... of truth about Islam and jihadism in academe. Founded last year by Profs. Bernard Lewis and Fouad Ajami, the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa presents an alternative to the prominent Middle East Studies Association’s post-colonialist biases and an outlet for studying those elements of Islam and the Middle East that MESA’s leaders downplay or neglect.
Cinnnamon Stillwell calls ASMEA’s creation “cause for optimism,” citing Franck Salameh, a scholar of the Middle East at Boston College:
The complex and richly textured Middle East deserves far more than the bromides and reductionist commentary that have of late become the hallmark of some of our day’s most influential scholars in the field. ASMEA promises to provide such critically needed diversity of perspective.