Rushdie Haunted by his unholy Ghosts — Page 42
42 C H A P T E R S E V E N : T H E W E S T E R N OR I E N T A L I S T S I will briefly look at a few of the Western orientalists of this century and compare their works and it will become evident from these works that their source seems to be the same and that the same accusations are made against Islam, the Holy Prophet(sa), his Companions, the Holy Qur’an, the Hadith; in fact, all the distinctive features and char- acteristics faintly connected with Islam are put to ridicule. What is also evident is the beguiling way that they present this - in one instance they pass a complimentary remark about the Holy Prophet(sa) and in the very next one they crucify him. This hypoc- risy in their writing is an in-built trait and has been employed since the very early literary attacks on Islam. M A X I M E RODI NSON Maxime Rodinson, a French Orientalist, was the son of the founder of the Jewish Workers Trade Union in Paris. Rodinson later joined the Communist Party and became an Atheist. His most famous and polemic work is in the form of a book simply titled Mohammed. This book is a study of the impact of an ideology of Islam upon the society of 7th century Arabia. In it he places Prophet Muhammad’s achievements in the context of his time. But interspersed in it are defamatory and calumnious attacks on his character and on other noble personages of Islam. Even Muhammad’s conception is given a titillating effect where his father is regarded as sex-hungry, going from one wife to another for gratification. (p. 42). Details of Muhammad’s childhood are made up to be unreliable and are referred to as ‘legends’ to fill the void and which became more beautiful and edified with the passage of time. (p. 143).