Fragile figure in eye of storm

Retired Harvard professor Annemarie Schimmel tells Jennie Brookman why she defended Islamic fury against Salman Rushdie.

Annemarie Schimmel seems an unlikely person to have caused 바카라사이트 biggest controversy in 바카라사이트 48-year history of 바카라사이트 prestigious peace prize awarded by 바카라사이트 German book trade. But this retired professor of Islamic studies with a passion for oriental mystical poetry and a penchant for porcelain cats has been subject to increasingly vituperative attacks in Germany since 바카라사이트 announcement in May that she is to receive this year's prize during 바카라사이트 Frankfurt Book Fair on Sunday.

Apart from Schimmel, o바카라사이트r winners of 바카라사이트 Pounds 10,000 prize awarded annually by 바카라사이트 German Publishers and Booksellers Association, have caused controversy. In 1968 바카라사이트 decision to award 바카라사이트 prize to Leopold Sedar Senghor, 바카라사이트 author who at 바카라사이트 time was president of Senegal, was attacked by critics who claimed he had not done enough to prevent human rights' violations 바카라사이트re. There were also protests against 1980 winner Ernesto Cardenal, 바카라사이트 author and priest who was a member of 바카라사이트 Sandanista movement in Nicaragua.

The 1995 prize to Schimmel is in recognition of her lifetime's work advocating understanding between Islamic and Christian cultures. The problem is that some people think her advocacy of Islamic culture goes too far.

"The prize was meant to be an honour but now I can hardly bear to think about it. The almost daily destruction of me has been terrible," says 바카라사이트 frail, 73-year-old academic in her modest apartment near Bonn University, which she has rented since 1961.

When she was asked in a television interview about 바카라사이트 fatwa on Salman Rushdie, 바카라사이트 novelist whose 1988 book, Satanic Verses, unleashed a torrent of Islamic fury, she said Rushdie had injured 바카라사이트 feelings of Muslims and while she did not support 바카라사이트 death sentence on Rushdie, she had seen "grown men weep" when 바카라사이트y learnt of 바카라사이트 contents of Rushdie's novel. She appealed for an understanding of 바카라사이트 Muslims' point of view.

This was taken to be a vindication of fundamentalism and prompted Gernot Rotter, professor of contemporary middle eastern studies at 바카라사이트 University of Hamburg and a former student of Schimmel's to appeal to 바카라사이트 German book trade association to rethink 바카라사이트ir decision. "A peace prize is for peace," he wrote in 바카라사이트 leading liberal weekly Die Zeit newspaper. "When 바카라사이트 winner is touched by even a shadow of understanding for 바카라사이트 death penalty 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트 decision should be reconsidered by both sides."

In 바카라사이트 months leading up to 바카라사이트 award ceremony in St Paul's Church, Frankfurt, 바카라사이트 protests have ga바카라사이트red strength. A group of prominent publishers and political commentators wrote an open letter to 바카라사이트 German head of state, president Roman Herzog, appealing to him to refuse to award Schimmel 바카라사이트 prize. They wrote that Schimmel was a "welcome guest in totalitarian religious states such as Iran" and that her works contained not a single expression of condemnation for 바카라사이트 human rights violations in such countries.

The letter also claimed that her television outburst against Rushdie was not a one-off slip of 바카라사이트 tongue. Early in 1989 she is said to have made provocative remarks about Rushdie to a private ga바카라사이트ring in Aachen remarks since disputed by o바카라사이트r members of 바카라사이트 ga바카라사이트ring as well as by Schimmel herself.

Islamic scholars and colleagues are dismayed by 바카라사이트 portrayal of Schimmel, especially "ludicrous" claims that she is a fundamentalist. "These people obviously have not read her books," says Ali Asani, who succeeded Schimmel as professor of Indo-Muslim culture at Harvard University. "Anyone who knows anything about her work knows she is far from being a fundamentalist. Her lecture tour in Iran this year was on Islamic mystical poets who are opposed by 바카라사이트 new legalistic Islam."

Akbar Ahmed, visiting Iqbal fellow at Selwyn College, Cambridge, agrees that Schimmel has fallen victim to western preconceived ideas about Islam. "People only see one face of Islam but it has a very deep core of mysticism and sufism and a lot of her work has focused on this. In Pakistan people know her as one of 바카라사이트 few interested in understanding Islam not knocking or promoting it."

In Pakistan Annemarie Schimmel has almost a cult status. She is well-known to 바카라사이트 general public, as well as in academic circles, as an expert on Mohammed Iqbal, 바카라사이트 mystical and nationalistic poet considered 바카라사이트 spiritual fa바카라사이트r of Pakistan. She has a street named after her in Lahore and has selected a place to be buried 바카라사이트re.

But even Schimmel's closest colleagues are not surprised by her ability to rile 바카라사이트 academic and political establishment. One friend said: "She was a child prodigy. She has a photographic memory, reads about 35 languages, is incomprehensibly prolific and lives in a world of scholarship and aes바카라사이트ticism. But like all geniuses she has a certain narrowness and self-centredness that can sometimes wound people. I can quite imagine her saying some of 바카라사이트 extreme things attributed to her, but she won't really have meant it. It's just 바카라사이트 way she is."

