2003-09-25 - 2:36 p.m.
trying to study for psych in the ny city public library... got distracted and checked email. Resh sent me news that Edward Said died this morning. He is one of the heros that stops the world from tipping over to the dark side. Read Orientalism by him...
Update (9/25/03): We just received the sad news that Professor Edward
Said died this morning. Our deepest condolences go out his family. We
belong to God, and to Him is our return. (Qur'an 2:156)
Besides being one of the clearest voices for justice for the
Palestinian people, Professor Said is an accomplished pianist and
music critic for The Nation magazine. His long-held, principled
commitment to a secular, democratic Israel/Palestine and his
opposition to the growing corruption within the Palesitinian
Authority led him to a much-publicized break with Yasser Arafat in
the 1990's
In addition to his many writings on literature and Palestine, Said
authored the landmark Orientalism in 1978, a scathing critique of how
the West has viewed and studied the Middle East that had a radical
impact on the study of the Islamic world in academia. Orientalism has
been translated into over 12 languages.
At a UCLA lecture earlier this year, Professor Said remarked, "No
power, no matter how horrific its past, should be exempt from censure
if it practices starvation, torture, forced transfer. We live in a
secular world--there simply is no way to legitimize bombing and
maiming people because they don't belong to the correct race."
Professor Said's untiring commitment to justice for all people will
forever remain his legacy. Our prayers go out to him and his family
in this difficult time.
