Richard T. Antoun
Encyclopedia
Professor Richard "Dick" T. Antoun (March 31, 1932, in Worcester, Massachusetts
–December 4, 2009, in Vestal
, New York) was an American anthropologist who specialized in Islam
ic and Middle Eastern studies
. He was a Professor Emeritus at Binghamton University
.
His work centered on religion and the social organization of tradition in Islamic law
and ethics
, among other things. He was stabbed to death in his office at Binghamton University in December 2009; a Saudi graduate student pleaded guilty to killing him, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
, graduating from Shrewsbury High School in 1949. He received his BA from Williams College
(1953; History), his MA
from Johns Hopkins University
(1955; International Relations), and his Ph.D.
from Harvard University
(1963; Anthropology and Middle Eastern studies; thesis on "Kufr al-Ma: A Village in Jordan, A Study of Social Structure and Social Control"). Antoun was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and a Fulbright Scholar.
In October 1959 Antoun began his career with ethnographic field work in Jordan
. Over the next four decades, he lived intermittently in Kufr al-Ma—a small Sunni Muslim village—studying the Qur'an
with the local self-educated preacher. He also did field work in Beirut, Lebanon (1965 and 1966), Gorgan, Iran (1971 and 1972), and Katerini, Greece (1993).
During his career he taught at the Manchester University in England (1960–62), Harvard University (1963), Indiana University
(1963–70), American University of Beirut
(1965–67), Binghamton University
(1970–2009), University of Chicago
(1977), and Cairo University
(1989).
At Binghamton he became the Bartle Professor of Anthropology. He was “a sociocultural anthropologist who conducted research among peasant
s in Jordan, urbanites in Lebanon, peasant farmers in Iran, and migrants in Texas and Greece”. In 1981 he was elected President of the Middle East Studies Association of North America
. In 1999 he became a Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Binghamton, and continued to conduct research and hold an office on campus. He did not teach many classes, nor could he chair any dissertation committees, because of his emeritus status.
were called to Antoun’s office at 1:41 p.m. on December 4, 2009. Antoun, 77 years old at the time, had been stabbed four times in the chest with a 6-inch kitchen blade while in his office, suffered a punctured lung, and died.
The suspect was still in the university's Science 1 building when police arrived; they tackled the suspect, and frisked
him. When they inquired about Antoun, witnesses said he replied, "Yeah, I just stabbed him." The knife used in the stabbing was later recovered.
The suspect is Abdulsalam S. al-Zahrani, a 46-year-old Binghamton University cultural anthropology
graduate student from Saudi Arabia
. Antoun had worked with al-Zahrani, and had known him for quite some time. Antoun served on the three-person doctoral dissertation committee that was to judge al-Zahrani's dissertation on "Sacred Voice, Profane Sight: The Senses, Cosmology
, and Epistemology in Early Arabic Culture", (see external link below for related article).
One of al-Zahrani’s roommates, who lived with him for three weeks, said the suspect spoke of financial problems, often mentioned death, and said he was being persecuted because he was Muslim
. “I said he was acting oddly, like a terrorist,” said Souleymane Sakho, a graduate student from Senegal
. "He was all the time shouting in Arabic, shouting threats, insulting this country for no reason".
Sakho said that he told his academic adviser about al-Zahrani, and the adviser referred him to the school’s counseling center. Sakho said that the head of the counseling center suggested he avoid interaction with al-Zahrani, and move out of the apartment.
in Town Court in Vestal, New York, al-Zahrani was charged with second-degree murder, and held without bail
at the Broome County Sheriff’s Correctional Facility.
The Saudi Gazette
reported that the Saudi Consulate in New York retained a lawyer to represent al-Zahrani. New York City lawyer Frederica L. Miller represented him. Members of the consulate met with Al-Zahrani, and the consulate was in touch with his family, including one relative who lived in the US.
Senator Charles Schumer
followed the case, and was in touch with the District Attorney
's office. This was Broome County's second case involving the prosecution of a foreign suspect in two years; in 2008, Miladin Kovacevic was charged with beating a Binghamton student, and a Serb consulate worker helped Kovacevic leave the US after posting bail. Schumer said: "We have to make sure it's not like the situation ... where this person flees the county. The law enforcement authority says they're keeping a careful eye there."
On January 22, 2010, al-Zahrani was indicted by a grand jury
in Broome County Court for intentionally stabbing and killing Antoun, and charged with second degree murder. A conviction of second-degree murder would carry a minimum sentence of 15 years to life, and a maximum of 25 years to life, under New York statutes. Al-Zahrani remained in Broome County jail without bail. His legal expenses were paid by the Saudi Consulate.
