Cross-posted from Phi Beta Cons: In the aftermath of the Fort Hood massacre, and the mounting evidence that the shooter, Nidal Malik Hasan, was motivated by Islamist beliefs, the MSM is calling for explanations from Middle East studies professors. What they're getting from these "experts," as Cinnamon Stillwell describes in a disturbing, important, and well-researched survey, "is the moral relativism and obfuscation that too often meets any effort to address Islamism or jihadism in an intellectually honest manner." Example? Writing for the Washington Post, Georgetown University's John Esposito, conflates Hasan's deeds with "extremists" of all religions, all the while professing ignorance as to why Islam should have been the object of suspicion since 9/11. Stillwell concludes:
Americans rightly concerned about the culture of political correctness and willful blindness towards Islamist ideology that has infected the U.S. military, intelligence agencies, and so many other institutions need only look to the denizens of the Ivory Tower for an explanation. Instead of explaining events like the Fort Hood shooting to the American public, all too often Middle East studies academics refuse to state the obvious and choose to obfuscate rather than clarify the events at hand. The rush to judgment against those who express valid concerns about Islamism only adds to the self-censorship that was in large part responsible for allowing Hasan to remain in the military and murder his fellow soldiers in cold blood.
