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| The Reception of Ambassadors in Damascus, 1511, Unknown arist | Wikimedia Commons |
Introduction
Orientalism is a book by Edward Wadie Said that attempts to cause a paradigm shift in the post-colonial studies of non-western cultures and to criticize traditional western representations and characterizations of the Orient. Its purpose is to expose inherent biases held by Orientalist authors that had no negative connotations attached to their professions until after Said's book was published. When scholars and academics study foreign cultures, there is often a bias that can manifest - intentionally or lack thereof - in their writing. The 'ism' in Orientalism is meant to distinguish itself from other academic professions. The book laid the foundations of modern post-colonial study, which has led it to be taught at universities globally. The fundamental takeaway from the reasoning expressed in this book is for academics to acknowledge their biases and integrate and represent non-western & native voices in academia. The book's genre is Comparative Literature.
About the Author & Title Significance
Edward
W. Said was a Palestinian academic and professor of Literature at Columbia
University who specialized in English Literature. He was born in 1935 to a
Christian Arab family. He spent his childhood in Jerusalem and Cairo and
completed his bachelor's in English Literature from Princeton University,
followed by a master's and a Doctor of Philosophy from Harvard University. He
taught at Yale, Columbia, Harvard, Stanford, and John Hopkins. In 1974, he
produced his iconic and controversial work titled ‘Orientalism’ published in
1978. He was a staunch critic of Zionism and the State of Israel, leading his
critics to accuse him of sympathizing with terrorism and consequently seeking
to censor his work. He died in 2003 after an illness. His chair at Columbia is
currently filled by Rashid Khalidi, a profound academic famous for authoring 'The
Hundred Years’ War on Palestine'.
The
book is titled: 'Orientalism: Western Conceptions of the Orient'. This title is
worded significantly because it adds a definition to the word ‘Orientalism’,
which namely deals with western portrayals of the ‘east’ with its numerous
problematic and often unconscious presuppositions that the book endeavours to
unpack. The term ‘Orient’ is synonymous with other commonly used euphemisms
such as ‘east’, ‘non-western cultures’, and so on, often subscribing to binary demarcations.
Core Ideas & Themes
Said
begins by citing James Balfour and his address to the British House of Commons,
where he attempts to convince legislators of the benefits of maintaining
colonial control over Egypt. Balfour argues, assuming western superiority over
the orient as a self-evident truth, that the Orient (Egypt, in this case) has
never known anything besides despotism and autocratic dictatorship. Hence, they
are not acquainted with notions of self-government, and the west must therefore
subjugate them, which can liberate and educate the Orient that would act as
students of the white man.
The
second person to be cited by Said as a case study is Lord Cromer, the
Proconsul-general for the British occupation of Egypt. Cromer believed that the
European man is rational by nature, while the Oriental is the antithesis of
everything western that lacked logical reasoning and the ability to withstand
criticism. Since he believed the Orientals were incapable of rational
self-rule, he felt it was justified to impose western governance over the
indigenous Orientals. Such conjectures emerged from the vast repositories of
Orientalist literature that were added to the academic discourse from the 17th
century onwards. Beliefs like these treated Orientals as subjects that could be:
judged, examined, controlled, and depicted without granting them any say. Thus,
Said argues that the relationship between power and Orientalist knowledge
propelled colonialism.
Said
points out the overly textual emphasis on Orientalist literature which would be
inherited by future Orientalists and prioritized over empirical verification.
Causing generations of Orientalists to speculate and fantasize about the
seemingly exotic yet backward Orient. Such emphasis seldom results in accurate
depictions of Oriental cultures and instead causes imaginary discrepancies that
are, in part, caused by geographic boundaries between ‘us’ and ‘them’.
The
textual tradition among Orientalists has resulted in the propensity to
reconstitute and restructure existing frameworks regarding representations of
the Orient. A reconstruction of Christianity to a more watered-down, cultural,
and secular version happened. Consequently, racial and class struggle ideas
quickly filled the vacuum. Previously inherited literature that was reinterpreted
and reimposed on the Orient promoted ideas of modernization, liberalization,
and westernization which were thought to bring them closer to the gold standard
of western civilization under the assumption that being more western results in
more prosperity.
The author takes a keen interest in philology and its relation to orientalist study. Said references Ernest Renan as the principal advocate for employing philology for Orientalist study. Said examines his construct of ‘Semitic languages’ and his unreasonable critique of Semitic languages using philology. Renan also established a binary opposition between Indo-European and Semitic languages, thus prompting more Orientalist stereotypes. He did not consider Semitic languages as live ones, thus leading him to dehumanize Semitic people. As a result, he provided legitimacy to colonial frameworks that became another piece of evidence taken up by Said to prove his power-knowledge relationship hypothesis.
Orientalists tended to combine bits of information to craft a one-dimensional narrative that perpetuated a one-way discourse. The ensuing literature would then get added to the vast ‘museum’ of Orientalist literature that would get re-interpreted and re-structured to serve new narratives amidst new times. Said identifies three types of Orientalism in his book, the first being a professional and scientific version. The second – not so different from the first one – was far more personal and eccentric. The third one pertained to the fulfilment of a personal project. In all these three types, what lay in common was the structure of these literary works for a European audience. This rapidly reconstructed Orientalist literature was institutionalized to serve western governments after a lexicographical takeover.
