How Tarek Fatah Fooled The West | Errors in Chasing A Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State

Tarek Fatah, author of The Jew Is Not My Enemy: Unveiling the Myths that Fuel Muslim Antisemitism and Chasing A Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State, is a self-proclaimed secular Canadian Muslim known for his regular appearances on The Michael Coren Show. He is extremely vocal of his antagonistic sentiments towards the vast Canadian Muslim public, so much so that he advocates an immediate inquisition on mosques across the country and a complete halt to immigration -- behavior that typifies the neo-conservative. In his attempt to convince the Canadian public of the current "Islamist Problem" he emanates an air of intellectual prowess and historical understanding that belies his shady agenda. 

Canadian Muslims, by and large, are well aware of Tarek Fatah's lucrative slamophobic agenda and urge their fellow Canadians to recognize Fatah's falsehoods. On January 29th 2011, Tarek Fatah was invited to debate with Imam Sheryrar Shaikh at the NAMF Islamic Center in Toronto. Tarek Fatah, however, failed to show up to the debate citing that a new moderator was chosen unilaterally, security problems which could not ensure his safety, and that the debate was somehow an "inquisition" against himself. Putting the drama aside, Imam Sheryrar Shaikh was able to continue with the canceled debate by listing a number of problems with both his books; the point being that Tarek Fatah has taken advantage of western ignorance to promulgate his anti-Islamic vitriol. Imam Sheryrar Shaikh drives this point home by aptly stating:

"Mr. Fatah, doesn't even know the primary language of Islam: that is Arabic. I wonder which dictionary he uses?"

We will be using Imam Sheryrar Shaikh's work to help "steer" the direction of the following information.

The essence and purpose of this blog post is to reveal that Tarek Fatah is a fraud who has capitalized on the anti-Muslim campaign and cannot claim to be an authority. Once it has become clear that Tarek Fatah has taken advantage of western ignorance, a question must be posed at his publisher, John Wiley & Sons, Inc: will you continue to publish this charlatan's work? This post will be regularly updated as new information received.

The following issues will be discussed:

1. Chasing a Mirage | Error #1 on Page 321
2. Chasing a Mirage | Error #2 on Page 103
3. Chasing a Mirage | Error #3 on Page 202
4. Chasing a Mirage | Error #4 on Page 326
5. Chasing a Mirage | Error #5 on Page 156
6. Chasing a Mirage | Error #6 on Page 367
7. Chasing a Mirage | Error #7 on Pages 20, 93, 110, 114, 264
8. Chasing a Mirage | Error #8 on Pages 47, 49, 50
9. Chasing a Mirage | Error #9 on Pages 256, 257

Chasing A Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State | Error #1 on Page 321

Tarek Fatah writes in Chasing A Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State, Page 321 -- underlined in the page below -- that the Farsi (Persian) phrase "velayat-e-faqih" translates into "Supreme Leader". This, of course, to all Islamic studies specialists and historians is incorrect as "velayat-e-faqih" properly translates into "Rule of the Islamic Jurists" or "Guardianship of the Jurisconsult" [1] [2]. One does not need to refer to a Farsi-English lexicon or dictionary as its meaning is all too well-known in academic discourse. I have included two scholarly works in the "Works Cited" section; the first which is easily accessible to the general public whereas the latter can be found in popular academic literature.    

Imam Sheryrar Shaikh makes this point clear in his video with his (cancelled) debate with Tarek Fatah: YouTube Link. It is important to note that the phrase is borrowed from the Arabic language, and is not pure Farsi.

It is poignant, yet startling  that a widely known fact readily available in Islamic studies literature can be mistranslated. Where the correct translation implies plurality, Tarek Fatah's choice of words of "Supreme Leader" implies a singularity. Such a blunder changes the entire historical meaning of "velayat-e-faqih" in context of the Islamic Revolution (also known as  the Iranian Revolution). 

Chasing A Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State | Error #2 on Page 103

Tarek Fatah writes in Chasing A Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State, Page 103 -- underlined in the page below -- that the Arabic word "wuzura" translates into "subordinate". Again, it comes as no surprise to the learned Muslim that the Arabic word "wuzura" is really translated "minister",  as per  Edward William Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon [3]. There is not a single definition that gives the suggested meaning of "subordinate". 

It is important to note that wuzura (more appropriately pronounced as wazara') is the infinitive form of wazeer, or more commonly parsed in English as vizier. The extract from Lane's lexicon is reproduced below for the reader's perusal: 

Imam Sheryrar Shaikh also addresses this issue in his video with his (cancelled) debate with Tarek Fatah: YouTube Link.

