Hamid Dabashi in His Own Incomprehensible Words

What do you call someone who, in a single conference presentation, can call the U.S. an "empire without hegemony" that's engaged in a "monopolar imperial project," charge Middle East studies scholar Martin Kramer's book, Ivory Towers on Sand, with being an agent of "U.S. and Israeli intelligence," denounce David Horowitz, Daniel Pipes, Stanley Kurtz, and Campus Watch for "helping Bush in his crusading war against Islamic terrorism," and condemn Stanford's Hoover Institution, the American Enterprise Institute, and the Heritage Foundation for acting in "the service of national security"? (The very idea--scholars working to ensure the safety and future of their nation! Quelle horreur!)

You can call him Hamid Dabashi, one of the gang of illiberal radicals who make up Columbia University's disgraced faculty in its Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures program.

And you can read about his recent rant, as well as those of his fellow travelers, in "The Muddled Mess of Middle East Studies," published today at the American Thinker by my Campus Watch colleague, Cinnamon Stillwell.

But fair warning: while Cinnamon's prose is crisp and clear, I can't guarantee that you'll have the slightest idea what Dabashi and crew are talking about. But that'll put you in good company because, judging by their remarks, neither do they.