

This religion is a religion of love and mercy. If someone wrongs you, you forgive them. If someone has flaws, you overlook them. If someone hates you, you show mercy to them. How many times did the Prophet (pbuh) write scourging and disparaging letters describing an individual or even a people? He went to the city of Ta'if, where he was stoned, to the extent that his ankles were covered in blood. What was his reaction? He had the angel of mountains at his disposal to crush the city and its inhabitants. Rather, he prayed for their guidance, the guidance of their children, and continued on his mission, without ever speaking of the incident. During the battle of Uhud, he saw his uncle's liver be taken out and eaten. Yet did he write a letter which maligned the character of Hind?

We as Muslims have a responsibility, when we receive information, to investigate it, look into it, dissect it, verify it, and then believe it. We can't give it to others without having done so, or simply trusting what others have said. And when the information being forwarded could be considered slander or backbiting, its actually better not disseminate it. We don't need people providing "negative" energy on who is wrong and everything wrong with Muslims in America, always attacking and criticizing. We need people providing positive energy for others to feed off of, and developing in others the same love for this religion exhibited by the Prophet and his companions. You will never change a person by constantly telling him/her that he is wrong. You change people by embracing them, showing them love, and caring for them.

Please forward this to the author of the article. You are probably wondering why I have gone to such great lengths as to write the above. It's not pride, arrogance, or anger. It's a quest for truth. It's the feelings of love towards a brother who has helped me in ways others would not be able to comprehend. It's not just the disparaging of some Imam who I've interacted with in person for a total of 7 weeks. It's reading an article that disparages the character of my brother.

ws,

Mansoor Kazi

RESPONSE by Dr. Kaukab Siddique:

'Ad-Deen Nasiha." Prophet Muhammad, pbuh. [Translation: 'Religion is the giving of good advice.']

I would like to thank Br. Kazi for his eloquent defense of Imam Magid. For most people, it's difficult, if not impossible, to look critically at their own teachers. However, such scrutiny is essential to our growth as Muslims and for our maturity as human beings. This process of development should be a natural process because no human being is perfect and the only perfect guidance we have is from Allah and His Messenger, pbuh.
My personal approach to Islam was shaped by six people whom I consider my teachers: Allama, Iqbal, Syed Abul 'Ala Maudoodi, Syed Qutb, Imam Khomeini, Usman Dan Fodio and Dr. Omar 'Abdel Rahman. Of these I physically met Maudoodi, Khomeini and Shaikh Omar, interviewed them and studied them at the personal level. At various stages of my life, I realized that each of these great men had certain shortcomings in their approach to Islam. That did not reduce their stature in my mind but it helped me to realize that for my own religious growth, I must look at them critically. [For instance, none of them noticed the central role 'Ayesha Siddiqa, r.a., played in Islam, both in the revelation of the Qur'an and in the transmission of Hadith.]

The people whom Br. Kazi admires, Imam Magid, Nur Abdullah, Hamza Yusuf, etc, are mediocre people who do not compare positively with any of the top Islamic leaders of Muslims in America, such as Imam Jamil al-Amin, Imam Warith Deen Umar, Imam Badi Ali, Imam Musa and Imam Muhammad al-'Asi. The disclosures we have published about ISNA-CAIR and now about Imam Magid indicate that these people are in fact working with the enemies of Islam and hence do not deserve any esteem at all. It's not a question of difference of opinion but of the basic truths of Islam.

I am willing to teach the basics of Islam to Br. Kazi and others of similar thinking who might have been misled by Magid and/or ISNA CAIR. However, in this age of information, basic information is easily available. Here are a few points Br. Kazi should look up in the Qur'an: Islam is not a POPULARITY CONTEST. None of the Messengers of Allah, pbuh, were popular when they began their mission. We have to see, is this leader's message in accord with the Qur'an and the Hadith, or has this misleader created an expurgated edition of the Qur'an in which he leaves out verses which are not acceptable to the White House and the FBI.

