American Jewish Committee Condemns Edict to Assassinate Children of Abraham Author

American Jewish Committee
Friday, 29 June 2001

The American Jewish Committee is condemning the call by a Muslim cleric to assassinate the author of a book intended to advance Muslim-Jewish understanding.

"In a free society no one should tolerate the threat to kill an author," said David A. Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Committee, which published last month Children of Abraham, authored by Islamic scholar Khalid Duran. "All Americans, not least Muslims, should immediately speak out against this outrage and assault on democratic society."

The fatwa, or religious edict, declaring Professor Duran an "apostate" and imploring Muslims in America to "shed his blood," was issued by Shaykh Abd Al-Munim Abu Zant, a leader in the militant Islamic Action Front, the largest opposition party in Jordan. The Islamic Action Front hailed the June 1 Tel Aviv suicide bombing that killed 20 Israelis, most of them teens, as a "heroic martyrdom operation."

Reporting on the cleric's death threat, the Jordanian weekly Al-Shahed also praised the Washington-based Council on American Islamic Relations for attacking Duran and AJC's Children of Abraham project.

"CAIR's unfounded personal attack on Duran in advance of the book's official release last month was nothing more than incitement and character assassination, which has no place in civilized American discourse," said Mr. Harris. "CAIR must now bear the responsibility for the consequences of its actions."

Duran's book, Children of Abraham: An Introduction to Islam for Jews, is part of a two-volume set published by the American Jewish Committee. The companion volume, Children of Abraham: An Introduction to Judaism for Muslims, was written by Reuven Firestone, a professor and rabbi at Hebrew Union College.

The books have received early acclaim from political and religious leaders and scholars in the U.S. and around the world, including Jordan's Prince El Hassan bin Talal, who called Children of Abraham "a courageous initiative to promote understanding, wisdom and brotherhood between the Jewish and Muslim communities."

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org