Great Regulars: The answer could not be more obvious:

Tablet and Pen is really an anthology of writing from the Muslim world. The religion of Islam is what unites such diverse languages, cultures, and civilizations as Persian, Turkish, Urdu, and Arabic. Not only would there be no harm in acknowledging this, it might even make the book more saleable. Yet Aslan shies away from it: "This is not meant to be an anthology of literature from 'the Muslim world'--not only because many of the authors do not self-identify as Muslim but also because there is no such thing as a monolithic 'Muslim world,' save perhaps in the imaginations of some in the West." Fair enough--but since the editors opt for a geographic designation like "the Middle East," rather than one based on religion, the decision to omit Hebrew literature from the book becomes all the more striking.

from Adam Kirsch: Tablet: Bordering on Malicious

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