Lewis's Influence

Michael Hirsh has a must-read Washington Monthly article on Bernard Lewis, his detractors, and what it all means for you. My strictly academic criticism is that both Lewis and Bulliet see the history of Islamic civilization as too tied with Christianity as opposed to say, Hinduism, but the core issues this article discusses are real. As an aside, I wonder of those who have sought to discredit Middle East Studies due to some bad predictions about the aftermath of the first Persian Gulf War will now turn on Lewis because of his role in the second. I won't be holding my breath.