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The old enemy: Anthony Burgess and Islam

RALPH HARRINGTON

I.

Introduction: looking forward

Theres no need, really, to write about the future, suggested Anthony Burgess in an interview he gave in 1973 to the journal Studies in the Novel. ou just loo! at the "resent and e#tend into a $ini$al world of fantasy the tenden%ies of the "resent and you get a so&%alled futuristi% novel.1 'n 197(, in another interview, Burgess returned to the the$e of visions of the future being rooted in the "resent, with s"e%ifi% referen%e to his new futuristi% novel, 1985, whi%h was "ublished in that year. 'n the Britain of 1985 freedo$ and individuality are %rushed between over&$ighty trade unions on one side )the %ountry is ironi%ally %alled Tu%land in honour of the Trades *nion +ongress, and the "ower of 'sla$ )based on Arab %ontrol of oil su"& "lies and $ass -usli$ i$$igration, on the other. .o you really thin! this is going to ha""en/ as!s the interviewer. Ta!e it that ' $erely $elodra$ati0e %ertain tenden& %ies is Burgesss %areful re"ly.1 'n Burgesss futuristi% writings the "resent is the !ey to the i$agined future, and %ontinuities and re%urring "atterns under"in visions of futurity that gain e#tra resonan%e as $u%h through their fa$iliarity as through their strangeness.3 There is an i$"ortant distin%tion between the interview Burgess gave in 1973 and the one that too! "la%e in 197(, for the latter %onversation never a%tually o%%urred. 'n an e#hibition of ty"i%ally Burgessian "layfulness, the interview and the su""osed interviewer 2 an eager and thoughtful young A$eri%an 2 were both inven&

1 +harles T. Bunting, An interview in 3ew or! with Anthony Burgess, Studies in the Novel, vol. 4, no. 5 )6inter 1973,, ". 411. 1 Anthony Burgess, 1985 )7ondon8 9ut%hinson, 197(,, ". 117. 3 :eorge ;ateb illu$inates this "oint in a 1971 dis%ussion of Burgesss dysto"ian 19<1 novel The Wanting Seed8 ' thin! that by "aying attention to this boo!, we %an %o$e to a $easure of %larity about "ossible "atterns of future e#"erien%e. But also about hu$an e#"erien%e as it has always been8 we distort our dis%ussion of $odernity by o$itting %ontinuities %o$"letely. :eorge ;ateb, =oliti%s and $odernity8 the strategies of des"eration, New Literary History, vol. 3, no. 1 )Autu$n 1971,, "". 9(&9.

RALPH HARRINGTON

The old enemy: Anthony Burgess and Islam

ted by Burgess as "art of the very "ie%e of fi%tion that the interview dis%ussed. This fabri%ated interview for$s the e"ilogue to the novel 19858 su""osedly re%orded in 7ondon, the %onversation was a%tually invented in -ona%o, where the ta#&e#iled Burgess was living at the ti$e, and where 1985 was written. +ons%iously %ontrived as it is, this double&voi%ed but single&authored interview has an authenti% feel of i$$e& dia%y, and given Burgesss views on the de"enden%e of our views of the future u"on our e#"erien%e of the "resent it is no sur"rise to find that his words are very reveal & ing about the %onte$"orary "reo%%u"ations whi%h found their way into his new boo!8 industrial strife, "oliti%al instability, e#%essive union "ower, $ass i$$igration, 'sla$i% oil, 'sla$i% wealth, 'sla$i% influen%e. 6hen viewed with the benefit of early twenty&first %entury hindsight so$e of Burgesss %on%erns about the near future, rooted though they are in the $id& to late& 197>s, a""ear stri!ingly "res%ient. 6hen as!ed by his interviewer what sort of events will fill the news bulletins that audien%es of the near future will wat%h on their wide s%reen televisions, Burgess re"lies8 ;idna""ing and s!yja%!ing by dissident grou"s. -i%robo$bs of i$$ense destru%tiveness "la%e in "ubli% buildings. -ore thorough fris!ing at air"orts and at %ine$a entran%es and on railroad sta& tions 2 indeed, everywhere8 restri%tions on hu$an dignity in the na$e of hu$an safety. 3ew oil stri!es, but the bul! of the oil in the hands of the Arabs. -ore and $ore 'sla$i% "ro"aganda. 'sla$i% religion taught in s%hools as a %ondition for getting oil.5 ?o$e of the "redi%tions Burgess $a!es in this e"ilogue are wide of the $ar! )jet travel on su"er +on%ordes, $en abandoning trousers as ves ?t 7aurent $a!es !ilts %hea" and "o"ular,, others have turned out to be $ore on target )govern$ents telling us what words we $ay not use, the "ri%e of drin! and toba%%o being $ade "rohibitive, to save us fro$ ourselves,, but it is this vision of a world %hara%teri0ed by terroris$, the se%urity state, and the rise of an assertive, even an aggressive 'sla$ whi%h arguably has the greatest resonan%e for our own ti$e. 'sla$ was a re%urrent rather than a %onstant "reo%%u"ation of Anthony Burgess during his forty&year writing %areer, 4 but it was a very signifi%ant "reo%%u"ation, and an understanding of Burgesss attitude to the 'sla$i% religion and the 'sla$i% world is

5 Burgess, 1985, ". 133. 4 @or Burgesss life see Andrew Biswell, The Real Life of Anthony Burgess )7ondon8 =i%ador, 1>>4,.

RALPH HARRINGTON

The old enemy: Anthony Burgess and Islam

essential to any balan%ed assess$ent of his wor!. 1985 is the only one of Burgesss novels in whi%h 'sla$ is a %entral the$e, but it o%%u"ies an i$"ortant "la%e in $any others8 Ti e for a Tiger )194<,, The !ne y in the Blan"et )194(,, Beds in the !ast )1949,, #evil of a State )19<1,, Na$oleon Sy $hony )1975, and !arthly %owers )19(>, are the $ost notable. 'sla$ was %learly an subje%t of great intrinsi% fas%ination for Burgess, and offered a sti$ulating and so$eti$es "rovo%ative field of enAuiry through whi%h he %ould e#"lore his %hara%teristi% the$es of good and evil, right and wrong, the li$its and nature of hu$an free will, and the relationshi" between the individual and authority. 'n addition 'sla$ served as an obje%t of %ultural, "oliti%al and histori%al interest for Burgess and a fo%us for hi$ of intelle%tual %uriosity and, at ti$es, aes& theti% attra%tion. 'n "arti%ular the Auestion of the relationshi" between 'sla$ and the 6est is one to whi%h he re"eatedly returns in his fi%tion and non&fi%tion writing throughout his %areer.
II. alaya: a gentle and !ermissi"e islam

