Laurent Murawiec died a couple of days ago, and his funeral was held this morning in the same cemetery in the Maryland countryside outside Washington where my parents’ bodies are buried. A surprisingly large turnout, I thought–Laurent was not a ‘famous’ person by Washington standards–and a very nice rabbi. His brothers flew in from Paris. His parents, however, were not up to the trip.
Laurent was one of the bravest and most brilliant intellectuals of his generation. I have no doubt that his work will be studied for a very long time, and in a just world he would have been honored and acclaimed by all those who care about the advance of understanding. His slim volume, The Mind of Jihad, is hands down the best book on the subject, and his book on Saudi Arabia, Princes of Darkness; the Saudi Assault on the West, produced an international reaction so intense that it at once made him a controversial figure and a target of the powerful Saudi lobby, as well as a valued expert among the best strategic thinkers in America and Europe.
Today’s eulogies stressed Laurent’s inquisitiveness, his vast knowledge, his independence of spirit, and the elegance of his work. All true. But I think they missed the most important thing about him, which is also the thing most pundits miss about great minds: the playfulness of his mind. Laurent loved puns, adored jokes, and delighted in juggling apparently contradictory themes and ideas in order to rearrange them into a new, coherent understanding of our world. In his last weeks, although he suffered a lot from a terrible combination of infections and cancer, he never stopped laughing. Just as his playfulness and wit got him to a level of understanding far beyond anything most of his contemporaries achieved, it also enabled him to fight against his doom with a vigor that confirmed his creativity.
Laurent’s combination of courage, wit and creativity reminds me of another friend, our neighbor up the street Charles Krauthammer. I am given to understand that Charles endures considerable pain, and yet his cheerfulness brightens our neighborhood. Like Laurent, Charles loves humor and adores playing; he’s a talented chess player. All of which confirms my belief that original thinkers are playful.
Which is not to say that all great game players are original thinkers. I spend a good deal of time playing competitive bridge, and it’s very hard to find a bridge champion who also excels at some other enterprise. There are exceptions, but they are very rare indeed–such as Pierre Chemla, a great French classicist who won several international championships at the bridge table. And there are some celebrated businessmen who have done very well, too. But almost all the great bridge champions were just bridge players, as almost all the great chess masters were just chess players.
But I insist that most of the great thinkers were, and are, playful. And Laurent Murawiec was one of the most playful of them all.
Which is why his passing is a double loss. We are deprived of both his genius and his sparkling, playful humor.
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15 Comments
1. Nick G.:Sad to hear of his passing. I loved reading Princes of Darkness. You could sense how much he detested tyranny, and how much he relished challenging it.
As for playfulness — Natan Sharansky (chess) is another example.
Oct 11, 2009 - 12:18 pm 2. Thomas Langan:Though I didn’t know Rabbi Murawiec, but was familiar with his work, we lose much more than genius and humor when genuine (that’s right,I said “genuine”) Jews pass away. We lose warriors for good and right in God eyes — the eyes that count. Genuine Jews are as rare as genuine Christians. They are the ones that see God in the face, and show His face on earth. Rare indeed.
Oct 11, 2009 - 12:20 pm 3. Michael Ledeen:May the good rabbi rest in peace, and be thrilled with the works God has for him in eternity.
you’ve confused him with somebody else, i think. laurent was certainly not a rabbi. to be sure, laurent was a fine man and a genuine Jew. But not a rabbi.
Oct 11, 2009 - 1:10 pm 4. Peter C.:I think Thomas’ confusion results from the way the second sentence above is formatted. I had to read it a couple of times before I realized M. Murawiec was not a rabbi.
I read Princes of Darkness and found it bracing, at times chilling. I am very sad to hear of Murawiec’s passing but grateful he left us this important work. R.I.P.
Oct 11, 2009 - 2:50 pm 5. jtmckee:To play at the highest level of bridge these days requires a full time commitment.
Oct 11, 2009 - 3:28 pm 6. Winston:certainly ozzie jacoby had accomplishments at the beginning of WW2 that are noteworthy.
and who knows how good Ike would have been if only he would have devoted more time to the game.
Much like big time college sports, the time commitment precludes excelling at anything else
The bar defining excellence has been raised on most everything
Sounds sad and seems another great thinker has left us.
Oct 11, 2009 - 5:05 pm 7. Sally:“A surprisingly large turnout, I thought–Laurent was not a ‘famous’ person by Washington standards–and a very nice rabbi.” i believe that’s where Thomas’ confusion cae from.
I was not familiar with his work, but will certainly look into it now.
Too many great minds leaving us….
Oct 11, 2009 - 5:32 pm 8. David W. Lincoln:It looks to me, Michael, that Laurent was able to find the golden mean of taking various things seriously, but other things are not to be taken seriously.
The world is poorer with his journey to the other side of eternity, and it is for the rest of us like Laurent, to fill in. Like something along the lines of Thomas Jefferson coming in as US Ambassador to France, with Benjamin Franklin on his way to his beloved Pennsylvania.
Oct 11, 2009 - 5:35 pm 9. Hub:Where will we find another like him? May he rest in peace.
Oct 11, 2009 - 6:38 pm 10. Michael Ledeen:yes, sloppy writing by me. sorry.
Oct 12, 2009 - 7:48 am 11. drellberg:I offer my condolences. And I am envious of the company you keep.
Oct 12, 2009 - 8:51 am 12. Frederick J. Chiaventone:Dear Mr. Ledeen; Thank you for your thoughtful and moving tribute to Laurent. I heard about his passing last week from our mutual friend Dr. Mohamed Ibn Guadi and it was apparent that Mohamed was devastated by Laurent’s passing. Your description of Laurent is marvelous and if I could add anything it would be of his devotion to his wife and lovely daughters. We have all suffered a terrible loss with Laurent’s passing and shall not see his equal. Once again, thank you for your comments.
Oct 12, 2009 - 9:41 am 13. Skull / Bones » Blog Archive » continuing to follow the work of Leatherstocking at wikipedia:Sincerely,
F. J. Chiaventone
[...] [...]
Oct 12, 2009 - 1:15 pm 14. mhoffman:we can’t believe this where did they get him and for what. they were greatest and bavest men of the century at that time you did not defy the king of england yet they went ahead and did so bravo for them am not trying to be disdainful here my country tis of thee
Oct 23, 2009 - 1:32 pm 15. Daniel Kumermann:Sad news, indeed. I met him but once years ago and for short time too, but I still remember the pleasant feeling as if it was yesterday.
Nov 4, 2009 - 6:28 pm