On February 4, 2010, al-Zahrani pleaded not guilty to one felony count of second-degree murder, and declined a bail hearing before Broome County Judge Martin E. Smith.
Al-Zahrani's attorney wrote in a notice of intent to use psychiatric evidence that she filed in Broome County Court on July 21, 2010, that psychiatric evidence would show he lacked substantial capacity to know or appreciate the nature and consequences of his conduct, and was "psychotic and suffering from a longstanding major mental illness, schizoaffective disorder
." Evidence was to include testimony from the defense's medical experts, Steven Simring and Charles Patrick Ewing.
A competency hearing was held after mental health professionals concluded that al-Zahrani was mentally incompetent to understand his charge or be tried. On February 22, 2011, Broome County Judge Joseph F. Cawley Jr. ordered Al-Zahrani be placed in the custody of a state psychiatric facility for treatment, until he was deemed mentally competent to be tried. No new trial date was set, and the order was good for up to year. Al-Zahrani was to go on trial when deemed mentally competent.
Al-Zahrani pleaded guilty on May 20, 2011, to one felony count of first-degree manslaughter
, and agreed not to appeal his sentence. In September 2011 he was sentenced in Broome County Court to 15 years in prison. He is to be deported to Saudi Arabia after he serves his prison sentence.
, writing that the book: "is a readable overview and introduction to how conservative elites and communities in three monotheistic religious traditions orient themselves to modernity." Peter A. Huff, reviewing it, said that Antoun wrote about how:
, wrote: "There is much to commend in this general and accessible overview".
Antoun later wrote Documenting Transnational Migration: Jordanian Men Working and Studying in Europe, Asia and North America, published in 2005. Ronald R. Stockton, writing in The Middle East Journal, described Antoun's examination of the sons of a Jordanian village who had been sent abroad and returned:
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
–December 4, 2009, in Vestal
Vestal, New York
Vestal is a town within Broome County in the Southern Tier of New York, and lies between the Susquehanna River and the Pennsylvania border. As of the 2000 census, the population was 26,535, estimated to have grown to 27,369 in 2009....
, New York) was an American anthropologist who specialized in Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic and Middle Eastern studies
Middle Eastern studies
Middle Eastern studies is a name given to a number of academic programs associated with the study of the history, culture, politics, economies, and geography of the Middle East, an area that is generally interpreted to cover a range of nations extending from North Africa in the west to the Chinese...
. He was a Professor Emeritus at Binghamton University
Binghamton University
Binghamton University, also formally called State University of New York at Binghamton, , is a public research university in the State of New York. The University is one of the four university centers in the State University of New York system...
.
His work centered on religion and the social organization of tradition in Islamic law
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
and ethics
Islamic ethics
Islamic ethics , defined as "good character," historically took shape gradually from the 7th century and was finally established by the 11th century...
, among other things. He was stabbed to death in his office at Binghamton University in December 2009; a Saudi graduate student pleaded guilty to killing him, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Education and academic work
Antoun grew up in Shrewsbury, MassachusettsShrewsbury, Massachusetts
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 31,640 people, 12,366 households, and 8,693 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 12,696 housing units at an average density of...
, graduating from Shrewsbury High School in 1949. He received his BA from Williams College
Williams College
Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...
(1953; History), his MA
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
from Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
(1955; International Relations), and his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
(1963; Anthropology and Middle Eastern studies; thesis on "Kufr al-Ma: A Village in Jordan, A Study of Social Structure and Social Control"). Antoun was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and a Fulbright Scholar.
In October 1959 Antoun began his career with ethnographic field work in Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
. Over the next four decades, he lived intermittently in Kufr al-Ma—a small Sunni Muslim village—studying the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
with the local self-educated preacher. He also did field work in Beirut, Lebanon (1965 and 1966), Gorgan, Iran (1971 and 1972), and Katerini, Greece (1993).
During his career he taught at the Manchester University in England (1960–62), Harvard University (1963), Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
(1963–70), American University of Beirut
American University of Beirut
The American University of Beirut is a private, independent university in Beirut, Lebanon. It was founded as the Syrian Protestant College by American missionaries in 1866...
(1965–67), Binghamton University
Binghamton University
Binghamton University, also formally called State University of New York at Binghamton, , is a public research university in the State of New York. The University is one of the four university centers in the State University of New York system...
(1970–2009), University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
(1977), and Cairo University
Cairo University
Cairo University is a public university located in Giza, Egypt.The university was founded on December 21, 1908, as the result of an effort to establish a national center for educational thought...
(1989).