Between 1945 and 1949 Burgess lived and wor!ed as a tea%her in -alaya and Brunei. This e#"erien%e was of funda$ental i$"ortan%e in sha"ing his attitudes to 'sla$ and influen%ing the "la%e 'sla$ %a$e to o%%u"y in his writing. -alaya fas%inated, re"elled, e#as"erated and enthralled hi$,< and a si$ilar $i#ture of res"onses was always to %hara%teri0e his res"onses to 'sla$. 9e was drawn to the religion to the e#tent that while tea%hing in the -alayan state of ;elantan he learned to write and read Arabi% s%ri"t and began to study the ;oran 2 indeed, he see$s to have given so$e %onsider& ation to be%o$ing -usli$ hi$self. -alayan -usli$s, he noted thirty years later in the first volu$e of his autobio& gra"hy, Little Wilson and Big &od, too! an easy&going attitude to their religious duties, drin!ing beer or brandy and eating ha$ and eggs8 This was a gentle and "er$issive 'sla$, and there were ti$es when ' thought of being %onverted to it.7 Burgesss use of the "assive for$, ' thought of being %onverted to it, rather than the a%tive ' thought of %onverting to it, suggests strongly that dee" religious %o$$it$ent "layed little "art in his notion of %onversion, and also serves to distan%e hi$ fro$ dire%t "ersonal res"onsibility for this "utative %onversion. Burgess be%o$ing a -usli$, had it ha""ened, would have been so$ething that -alaya did to hi$, rather than so$e& thing he a%tively did for hi$self, a "oint he reinfor%es by stressing the role of a

< Biswell, Anthony Burgess, ". 1<>. 7 Anthony Burgess, Little Wilson and Big &od' Being the (irst %art of the )onfessions of Anthony Burgess )7ondon8 9eine$ann, 19(7,, ". 5>7.

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The old enemy: Anthony Burgess and Islam

friend, 9aji 7atiff, in urging that he a%%e"t 'sla$8 9e had $y 'sla$i% na$e ready for $e8 ahya )whi%h $eans Bohn, with the "atrony$i% bin 9aji 7atiff, to announ%e to the world who had re%o$$ended the %onversion.( Burgess gives two reasons for %onsidering %onversion to 'sla$. Cne was "ra%& ti%al8 'f ' wished to stay on in -alaya after inde"enden%e, whi%h ' thought so$e& ti$es ' did, %onversion was essential. The other related to Burgesss diffi%ult relation& shi" with his own native +atholi%is$8 =erha"s, ' thought, if ' worshi""ed Allah the :od of the +atholi%s would leave $e alone.9 Be%o$ing -usli$ thus see$ed to offer Burgess, a%%ording to his own a%%ount, a $eans of short&%ir%uiting his inner s"iritual struggles. 3either of his reasons has $u%h to do with the tea%hings of 'sla$ itself, a "osition %onsistent with his view of the 'sla$i% religion )at least in its -alay& an for$, as a $atter of outward observan%e rather than inward intelle%tual or s"ir& itual %onvi%tion. 'sla$ is $ainly %usto$, $ainly observan%e, is a %o$$ent found in his 194( novel The !ne y in the Blan"et8 There is very little do%trine in it.1> 'n the end, Burgess did not %onvert to 'sla$. The e#"lanation he gives for this in Little Wilson and Big &od involves the story of a lo%al @ren%h +atholi% "riest, @ather 7aforgue, who, Burgess tells us, was barely tolerated by the 'sla$i% leaders, des"ite the %ounselling of religious toleran%e in the ;oran. Burgess rebuffed 7aforgues s"ir& itual advan%es by s"ea!ing of his wish to %onvert to 'sla$. The "riests res"onse8 9e "rayed for $e8 'sla$ was the old ene$y, not be %o$"ared with watery substitutes for the true +atholi% faith. -ore signifi%ant than anything @ather 7aforgue did hi$self in influen%ing Burgesss attitude to 'sla$, however, was the way the "riest was treated by the lo%al 'sla$i% authorities when it was dis%overed that he had $inistered to a +hinese +atholi% who had be%o$e -usli$ on $arrying a -alay wo$an but had re"ented his %onversion on his deathbed8 @ather 7aforgue suffered su$$ary evi%& tion fro$ his "arish and lived in the neighbouring state of Trengganu with a "oor +hinese fa$ily until the $oney %a$e through for his re"atriation. This turned $e against 'sla$.11 The suggestion here is that what finally $ade Burgess reje%t 'sla$ was a reali0& ation that the "i%ture he had of the religion, if only in -alaya, as gentle and "er & $issive was, in the end, false. The religious "ra%ti%e of the ordinary "eo"le of the

( Burgess, Little Wilson and Big &od, ". 5>7. Burgesss real na$e was Bohn Burgess 6ilson, hen%e ahya for Bohn. 9aji 7atiff was not a -alay, being originally fro$ Afghanistan8 Biswell, Anthony Burgess, "". 175, 1(1. 9 Burgess, Little Wilson and Big &od, ". 5>(. 1> Anthony Burgess, The !ne y in the Blan"et )194(,, in The Long #ay Wanes' A *alayan Trilogy )3ew or!8 6. 6. 3orton, 19<5D "b!. edn. 1991,, ". 115. 11 Burgess, Little Wilson and Big &od, ". 5>(.

RALPH HARRINGTON The old enemy: Anthony Burgess and RALPH HARRINGTON So arred !ere all my ner"es

