#972 Pipes weblog: being read by Nidal Malik Hasan & posting a grammar of Egyptian Arabic

Daniel Pipes December 30, 2009

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Why Did Nidal Hasan Read the Middle East Forum? by Daniel Pipes December 30, 2009 http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2009/12/why-did-nidal-hasan-read-the-middle-east-forum Send Comment RSS Share: Nidal Malik Hasan. A startling fact just emerged in the course of some routine maintenance work on the mailing lists for http://www.danielpipes.org/: One "Dr. Nidal Malik Hasan" has been subscribed as nidalhasan@aol.com since March 2009 to all the Middle East Forum mailing lists, including my own. He opened some but not many of the mailings. In addition to the name, there are several reasons to think this is the butcher of Ft. Hood: He received the mailings for over half a year before his identity became notorious; he has not opened any e-mails in a while, presumably since he has been jailed; and a search for nidalhasan@aol.com on the internet finds this address associated with the Texas jihadi (for example, by the Northeast Intelligence Network).. Comments: (1) I have never assumed that all the Middle East Forum's or my readers share our outlook. To the contrary, the lively debates carried on in the more than 100,000 published reader comments show that readers have all outlooks. Still, I never imagined that a future terrorist would subscribe himself to our writings. (2) Why, I can't help but wonder, would Hasan have wanted to see the Middle East Forum's work? Opposition research? Or might he have been stalking us? (3) This subscription gives new urgency to the concerns I addressed at "Am I Helping the Terrorist Enemy?" and I hereby rededicate myself to assuring that the Middle East Forum does not inadvertently provide guidance to the country's foes. (4) On a sad note, this news brings to the mind that I learned just two months earlier, again while doing routine chores, that my articles were still being sent to the late Daniel Pearl's Wall Street Journal e-mail address, which had been initially subscribed before his murder nearly eight years ago. (December 30, 2009) Related Topics: Daniel Pipes autobiographical, Muslims in the United States, Terrorism "An Arabist's Guide to Egyptian Colloquial" Now Online by Daniel Pipes December 29, 2009 http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2009/12/an-arabists-guide-to-egyptian-colloquial-now Send Comment RSS Share: Here is my "Preface,", dated June 1982, to a brief book I wrote titled An Arabist's Guide to Egyptian Colloquial: Arriving in Cairo for the first time in June 1971, I had two years of Arabic study to my credit, yet I was unable to say anything or understand more than a word here and there. Like so many other students of modern Written Arabic, I was unprepared to deal with the language that Arabs actually speak. To master the Cairene dialect, I acquired a battery of grammars and attended classes at the Center for Arabic Study Abroad [at the American University of Cairo]. Despite excellent teachers, I found the task a frustrating one, for all the manuals assumed no knowledge at all of Arabic and started at the beginning. But I already knew Written Arabic and needed only to learn what adjustments to make to speak the Egyptian colloquial. How sensible it would be, I often reflected, if someone prepared a handbook of Egyptian colloquial for those of us already trained in Written Arabic. So often did I bemoan the absence of such a book that my friends eventually insisted that I undertake the project myself. I wrote the book during my final months in Cairo, in the spring of 1973. The grammar then languished for eight years in a back drawer, as I turned, my attention to other matters. Then Dr. James A. Snow of the Foreign Service Institute at the Department of State expressed an interest in publishing this study; he also agreed to provide some editorial advice and assistance. Then, when no one else was available to prepare the manuscript for publication, he did this too. For his many efforts, I am very grateful and am much in his debt. Any errors that may yet remain are, of course, my responsibility alone. For purposes of brevity, I assume a thorough knowledge of Written Arabic and only point out the ways in which the dialect differs; to do otherwise would defeat the purpose of this manual. "Egyptian" is shorthand for Egyptian colloquial Arabic as spoken in Cairo by persons with some education. FSI published the grammar in 1983 and it carries Library of Congress number PJ6779.P56 1983. The book has had a small but steady readership over the decades so, taking advantage of modern technology, I am now making it freely available on this website to download, at http://www.danielpipes.org/books/an-arabists-guide-to-egyptian-colloquial.pdf. I posted my working copy, complete with corrections, and hope it helps my successors navigate the joys and perils of Arabic as it is spoken in Cairo. (December 29, 2009) Related Topics: Daniel Pipes autobiographical, Egypt This text may be reposted or forwarded so long as it is presented as an integral whole with complete information provided about its author, date, place of publication, and original URL.

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