Ali's Smile: Naked Scientology - Publication and Contents

Publication and Contents

Ali's Smile, Burroughs's short story on Scientology, was originally published in a limited-edition run of 99 copies by Unicorn in 1971. A recording of Burroughs reading the story was simultaneously released. Two years later, Expanded Media Editions issued a revised and enlarged version titled Ali's Smile: Naked Scientology, which contained a series of articles, most of which had been previously published in newspapers and magazines. In 1970 Burroughs had published a "considered statement" on Scientology's methods because he felt that they were significant enough to warrant commentary. This statement articulates what he calls the group's "precise and efficient" therapeutic methods, however he also criticizes the authoritarian nature of the institution, describing Hubbard's statements as fascistic and comparing their internal surveillance methods to that of the FBI and CIA. He also condemns the "unquestioning acceptance" demanded of Scientologists as well as the institution's secrecy. These pieces were later gathered together into Ali's Smile: Naked Scientology, which religious studies scholar Hugh Urban describes as a "nonscholarly popular exposé of Scientology". In 1985, Expanded Media Editions published a bilingual German and English edition.

"There is a basic incompatibility between any organization and freedom of thought. Suppose Newton had founded a Church of Newtonian Physics and refused to show his formula to anyone who doubted the tenets of Newtonian Physics?"

"Burroughs on Scientology" is an opinion piece originally published in the Los Angeles Free Press on 6 March 1970. It begins "In view of the fact that my articles and statements on Scientology may have influenced young people to associate themselves with the so called Church of Scientology, I feel an obligation to make my present views on the subject quite clear." Burroughs states that some Scientology practices have value: "Some of the techniques are highly valuable and warrant further study and experimentation." He is critical of the Church of Scientology's organizational policy and organizations in general, and Scientology's attempts to keep many of its counseling methods secret, and writes "On the other hand I am in flat disagreement with the organizational policy."

"William Burroughs: Open Letter to Mr. Garden Mustain" was originally published in the East Village Other on 7 July 1970. The East Village Other introduction to Burroughs' piece notes that the open letter "is Mr. Burroughs' final answer to his critics and to Mister Gorden Mustain who attacked him for his position on Scientology in the pages of the L.A. FREE PRESS. In it he asks the inevitable question to be faced by us all, whether we be in a professional status or not: 'We would like to know where Scientology and Mr. Hubbard stand on the Vietnam war, on sexual freedom, militant students, Black Power, pot, Red China, the politics of the American Narcotics department and the CIA. If it comes to a revolution: which side would you fight on?'"

"William Burroughs on 'Inside Scientology' by Robert Kaufman" was originally published in Rolling Stone on 26 October 1972. It is a book review of Inside Scientology, which was embroiled in a legal controversy. In the review, Burroughs relates his personal experiences as a Scientologist and describes himself as an anthropologist. Burroughs begins by praising Kaufman's decision to reveal confidential upper-level Scientology teachings in the book: "Mr. Kaufman has shown real courage in publishing Hubbard's so-called confidential materials for the first time in Inside Scientology."

"Letter to Rolling Stone" by R. Sorrell (Church of Scientology) was originally published in Rolling Stone on 5 December 1972. Sorrell wrote on behalf of the Church of Scientology to Rolling Stone, asserting that statements made by Burroughs in his review of Inside Scientology were inaccurate. Sorrell noted that the book had been involved in legal controversy and commented: "I have included here an itemization of these inaccuracies with documentation to show that Mr. Burroughs may be a writer but cannot always be trusted to be an accurate one."

"Answer to R. Sorrell's Letter" by William Burroughs is a point-by-point response to Sorrell's letter in Rolling Stone. In total, Burroughs addresses 28 issues, including "Scientology's security checks", Fair Gaming, excommunication, the financial dealings of Scientology, Scientology terminology such as "Wog", and the efficacy of the E-meter as a lie detector.

"Ali's Smile" by William Burroughs is a short story originally published by Unicorn in 1971 and later republished in Burroughs's collection of short stories, Exterminator! (1973). At the opening of the story, Clinch Smith, a former colonial official, is living in an English town overshadowed by a giant slag heap. He is upset when he receives a letter from a Scientologist friend saying that he will "disconnect" from Smith, describing him as a "suppressive person". A kris hanging on the wall of his room reminds Smith of Ali, whom he had met 30 years ago in Malaya. Ali had been put under a latah spell by an old woman, forcing him to dance in the marketplace. Smith rescued Ali, making the young man his houseboy. Ali returned to the market, however, and ran amok, killing several of the women with the kris. Smith was forced to shoot Ali, and kept the kris as a souvenir. Back in the present, Smith feels compelled to take the kris from the wall and goes to town, where there is a fight going on between hippies and locals, with members of Scientology's Sea Org in the crowd as well. Smith goes on a killing spree with the kris, which seems to have a life of its own. He stabs Lord Westfield, a Home Office official who has asked a private investigator to infiltrate a Scientology organization, a woman, and several Sea Org members, and then a bystander shoots him dead. Police and more combatants prepare to join the fight. As they do so, the slag heap collapses and buries everyone. At the end, the "ghost face" of Ali smiles over all.