Islam

%ountry $ay have ta!en a "er$issive for$, but 'sla$s true %hara%ter, as enfor%ed by the 'sla$i% authorities, was very different8 intolerant, vindi%tive, %ruel and hy"o& %riti%al. Burgess %ould a%%e"t, even feel affe%tionate towards, the $inor hy"o%risies of -alayan -usli$s drin!ing al%ohol and eating ba%on, but the hy"o%risy of the authorities of a religion that "rofessed toleran%e "ra%tising its o""osite re"elled hi$. 6hen he $oved on to tea%h, briefly, in Brunei he found what he saw as an even $ore hy"o%riti%al for$ of 'sla$ "ra%tised there, whi%h he duly de"i%ted )transferred to an Afri%an setting, in his 19<1 novel #evil of a StateD11 and the %harge of double standards be%o$es a %onstant in Burgesss de"i%tion of 'sla$ hen%eforward. .uring this "eriod when Burgess was %onsidering and reje%ting %onversion, he was "utting his study of the ;oran to good use by "rovo!ing his -usli$ students with the %ontradi%tions between what they believed 'sla$ to tea%h and what the ;oran a%tually said. 6hen a -usli$ $arries a non&-usli$ wo$an, $ust she %on& vert/ he would as!, and when they affir$ed that yes, she $ust, he would res"ond by Auoting %ha"ter and verse fro$ the ;oran in whi%h it was $ade %lear that she need not, and that her husband $ust allow her to worshi" in her own faith. This did not go down well with %ertain "eo"le in ;elantan,13 is the dry observation of the for$er tea%hing %olleague of Burgess fro$ who$ this a%%ount %o$es. Cn%e again the %harge being levelled at 'sla$ is hy"o%risy8 the hy"o%risy of a faith that "ro%lai$s but does not "ra%ti%e toleran%e, the hy"o%risy of -usli$s who are ignorant of what their own holy boo! says, and do not %are to have it "ointed out to the$ that it says the o""osite of what they %lai$. Cther %lassroo$ en%ounters %ontributed to Burgesss in%reasing %onvi%tion that there %ould be no real $eeting of %ultures between East and 6est. 9e atte$"ted to tea%h :raha$ :reenes The Heart of the *atter to a $i#ed %lass of +hinese, -alays, 'ndians, and Eurasians. 6hen they were %onfronted with the %entral tragedy of

11 Burgess, Little Wilson and Big &od, "". 533&4. At the end of 194( Burgess wrote and "erfor$ed so$e s%urrilous +hrist$as %arols for Fadio Brunei, in%luding one atta%!ing lo%al -usli$ hy"o& %risy8 -usli$s awa!e, salute another day G Cf gin, whis!y, stout G And B.:.A. G :reat is the law, the law the =ro"het taught 2 G .ont give the bloody thing another thought. 9e ho"ed these sen& ti$ents, and an insulting version of Ch, +o$e, All e @aithful dire%ted at the Brunei :overn& $ent $inister res"onsible for edu%ation, would lead to the ter$ination of his %ontra%t to tea%h there. 9is satires, however, were laughed off and his %ontra%t re$ained in "la%e ?ee Little Wilson and Big &od, ". 534, and Biswell, Anthony Burgess, "". 1>3&5. 13 Biswell, Anthony Burgess, ". 173. Burgess did not thin! $u%h of the ;oran, although his reser& vations a""ear to have been "ri$arily literary8 unfortunately the ;oran is a very bad boo!. Theres nothing $u%h to read in the ;oranD ?a$uel +oale, An interview with Anthony Burgess, *odern (i+tion Studies, vol. 17, no. 3 )Autu$n 19(1,, ". 53(. 9is %hara%ter Fu"ert 9ard$an in The !ne y in the Blan"et is even $ore dis$issive, %alling the ;oran the wor! of an illiterate and a re"etitive far& rago of "latitudes8 Burgess, !ne y in the Blan"et, "". 1(1, 315.

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The old enemy: Anthony Burgess and Islam

:reenes novel, a $an in love with two wo$en who is driven to sui%ide, the students were un%o$"rehending and res"onded with a$use$ent. 't was $y -usli$ students who were %hiefly a$used, re%alled Burgess in 199>8 why, they wished to !now, %ould he not $arry both wo$en 2 and two $ore if he wished/ ' saw then the falla%y of the notion of international %ulture.15 This %o$$ent by Burgess is a refle%tion on what a$ounted to a "ersonal loss of faith. 9e %a$e to -alaya with a fir$ belief in the liberal edu%ational ideals whi%h he felt it was his duty to disse$inate, 14 but his e#"osure to the realities of this "redo$& inantly 'sla$i% so%iety under$ined his belief in the universal validity of those ideals. 't see$ed that the -alays were not interested in this liberal western %ulture, even if it had been "ossible )as Burgess be%a$e %onvin%ed it was not, to %o$$uni%ate it to the$. 3ot least, Burgess be%a$e aware of the signifi%an%e of 'sla$ in under$ining the "ossibilities for the %reation of a %o$$on %ulture lin!ing East and 6est. 6hen "resented in Burgesss literature %lasses with a %ultural ideal that was urged u"on the$ as universal, his students not only reje%ted it but i$"osed their own in its "la%e8 the universal ideal of 'sla$. 6hen Burgess "ublished his first novel, Ti e for a Tiger, in 194< )the boo! that be%a$e the first volu$e of his -alayan Trilogy,, this %olliding of %ultures in a $a0e of in%o$"rehension was its %entral the$e, and re$ained the %onsistent and unifying the$e of the trilogy as a whole.1< The o"ening seAuen%e en%a"sulates the %haoti% inter$ingling of %ultures that Burgess found in -alaya, the in%o$"rehension that %hara%teri0ed the relationshi"s between the various %ultures of the East and between East and 6est, and over all, the as"irations of 'sla$ to universal $eaning and unity )an as"iration itself %onstantly under$ined by hu$an "ride, $enda%ity and wea!& ness,. The boo! begins with the $ue00in giving the dawn %all to "rayer fro$ the $osAue in Burgesss fi%tional -alayan town8 La ilaha illa,lah. La ilaha illa,lah. There is no :od but :od, but what did anybody %are/ The $ue00in, loo!ing down both lit& erally and figuratively u"on the su""osedly -usli$ town, des"ises his su"erstitious fellow&%ountry$en who, ostensibly -usli$, yet %lung to their ani$ist beliefs. As a ha-i hi$self, one who has $ade the "ilgri$age to -e%%a, he feels su"erior to the hy"o%rites who worshi" lo%al gods and s"irits, indulge fleshly a""etites and furtively eat ba%on and drin! brandy. et the $ue00in too is %o$"ro$ised by hy"o%risy, for his "ilgri$age was "artly funded by judi%ious bets on ti""ed horses and very good

15 Anthony Burgess, Euro"ean %ulture8 does it e#ist/, Theatre .ournal, vol. 53, no. 3 )C%tober 1991,, ". 3>>. This arti%le is the te#t of a tal! Burgess gave on BB+ Fadio 3 on 5 A"ril 199>. 14 Biswell, Anthony Burgess, ". 1<1. 1< Biswell, Anthony Burgess, ". 1(<.

