Professors who attended the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA) were alarmed about the state of Middle East studies. The group's co-founder, Bernard Lewis, said in his keynote address that the freedom to study and write on the topic of Islam was under assault by a Cerberus of "postmodernism," "political correctness," and "multiculturalism" in academe. Three weeks before Lewis's address, prominent scholars who disagree strongly with his approach to Middle East studies used similar language at a conference held at New York University's (NYU) new Frederic Ewen Academic Freedom Center. For those who attended the ASMEA conference, the perceived threat to academic freedom is largely "within" the university. On the other hand, professors who attended the NYU conference believe that academic freedom is under sustained assault by ideological forces "outside" the academe, which are attempting to influence hiring and tenure decisions and also the publication of scholarly work. Although the perspectives of these scholars diverge on the state of academic freedom in Middle East studies, there is some common ground. One commonality is an explicit linkage between tenure and academic freedom. The effect of the issue on younger scholars was also articulated at both gatherings.