...I came to know Dr. Badawi in the 1980s and early 1990s. He and his wife Mavis attended some of the same international conferences as did I and Betty. Because of his sophistication and the range of his knowledge, Betty and I would often sit at the same table at dinner with Dr. Badawi and Mavis. We enjoyed his company until one day the subject of Israel came up. He said to me, ”But, of course, you know that sooner or later the Israelis will have to go.” In his mind, the matter was a foregone conclusion and discussion was out of the question. Mavis chimed in, ”Like the Crusaders.” Understandably, I lost any interest in Zaki Badawi as a dining companion.

This year I learned from a non-Jewish British friend who is a leader in the realistic human rights movement in the UK (supportive of Israel) that Badawi had recently told him that he had never taken out citizenship in spite of more than 30 years as the Establishment spiritual leader of British Islam. He told my friend he remained an Egyptian citizen. He also said that he had no interest in Darfur because those sub-Saharan Muslims were not really Muslims but polytheists...