The Death of Edward Said -- A tribute

His death was a great loss to Humanity... it came as a total shock to me as I was not aware that he was suffering from Lukemia... in my profound sadness, I kept thinking how lucky I was to not be a Palestinian.

Pakistan did have Eqbal Ahmed... Pakistan does have Tariq Ali... Pakistan also has Asma Jehangir...

-YLH

M Shahnawaz Khar,
Thank you for this wonderful tribute to a phenomenon for whose loss, that the world will surely be the poorer.
Didn`t know he was an `accomplished pianist`. The word great is reserved for a few. Said was surely one worthy of it.

I am also devastated by Said`s death-even though I knew he was battlling leukemia for several years. I have grown used to knowing his genius was always acknowledged in several spheres since I was an undergrad-from the time Said`s book Orientalism made my freshman middle east studies class comprehensible and not a hand wringing mess of republican condescension. At that time, Said`s name was well known among Lit, Post Colonial, Political and Middle Eastern disciplines, and the bane of the growing Zionist right. What would happen later- the attempts at discrediting Said`s far ranging scope-meant nothing-he was our shining brother in arms.

The organization that I worked with as an undergrad- the Palestine Solidarity Committee operated on the principles that Said, Ahmed, Norman Finklestein, Hina Jilani, Sara Suleiri among many others illustrated in their countless actions publically. In fact, it was to our great regret that while Ahmed, Finklestein, the Abu Lughods, and other scholars came and lectured at our events, Said was so booked, it was almost impossible to get him. Once a tentative booking was set, but he was forced to cancel due to a family illness. You couldnt imagine how disappointed we were!

Yet, we knew how important it was not to accept easy answers in the extraordinary time of the first intifada. For example, when Salman Rushdie`s book Satanic Verses came out, Ahmed and Said came out against the reactionary fatwas and outrage that would later be used to the advantage of govt and religious leaders through South Asia. Their stance was based on the ideal of free and intelligent speech both in the West and the East.

It is these stances that infuriate the Zionist supporting lobbies in the US- and it is to their shame that in their fury that intellectuals like Said and Chomsky receive so much support in academia, that they attempt to slander the work that both scholars have introduced to the world. Pakistan is not the only country that tries to manipulate and pillar their geniuses- the US has proven themselves quite capable of intentional lowmindedness and agenda.

Dear Saminasha...

Thankyou for your recollection... it told us more about the great man that Said was...
You know... I would be the last person to be on any of the palestinian solidarity committees... I am very neutral in the issue, and sometimes accused of being pro-Israeli though I am not, yet the greatness of this man is that he is still commands universal respect so much so that I was devastated when I found out about his death.

-YLH

I feel sad at the death of one of the greatest leftist intellectuals of our times. His death is untimely, though not unexpected, given his long battle with cancer. I always admired Said for his courage to take on the strong and the powerful, even though I did not agree with everything he said. Unfortunately, I haven`t read his books and know him only through his numerous articles and interviews, especially on the CBC radio`s `Ideas` program.
In his death, the Muslim world has lost a great crusader for the Arab and Muslim world. Though a non-muslim himself, he defended their worldview more strongly and intelligently than most muslims.

Passing away of Edward Said is probably the passage of an era in the Palestinian-Israeli ongoing do-or-die struggle. He was a distinguished scholar and an invaluable asset for the Arab world. He indeed was a spokesman for the unprivilged and the underdogs of our world. May his soul be blessed.

........how many Pakistani Edward Said’s as a society have we killed?

............. nowdays the common epithets used by ``polite society`` in islamabad for dr hoodbhoy is dharia (atheist), bewakoof, pagal and jahil ............this same polite society, that includes western educated technocrats, bureaucrats, generals, mullahs and uncle malik, call asma jehangir gashti, kanjri, amreekan agent, hindoo ki aulad and bad chalan aurat ...........of course there are a dozen and a half admirers who equate them to edward said ..........

.......... the pakistani public, aka jahaliya, has gone so far down the path of idiocy that thye really don`t care to know about eqbal ahmed and ed sad ..............they are quite content in their ignorance ...... thank you..........

............ i am sure khar sahib does not dare mention these names in his aunt`s drawing room - it would be tough making a living as a writer on chowk ...........

