VIiiDuring this academic year, my work has been accompanied by the pres-
ence of Gwen Griffith-Dickson and Vicky Mohammed of the Lokahi
Foundation, based in London. At Saint Antony's College, Oxford Uni-
versity, Walter Armb rust and Eugene Rogan (Middle East Center) as well
as Timothy Garton Ash and Kalypso Nicolaidis (European Studies
Center) also enabled me to complete this work in the best possible con-
ditions through their academic support and friendship. I do not fo rget
Polly Friedhoff (who has now gone into wcll-desecved retirement), Franca
POttS, and Collette Caffrey, who have been co nstantly availab le. To all of
them, and to all those \'Omen and men who h ave surrounded me \~th
their recognition and unobtrusive suppon , I would here Jjke to express
my deepest gratitude.
There is of course Yasmina D if, my assistant, who manages my Euro-
pean office in such a warm and efficient manner. Shellna Mcrani, in
Canada, has also undertaken difficult work with heart and solidarity. ~-funa
Ali, more than an assistant based in the United States, keeps reading, com-
menting, and sharing ideas faithfully and seriously. Claude Dabbak h as
translated this book and has, with g reat humility, never failed to put her
learning at the servjce of the necessary corrections. This book could not
have been completed without the collaboration of this team, at once fra-
ternal, demanding, and d evoted. With aU my heart, I thank them for being
with me on trus journey and making it possible fo r us to advance togeth-
er, in I-lis light, against wind and tide.
M y final thanks and my last prayer go to the One, the Most Near, that
H e may accept and receive this Jjfe of the P rophet, that He may fo rgive
me its possib le errors or failings-which arc d ue to none but myself-and
that He may allow it to be a small landmark in the human enterprise of
understanding and reco nciliation: with oneself, with others, with His love.
I learn daily that the quest fo r humility cannot justify any lapse fro m spir-
itual requirements or intel1eerual probity.
For myself, this book has been an initiatiol1. I pray to the 1\'lost
G racious mat it may be so for others. Long is the road of exile leading to
oneself ....
London
~hy 2006