''Alms for Jihad: Charity and Terrorism in the Islamic World'' is a 2006

book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arr ...

co-written by American authors J. Millard Burr, a former

USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...

relief coordinator in

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

, and historian Robert O. Collins which discusses the role of Islamic charities in financing terrorism.

Controversy

In August 2007, the UK publisher

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

("CUP"), attempted to have the work removed from circulation due to

libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

action against them under the English legal system by Saudi businessman Khalid Salim A. Bin Mahfouz because the book accused him of funding

al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

. Kevin Taylor, intellectual property director at Cambridge University Press, stated that the book cited sources "whose falsity had been established to the satisfaction of the English courts" and "the evidence produced by the authors of Alms for Jihad, repeated from earlier sources, has not stood up to the requisite tests." However, the authors of the book opposed CUP's action; instead, they urged Cambridge to contest the lawsuit. CUP was criticized by some who claimed that its action was incompatible with US freedom of speech laws and with freedom of the press, and also claimed English libel laws were excessively strict. In

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

(7 October 2007),

United States Congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Frank R. Wolf described CUP's settlement as "basically a book burning".

Affect on sales

Within hours, ''Alms for Jihad'' became one of the hundred most popular titles on

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and

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...

in the United States. CUP wrote to libraries asking them to remove copies from circulation. CUP subsequently sent out copies of an errata sheet. The

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

issued a recommendation to libraries still holding ''Alms for Jihad'': "Given the intense interest in the book, and the desire of readers to learn about the controversy first hand, we recommend that U.S. libraries keep the book available for their users."

Media reports

Nathan Vardi published an article in

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

magazine titled "Sins of the Father?" on March 18, 2002, with the heading: "Khalid bin Mahfouz, a Saudi billionaire, spent the 1990s engaged in financial folly and funding what the U.S. government calls a front for Al-Qaeda. Now a new generation tries to escape the shadow."Nathan Vardi
"Sins of the Father?"
''Forbes'', March 18, 2002.

Subsequently

The case led to the passing of the Libel Terrorism Protection Act (also known as " Rachel's Law") by the state of New York on April 29, 2008.

Previous cases

Mahfouz had previously also sued over claims in four other books: *June 2006: ''La Vérité Interdite'' (''The Forbidden Truth'') by

Jean-Charles Brisard Jean-Charles Brisard (born May 13, 1968 in Dijon, France) is a French international consultant and expert on terrorism. Education In 1990 Jean-Charles Brisard graduated from the School of Foreign Service of Georgetown University in Washington D. ...

and

Guillaume Dasquié Guillaume Dasquié (b. Cahors, 4 February 1966) is a French journalist and writer who specialises in matters of intelligence and terrorism. Dasquié graduated in Law in Paris in 1990. The next year he obtained a masters in political science in Pa ...

*April 2006: '' Funding Evil: How Terrorism is Financed and How to Stop It'', by

Rachel Ehrenfeld Rachel Ehrenfeld is an expert on terrorism and corruption-related topics. These include terror financing, economic warfare, and narcoterrorism. She has lectured on these issues in many countries, and has advised banking communities, law enforcement ...

*July 2004: ''Terrorism financing: roots and trends of Saudi terrorism financing'', prepared by JCB Consulting

References and sources

References

Sources

External links

Official page
at

Wikileaks article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alms For Jihad 2006 non-fiction books Books about the Middle East Non-fiction books about jihadism Books critical of Islam Cambridge University Press books