At Binghamton he became the Bartle Professor of Anthropology. He was “a sociocultural anthropologist who conducted research among peasant
Peasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
s in Jordan, urbanites in Lebanon, peasant farmers in Iran, and migrants in Texas and Greece”. In 1981 he was elected President of the Middle East Studies Association of North America
Middle East Studies Association of North America
Middle East Studies Association of North America is a learned society, and according to its website, "a non-political association that fosters the study of the Middle East, promotes high standards of scholarship and teaching, and encourages public understanding of the region and its peoples...
. In 1999 he became a Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Binghamton, and continued to conduct research and hold an office on campus. He did not teach many classes, nor could he chair any dissertation committees, because of his emeritus status.
Murder
Binghamton University campus policeCampus police
Campus Police or University police in the United States and Canada are often sworn police officers employed by a public school district, college or university to protect the campus and surrounding areas and the people who live on, work on and visit it....
were called to Antoun’s office at 1:41 p.m. on December 4, 2009. Antoun, 77 years old at the time, had been stabbed four times in the chest with a 6-inch kitchen blade while in his office, suffered a punctured lung, and died.
The suspect was still in the university's Science 1 building when police arrived; they tackled the suspect, and frisked
Frisking
Frisking is a search of a person's outer clothing wherein a person runs his or her hands along the outer garments to detect any concealed weapons or contraband.-Stop and frisk:...
him. When they inquired about Antoun, witnesses said he replied, "Yeah, I just stabbed him." The knife used in the stabbing was later recovered.
The suspect is Abdulsalam S. al-Zahrani, a 46-year-old Binghamton University cultural anthropology
Cultural anthropology
Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans, collecting data about the impact of global economic and political processes on local cultural realities. Anthropologists use a variety of methods, including participant observation,...
graduate student from Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
. Antoun had worked with al-Zahrani, and had known him for quite some time. Antoun served on the three-person doctoral dissertation committee that was to judge al-Zahrani's dissertation on "Sacred Voice, Profane Sight: The Senses, Cosmology
Cosmology
Cosmology is the discipline that deals with the nature of the Universe as a whole. Cosmologists seek to understand the origin, evolution, structure, and ultimate fate of the Universe at large, as well as the natural laws that keep it in order...
, and Epistemology in Early Arabic Culture", (see external link below for related article).
One of al-Zahrani’s roommates, who lived with him for three weeks, said the suspect spoke of financial problems, often mentioned death, and said he was being persecuted because he was Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
. “I said he was acting oddly, like a terrorist,” said Souleymane Sakho, a graduate student from Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
. "He was all the time shouting in Arabic, shouting threats, insulting this country for no reason".
Sakho said that he told his academic adviser about al-Zahrani, and the adviser referred him to the school’s counseling center. Sakho said that the head of the counseling center suggested he avoid interaction with al-Zahrani, and move out of the apartment.
Al-Zahrani legal proceedings and guilty plea
After his arraignmentArraignment
Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal complaint in the presence of the defendant to inform the defendant of the charges against him or her. In response to arraignment, the accused is expected to enter a plea...
in Town Court in Vestal, New York, al-Zahrani was charged with second-degree murder, and held without bail
Bail
Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail...
at the Broome County Sheriff’s Correctional Facility.
The Saudi Gazette
Saudi Gazette
Saudi Gazette is the leading English language daily newspaper published in Saudi Arabia. and is currently available both in print and online.As of July 1, 2011, Dr Omar S. Elmershedi is the Saudi Gazette Editor-in-Chief.Managing Editor: Shams Ahsan...
reported that the Saudi Consulate in New York retained a lawyer to represent al-Zahrani. New York City lawyer Frederica L. Miller represented him. Members of the consulate met with Al-Zahrani, and the consulate was in touch with his family, including one relative who lived in the US.
Senator Charles Schumer
Charles Schumer
Charles Ellis "Chuck" Schumer is the senior United States Senator from New York and a member of the Democratic Party. First elected in 1998, he defeated three-term Republican incumbent Al D'Amato by a margin of 55%–44%. He was easily re-elected in 2004 by a margin of 71%–24% and in 2010 by a...
followed the case, and was in touch with the District Attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
's office. This was Broome County's second case involving the prosecution of a foreign suspect in two years; in 2008, Miladin Kovacevic was charged with beating a Binghamton student, and a Serb consulate worker helped Kovacevic leave the US after posting bail. Schumer said: "We have to make sure it's not like the situation ... where this person flees the county. The law enforcement authority says they're keeping a careful eye there."
On January 22, 2010, al-Zahrani was indicted by a grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
in Broome County Court for intentionally stabbing and killing Antoun, and charged with second degree murder. A conviction of second-degree murder would carry a minimum sentence of 15 years to life, and a maximum of 25 years to life, under New York statutes. Al-Zahrani remained in Broome County jail without bail. His legal expenses were paid by the Saudi Consulate.