Mantolives,

What made Said extraordinary-and a man of great principle- was that he empathized with the Jewish people. He has always acknowledged that the Holocaust and the marginalization of Jewish people is a crime. What he brought to the debate again and again and again was that a formerly persecuted people were allowed, funded and supported by the greatest superpower in the world to dispossess another people. This is the kind of nuanced and compassionate position that terrifies the moderate to rightwing. He makes sense.

Said has always been in favor of a two state solution, of the right of Israel to exist. He has often publically excoriated Arab leaders. This is why the Zionist supporting lobbies in the US have never been able to silence him or diminish his astute vision. Nubar Hovespian, an Armenian professor at UPenn (he spoke at our lectures) remarked that Said ``spoke truth to power``, no matter who occupied that seat.

Manto and hamidm,
Not to take away from either Tariq Ali, Eqbal Ahmed (a close friend of Said`s, in fact) or Dr. Hoodbhouy, but mentioning any of these wonderful-in-their-own-right folks in the same breath as Said diminshes the latter. His politically-themed books, essays and views are well-known and widely respected. But the man could`ve been equally fanous for his literary genius. It is no exaggeration to say that his breadth and depth of knowledge were incomparable.

MSK

Well done. A very good piece on someone I only knew from his writings and always wished I could meet...the world is surely a poorer and more wretched a place without another voice of sanity. Don`t know if the world has the capacity to produce another Said or Eqbal Ahmed, but all we can do is continue reading their work and ensure more and more people do so as well.

Salman

``At the death of Edward Said what as a society we need to do is ask ourselves that if there was an Edward Said in Pakistan who would have spoken against the two most powerful lobbies in the country: Mullahs and the Military, what would have become of him?``

Khar Sahib,

you are awfully generous in labelling mullahs and the military as the most powerful lobbies in Pakistan. You conveniently forget the feudal land owner. No group deserves more credit for retarding the progress of rural Pakistan than the feudal land owners.

A very informative and well-written tribute to Edward Said. It was interesting to read that his books are banned in saudi arabia and freely available in israel. I dont think the M&Ms in Pakistan (the Military and Mullahs) would have done anything to him though in Pakistan. While the mullahs and the military are certainly in power, I think the middle class is also quite large and influential in Pakistan, and the M&Ms quietly stay within certain limits for now at least.

edgeNRidge Sahib# 10

The feudals may have held back the material progress of rural Pakistan but they can`t take the credit for creating the possiblity that Pakistan would have hung an Edward Said `for either blasphemy or treachery.` Landed gentry are less given to religious fanaticism because they are rooted in their land.

I being karachi centered person do not no much about him. I read his articles in local news papers. It appears he was classic leftist professor from usa and uk.
I will like some to tell me did he wrote about pakistan? or Kshmir or East Pakistan problems.
He was aginst Israel policy and pro Arab.( he was arab)
Has he written about our countries rulers? Did he support present over lord of Pakistan ?
Did he say anything about people like Ayub, yah. khan, Mo . Zia?
Did he support them by tacitly not saying any thing?
What was his position about Jordanian Kings?
Saddam Huisain or Rulers of Arabia. Was he critical or he was pabically only interested in Israel and palestine problem?
I never read in Karachi papers his take on Pakistan, kashmir etc E Pakistan.
Can any body explain why we give importance to some body expert in Palestine. While no arab even pays cursory lip service to Kashmiri struggle.
I have no disrespect for any body. I find more interesting writer like Ms. Masooda Banu, Mr. M. Navqi , DR. Salim Farrukh much better.
Is it that we always need to feel good by looking and paying respects to some people who do not give attention to pakistan but we over do about far outside things. I personally do not feel inferior or lss I do job and help people.
I have some respect for right (MMA)in sense they are local oriented and do things locally and not worried about do nothing intelluctual sitting ang in usa and uk and lectuering ang trying to influences third world countries politics. Are we over worked eith ``foren`` ?

Malik

...hazarouN saal nargis apni bay nuri pay rooti hay...

...the last time i quoted this was upon hearing of the death of eqbal ahmed...both men, nay giants amidst us pygmies...were eloquent, resolute, visionary...and had unshakeable convictions...

...they may be dead...(may they rest in peace)...but their ideas will live and illumine the darkness around us...cliche aside...that is why in the long run pen is indeed mightier than sword...

rgds,

t

ps: this is one of your better ones here