It is not every day that a colleague finds himself summoned
to the august precincts of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to be
honored as an intellectual grandee. Though he is a recipient
of one of those MacArthur Foundation "genius" awards, the
author of several highly regarded books, and a distinguished
professor of Middle East studies at the School of Advanced
International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, Fouad
Ajami would be the last person in the world to confer on himself any kind
of mantle of pride or accomplishment. So it was particularly gratifying for
those of us privileged enough to be friends and admirers to see the White
House step into the breach.
A few days ago, President George W. Bush announced that Fouad, and
more than a dozen other distinguished Americans, are the recipients of this
year's National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal. The honor
is one richly deserved, but making it more than usually gratifying was the
fact that Bernard Lewis, Fouad's great friend of many years and an Orientalist
of Olympian stature, was similarly honored.
Ordinarily, here at U.S. News, we are content to let our journalism speak
for itself and are pleased that so many of you come back to us day after day
on our website, and year after year in our magazine, because of our commitment
to accuracy and integrity. But so extraordinary
has been Fouad's contribution over these past
several convulsive years that we felt a brief tip of the
hat in tribute was in order. Congratulations, Fouad!
This story appears in the November 27, 2006 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.