The Hour of the wolf in Academe

Submitted by Abu Nudnik (Canada), Jul 14, 2008 at 10:44

The alteration of another's words because of subjective interpretation confuses fact with fiction. Mr. Halabi's self-defence must not be allowed to stand, Dr. Pipes. You are right when you write "Such defiant subjectivity undermines the scholarly enterprise."

But you don't go nearly far enough. It is not only his "defiant subjectivity" that undermines the scholarly enterprise, it is the real physical violence he has done to your words. He has disallowed those reading his misquote of you to interpret your actual words and interpret them for themselves. Mr. Halabi has not only interpreted, he has forced his interpretation on others without giving them the right to see for themselves. This is not subjectivity but real tyranny.

I strongly suggest Mr. Halabi be sued for libel. How he understood and interpreted your article is fundamentally different from how he quoted it and I suggest that his "interpretation" constitutes malice aforethought.

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