The Haj

Rating:
Summary: Bad view of Arab Muslims.
Review: I agree with John Grace. Uris' depiction of an Arab muslim family and way of life is incorrect and wrong. True muslims are not as barbaric and stupid as Uris has portrayed. This is obviously a blatant attempt to slur Islam.

Rating:
Summary: excellent book
Review: I do enjoy all of Leon Uris books. I have to wonder how much is fiction and how much is not. Some of it seems too bazzar to be fiction. What is it they say truth is strange that fiction. given what I have read of the Mid East. it may not be so strange or unbelievable. I would like to learn something about Leon. dds

Rating:
Summary: Hate literature from a major publisher no less.
Review: Write a book in which you describe an entire religion and ethnic group as hateful and hate-filled. Then, try finding a mainstream publisher to publish you. Hard? Not if you are Leon Uris and writing about the inherent villainy of Arabs and Muslims. That's the story of the Haj.

Rating:
Summary: masterful storytelling of a tragic place and time
Review: I have yet to find a better storyteller than Leon Uris. His research and detail amaze me in each of his books. The Haj is certainly no exception. It is an accurate representation of one Palestinian family and the historical events which surround them. By no means do these characters represent every Arab or every Israeli for that matter, but it is not filled with lies or propoganda as some would like to believe. Uris retains his fast pace throughout the book while developing fascinating characters. Only the tragedy of the story coupled with an inevitable comparison to his other books keep me from rating this book any higher.

Rating:
Summary: Life in the line of fire
Review: I'm amased, it is alwaies RELIGION!!!!!!!!. What is religeon??????.TRUE RELIGEON. INSIDE YOURSELF. IT is not!!! stupid to say so? Jesus said.Let the dead beray the dead and those who live come and life WITH me. RELIGION IS:::::........DEAD:::::::....... Beleaver

Rating:
Summary: If You Want An Arab Viewpoint, Read An Arab Author
Review: From the author who once wrote of a character that despite his enlgihtenment, he was still an Arab (Exodus p. 227) and also of "the unscrupulous ethics of the Arab" (229), comes a purported attempt -- with a straight face -- to tell "the Arab side" of the Middle East conflict. If you want to learn the Arab side -- right or wrong -- check out an Arab author. Still, Uris can put together a readable yarn so enjoy. But don't take it seriously as the Arab characters are literary analogues of Stepin' Fetchit

Rating:
Summary: Simply Wonderful and Heartbreaking
Review: The author's empathy with the Palestinian Arabs is remarkable. Again returning to the Arab-Israeli conflict, he tells the sad story of the Palestinian Arabs (betrayed by so many) through the medium of the novel, and from the perspective of the Arabs. In doing so, he brings to bear all of the skill he has employed in past works such as Trinity and Exodus, combining meticulous research and a fine eye for detail. His grasp of Arab culture and his sympathy for their situation is deep and sincere. A note to the fanatics on both sides of the issue: the author clearly knows that the topic he writes about is complicated, and he has refused to stoop to simple cheerleading. If you demand a black and white treatment of the subject -- as does one prior reviewer (who has been busy all over the Amazon site denigrating the works of Uris and others who do not adopt a radical Palestinian Arab stance) -- don't spend your time here -- you would risk opening your mind! However, for those not troubled by such a risk, this book is wholeheartedly recommended

Rating:
Summary: A shockingly vulgar racist portrayal of Palestinian Arabs
Review: Rarely does a modern work of mainstream popular fiction -- with the possible exception of Michael Crichton's "Rising Sun" -- exhibit such blatant bigotry towards an ethnic group as is found in Leon Uris's "The Haj." Drawing on crude stereotypes of Bedouin Arabs, Uris tells the story of a Palestinian family through the first person eyes of its curious son. Learning of "the importance of the dagger in Arab life" and numerous other malignantly bigoted images, including a tellingly obscene implication regarding the relationship of Arab mothers and their infant sons, the hero becomes the writer's voice for the writer's purporting to present the Palestinian perspective on the Arab-Israeli conflict, an exericse by author Uris in chutzpah par excellence. Actually, the book is little more than the well-known pro-Israeli author's attempt to obscure the actual Palestinian perspective behind shameful imagery derived from crass moral and factual dishonesty. One point is given for the writer's typical technical ability to spin a fair tale; the second for the book's academic and curiosity value as an exhibit of vulgar racism in modern popular literature

Rating:
Summary: Not unbiased, but....
Review: If the Palestinian Arabs had chosen the way of Gandhi,
they would have their state, the respect of the world,
prosperity, and friendship with Israel. I guess "The Haj"
helps explain why peaceful conflict resolution isn't
the Arab way. I hope Mr. Uris is wrong, but I'm afraid
he's right.

