Brandeis Prof Pascal Menoret: 'Hanging Out with Islamists Is Crucial'

Pascal Menoret

In the August edition of New English Review, Campus Watch reporter Benjamin Baird exposes the disturbing, pro-Islamist worldview of Brandeis University professor Pascal Menoret, who, in addition to assigning readings sympathetic to violent jihadists, requires students to conduct an interview with a known Islamist. As stated in Menoret’s syllabus, “Hanging out with Islamists is crucial to the comprehension of their politics.”

The Renée and Lester Crown Professor of Modern Middle East Studies, Menoret specializes in the people and culture of Saudi Arabia, the epicenter of Wahhabi Islam. Despite the strict and brutal application of Shariah law in the Arabian peninsula, his scholarship overwhelmingly frames Islamists as the marginalized victims of state oppression.

Menoret teaches five anthropology courses, two of which are examined below. The syllabi for “Islamism” (Anthropology 141a) and “Culture and Power in the Middle East (CPME)” (Anthropology 118b) exemplify his soft approach to Islamism. By assigning texts by Islamist sympathizers who in some cases have embedded with their subjects, Menoret portrays these radicals as harmless souls seeking escape from imperialist oppression through spiritual rebellion.

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Brandeis University

Cinnamon Stillwell

Cinnamon Stillwell analyzes Middle East studies academia in West Coast colleges and universities for Campus Watch. A San Francisco Bay Area native and graduate of San Francisco State University, she is a columnist, blogger, and social media analyst. Ms. Stillwell, a former contributing political columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, has written on a wide variety of topics, including the political atmosphere in American higher education, and has appeared as a guest on television and talk radio.

Brandeis Prof Pascal Menoret: ‘Hanging Out with Islamists Is Crucial’