The Forbidden Library

posted at 11:42 am on August 13, 2007 by Bryan
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Peruse the “complete” list of banned and challenged books, and you won’t find a couple of titles that we’ve been discussing here on Hot Air lately. Neither Alms for Jihad nor Funding Evil, nor any of the other three books that Khalid bin Mafouz is attempting to suppress, are on the list. Perhaps the list just needs updating. Or perhaps the list’s authors aren’t aware of the legal jihad against free speech that runs from courtrooms in the UK to airplanes, campuses and courts in the US, to India and nearly everywhere else.

Since my last update, several of you have reported that your local libraries have copies of Alms for Jihad. It might be a good idea to inform libraries that have the book that Cambridge Press might request that their copies be returned. If librarians are aware of the reasons, they might decide to keep the books pending a ruling in Dr. Ehrenfeld’s case against Khalid bin Mafouz. And perhaps one or two of them will read Alms for Jihad and understand that the Patriot Act isn’t their most dangerous enemy: Libel tourists are.

I received Funding Evil: How Terrorism is Financed — and How to Stop It, by Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld last week. Since it was published in the US, and since Dr. Ehrenfeld is courageously battling bin Mafouz almost singlehandedly to keep the book in publication, Funding Evil isn’t likely to be banned. But it’s still a book that’s worth getting soon, if you want to see how terrorism finance works laid out in exhaustive detail. Funding Evil will arm you with enough knowledge to see the outlines of the jihad strategy to spread sharia and Dar al Islam around the world. It is dense with enough detail to make it a vital reference, yet engaging and readable for mainstream audiences. It ought to be available in every library in America and the West.

Scanning the book, it’s not hard to see why Mr. bin Mafouz wants it squashed. He appears on page 22 accused of dropping tens of millions of dollars directly into terrorist bank accounts. He appears on page 39 dropping funds into the bank accounts of “charities” that are in turn known supporters of Hamas and al Qaeda. His family turns up throughout the book funding various causes that just happen to funnel money to terrorist groups. The book certainly either defames or defines his character. Given the fact that other authors have researched bin Mafouz’s finances and found similar financial connections and transactions, it’s more likely the latter. So he sues.

Dr. Ehrenfeld’s fight will set free speech precedent for decades to come. If she succeeds, overseas courts will not be able to punish authors whose books are published in the US but sold internationally via Amazon and other online outlets. If her fight fails, then Khalid bin Mafouz will use his billions to come after other American authors who expose how terrorism is financed and fueled by wealthy Saudis and others who appear to be trying to buy their way into paradise by funding worldwide homicide bombing. And he’ll come after US reporters, columnists and bloggers too. Her fight is our fight and your fight too.

Funding Evil is essential reading. With a foreword by former DCI James Woolsey and a critique of the 9-11 Commission report as well as details on terror financing and support for the legal jihad that reach right into the Saudi royal family, Funding Evil is indeed a book that the Saudis don’t want you to read.

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