Good article, Paul. Thanks for posting it. Whatever the literary value of Barks's translations, it's a wonder how much they have given to people. And to bridging gaps, as the author of the article says. I got drunk with Coleman Barks once, and enjoyed listening to him slur his Rumi.
The best book I have seen that explains Islam to Westerners is by the Iranian scholar Seyyed Hossein Nasr, The Heart of Islam (2002). Nasr has lived in the U.S. since the fall of the Shah in 1979, and currently teaches in Washington, D.C. His introduction says:
"The past few decades have witnessed a growing interest in Islam in the West, increasing with each global event involving the name of Islam: from the Lebanese civil war to the Iranian Revolution of 1979 to the rise of Islamic movements among Palestinians. This rising interest now stands at unprecedented levels since the tragic events of September 11, 2001. The world is thirsty for information about Islam, especially in America, yet this thirst has generally not been quenched with healthy water. In fact, a torrent of 'knowledge' has flooded the media, from books to journals, radios, and television, much of which is based on ignorance, misinformation, and even disinformation. Not only has this torrent failed the cause of understanding, it has too frequently rendered the greatest disservice to the Western public in order to further particular ideological and political goals."
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