Islamic studies is now a serious academic programme in the West.

I think that once upon a time Islamic studies was a fairly primitive field of study in the West. Translations of key Arabic books in European Languages were not readily available, and there certainly was no internet making it possible to access these books for almost anyone. Nowadays you can study Quran and Hadith and Sunnah online for free. The game has changed and referenced quality material about Islam is now available to almost any searcher. This might change the game.