On February 4, 2010, al-Zahrani pleaded not guilty to one felony count of second-degree murder, and declined a bail hearing before Broome County Judge Martin E. Smith.
Al-Zahrani's attorney wrote in a notice of intent to use psychiatric evidence that she filed in Broome County Court on July 21, 2010, that psychiatric evidence would show he lacked substantial capacity to know or appreciate the nature and consequences of his conduct, and was "psychotic and suffering from a longstanding major mental illness, schizoaffective disorder
Schizoaffective disorder
Schizoaffective disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a mental disorder characterized by recurring episodes of elevated or depressed mood, or of simultaneously elevated and depressed mood, that alternate with, or occur together with, distortions in perception.Schizoaffective disorder...
." Evidence was to include testimony from the defense's medical experts, Steven Simring and Charles Patrick Ewing.
A competency hearing was held after mental health professionals concluded that al-Zahrani was mentally incompetent to understand his charge or be tried. On February 22, 2011, Broome County Judge Joseph F. Cawley Jr. ordered Al-Zahrani be placed in the custody of a state psychiatric facility for treatment, until he was deemed mentally competent to be tried. No new trial date was set, and the order was good for up to year. Al-Zahrani was to go on trial when deemed mentally competent.
Al-Zahrani pleaded guilty on May 20, 2011, to one felony count of first-degree manslaughter
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
, and agreed not to appeal his sentence. In September 2011 he was sentenced in Broome County Court to 15 years in prison. He is to be deported to Saudi Arabia after he serves his prison sentence.
Major works
Antoun left behind a legacy in his writings. He wrote Understanding Fundamentalism: Christian, Islamic and Jewish Movements in 2001; the book came out just before the September 11 attacks. Sally K. Gallagher reviewed it for Sociology of ReligionSociology of religion
The sociology of religion concerns the role of religion in society: practices, historical backgrounds, developments and universal themes. There is particular emphasis on the recurring role of religion in all societies and throughout recorded history...
, writing that the book: "is a readable overview and introduction to how conservative elites and communities in three monotheistic religious traditions orient themselves to modernity." Peter A. Huff, reviewing it, said that Antoun wrote about how:
his presence [in the village] became increasingly problematic as the climate of the cultural environment dramatically changed. Dialogue turned argumentative, and outspoken villagers, especially young men, attempted to convert him to Islam. From Antoun's perspective, he was witnessing the birth of a local strain of fundamentalismScott R. Appleby, reviewing it for the Middle East QuarterlyFundamentalismFundamentalism is strict adherence to specific theological doctrines usually understood as a reaction against Modernist theology. The term "fundamentalism" was originally coined by its supporters to describe a specific package of theological beliefs that developed into a movement within the...
.
Middle East Quarterly
Middle East Quarterly is a peer reviewed quarterly journal, a publication of the American conservative think tank Middle East Forum founded by Daniel Pipes in 1994. It is devoted to subjects relating to the Middle East and Islam and analyzes the region "explicitly from the viewpoint of American...
, wrote: "There is much to commend in this general and accessible overview".
Antoun later wrote Documenting Transnational Migration: Jordanian Men Working and Studying in Europe, Asia and North America, published in 2005. Ronald R. Stockton, writing in The Middle East Journal, described Antoun's examination of the sons of a Jordanian village who had been sent abroad and returned:
He found a range of experiences, many different from what one might expect... Some findings are surprising, for example, comparing Jordanians in the Gulf with those in Pakistan or the West. Jordanians share language and culture with the Gulf but were "encapsulated in residence, work, and leisure activities" and saw "surprisingly little of the indigenous inhabitants" ... In Pakistan, because they did not speak UrduUrduUrdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
, they were isolated and restricted to campus life. The Pakistani family structure also made it difficult to meet local women.... In the West, in spite of religious and cultural differences, they found it easier to meet local people. Greece was the most open society they encountered.... The students "acculturated rapidly, and assimilated to Greek society and culture".... Six of the nine married Greek women, four settling permanently in Greece. In Pakistan only one of 27 married a Pakistani. In Saudi Arabia the number was zero.
Select other publications
- "Institutionalized deconfrontation: A case study of conflict resolution among tribal peasants in Jordan," in Conflict Resolution in The Arab World, ed. by P. Salem., American University of BeirutAmerican University of BeirutThe American University of Beirut is a private, independent university in Beirut, Lebanon. It was founded as the Syrian Protestant College by American missionaries in 1866...
, 1997. - "The Case of the Lost Tooth," in How People Negotiate: Resolving Disputes in Different Cultures, edited by Guy Oliver Faure, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003.
- "Fundamentalism, Bureaucratization, and the State's Co-optation of Religion: A Jordanian Case Study", The International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 38, No. 3, August 2006.