By Andrew L. Jaffee

While visiting Cleveland this weekend, I picked up a copy of The Plain Dealer, and found an article in the Arts section entitled, “Scholars make study of bin Laden.” On the surface, the group’s research into bin Laden’s philosophy and published treatises seems bona fide and innocuous, but given the track record of academia on the subject of terrorism, this “scholarly study” deserves closer scrutiny. I am not advocating a knee-jerk dismissal and suspicion, but I am cautious. Is it possible for academia in its current, advanced state of political correctness to study the world’s greatest terrorist without whitewashing his sentiments? Maybe. Maybe not.

First, some background on the group examining bin Laden’s belief system (if one can consider his hateful ramblings a system):

At Vanderbilt University, one group of professors chose Osama bin Laden as their focus.

For nearly a year, these professors of religion, politics, history and law have gathered as a critical audience to bin Laden, a man who looms larger than perhaps any other in our country and yet who remains a mystery to many Americans.

They emphasize they do not sympathize with the al-Qaida leader, nor do they want to add academic weight to his teachings or beliefs. They merely want to understand the man, his purpose and the source of his influence and hatred.

“They merely want to understand the man…” Have anger and a desire for justice been “casualties” of war, or is the loss of these emotions endemic to an academia that has become too soft and complacent in its opulence, comfort, and security?

There may be some truth in the challenges mentioned by the group’s participants in finding materials to be used in understanding bin Laden’s rhetoric, but their statements belie the ostensible, cold, and clinical hallmark of an academia that is selective in its “science” — e.g., anger is acceptable when criticizing countries like Israel:

“It’s not like you can turn on the television and hear a 10-minute press release from al- Qaida,” said Richard McGregor, an assistant professor of Islamic studies who helped start the group. “Our media is not going to give air time to these people. They’re not going to give air time to Osama bin Laden, they say, for strategic reasons. So what it means for the average person - you don’t know. You don’t know who is this person.”

Bin Laden’s statements are under study at other colleges and universities, too. At Emory University in Atlanta, students will examine his statements this fall as part of a course on religion, violence and terrorism titled simply “Osama bin Laden.”

Vanderbilt’s reading group comprises about a dozen members who meet about once a month. They are on hiatus this summer but plan a panel discussion for the public to share what they’ve learned. The group studies bin Laden’s statements, old interviews with journalists and other materials carrying his voice. After its November release, the group began studying “Messages to the World: The Statements of Osama bin Laden,” edited by Bruce Lawrence, a Duke University religion professor.

The biggest challenge has been finding suitable materials, McGregor said.

“There is no official Osama bin Laden Web page. You can’t just go to the library and pick out ‘Osama bin Laden: My Ideas and My Life,’ by Osama bin Laden,” he said. “On the Web, it’s not standardized. No one is editing. There is stuff that is questionable.”

But this, I believe, is an overstatement. Have they forgotten the video tape of bin Laden admitting that he ordered 911? There are scads of video tapes and statements posted on websites authenticated as being straight from bin Laden.

And the following diatribe gives more credit to bin Laden than credit is due:

The readings reveal a man who believes he is fighting for the world’s salvation on two fronts, both inside the Islamic world and beyond. He targets Middle East governments - virtually all of them - that he feels are too secular or too sympathetic to Israel and the West, and he targets non-Islamic governments including, of course, the United States.

His ambition is an idyllic society that lives out the principles of Islam. His rhetoric appeals to the poor and middle-class masses of the Middle East who feel alienated and repressed by their dictatorship governments, the social elite and the West.

The rhetoric is reasoned and well-informed, not irrational. In addition to Scripture, he draws from current events and even respected scholars and war theory to justify his belligerence. But the rhetoric is weak theologically, McGregor said.

“It does not have deep roots in the Koran or deep roots in Islamic law,” he said. “Yes, he quotes the Koran once in a while. But within the Islamic religion itself, this is very extreme. This is really on the edge.”

“The rhetoric is reasoned and well-informed, not irrational.” It is? Casually boasting about murdering civilians, warning of future atrocities, and spouting hatred is not reasonable, well-informed, nor rational. The word “evil” never appears in the article. And the idea that the “poor and middle-class masses” are bin Laden’s audience has been proved wrong time and time again. Remember that most of the 911 hijackers were from wealthy families, and most had college degrees. Several of the Canadian Muslims whose plans included blowing up Toronto with 3 tons of explosives were similarly college-educated. Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar, who drove an SUV into a crowded pedestrian zone was a recent graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Ergo, my concerns about academia.

A Jewish observer of the study group summarizes my concerns:

“I look at the artfulness of these texts, the way Osama bin Laden crafts the language to make claims that are outrageous and hateful,” said Rose, who as a Jew has found the anti-Semitic rhetoric especially troubling. He said he has been an observer of the group, not a participant. “Fascination is what the snake does before it bites its victim.”

So the fact that these “scholars” are being scrutinized by American security authorities is reasoned and well-informed, not irrational, and well worth the effort as a sensible precaution:

The studies haven’t been easy, either. The group makes light of concerns about public perceptions of their work and government surveillance of their Internet activities and phone calls.

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Related: United States, Terrorist Groups, Academia

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