I am puzzled, even at the practical level, aside from the texts of Islam, how Br. Kazi can manage to excuse Magid's partnership with the FBI. Look at what the FBI has done to the Muslims of America. Does Magid keep his followers so totally ignorant of reality? Padilla has spent 1300 plus days without trial. Ahmed 'Abdel Sattar was given SIXTY YEARS for talking to the opponents of Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak ON THE PHONE. Masaud Khan was given NINETY YEARS for allegedly visiting a militant Islamic camp in Pakistan. Look at intellectuals like Prof. Sami al-Arian and Dr. Kifah al-Jayyousi, imams like Fawaz Damra. Tens of thousands of innocent Muslims have been targeted by the FBI.

The basic reason I wrote about Magid was his visit to the Jewish Holocaust Museum. This put him in the camp of those helping to fund the terrorist entity known as "Israel." The basic funding tool of Israel is the Holocaust story. Instead of calling for an open discussion on the subject, Magid went on a pilgrimage to the Museum which simply denies the HUMANITY of German civilian populations burned alive in their cities by the Allied air forces.

One CLARIFICATION: I did NOT write the brochure which lists Coca Cola as a supporter of Israel. It was prepared by Sis. Karen English who is the Director of Jamaat al-Muslimeen's Campaign to Boycott Businesses which Support Israel/Zionism. After reading Br. Kazi's letter, I called Sis. Karen and asked her about Coca Cola. There can be no doubt that Coca Cola is a major supporter of Israel and has been since 1966. Literature documenting Coca Cola's role is available and has been published several times by New Trend. Br. Kazi should realize that Coca Cola or any other business does not write checks to "Israel" or to "IDF." Thus such denials can be made.

Finally, I would urge Br. Kazi, he should ask Magid what Imam Ghazzali says about cooperation/partnership/relations with rulers and their minions. Br. Kazi can also look it up in Ihya Uloom ud-Deen, Ghazzali's magnum opus. It is powerful and will be stunning for Br. Kazi. It's important to ask Magid because he claims to have specialized in the study of Ghazzali.

Also ask Magid what Imam Ghazzali says about the setting up of expensive mosques [such as the $5 million structure of ADAMS Center]. Such "white elephant" mosques are monstrosities with no basis in Islam, and are even more condemnable at a time when Muslims need money for attorneys, families of political prisoner, independent media, protests and demonstrations, little inner city masjids which are needed to bring people into Islam, distribution of Qur'ans, support for those who have embraced Islam in prison [like Malcolm X did], and programs to help our children visit Africa and other Muslim areas.

I have taken the trouble to write this because many young people are in the same predicament as Br. Kazi, attracted as they are to imams linked to the American power structure. May Allah bless Br. Kazi to move towards the great majority of Muslims in America who see themselves as part of the GLOBAL UMMAH, not as part of "American Islam."

The Irrational Vocabulary of the American Professorial Class with Regard to the Holocaust Question

By Bradley R. Smith

Speech delivered at Tehran Holocaust Conference

INTRODUCTION

Today I will suggest that the American professorial class uses an irrational vocabulary to respond to revisionist arguments questioning the orthodox Holocaust story.

That the decision of the American professorial class to exploit this irrational vocabulary is a deliberate decision to avoid communication.

That the purpose in deliberately choosing to not communicate as scholars to either students or colleagues is to, effectively, nurture and protect an academic environment in which it is taboo to question the "unique monstrosity" of the Germans during World War II.

That to question the "unique monstrosity" of the Germans during World War II would necessarily suggest that the history of the 20th century would have to be rewritten, and the nature of the role of the United States in that war and in world affairs since would have to be reevaluated.

By "vocabulary" I mean: a stock of words used by an individual or group in a given field of knowledge, a collection of terms or codes available for use, a supply of expressive techniques.

Now -- I want to say that I am willing to be convinced that I am wrong about anything I say here, anything I imply. Who is there who is not wrong about something, somewhere?

Being wrong is part of what we call life.

*****

You are probably aware that early this year the Mehr News Agency in Teheran published an interview with American professor Arthur R. Butz, author of The Hoax of the 20th Century. The word "Hoax" in the title refers to the charge that during World War II the Germans allegedly used weapons of mass destruction--"homicidal gas chambers"-to kill millions of innocent, unarmed civilians for what the German administration argued was a "greater good."