Rating:
Summary: Historical truth, not racist propaganda
Review: It seems that a lot of people find this book racist, odious, and offensive because the title character, Haj Ibrahim, and his youngest son Ishmael (who does much of the narration) feel that their plight as ignored refugees living in squalor and violence was caused and is being exacerbated by their very own people, the Arabs, instead of blaming the Israelis for chasing them out of their homes and not letting them come back. Ibrahim wants to negotiate for peace, and has long been friends with his Jewish neighbour Gideon Asch (though their friendship hasn't exactly always been very brotherly). I suppose anything that is pro-Israel, even from an Arab viewpoint, is considered racist propaganda by people on the extreme Left. Even well-documented historical facts, like the ones set out in this novel, are shrilly shouted down as historical revisionism, racism, and "Zionist propaganda." I found some of the things in this book unsettling too, like how crude and vulgar some of the characters were, or what they were teaching children about the Koran, saying that all non-Muslims go to Hell and that the Jewish and Christian Bibles are wrong and therefore slandering the important prophets in their pages, but that's how many people in that part of the world live and believe. It may be disturbing and unsettling, but it's accurate. Ishmael and Ibrahim are proud of being part of this culture, a culture which brought the world 'One Thousand and One Nights,' which kept knowledge alive when Europe was in the Dark Ages, which used to be so proud, rich, and vibrant. Sadly, by the time they came on the scene, a corrupt leadership had been exploiting their own people for centuries, twisting their religion around, keeping their subjects in abject poverty while they lived like kings in lavish surroundings. Ibrahim may be crude, vulgar, sexist, and violent, but he's the most enlightened and progressive leader by their standards, their best hope for peace. And the predictions that Ibrahim and Ishmael make have come true; their culture has become even more violent, stagnated, and desperate.

While Gideon and his people are living well in Kibbutz Shemesh, across the way in Tabah, the village of which Ibrahim is the muktar, the people are living in quite a different world. There are no trees, flowers, grass, toys, electricity, running water, women in leadership positions, playgrounds, or proper schools. Many of the people don't even know how to read or write. But Ishmael wants to be educated so he can amount to something, and his father wants to work for peace even after they're driven out of Tabah in 1948. The first Arabs to flee were the wealthy intelligentsia, who could afford to live abroad in Cairo, Beirut, or Damascus and never come back. The dregs of society were left over, and even a powerful man like Ibrahim wasn't able to save his people. Because his family had to hide from the Iraqi Kawukji's thugs, they were unable to get on the boat with their people and escape to Lebanon. The Arabs of the city they ended up in gave them a very hostile welcome, something which shocked Ibrahim, since it violated the holy code of Arab hospitality. He also couldn't understand why he was being called a refugee, since he was still in his own country and had only left because the Arab leadership had promised quick and easy victory, after which everyone would be allowed to come back. He knew they had been sold down the river by their own people, and the situation in the camps only got worse and worse, with teachers preaching anti-Semitism and false history, terrorist youth groups, people cheating the UNRWA to get more money and food. It was a no-win situation all around, and people like Ibrahim who were willing to negotiate peace were silenced at resolution conventions with death threats and other means of manipulation and fear. Admitting they had lost the war and needed help would mean admitting that Israel existed.

The only part I didn't like was the sudden ending; it was going so well and then all fell apart, with the characters I had gotten to know and love suddenly acting out of character, as though the book had to be ended right then and there, almost in media res, with these actions of the main characters seemingly falling out of the air. I also was hoping that the sleazy Farouk would make an appearance; Ibrahim was furious over how his brother had stayed behind in Tabah while everyone was fleeing, double-crossing him and taking all of their money, and even said that he wouldn't sell his dagger for money because he had a special use in mind for it. It also would've been nice to see Ishmael taking on leadership in Aqbat Jabar, leading the people the way Ibrahim had back in Tabah, trying to make a better life for everyone, but given the time and circumstances, the odds against such a happy ending were too great.