Studying Islam in Academe: An exercise in self-censorship?

In today's New York Sun, Youssef Ibrahim, a former Middle East correspondent for both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, talks about the pervasive self-censorship that exists today when it comes to the study of Islam.

Remember "Orientalism," that landmark book by the late Columbia University professor Edward Said?

The 1978 work put the fear of God into any Western scholar who dared to discuss Islam, Muslims, or Arabs in anything less than superlatives — and it has succeeded beyond Said's wildest dreams.

In a prescient new book, "Dangerous Knowledge: Orientalism and Its Discontents," author Robert Irwin notes that "because of the possible offense to Muslim susceptibilities, Western scholars who specialize in the early history of Islam have to be extremely careful what they say, and some of them have developed
subtle forms of double-speak when discussing contentious matters."

Ibrahim goes on to point out that such self-censorship has also become the norm in the media, publishing, and film business.

But read his entire article.