In Response to Boston Herald's Questions about Dr. Fitaihi's ArticlesFriday, September 10, 2004In March, 2004 the Boston Herald alleged that Dr. Walid Fitaihi had made anti-Semitic statements in some of his articles published in overseas newspapers. The ISB responded at the time, indicating that we would investigate the matter to determine whether there was truth to it or not. Below is a summary of the results of that investigation.
The Islamic Society of Boston found the quotations attributed to Dr. Walid Fitaihi by the Boston Herald to be glaringly in contrast to what we know of his actions in this community and the hundreds of articles he has published in overseas newspapers. In order to address this inconsistency,
- We developed and adopted a Values Statement which articulates the core values of our organization,
- We reviewed the quoted articles in their original Arabic,
- We reviewed many of Dr. Fitaihi’s other writings,
- We requested and received a written explanation by Dr. Fitaihi regarding this matter.
Ultimately, we decided, based on what we know of Dr. Fitaihi’s views, the historic and linguistic context of the articles, as well as Dr. Fitaihi’s internal statement on the issue, to accept his contention that the articles were intended to condemn particular individuals whom he believes were working to destroy one of Islam’s holiest sites, killing innocent children, and thereby blocking the possibility of peace in the Middle East; the articles were not meant to incite hatred of an entire faith or people.
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