When Knowledge is Powerless

Measures against Arabs and Muslims mean they cannot share their insights on a region the West considers vital.

As analysts, journalists, and academics of the Arab world move between the West and the wider Arab world, they often face an interesting predicament. Within the Arab world they find it difficult to benefit from their expertise, which can often lead to a critical attitude toward authoritarian regimes, for whom too much knowledge represents a potential threat to the official positions they impose. However, when they travel to the West—at least those individuals with origins in the Arab world—they may face old-fashioned bigotry. This uneasy interplay between knowledge and prejudice has real consequences for Western countries.

The opening of the article. The full text is at Carnegie Endowment.