Clare Gmur stares intently at the words on the chalkboard: Ibn Sina, Ibn Bajja, Ibn Roshd. She listens as UC Riverside professor Michael Feener speaks about the medieval Islamic philosophers.
Gmur, a senior, sits among 30 students in the Introduction to Islam course. Two young Muslim women are clad in headscarves. A couple of students wear baseball caps. Their majors span the academic landscape: history, theater, political science, biochemistry and psychology.
Most have pens poised to write.
The study of Islam, Arabic and the history and culture of the Middle East is on the rise at campuses nationwide, experts say. In 2001, Congress added $20 million to a fund that helps pay for foreign language and Middle Eastern studies programs. Since then, the number of campuses receiving federal money for centers dedicated to the study of the Middle East has risen from 14 to 17, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.
The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the Iraqi war are reasons cited for rising interest in the study of the region. People see a practical need for learning about the Middle East just like the study of Russia during the Cold War, said David Longanecker, executive director of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education in Boulder, Colo.
“There are lots of jobs with the U.S. government now that focus on the Middle East,” Longanecker said. “There are just a whole lot of people who really want to know more about this part of the world that is very front and center.”
The demand is so great that some campuses are having trouble finding professors with the needed expertise, Longanecker said. For instance, Montana State University and the University of Wyoming have devised a program where students can take classes via the Internet, he said.
UCR began offering the class on Islam about three years ago. Gmur, an art history and religious studies major, said that she wanted to get past images she sees in the media about Muslims.
“I wanted to learn about something that I just didn’t know,” said Gmur, 25. “It’s sort of a demystifier of something that’s not so mystical.”
Feener, an assistant professor of religious studies at UCR, says the interest in Islam will extend beyond current events. He said people are more aware of religion now than they used to be.
Cal State San Bernardino has plans to start a center for Islamic and Middle Eastern studies this fall. University officials hope to raise $15 million for the center. The center would host classes and events focused on the culture, politics, religion, history, literature and languages of the Middle East, including Turkey, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Palestine and Iraq.
“There’s a tremendous void in teaching Middle East and Islamic studies in the CSU itself,” said Ralph Salmi, associate professor of National Security Studies at Cal State San Bernardino. “We’re trying to educate huge numbers of teachers and they’re not being exposed.”
The San Bernardino campus began offering Arabic classes about three years ago. Enrollment has been steady at about 45 students per quarter, said Dany Doueiri, an Arabic instructor at Cal State San Bernardino.
The University of Redlands split a grant with the San Bernardino campus in 2003 that allowed for Arabic classes and other courses, said Dan Wachs, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Redlands.
“It’s clear that the demand is there,” he said.
But Redlands does not plan to continue the classes when the funding runs out next year, Wachs said.
Salmi of Cal State San Bernardino said he is not worried that interest might wane with time.
“I’m concerned about the demand and our ability to service it,” Salmi said.
Cal State San Bernardino senior Melissa Maxey, a political science major, said that she plans to take graduate-level courses at the center this fall. She began taking Arabic last fall and is interested in working for the United Nations.
“I’m taking it because I’m going into international law with a specialty in the Middle East,” said Maxey, 23
