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CAMPUS WATCH, a project of the Middle East Forum, reviews and critiques Middle East studies in North America with an aim to improving them. The project mainly addresses five problems: analytical failures, the mixing of politics with scholarship, intolerance of alternative views, apologetics, and the abuse of power over students. Campus Watch fully respects the freedom of speech of those it debates while insisting on its own freedom to comment on their words and deeds. The Latest on Campus
Israeli History at 60 Islam in the Classroom: What the Textbooks Tell Us, Part Three of Five Are American Universities in Bed with America's Enemies? [incl. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal] Obamastan [incl. Rashid Khalidi] ViewFinder: Songs of Hope [segment transcript; incl. Ayad Al-Qazzaz] Alternatives to Middle East Major Offered [on Stanford University; incl. Khalil Barhoum] Frank Talk About Obama and Islam [letters to the editor of the New York Times] Prince Alwaleed Receives Business Leader of the Year Award from Foreign Policy Association [incl. Middle East studies] Islam in the Classroom: What the Textbooks Tell Us, Part Two of Five Playing the Death Threat Card [on Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy] BlogColumbia's Catastrophic "Nakba" ConferenceBy Winfield Myers | Thu, 8 May 2008, 3:20 PM | Permalink Mary Madigan has written about last week's "Nabka" (Catastrophe) conference at Columbia University. She attended and provides a first-hand report on the pontifications of Columbia professors Joseph Massad, Lila Abu Lughod, Gil Anidjar, and others. Mary wrote last month about NYU's "Academic Freedom" conference. Here is the introduction of her essay, which was published today at FrontPage Magazine:
To read the rest of her article, please click here.
Middle East Studies Profs. Still Peddling Peaceful JihadBy Cinnamon Stillwell | Mon, 28 Apr 2008, 6:03 PM | Permalink In his 2002 Commentary article, "Jihad and the Professors," Middle East Forum director Daniel Pipes makes a compelling case for "the nearly universal falsification of jihad on the part of American academic scholars." Rather than acknowledging the aggressively military nature of jihad (otherwise known as "holy war"), such academics would have us believe that it consists either of defensive warfare, a struggle for spiritual and personal improvement, or the promotion of social justice. Here are a few of the quotes he cites in the article:
Six years later, it would be nice to conclude that the situation has changed. But the academic apologists inhabiting the field of Middle East studies continue the obfuscation. The following is just a sampling of the sort of misleading and, in some cases, deceptive definitions of jihad these professors have been peddling:
In the following case, the real meaning of jihad is acknowledged, if somewhat reluctantly:
In direct contrast to the dissimulation demonstrated above, Islam scholar Robert Spencer pulled no punches in an April 8 speech at Stanford University accompanied by Daniel Pipes and titled, "Jihad: What does it really mean and why do so many people lie about it?" (The Stanford Review covers the speech in its latest issue and the video is available online). Spencer read numerous passages from the Koran to demonstrate that in its original incarnation, jihad involved "the relation of believer to unbeliever." And more often than not this relationship has been one of violence towards non-Muslims. The fact that Spencer was accompanied by all of four security guards throughout the evening would seem to back up his conclusions. Peaceful jihad, indeed.
Victims on Parade at NYU "Academic Freedom" ConferenceBy Winfield Myers | Thu, 10 Apr 2008, 9:23 AM | Permalink On April 3 and 4, Mary Madigan attended a conference at New York University called "Academic Freedom in an Age of Permanent Warfare." Her report on what she heard, commissioned by Campus Watch, was published today at FrontPage Magazine. Madigan's title captures the spirit of the conference: "Victims on Parade at NYU 'Academic Freedom' Conference." Here's a sample:
To read the rest, click here.
Middle East Quarterly Student Writing Contest Deadline May 31By Winfield Myers | Tue, 8 Apr 2008, 6:29 PM | Permalink As we announced last fall, the Middle East Quarterly is holding a student writing contest. The May 31 deadline is approaching, so get your entries in. The original press release follows. ****************************** The Middle East Quarterly is pleased to announce the Albert J. Wood Student Writing Contest. It will award $1,000 for the best university student writing in Middle East studies in a given year, plus the opportunity to be published in the journal. The contest is named after Albert J. Wood, the founding chairman of the Middle East Forum who had a special connection to the Quarterly. What the Quarterly Seeks The Quarterly covers a geographic area from Morocco to Afghanistan but concentrates on the area from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf. It seeks to bridge the academic and policymaking worlds. Articles should be both relevant to policymakers and break new ground intellectually. This implies a tension: articles need to be cutting edge (to interest the specialist) and accessible (to attract the general reader). They should be scholarly, yet written clearly, and with a point of view. The thesis should be advanced through reasoned argument rather than bellicose prose. For a full explanation of MEQ objectives, see Author Submission Guidelines on the MEQ website. Submissions Submissions should be original, unpublished work of 4,000-7,000 words with full scholarly references. Entrants must be full-time undergraduate, graduate, or professional (law, medicine, etc.) school students, and must provide proof of full-time status. Please submit your article as an MS Word document or in Rich Text Format. Please do not submit a PDF or hard copy. E-mail submissions by midnight May 31, 2008, to the editors at MEQ@MEForum.org. Please enter "Student Writing Contest" in the subject line. Prizes
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