In his latest book, The Lucifer Principle,
published by the Atlantic Monthly Press, Howard Bloom takes religious intolerance
to the extreme by describing Muslims as "barbarians." Bloom flaunts
his ignorance and bigotry through extremely offensive and insulting language
denigrating a religion of about one billion adherents worldwide and six
million followers in the U.S. alone. Following is an excerpt from the book
(pp.223-4):
[T]here are barbarians -- people whose cultures glorify the act of murder and elevate violence to a holy deed. These cultures portray the extinction of other human beings as a validation of manliness, a heroic gesture in the name of truth, or simply a good way to get ahead in the world.
Islamic societies tend to be high on this list... Holiness, righteousness, and even day-to-day propriety in Islamic cultures are based on the example of Mohammed. Though Islamic literature praises Mohammed as a man of peace, he was anything but. In A.D. 624, the Prophet announced the concept of the jihad -- the holy war. He said in the blessed book the Koran, 'Kill those who join other gods with God [e.g., Christians] wherever you shall find them, and seize them and slay them, and lay in wait for them with every kind of ambush."'
Interestingly, Bloom fails to reference the quote from the Holy Quran for a simple reason:
the quote does not exist. Sura 39: 65 says the following of those who join gods with God, i.e. pagans: "...If thou wert to join gods with Allah, truly fruitless will be thy work in life, and thou wilt surely be in the ranks of those who lose all spiritual good."
In addition, Bloom took the liberty to provide the reader with his own interpretation by adding, in brackets, that the quote refers to Christians. Since when do Christians "join other gods with God?" In fact, Islam preaches tolerance and acceptance of Christians (and Jews) as 'People of the Book'. The writer also took the liberty to defame the Prophet Mohammad, and failed. to identify the nuances in the meaning of the word "jihad" which can refer to a struggle not only of the sword, but also of the word and the spirit. Bloom's preposterous statement serves to fuel the flames of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim hatred. We must not allow such bigotry to be perpetuated with impunity.
Let us send a clear message to the author & publishers that religious defamation is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
EXPRESS your outrage at Howard Bloom's blatantly racist remarks. Condemn the publisher and author for inciting religious hatred by denigrating Muslims and describing them as "barbarians."
DEMAND an apology from the publisher and the author; and ask that they discontinue any future editions of The Lucifer Principle.
ALSO ASK that the Atlantic Monthly Press drop the publishing of sequels to The Lucifer Princinle, as it appears that the author plans to write a "Lucifer series."
SUGGEST that the Atlantic Monthly Press consult with Arab Americans prior to the publication of materials that deal with Arab or Muslim issues in order to avert defamation in the future. Point out that other publishers have done so, including Carlton Books and Carolrhoda Books, which resulted in a mutually beneficial relationship between the publishers and the Arab American community.
the publisher that you intend to boycott all
Atlantic Monthly Press publications until it seeks to redress the situation.
