There are scores of books that discuss--and even argue against--Islam. The writers have decided for themselves where their limits lay. And some have, in fact, faced prosecution and persecution for publishing.
But I'm really talking about histories of countries. There just aren't many--if any--on the shelves. You might find a couple of histories of Desert Storm, in the military section, or a book or two on Islamic art in the arts section. But there are no discussions of the Lebanese civil war, of the French or Britsh mandates in the Middle East. There's no analysis of how changing demographics are affecting the different Middle Eastern countries.
I just think it's a grave under-representation that does not serve the public well. Hearing one side of a story is rarely adequate in any field. Hearing no side is even worse.
My specialization is the Middle East. I cannot reply on my county library system for anything approaching a balanced view of the Middle East, though. While six shelves are taken up with good, analytical books about Israel, less than half a shelf covers the other 20+ countries--and that's if you include travel and pictoral books.
While Israel should certainly be covered heavily, ignoring all the rest isn't conducive to understanding what's going on in the world.
Librarians necessarily edit what they put on their shelves because they have to work within budgets. That means they can't have everything that they'd like to have. They have to make choices, generally based on the perceived needs or desires of their clients.
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There are scores of books that discuss--and even argue against--Islam. The writers have decided for themselves where their limits lay. And some have, in fact, faced prosecution and persecution for publishing. But I'm really talking about histories of countries. There just aren't many--if any--on the shelves. You might find a couple of histories of Desert Storm, in the military section, or a book or two on Islamic art in the arts section. But there are no discussions of the Lebanese civil war, of the French or Britsh mandates in the Middle East. There's no analysis of how changing demographics are affecting the different Middle Eastern countries. I just think it's a grave under-representation that does not serve the public well. Hearing one side of a story is rarely adequate in any field. Hearing no side is even worse.
My specialization is the Middle East. I cannot reply on my county library system for anything approaching a balanced view of the Middle East, though. While six shelves are taken up with good, analytical books about Israel, less than half a shelf covers the other 20+ countries--and that's if you include travel and pictoral books.
While Israel should certainly be covered heavily, ignoring all the rest isn't conducive to understanding what's going on in the world.
Librarians necessarily edit what they put on their shelves because they have to work within budgets. That means they can't have everything that they'd like to have. They have to make choices, generally based on the perceived needs or desires of their clients.