One sees a world of a difference between addressing an entire people as "subordinates" opposed to "ministers". Whereas the former implies a base, relegated position, the latter provides one with a dignified rank in society. In fact it gives the sentence on Page 103 a entirely different meaning. Again, one has to consider Tarek Fatah's knowledge of the Arabic language, before evaluating his ostentatious claims about Islam -- and from what has been seen so far, he has been absolutely negligent, if not ignorant, of his translations. 

Chasing A Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State | Error #3 on Page 202

Tarek Fatah writes in Chasing A Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State, Page 202 -- underlined in the page below -- that the Arabic word "as-Saffah" can be translated to mean "slaughterer" based on Edward William Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon [4]. Upon on my research I was unable to come across any definition that even suggested the term "slaughterer".  You may check the "Works Cited" section to cross-check my listed references.  

One may ask if Tarek Fatah really distorted the meaning if he simply mentioned slaughterer in place of bloodshedder, or "one who sheds blood" -- after all, they do sound as if they allude to the same idea. However, a closer look at the extract from Lane's Lexicon we find that the word "saffah" signifies the act of "pouring out, or forth", and in this case blood (see image below). However, the word slaughterer merely implies the killing many innocents by means of aggressive actions. The words are not even considered to be synonyms by any well-known dictionary (Merriam Webster, Oxforod Dictionary, etc).

Imam Sheryrar Shaikh reports this fact in his (cancelled) debate with Tarek Fatah here: YouTube Link.

Chasing A Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State | Error #4 on Page 326

Tarek Fatah writes in Chasing A Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State, Page 326   -- underlined in the page below -- that the Arabic word "Ya Abdi" literally means "Oh black slave". However, according to Edward William Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon the translation should actually read "Oh my slave", as the term "abdi" denotes merely "my slave" and not "black* slave" [5]. How Tarek Fatah was able to mix up the possessive noun "my" with the color "black" is left up to the imagination of the reader. As stressed before, Tarek Fatah is not the academic he so smugly champions to be. 

On another note many Arabs are of Afro-Arab ethnic origin, and therefore are dark-skinned. Hence, it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever why Arab Muslims would refer to sub-Saharan Muslims as "black slaves". Again, upon examining the aforementioned lexicon in the image below we find absolutely no reference at all to "black slave", but "slave". When the Arabic word "abd" is rendered "abdi" the noun becomes possessive, hence the correct and more meaningful translation "Oh my slave."

Imam Sheryrar Shaikh critiques this fact in his (cancelled) debate with Tarek Fatah here: YouTube Link.

Chasing A Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State | Error #5 on Page 156

Tarek Fatah writes in Chasing A Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State, Page 156   -- underlined in the page below -- that "Kitab futuh al-buldan", a book authored by a famous 9th century Persian historian, means "The Origins of the Islamic State". One doesn't need to refer to Lane's lexicon, as the book is well known to mean  "Book of the Conquest of the Lands" [6]. What Tarek Fatah makes parenthetical reference to is not the translation of the title, but a two volume academic translation of the book itself published by two authors from the 19th century. A quick search on Wikipedia will confirm this fact. 

Imam Sheryrar Shaikh notices this error in Tarek Fatah's book and makes not of it in his (cancelled) debate here: YouTube Link.

Chasing A Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State | Error #6 on Page 367

Tarek Fatah writes in Chasing A Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State, Page 367   -- underlined in the page below -- that the Arabic word "munafiq" means "apostate". Categorically speaking, Canadian Muslims have evidence that Tarek Fatah fits the definition of a munafiq quite well, but what isn't readily transparent is his religious convictions. Tarek Fatah would have non-Muslims believe that when he is called a hypocrite -- and rightly so -- what Muslims are actually doing is calling him an apostate. This, however, is incorrect as Lane's lexicon proves once again that Tarek Fatah has taken western ignorance to an entirely new level. The extract from Lane's lexicon has been reproduced below for the reader's perusal:

More to come later! Stay tuned!

Works Cited 

[1] Survey: The Surreal World of Iranian Politics. (2003, Jan 18). The Economist, Pg. 366, 5-S7

[2] Buchta, W. (2005). Taking stock of a quarter century of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Cambridge, MA: Islamic Legal Studies Program.

[3] Lane, E. W., & In Lane-Poole, S. (1968). An Arabic-English lexicon. Beirut: Librairie du Liban, Pg. 2939
[4] Ibid., pg. 1369

[5] Ibid., pg. 5

[6] Thatcher, Griffithes Wheeler (1911). "Balādhurī". In Chisholm, Hugh. Encyclopedia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.