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RALPH HARRINGTON

The old enemy: Anthony Burgess and Islam

advi%e about rubber given by a +hinese business&$an. 9e has bought the %oveted and elite status of a ha-i with the "ro%eeds of betting and s"e%ulative invest$ent, in dire%t %ontradi%tion of the 'sla$i% "rohibition of ga$bling8 :a$bling indeed was forbidden, hara , but he had wanted to go to -e%%a and be%o$e a ha-i.17 'n the se%ond volu$e of the -alayan Trilogy, The !ne y in the Blan"et )194(,, Burgesss abortive %onversion to 'sla$ is rehearsed in the %hara%ter of Fu"ert 9ard& $an. *nli!e Burgess, 9ard$an has a $aterial ai$ in view when he %onsiders %onver& sion, in the for$ of $arriage to a ri%h -usli$ widow 2 and also unli!e Burgess, he does go through with his %onversion, whi%h is hotly urged u"on hi$ by his friend 9aiji Hainal Abidin8 't is the true religion, you +hristian bastard. 't is the only one. The rest are $ere i$itations.1( The +atholi% "riest @ather 7aforgue a""ears in the narrative, %ounselling 9ard$an against %onverting, but also refle%ting that +atholi& %is$ and 'sla$ have a "arti%ular histori%al relationshi", in whi%h the notion of the old ene$y features strongly8 ' feel less hurt about your entering 'sla$ than ' would if you were to be%o$e a =rotestant. That is wrong, for =rotestantis$ is a disre"ut& able younger brother but still of the fa$ily. 6hereas 'sla$ is the old ene$y.19 9ard& $an, res"onding, ta!es u" and enlarges on 7aforgues "oint, arguing that as old ene$ies +atholi%is$ and 'sla$ have $ore to say to ea%h other than do +atholi%is$ and =rotestantis$8 't was a Auarrel between $en when all is said and done, and there was a healthy $utual res"e%t Ibetween +atholi%is$ and 'sla$J K you %ant ta!e 7uther or +alvin or 6esley very seriously, and hen%e they dont %ount. But you %an ta!e 'sla$ very seriously and you %an %o$"are old wounds and swa" "hotogra"hs, and you %an say8 6ere old ene$ies, and old ene$ies are $ore than new friends.1> 6hatever Burgesss diffi%ulties with his own native faith of +atholi%is$, he had little ti$e for =rotestantis$, whi%h he %alled a logi%al absurdity K ou %ant justify it in

17 Anthony Burgess, Ti e for a Tiger )194<,, in The Long #ay Wanes' A *alayan Trilogy )3ew or!8 6. 6. 3orton, 19<5D "b!. edn. 1991,, ". 17. 1( Burgess, !ne y in the Blan"et, ". 195. 19 Burgess, !ne y in the Blan"et, "". 11<&7. The fi%tional 7aforgue suffers the sa$e fate as the real one, driven out by the lo%al 'sla$i% authorities for en%ouraging a"ostasy. 't is not %lear whether Burgess used the real "riests na$e for his fi%tional %ounter"art, or a""lied the fi%tional na$e to an a%tual "riest when he later %a$e to write of the real @ather 7aforgues e#"erien%es in his autobio& gra"hy. 1> Burgess, !ne y in the Blan"et, ". 117.

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RALPH HARRINGTON

The old enemy: Anthony Burgess and Islam

any way.11 et the %lai$s of an all&e$bra%ing +hristendo$ were i$"ortant to his world&view, and the ne%essary o""osition between a +atholi%&%entred +hristendo$ on one hand and 'sla$ on the other is a the$e to whi%h he freAuently returned. The sense of interde"enden%e in the relationshi" between +hristendo$ and 'sla$ is also a Auestion he gra""led with re"eatedly. The two faiths, the two %ultures, are %learly in o""osition, but their history of %onfli%t has %reated a for$ of "artnershi" between the two, and has a%ted %ulturally and s"iritually as a sour%e of energy and vitality.
III. Ine"ita(le conflict: Islams mailed fist

This "la%ing of +hristendo$ and 'sla$ in interde"endent o""osition refle%ts the i$"ortan%e of o""ositional "airings, of diale%ti%al %onfrontations, in Burgesss wor!.11 ?u%h %onfrontations are essential to Burgesss view of %ivili0ation8 't is i$"ortant to re$e$ber that Burgess sees %onfli%t as %reativeD it is in the %lash of the eternal o""osites that vitality is generated and $an is invested with a sense of his full hu$anity.13 The %onfli%t between 'sla$ and +hristendo$ is inevitable in itself, and su%h %onfli%t is essential to the vigour of 6estern %ivili0ation. Burgess returns to this "oint in !arthly %owers )19(>,, when the Angli%an Bisho" of :ibraltar 2 =rotestant "relate of a British en%lave on the ti" of +atholi% ?"ain that is also a +hristian stronghold on the edge of the -usli$ world 2 $uses on 'sla$8 A desert faith, sworn ene$y of +hristendo$ K Cn%e the +hristians fought the -usli$s, and then the +hristians fought ea%h other. @aith is hard to sustain unless it is either beleaguered or drea$s the i$"erial drea$.15 'n the $odern world, Burgess !nows that +hristianity no longer drea$s the i$"erial drea$, but nor does it gain sustenan%e fro$ being beleaguered, ta!ing refuge instead in neutrality, %o$"ro$ise and indifferen%e. 'n the fa%e of an 'sla$ that is strong and that does drea$ the i$"erial drea$, the lesson of history is %lear8 this, for +hristianity and for the 6estern %ivili0ation of whi%h +hristianity is the foundation, is a folly a!in to surrender. Burgesss histori%al %ons%iousness "revented hi$ fro$ being %o$fortable with 'sla$. 9e %ould never see it as so$ething irrelevant be%ause re$ote and e#oti%, or har$less be%ause nearby and neighbourly. Father, it was $art of Euro"es "ast, so$e& thing Euro"e had in large "art defined itself through fighting against. This uniAue

11 +oale, An interview with Anthony Burgess, ". 537. 11 Tho$as 7e+lair, Essential o""osition8 the novels of Anthony Burgess, )riti/ue, vol. 11, no. 3 )Autu$n 1971,, es"e%ially "". 77, 79&(1, 93. 13 Bohn B. ?tinson, Better to be hot or %old8 1985 and the dyna$i% of the -ani%hean duoverse, *od0 ern (i+tion Studies, vol. 17, no. 3 )Autu$n 19(1,, ". 413. 15 Anthony Burgess, !arthly %owers )19(>D 3ew or!8 +arroll L :raf, 1995,, ". 1>9.

