Raymond Ibrahim justly skewers Georgetown Islamic specialist John Esposito for his influential misrepresentation of the Muslim practice of “jizya,” a tax exacted from conquered non-Muslims. Esposito claims the jizya buys “protection from outside aggression and exempted them from military service,” which meant “lower taxes, greater local autonomy.” In fact, it was (and is in parts of Syria and Iraq) the only alternative to conversion to Islam or death. Middle East studies specialists regularly misrepresent Islamic practices in this manner.
Winfield Myers is managing editor of the Middle East Forum and director of its Campus Watch project, which reviews and critiques Middle East studies in North American universities. He has taught world history and other topics at the University of Michigan, the University of Georgia, Tulane, and Xavier University of Louisiana. He was previously managing editor of The American Enterprise magazine and CEO of Democracy Project, Inc., which he co-founded. Mr. Myers has served as senior editor and communications director at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute and is principal author and editor of a college guide, Choosing the Right College (1998, 2001). He was educated at the University of Georgia, Tulane, and the University of Michigan.
