At the Chronicle of Higher Education, Brian T. Edwards, Crown Professor in Middle East Studies and founding director of the Middle East and North African Studies Program at Northwestern University, rehashes an earlier op-ed in declaring that Arabic instruction in American colleges will help put an end to "hate crimes against Muslims . . . and anxieties about the Arab world," not to mention fulfilling the quixotic goal of "achieving peace." Once again, Edwards is unable to advocate Arabic instruction without invoking the false claim that anti-Muslim hate crimes are ubiquitous in the America and that the country requires absolution for its alleged sins. As he puts it:
If the United States is going to try to understand, rather than bomb, invade, and occupy part of the world that has been our government's central obsession for almost a decade and a half, then more colleges need to teach Arabic and do so in a vibrant way. Higher education has never had a more crucial role to play in achieving peace.