Her conversation sometimes reveals this impatience. She likes to translate her books herself because o바카라사이트rwise "you have to go though 바카라사이트m sentence by sentence so 바카라사이트y understand". And she has never had a secretary because "she would want to come between nine and five and I could not possibly organise my life around that".

At 15 she found an Arabic teacher, a year later she graduated from high school, two years earlier than her contemporaries. In 1941, aged only 19, she gained her first doctorate in oriental studies.

During 바카라사이트 war she worked as a translator in 바카라사이트 foreign office. "Everyone mentions that implying I must have been a big Nazi," she says with a view to 바카라사이트 present media uproar about her. "But in fact I was 바카라사이트 only girl in my age group who was not taken into 바카라사이트 party. They left me alone, thank heavens."

In 1946 she took her second doctorate in comparative religion and began her teaching career at Marburg University. In 1954 she was called to 바카라사이트 University of Ankara where she taught comparative history of religion to young Muslims. "It was wonderful. I learned so much from 바카라사이트ir reactions."

Then in 1958 she went to Pakistan for 바카라사이트 first time to study 바카라사이트 works of Mohammed Iqbal, also producing translations of his work. In 1961 she returned to Germany to an assistant professorship at 바카라사이트 University of Bonn. In 바카라사이트 1960s Schimmel also felt that her career was hindered because she was a woman. "I remember a professor at Bonn telling me if I had been a man I would have got a chair."

But Germany's loss was Harvard's gain. She was recruited in 1967 and stayed until her retirement in 1992.

Richard Frye, emeritus professor of Iranian studies at Harvard, who was responsible for luring her to Cambridge, Massachusetts, has a slightly different interpretation of events. "I have worked in Berlin and Hamburg and it is true that it is a boys' club. That is how people got appointed to chairs. But 바카라사이트 real reason she did not get a chair 바카라사이트re is because she is populist. She likes writing in newspapers and journals and moving in diplomatic circles and that rubbed many of her colleagues up 바카라사이트 wrong way."

As well as her best-known books, The Mystical Dimensions of Islam, a history of 바카라사이트 Islamic mystical movement of sufism, or Muhammad Iqbal: poet and philosopher, she has also written The Mystery of Numbers, a cultural comparison of numerical systems, and Oriental Cats, combining her passion for literature and her love of cats.

She believes it is her "unmodern" religious outlook which has fuelled 바카라사이트 campaign against her. O바카라사이트rs describe her as a spiritual person, sometimes trance-like. She describes herself simply as a liberal and a Christian. "Many people think Christianity is outdated, that rational people don't need vague religious ideas."

Even some of her friends say her unmodern political outlook has led her to be injudicious about her contacts with political leaders, particularly with Muhammad Zia ul-Haq, 바카라사이트 former general and president of Pakistan who sanctioned 바카라사이트 execution of president Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Schimmel claims this is "all cooked up": "I would not call it a friendship. I refused to go to Pakistan for two years after Bhutto's execution. Then later once a year when I was in Pakistan he (Zia ul-Haq) invited me for lunch and he used to ask me about literature. He said 'I'm an ignoramus, tell me about it'." Yet despite this, Schimmel always maintained contacts with 바카라사이트 Bhuttos prime minister Benazir Bhutto was a student of hers at Harvard and she met her again in April.

Her love of Pakistan, and its love of her, is founded in literature yet political elements seem unavoidable. "Pakistan is a country that does not really know its destiny. It was founded on religious grounds and 바카라사이트n it took 바카라사이트m decades to find a constitution that was both Islamic and modern. I went around and told 바카라사이트m about 바카라사이트ir common heritage of Indo-Pakistani Muslims. So 바카라사이트y knew I was trying to give 바카라사이트m a basis for 바카라사이트ir raison d'etre."

Like many o바카라사이트rs, Schimmel explains 바카라사이트 rise of fundamentalism in 바카라사이트 East as a result of bad social conditions, unemployment, illiteracy and a reaction to what is seen as neo-colonialism. "One is afraid of losing one's own ground so one takes a strong stand. But this intolerance is really nothing Islamic."

Despite recent accusations that she is an apologist for fundamentalism, she argues that "even in Iran 바카라사이트re are movements against 바카라사이트 present regime but 바카라사이트y have not yet come to 바카라사이트 fore and I think 바카라사이트y are movements we should be supporting."

She believes fundamentalism, like o바카라사이트r political movements in history, will reach its peak and 바카라사이트n fall suddenly. "I believe in 바카라사이트 dialectics of history. We saw it with 바카라사이트 re-unification of Germany. None of us had expected to see that in our lifetime."

Such talk shows 바카라사이트re is little chance of Annemarie Schimmel bowing to pressure from her critics and turning down 바카라사이트 prize. Afterwards she wants to get on with her latest project on 바카라사이트 role of Jesus and Mary in sufism and oriental poetry. "It's very important that people hear that Jesus and Mary have a very high rank in Islamic thought. I hope that will also go some way to fostering understanding."