"I also solicited a comment from professor As’ad Abukhalil, who in the past eviscerated Warraq’s shoddy work (see Abukhalil’s 2004 article in the Middle East Journal: “‘The Islam Industry’ and Scholarship: Review Article”). Prof. Abukhalil is not at all impressed with Warraq’s claim, telling LoonWatch:
"I normally would not engage with people who are not trained in Middle East and Islamic studies. The person in question has regularly revealed his ignorance of matters Islamic and he insults the person (a free thinker) after which he named himself (very undeservedly). The notion that Saladin was discovered by Arabs/Muslims after some contact with Westerners is too ridiculous to respond to. In reality, it is the other way round: Westerners took note of Saladin because of the significance that he occupies in Arab/Islamic history and imagination. Saladin has been immortalized and lauded in many Arabic books and references, from Kitab An-Nawadir As-Sultaniyyah wal-mahasin Al-Yusufiyyah, which is a biography of Saladin from the 13th century. Ancient Arab historians like Ibn Khallikan and Abu Shamah and Ibn Wasil all appreciated the significance of Saladin. A history of Arab publications in the 19th century and 20th century is full of books and articles dealing with him. To be sure, the Arab-Israeli conflict did inspire a revival of attention to Saladin among Arabs and Muslims. But then again: this is not the first time when the natives are told that only the White Man can inspire them and influence them.""
"I normally would not engage with people who are not trained in Middle East and Islamic studies. The person in question has regularly revealed his ignorance of matters Islamic and he insults the person (a free thinker) after which he named himself (very undeservedly). The notion that Saladin was discovered by Arabs/Muslims after some contact with Westerners is too ridiculous to respond to. In reality, it is the other way round: Westerners took note of Saladin because of the significance that he occupies in Arab/Islamic history and imagination. Saladin has been immortalized and lauded in many Arabic books and references, from Kitab An-Nawadir As-Sultaniyyah wal-mahasin Al-Yusufiyyah, which is a biography of Saladin from the 13th century. Ancient Arab historians like Ibn Khallikan and Abu Shamah and Ibn Wasil all appreciated the significance of Saladin. A history of Arab publications in the 19th century and 20th century is full of books and articles dealing with him. To be sure, the Arab-Israeli conflict did inspire a revival of attention to Saladin among Arabs and Muslims. But then again: this is not the first time when the natives are told that only the White Man can inspire them and influence them.""
