Non-Muslim Faculty in Middle East Studies Programs
Reader comment on item: [Campus Watch and] Saving Mideast Studies

Submitted by Milton Weiss (United States), Sep 18, 2003 at 17:44

When I read about Middle East Studies at American universities, I often wonder what is the percentage of non-Muslim faculty in these programs? Are there any Israelis or other Jewish instructors teaching any of these courses? Are there any instructors, regardless of religion or ethnicity, presenting a balanced view of the Middle East, or do they all tilt toward the Arab view? What sorts of readings are assigned? What books, journal articles, etc.? And what about the students who take these courses? Are some, or many, of them Muslims or of Middle East descent? In other words, do we have a biased faculty preaching to a biased choir, inculcating rather than teaching their students? From what I have read, Middle East Studies programs at American colleges appear to be a propaganda arm of anti-Semitic, anti-Israel elements. Am I wrong in this assumption?

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