You are probably aware that in this same interview published by Mehr, Professor Butz congratulated President Ahmadinejad on being the first State leader in the world to call into question the orthodox Holocaust story.

Some of you may not know, however, that Professor Butz is the only professor on an American university campus the United States of America-among the tens of thousands of professional scholars who swarm across our campuses-the only one who has publicly questioned the gas-chamber story, and thus the "unique monstrosity" of the Germans.

Professor Butz published The Hoax of the 20th Century in 1976-thirty years ago. For 30 years the academic community in America has condemned Professor Butz, and has condemned his book, but in 30 years not one professional scholar has published one paper in one peer reviewed journal that attempts to demonstrate that Professor Butz is wrong about anything.

I believe this is the right moment to confess that I am not a professional scholar myself. I am a layman. I did not go to university. The work I do is so simple that you do not have to be highly educated to do it. You do not even have to be very smart. You only have to be willing. The work consists in finding ways to convince Americans, and the American professorial class particularly, that Holocaust revisionist scholars should be encouraged to publish their work in the routine manner that all other scholars are encouraged to publish theirs.

What could be more straight-forward? What could be simpler?

So-you do not have to be a genius to do the work I do.

Fortunately.

II

From the mid-1980s until the early 90s I headed a program, sponsored by the Institute for Historical Review, that we called The Media Project. The Institute had become the international center for Holocaust revisionist scholarship. The Media Project was conceived as an out-reach program where would try to take revisionist theory to the public through "live," on-air interviews via radio and television talk shows and news broadcasts.

The work was to argue, to a wide public audience, that intellectual freedom makes the same promise to those who believe the gas-chamber story that it makes to those of us who do not believe it. I argued that the promise of intellectual freedom is to shine the "light of day" on the facts of the matter, no matter what the facts are, so that believers and skeptics alike can see clearly what is there, and what is not there.

The nature of radio and television talk shows in America, and even news broadcasts, does not allow for a serious debate on specific historical issues. Twenty years ago there was almost no one in America who knew anything about revisionist arguments. Radio hosts and their listeners as well were scandalized to discover that I was suggesting that the Holocaust story should be opened up to a free exchange of ideas.

Responses to my arguments by the hosts of the programs and the audience were largely attacks on my character, my intelligence, and my good will. I was usually presented as a "curiosity," much like an animal in a zoo, to be gazed upon with amusement.

By the time the 1990s arrived I had appeared on more than 400 "live," on-air interviews via radio and television promoting an open debate on the Holocaust story. Revisionism was becoming a known quantity in America. It wasn't understood, it was openly ridiculed and condemned, but Americans were beginning to hear about it, to understand that something was going on.

At the same time, I had earned a national reputation as one of the leading "anti-Semites" in America.

Maybe in the world.

What a distinction, eh?

My Jewish friends were now ashamed to be seen with me. Friends who were not Jews were not certain they should be seen with me. There was a growing consensus that maybe, just maybe, that something had gone wrong inside my head. It can be very painful to lose your friends. But the more I talked about the fraud at the heart of the Holocaust story-the gas-chamber fantasy-the more interesting I found the prohibition-the taboo-against talking about it. And the more significant I understood the taboo to be.

Then in the early 1990s I made a critical decision. Instead of continuing to take revisionist arguments to radio and television audiences, ordinary folk with no especial knowledge about Holocaust history, I would run essay-advertisements in student newspapers on university campuses. I would take my work straight to the tiger's den. Straight to where I understood that professional scholars were waiting for the opportunity to eat me alive.

My collaborator on the first essay, the man who did the core of the work, was raised a Muslim. Neither he nor myself are religious now, we're both "secular," but the fact that this milestone revisionist essay was co-authored by one man raised a Muslim, and one raised a Christian, is an interesting and encouraging irony. I believe this is the first time I have ever mentioned this publicly.

If not now-when?

If not here-where? [To be continued]

2007-01-29 Mon 18:04:52 cst
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