Prominent figures in academe and higher education groups continue to issue statements about the election of Donald J. Trump, the numerous incidents of intolerance since the election and the challenges facing academe.
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Middle East Studies Association Condemns Bigotry
At the annual meeting of the Middle East Studies Association, the organization’s board voted that “in light of a documented rise in hate crimes and rising concerns about bigotry in various forms -- racism, anti-Semitism and attacks on Muslims, Middle Easterners and others -- the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) Board of Directors emphatically reaffirms” a statement it adopted in November 2015 condemning such intolerance.
That statement said that the board of the association “condemns the increasing frequency and intensity of violent acts against civilians taking place in countries around the world. We are also alarmed at the related rise in the stereotyping and vilification of people of Middle East or Muslim background. We urge, therefore, those with responsibility for United States policy in the Middle East and the Islamic world to avail themselves of the insights of scholarship as they seek to understand the background of these violent acts and to frame responses to them.”
Last week, leaders of both the Modern Language Association and the American Educational Research Association released statements expressing concerns about the postelection environment.
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