RALPH HARRINGTON

The old enemy: Anthony Burgess and Islam

"la%e held by 'sla$ in Euro"es "ast history and "resent identity $eans that Burgess a%%ords it a res"e%t and status he denies to other faiths re$oter fro$ that histori%al e#"erien%e. ' %annot go along with 9induis$ at all, nor with Buddhis$, he observed in 197(, but ' %an go along with 'sla$, be%ause its "retty %lose to us.14 By "retty %lose to us he $eant %lose both geogra$hi+ally and histori+ally. -odern Euro"eans $ay %hose to forget the fa%t, but in the "ast the -usli$ world had not $erely la""ed the shores of Euro"e but had e#tended its authority over vast areas of the %ontinent. Euro"e, he "ointed out, %ould easily have been in%or"orated lastingly into the 'sla$i% world8 the whole of Euro"e %ould have been 'sla$i%i0ed 2 the whole of ?"ain %ertainly was.1< The sour%e of 'sla$s e#"ansionist energy and "oten%y is, Burgess argues, its austerity and rigour8 if youre living in the East, if youre living under hot s!ies and desert sands and %a$els, you %an see the attra%tion of this very austere religion.17 The desert is a world of absolutes, and the i$"li%ation is that su%h an environ$ent "rodu%es %larity, resolution and %onvi%tion in religious belief and "ra%ti%e, %reating in 'sla$ a religion both essentiali0ed and universal. As 1985 $oves towards violent %on& frontation Burgess has a )-usli$, %hara%ter s"ea! of his reali0ation that 'sla$ %on& tained everything and yet was as si$"le and shar" as a sword, 1( and in !arthly %owers he has a )+hristian, %hara%ter e#"ound on the attra%tions of the s%i$itarli!e si$"li & %ity of +hristendo$s an%ient ene$y.19 These wea"on&i$ages are not %hosen at ran& do$8 'sla$ offers the si$"li%ity of the blade, the shar" edge that %uts through %on& fusion and %o$"le#ity. @ro$ austerity %o$es 'sla$s strength, %ontrasted throughout 1985 with the $uddle and the $ess 3> of %onte$"orary Britain, the wea!ness and irresolution of a so%iety that has rea%hed its "oint of %risis through sheer drift.31 The 'sla$ of 1985 is i$"erialisti% and aggressive, its e%ono$i% "ower based on oil and its ideologi%al "ower based on religious %onvi%tion. The 6est, $ired in $oral and religious relativis$, inde%isiveness and feebleness, be%o$es a "assive witness to the %y%les of history whi%h ine#orably "rodu%e 'sla$i% do$inion8

14 +oale, An interview with Anthony Burgess, ". 53(. This arti%le was "ublished in 19(1, but +oale notes that the interviews on whi%h it was based too! "la%e )in -ona%o, in Buly 197(. 1< +oale, An interview with Anthony Burgess, ". 53(. 17 +oale, An interview with Anthony Burgess, ". 53(. 1( Burgess, 1985, ". 197. 19 Burgess, !arthly %owers, ". 57<. 3> Burgess, 1985, ". 19. 31 ?tinson, Better to be hot or %old, "". 4>(&9, 41<.

RALPH HARRINGTON

The old enemy: Anthony Burgess and Islam

And where does the "ower lie/ The literal "ower that drives the $a%hines slee"s in 'sla$i% oil K 'sla$ is one of the genuine su& "erstates, with a "owerful religious ideology whose $ailed fist "un%hed +hristendo$ in the .ar! Ages and $ay yet rei$"ose itself on a 6est drained, than!s to the ?e%ond Mati%an +oun%il, of solid and belligerent belief.31 Burgesss own res"onse to this "ower is %hara%teri0ed by a$bivalen%e8 he both ad& $ires 'sla$ and fears it. 9e ad$ires 'sla$s strength and rigour, and %ontrasts it with the 6ests wea!ness, in%oheren%e and la%! of %onvi%tion, e"ito$i0ed in the refor$s to the +atholi% +hur%h brought about by the ?e%ond Mati%an +oun%il )whi%h he des& "ised with all the 0eal of the la"sed +atholi%,.33 At the sa$e ti$e he sees 'sla$ as, innately and inevitably, a threat to +hristendo$ and to the 6est. -ore than a reli& gion, it is a "owerful religious ideology, a faith with $ailed fists, i$"osing itself by for%e. .yna$i% and aggressive, 'sla$ has "un%hed the 6est before and, ta!ing advantage of 6estern wea!ness, will readily do so again. 6ith the %olla"se of +hris& tianity in the 6est and the de%line in the 6ests self&%onfiden%e and self&belief, a s"ir& itual and %ultural va%uu$ is being %reated. 7oo!ing into the near future, Burgess argues that the "ower of 'sla$ is "oised to fill that e$"tiness with $eaning. The +hristian e%u$eni%al $ove$ent will have rea%hed its li$it, $eaning that +atholi%is$ will have turned into =rotestantis$ and =rotestantis$ into agnosti%is$. The young will still be after the bi0arre and the $ysti%al, with new %ults and i$"ossible -oon&ty"e leaders. But 'sla$ will not have lost any of its rigour K ?u"er& nature abhors a su"erva%uu$. 6ith the death of institutional +hristianity will %o$e the s"read of 'sla$.35 Burgess sees +hristianity destroying itself fro$ within, leaving the 6est in%reasingly vulnerable to the rising "ower of 'sla$. That "ower %onstitutes both an internal and an e#ternal threat, through -usli$ i$$igration, insidious 'sla$i% "ro"aganda and indo%trination, the oil wealth of the -iddle East and the stranglehold of 'sla$i% states u"on the 6ests energy su""lies.

31 Burgess, 1985, ". <1. 33 +oale, An interview with Anthony Burgess, ". 539. 35 Burgess, 1985, ". 135.

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The old enemy: Anthony Burgess and Islam

Authority and strength arise in large $easure, Burgess suggests, fro$ resistan%e to %o$"ro$ise, a refusal to give way to la#ness. The for$s of 'sla$ that he found $ost attra%tive hi$self were "re%isely the %o$"ro$ised, rela#ed for$s he had en& %ountered in -alaya, where -ost of the -usli$s ' !new K had been %orru"ted or influen%ed by the British way of life, drin!ing al%ohol and eating ba%on, behaving with a degree of se#ual freedo$, and "ra%tising a syn%reti% for$ of 'sla$ whi%h e%le%ti%ally blended ani$is$, fol! religion and ele$ents fro$ non&'sla$i% traditions with the outward observan%es that 'sla$ reAuired. To live in su%h a way, Burgess understood, was not to ta!e 'sla$ seriously8 ou %ouldnt find this in ?audi Arabia, obviously. The news about "eo"le whi""ed "ubli%ly, being beheaded, ' $ean they ta!e it really seriously there. But theres a %har$ about 'sla$ in a %ountry li!e -alaya or Borneo, where it has to stand on its own and jostle u" against other religions. ?ee how it gets on K But when it be%o$es $onolithi% and a genuine state religion, as in ?audi Arabia, then its rather re"ulsive. 'ts very $u%h li!e +alvinis$ in :eneva, very si$ilar.34 The %o$"arison with the authoritarian =rotestantis$ asso%iated with Bohn +alvin is also $ade by @ather 7aforgue in The !ne y in the Blan"et8 Cne %ould $a!e $any %onverts here K But 'sla$ is so re"ressive. There is no freedo$ of %ons%ien%e. 't is very li!e +alvinis$.3< 6hen 'sla$ "ossesses a $ono"oly ba%!ed by state "ower, when it is authoritarian and rigorous, it be%o$es rather re"ulsive. et it is "re%isely the strength asso%iated with ta!IingJ it really seriously that $a!es 'sla$ a for%e to be re%!oned with in the world, in a way in whi%h +hristianity is not.
I,. The -ushdie Affair: Islams gangster tactics

