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Article: Middle East Studies Under Scrutiny in U.S.; Watchdog Groups Allege Left-Wing Bias
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- January 13, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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When Rashid Khalidi took over the newly established Edward Said
Chair of Middle East Studies at Columbia University last fall, the
appointment was generally viewed as an academic coup for the school,
which had succeeded in wooing away a prominent Middle East expert
from the University of Chicago, a longtime rival.
But Khalidi soon became the target of an Internet campaign that
questioned his patriotism. Conservative critics zeroed in on his
outspoken opposition to the war in Iraq and his public expressions of
sympathy for the Palestinian cause.
"Columbia vs. America," declared a story on Campus Watch, a Web
site dedicated to revealing the alleged bias of mainstream Middle
East studies ...