Not Truth But Tolerance

I should like to begin this essay with a sincere apology. More than five yearshave passed since Professor Atif Khalil penned his scholarly critique ofsome of my suggestive ruminations on intra-Islamic theological ecumenismin the introduction to my translation of Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghâzalî’s Fayṣalal-Tafriqa.1 While scholarly convention – not to mention etiquette ‒ wouldcertainly demand a much more timely response than I have been able tomanage, I am afraid that I can plead no better than to throw myself on theunderstanding of those who have insight into and appreciation for the variousways in which the horrific attacks of September 11, 2001 have skewedthe scholarly agenda of many an Islamicist. I sincerely hope that this delaywill not be construed as some kind of veiled or surreptitiously snide dismissalof Professor Khalil’s thoughtful analysis. I also hope that it will nothave gone so far as to suggest any inability on my part to respond to whatI shall argue amounts to a clever but ultimately wrong-minded critique

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