'n early 19(9 Anthony Burgess was %aught u" in an event that saw literature, "oliti%s and authoritarian 'sla$ %o$e dra$ati%ally together8 the %ontroversy surrounding the novel The Satani+ 1erses by the British author ?al$an Fushdie. The a""roa%h to 'sla$ whi%h Fushdie %hose to ta!e in this novel "rovo!ed a hostile rea%tion a$ong $any -usli$s. 'n a nu$ber of -usli$ %ountries, and in others with vo%al and influential -usli$ "o"ulations, The Satani+ 1erses was banned. =rotests too! "la%e a%ross the 'sla$i% world, $any of whi%h be%a$e violent, with so$e ending in the deaths of

34 +oale, An interview with Anthony Burgess, "". 54(&9. 3< Burgess, !ne y in the Blan"et, ". 179.

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The old enemy: Anthony Burgess and Islam

"rotesters and others. Boo!sho"s were threatened and so$e "hysi%ally atta%!edD -usli$ "rotesters in 6estern %ountries, as well as in the -iddle East and ?outh Asia, burned %o"ies of the boo! and %alled "ubli%ly for the !illing of Fushdie.37 Cn 15 @ebruary 19(9, after si# $onths of "rotest and tur$oil, the 'ranian leader Ayatollah ;ho$eini issued a fatwa, or for$al -usli$ judi%ial ruling, whi%h %onde$ned The Satani+ 1erses as blas"he$ously insulting to 'sla$. The $essage of the fatwa was very si$"le8 it soli%ited $urder in the na$e of 'sla$. The Satani+ 1erses, ;ho$eini de%lared, has been %o$"iled, "rinted, and "ub& lished in o""osition to 'sla$, the =ro"het, and the Nuran, and its author and every& one else involved in the "rodu%tion of the boo! who was aware of its %ontent are senten%ed to death. @urther$ore, ;ho$eini en%ouraged 0ealous -usli$s to e#e%ute the$ Aui%!ly and stated that :od willing the $urderers, if the$selves !illed while %arrying out the senten%e, would be a%%orded the status of $artyrs.3( 'n %ase the lure of su%h s"iritual rewards was insuffi%ient, the rather $ore worldly in%entive of hard %ash was also on offer8 large su$s of $oney were "ro$ised by 'sla$i% organi0ations within 'ran and elsewhere to the 0ealous -usli$s who su%& %eeded in their holy tas! of $urder. Anthony Burgess was not slow in his res"onse to these develo"$ents. Bust two days after the fatwa was issued, on 1< @ebruary 19(9, he "ublished an arti%le under the headline 'sla$s gangster ta%ti%s in The 2nde$endent news"a"er.39 'n Britain, Fush& dies ado"ted ho$e %ountry, $u%h of the res"onse to the fatwa was highly eAuivo%al, or even )as in the %ase of so$e "ro$inent $e$bers of the British :overn$ent and the a%ade$i% establish$ent, %ravenly a""easing, with university "rofessors and -e$& bers of =arlia$ent bla$ing Fushdie for having brought his "light u"on hi$self and a%%e"ting sy$"atheti%ally and at fa%e value the %lai$s of boo!&burning, $urder& in%iting -usli$s that they were the vi%ti$s of an outrage rather than the "er"etrat& ors of one.5> Burgess, however, was forthright and un%o$"ro$ising in his e#"res& sions of disgust with and o""osition to the fatwa, in his %ha$"ioning of free s"ee%h and in his reje%tion of any 'sla$&ins"ired atte$"t to i$"ose thought&%ontrol u"on the "eo"le of a non&'sla$i% %ountry8 6hat a se%ular so%iety thin!s of the "ro"het -oha$ed, he de%lared, is its own affair.51

37 .aniel =i"es, The Rushdie Affair' The Novel3 the Ayatollah3 and the West )199>D 3ew Brunswi%!, 3B8 Transa%tion, 1>>3,, "". 19&3<. 3( The te#t of the fatwa as Auoted here %o$es fro$ =i"es, The Rushdie Affair, ". 17. 39 Anthony Burgess, 'sla$s gangster ta%ti%s, The 2nde$endent, 1< @ebruary 19(9, ". 17. 5> -elanie =hilli"s, Londonistan' How Britain is )reating a Terror State Within )7ondon8 :ibson ?Auare, 1>><,, "". 54&(8 a "ole$i%al but fa%tually a%%urate a%%ount. 51 Burgess, 'sla$s gangster ta%ti%s.

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The old enemy: Anthony Burgess and Islam

