September 25, 2003

Edward Said is simply irreplaceable, an intellectual giant, a visionary who offered a keen intellect, unwavering integrity, and above all, hope to all his students and readers world-wide. Today we have lost perhaps the most articulate and passionate advocate of the Palestinian cause in recent history.

Edward Said was one of the founders and leading intellectuals of post-colonial studies, an intellectual movement that made it possible for the first time for intellectuals in the West to study the plights of the colonized peoples of Asia, Africa and the Middle East in the 19-20th centuries. Edward Said was an inspiration to scholars world-wide who witnessed him stand by his scholarship and political opinions, always with the highest level of grace and integrity, against any attack, no matter how vicious or absurd. Edward Said was a Christian that defended Islam and Muslims, a man of two cultures -- Arab and American -- that defended and criticized both.

We will also remember Edward Said for his unyielding commitment to peace and reconciliation despite his hard-hitting critiques of Israel's treatment of the Palestinians. Said, who was a concert pianist and worked for decades as the music critic for The Nation, partnered with Daniel Barenboim, the prominent Israeli musician, to create a youth orchestra for Arab and Jewish musicians.

Said was author of the ground-breaking work Orientalism, a critique of Western studies of the Middle East, Musical Elaborations, The Question of Palestine, After the Last Sky, Culture and Imperialism, The Politics of Dispossession, The End of the Peace Process, and Out of Place, among many others.

MPAC offers heart-felt condolences to Edward Said's family during this difficult time, and is thankful that we are left with his rich and unparalleled legacy.