VOICES

Gisèle Littman

Author

Gisèle Littman, an Egyptian-born British author who writes under the pen name Bat Ye’or -- Hebrew for “Daughter of the Nile” -- has focused much of her writing on European politics and the conditions faced by non-Muslim minorities in the Middle East, including in her most well-known work, The Dhimmi. Littman’s writing initially was seen as controversial because she was not affiliated with an institution of higher learning. Scholar Robert Wistrich once noted, “Up until the 1980s, she was not accepted at all. In academic circles they scorned her publications. Only when Bernard Lewis published the book 'Jews of Islam' with quotations from Bat Ye'or did they begin to pay any attention to her. A real change toward her emerged in the 1990s, and especially in recent years.” She is the author of eight books. (Photo: Courtesy)