Burgess %onde$ned ;ho$einis fatwa as a de%laration of war on the %iti0ens of a free %ountry $otivated by "oliti%al o""ortunis$, and dis$issed -usli$s anti& Fushdie "rotests as unjustified by argu$ent, thought or anything $ore intelle%tual than the throwing of stones and the stri!ing of $at%hes. 9e was %lear about the vital i$"ortan%e of the 6estern values of free s"ee%h and toleran%e whi%h were un& der atta%!, and una$biguously labelled -usli$ rea%tion to Fushdies boo! as the "rodu%t of ignoran%e, intoleran%e and unreason8 ' gain the i$"ression that few of the "rotesting -usli$s in Britain !now dire%tly what they are "rotesting against. Their '$a$s have told the$ that -r Fushdie has "ublished a blas"he$ous boo! and $ust be "unished. They res"ond with shee"li!e do%ility and wolf& li!e aggression. They forget what the 3a0is did to boo!s 2 or "er& ha"s they do not8 after all, so$e of their %o&religionists a""roved of the 9olo%aust 2 and they sha$e a free %ountry by denying free e#"ression through the vindi%tive agen%y of bonfires.51 Burgesss words "resent, by any standards, an unflattering i$age of 'sla$ )at least, of 'sla$ as a signifi%ant nu$ber of its adherents %hose to e#"ress or ena%t it during the Fushdie affair,, and $ight have been e#"e%ted to "rovo!e resent$ent a$ong anti& Fushdie -usli$s, as well as a$ong other -usli$s who $ay have felt that he was generali0ing unfairly and insultinglyD but it was also greeted with hostility by those in the 6est whose attitude towards 'sla$i% e#tre$is$ and totalitarianis$ tended, even in the fa%e of violent "rotests and in%ite$ents to $urder, towards indulgen%e, e#%uses and a""ease$ent. Burgesss arti%le was roundly atta%!ed as an ignorant and "rejudi%ed anti&-usli$ diatribe, arti%ulating a %ari%atured view of 'sla$ and ta!ing an arrogantly insensitive attitude towards -usli$s who sin%erely felt Fushdies boo! to be a dee" insult to 'sla$. 9e was harshly %riti%i0ed for ta!ing a si$"listi% view of freedo$ of e#"ression and for rea%ting to the boo!&burnings and death&threats with, de"lorably, an auto$ati% defen%e of liberty and free s"ee%h.53 'f that is indeed a %riti%is$, it is surely one Anthony Burgess would have been ha""y to a%%e"t. 9e had no $ore sy$"athy for those "re"ared to %o$"ro$ise with

51 Burgess, 'sla$s gangster ta%ti%s. 53 Ba$es =is%atori, The Fushdie affair and the "oliti%s of a$biguity, 2nternational Affairs, vol. <<, no. 5 )C%tober 199>,, "". 779&(>D as$in Alibhai&Brown, 7iberalis$ and its li$its, %ros$e+t *aga4ine, no. 3> )-ay 199(,D Fi%hard 6ebster, Fe%onsidering the Fushdie affair8 freedo$, %ensorshi", and A$eri%an foreign "oli%y )un"ublished essay, 1991,. The dis$issive referen%e to an auto$ati% defen%e of liberty and free s"ee%h %o$es fro$ =is%atori, ". 7(>.

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The old enemy: Anthony Burgess and Islam

the intelle%tual totalitarianis$ the fatwa re"resented than he did for the edi%t itself. 9is res"onse to ;ho$einis de%laration refle%ted his %onvi%tion, infor$ed by $ore than thirty years of thin!ing and writing about 'sla$, that what the fatwa re"resented was so$ething "rofoundly dangerous to any so%iety in whi%h freedo$ was valued. ;ho$eini, he argued, was drawing on the $ost re"ressive traditions within 'sla$ in this atte$"t to e#tend the rea%h of 'sla$i% authority a%ross the non&'sla$i% world, and to i$"ose a narrowly totalitarian inter"retation of 'sla$ u"on -usli$s and non& -usli$s ali!e. 'sla$ on%e did intelle%tual battle. 3ow it "refers to draw blood. 't see$s to have lost its $ajor strength only to resort to the ta%ti%s of the gangster. This is unworthy of a $ajor religion. K ' would $u%h "refer that ;ho$eini argued rationally with the infidel 6est in the $anner of the great $edieval Arabs. But, instead of arguing, he de%lared a holy war against argu$ent. 9is insolen%e is an insult to 'sla$.55 'n ta!ing this "osition, Burgess is setting -usli$ res"onse to The Satani+ 1erses against the ba%!ground of twelve %enturies of %o$"li%ated, %onfli%tual but always fertile and $utually invigorating rivalry and intera%tion between 'sla$ and the 6est. 't is u"on this that he bases his %lai$ to "ossessing the authority to judge ;ho$einis a%tion, and to find it wanting in ter$s of 'sla$i% %ivili0ation and %ulture itself. Burgess sees the fatwa and the anti&Fushdie "rotests as signifying an 'sla$ that has lost the self&%onfident strength he ad$ires, ado"ting instead the gangsters ta%ti%s of threats, inti$idation and violen%e8 There is so$ething not very li!eable about a faith that is so Aui%! to order assassination.54
,. .uro!e and the !resence of the old enemy

@or Burgess the Fushdie affair was $ore than just a %ontroversy over a "arti%ular boo!8 it re"resented, at a funda$ental level, a %onfli%t of %ultures. The %o$"le# intera%tion of different %ultures 2 "arti%ularly in a %onte#t of $isunderstanding, in%o$"rehension, tension and %onfli%t 2 %ontinued to be a$ong his fore$ost %on& %erns. 'n A"ril 199> Burgess e#"lored these issues in a BB+ radio tal! entitled Euro"ean %ulture8 does it e#ist/ 9is answer was a Aualified yes8 a unified Euro"ean

55 Burgess, 'sla$s gangster ta%ti%s. 54 Burgess, 'sla$s gangster ta%ti%s.

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%ulture %ertainly had e#isted in the "ast, but the Auestion of its %onte$"orary reality was far $ore "roble$ati%. ?ignifi%antly, he as%ribed $u%h of the res"onsibility for the e$ergen%e of that %ulture in the "ast to the unifying agen%y of +hristendo$, in whi%h the liberal hu$anis$ whi%h he saw as the essen%e of the $odern %ulture of Euro"e had its roots8 The %ulture of our %ontinent was %ertainly unified when Euro"e was !nown as +hristendo$. 't suffered its first fra%ture with the 7utheran, +alvinisti% and Hwinglian refor$s. ?till, it re$ained +hristian. K The se%ular liberalis$ of the Euro"e we !now ste$s fro$ +hristianity.5< 6riting at a tu$ultuous ti$e in Euro"ean history, not long after the fall of the Berlin 6all and with the "ost&war East&6est division of Euro"e in the "ro%ess of "ea%eful dissolution, Burgess argues for a new vision of the %ontinent that refle%ts and draws u"on this old notion of +hristendo$ in its %atholi% unity. 6ith the 1954 division of Euro"e into de$o%rati% 6est and totalitarian East, he writes, the $odern %on%e"t of Euro"e be%a$e essentially "oliti%al rather than %ultural, ta!ing a narrower for$ than that e$bodied in the old %on%e"t of +hristendo$. The influen%e of that rather nar& row %on%e"t that ends where the Berlin 6all on%e stood, he argues, re$ains, al& though we $ay as"ire to a %ontinental %on%e"t that restores the old unity 2 not +hristian but at least liberal and hu$anisti%. 57 The logi% of Burgesss "osition is that the unity of Euro"e is essentially %ultural, not ideologi%al, "oliti%al or e%ono$i%, for %ultural unity re%ogni0es and is enri%hed by differen%es rather than see!ing to disregard or eli$inate the$. As 've des"aired of finding a %ulture 2 other than that of Barbara +artland, Bat$an, 'ndiana Bones, and the +o%a&+ola %an 2 whi%h should bring Euro"e and Asia %loser together, so ' a%%e"t, with no sense of des"air at all, a Euro"e united only in its substru%ture. '$ thin!ing of a sy$biosis sustained through re%ognition of dif& feren%es, a stability %onfir$ed by %entrifugal for%es.5(

5< Burgess, Euro"ean %ulture, ". 3>>, 3>1. 57 Burgess, Euro"ean %ulture, ". 3>>&1. 5( Burgess, Euro"ean %ulture, ". 3>4.

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The old enemy: Anthony Burgess and Islam

This notion of Euro"e as a stability %onfir$ed by %entrifugal for%es is a new ver& sion, in $ore abstra%t for$, of the vision of a Euro"ean %ontinuu$ over%o$ing divisive, "olari0ing %ategories whi%h Burgess had arti%ulated in his 19<5 novel Honey for the Bears. 'n this novel Burgess refle%ted on the o""ositions and divisions of +old 6ar Euro"e8 ' a$ tired of %ategories, of divisions, of o""osites K That they inter"enetrate is no real "alliative, no oint$ent for the %ut. 6hat ' see! is a %ontinuu$, the $erging, Euro"e is all -ani%hees.59 The $erging Burgess wishes to see does not $ean sub$erging beneath the for%es of unifor$ity, in %ultural any $ore than in "oliti%al ter$s. Burgess reje%ts the totalitarianis$ of the internationali0ation, or A$eri%ani0ation, of %ulture )A$eri%an eAuals international. Cr vi%e versa 4>, just as fir$ly as he does the totalitarianis$ of authoritarian "oliti%s or religion. ?u%h internationali0ation threatens to i$"ose a uni& for$ity of banality and to bring about the eli$ination of the various subtleties and a$biguities whi%h $a!e u" a national %ulture.41 Burgesss vision of Euro"e involves those subtleties and a$biguities e#isting within a larger, all&en%o$"assing %ultural fra$ewor!. 'n the Euro"ean %onte#t that all&e$bra%ing %ulture %an be seen as, in both senses of the word, %atholi%, and Burgess $aintains that it is %ertainly a +hris & tian or at least +hristiani0ed %ulture. 9e held to this "osition des"ite his own reje%& tion of both the +atholi%is$ within whi%h he was brought u" and that of the $od& ern "ost&Mati%an '' +hur%h8 ' thin! the only future for the 6est, the se%ular future for the 6est, lies in so$e !ind of +hristianity.41 Burgesss e$"hasis on the %entrality of +hristendo$ returns hi$ to the inevitability of %onfli%t with +hristianitys an%ient adversary, 'sla$. Burgess writes that $odern Euro"e is a Euro"e whi%h has to ad$it the "res& en%e of the old ene$y, 'sla$, as one of the %onstituent stru%tures. This ' a$ old& fashioned enough to regret.43 As we have seen, the notion of 'sla$ as the old ene$y is dee"ly rooted in Burgesss wor!. @or Burgess a la%! of histori%al sense is at the root of $any of the worlds ills, and a histori%al understanding of the signi& fi%an%e of Euro"ean +hristendo$ 2 in whi%h, as we have seen, Burgess believes $odern Euro"e has its roots 2 de$ands a re%ognition that, histori%ally, 'sla$ has been its )that is, Euro"es and +hristendo$s, inveterate foe. The i$"li%ation is that

59 Anthony Burgess, Honey for the Bears )3ew or!8 6. 6. 3orton, 19<5,, ". 19>. Cn -ani%heeis$ in Burgess, see Bohn B. ?tinson, The -ani%hee world of Anthony Burgess, Renas+en+e, vol. 1<, no. 1 )Autu$n 1973,, "". 37&57. 4> Burgess, Euro"ean %ulture, ". 3>1. 41 Burgess, Euro"ean %ulture, ". 3>1. 41 +oale, An interview with Anthony Burgess, ". 54>. 43 Burgess, Euro"ean %ulture, ". 3>1.

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The old enemy: Anthony Burgess and Islam

the relationshi" between the Euro"ean %ulture Burgess defends and 'sla$, an a$bi& valent and %o$"le# relationshi" hallowed by history, will always be in the end an ant& agonisti% one8 'sla$ will not be absorbed into 6estern %ulture, and the 6est has never been able to %o$e to ter$s with it.45
,I. /onclusion: a faith of scimitared marauders

9is awareness of this history of rivalry and %onfli%t left Anthony Burgess unable sin& %erely to believe in the "ea%eful %o&e#isten%e of 'sla$i% %ivili0ation and the 6est. @or hi$ the warrior 'sla$ of aggression and e#"ansionis$ was never so$ething distin%t fro$ the 'sla$ of the $odern world 2 it was an intrinsi% "art of its nature, as relev& ant in the twentieth %entury as when its $ailed fist first "un%hed +hristendo$ in "ast %enturies. .o you thin! the 9oly 6ar ended in the -iddle Ages/ he has a -usli$ "ara$ilitary leader as! as the 'sla$i% ta!eover of Britain rea%hes its %li$a# in 1985.44 @or Burgess, 'sla$ was always at its heart a faith of s%i$itared $arauders.4< 9ow valid that "er%e"tion $ay be, whether as a $eans of understanding Burgesss own ti$e or our own, is o"en to debateD but the a%tions of so$e of 'sla$s own adherents have ensured that it is not a "oint of view that %an si$"ly be disregarded. A world still dealing with the lega%y of that day in ?e"te$ber 1>>1 when the $arauders %a$e ar$ed, not with s%i$itars but with hija%!ed airliners, does not have the lu#ury of ignoring what Anthony Burgess has to say.

0 -al!h 1arrington 2++). All r#ghts reser"ed$ Th#s essay %an &e re'rodu%ed (or #nd#"#dual resear%h and (or edu%at#onal 'ur'oses only$ No other re'rodu%t#on 'erm#tted !#thout the 'r#or 'erm#ss#on o( the author$ No %ommer%#al use 'erm#tted$ http://www.artificialhorizon.org

45 Burgess, Euro"ean %ulture, ". 3>>. 44 Burgess, 1985, ". 197. The s"ea!er is a British %onvert to 'sla$8 Burgess understood very well that those who freely join a religion through %onversion will often be nu$bered a$ong its $ost 0eal& ous and intolerant adherents. 4< Anthony Burgess, 7iving for se# and danger, New 5or" Ti es, 1> -ay 199>, Boo! Feview se%tion, ". 1.

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