To put the intellectual consolidation of Orientalism in western academia during the 19th century into perspective, Said quotes certain statements from Karl Marx and his alleged support for British colonial interference in India as well as his views on issues of representation. Said claimed that Marx preferred the Orientals to be represented, as they were incapable of representing themselves. It became a case of latent Orientalism which was less explicit and more implied. This part of Said’s work has attracted much scrutiny from his critics and some accusing him of intellectual dishonesty.
Napoleon's invasion of Egypt
Napoleon’s
rather adventurous invasion of Ottoman Egypt has been identified as perhaps the
first milestone in Orientalism, although it ended unsuccessfully for him.
Napoleon employed Orientalist literature, such as the works of Comte de Volney,
to conquer Egypt and make it a center of French learning. He brought scientists
and scholars of several professions to study, record, and document the Orient.
As a result, the ‘Description de l’Egypte’ was published and consisted of 23
volumes. In this work, there was no representation of the natives. It consisted
of many hasty generalizations and viewed Egyptian history through the lens of
European history & literature, criticized as Eurocentrism. Napoleon’s
invasion of Egypt and his use of Orientalist literature are textbook examples
of the aforementioned relationship between power and Orientalist knowledge.
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| Napoleon's invasion of Ottoman Egypt, credits to Ollie Bye and Kayra Atakan for borders |
Orientalism & Islam
Said
attempts to draw significant attention to Orientalist projects on Islam. He
argues that the Middle East and Islam have been the prime targets of
Orientalist literary work which was unprecedented for its time. Islam is seen
by Orientalists as their prime enemy and rival over the centuries. Therefore,
Orientalists have attempted to portray Islam too in a binary manner, by
portraying it as the exact opposite of Christianity. Hence, Islam is doggedly
called Mohammedanism to portray the Prophet Mohammad to Islam as Jesus is to
Christianity. Although Muslims viewed Jesus as a Prophet, Orientalists refused
to acknowledge this and persistently held strong views such as these. There was
an emphasis on Islam being a purely political religion while negating its
spiritual elements (which is partly due to their adamant refusal to engage with
Islamic theological doctrines). This was coupled with tenacious assumptions
regarding the static and uniform nature of Muslims across the Islamic world,
showing little to no nuance at all. Notions of barbarity, terror, and
backwardness are frequently thrown at Muslims, becoming a common theme in
Orientalist literature. The Orientalist thus consistently engages in propaganda
with its subject material, and it consciously attempts to create pretexts for
European colonial interference in the Middle East.
Types of Orientalism
Said
also dedicates some of his efforts to British, French, and American
Orientalism. Anglo-French Orientalism long predated American Orientalism and was
also completely different. Although they had similarities, some significant
differences are observed in these forms of Orientalism. For instance, Said
points out that British Orientalists generally had a more orthodox view of
Islam, while the French were usually more interested in mysticism, particularly
with their interest in Shi’ite views on Fatima. British Orientalism was largely
concentrated in India and Egypt, however, the French focused on the Biblical
lands, stretching from Turkey to Persia and Armenia to Egypt. They also saw
Napoleon as a Crusader himself who wanted to overturn the centuries-old defeats
of the Outremer in their quest to take over Palestine and other Biblical lands.
France also saw itself as a protector of Christian minorities in the Ottoman
Empire, which can be observed by their insistence to create Lebanon as a
Christian majority state in the Levant following decolonization. American
Orientalism came much later into the picture. It was characterized by the
events of World War II, the Cold War, and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Preliminary
to the defeat of the Arabs at the hands of the Israelis, they were mostly
depicted as desert men wearing robes, sandals, headgear, and riding camels.
However, after their humiliating defeats, they also became symbols of defeat in
the west. During the oil boycott and crises of the 1970s, the Arabs started to
be depicted in American media and literature as monstrous creatures who took
over their oil and threatened to harm their interests in the Middle East. Other
forms of Orientalism existed too, such as Dutch Orientalism in South Africa and
East Indies, Russian Orientalism in Central Asia, Italian Orientalism in Libya,
Spanish Orientalism in the Philippines, and so on. However, these types have
largely been ignored by Said due to both their vastness as well as his
limitations.
Reception & Criticism
Edward
Said’s book had a mixed reception among academia. It was highly controversial yet
brave for its time. The book received immense praise for its foundation of
modern post-colonial and literary studies. It shocked academia and attached
negative connotations to terms such as ‘Orientalist’, which to the displeasure
of Orientalist historians such as Bernard Lewis, who entered into an
intellectual battle with Edward Said. The book was praised for exposing
colonialist and neo-colonialist narratives that would get masked as academic
literature. It led scholars and intellectuals to recognize and acknowledge
their inherent biases when studying foreign cultures and reconcile their
imperfections that would prevail over objectivity. Although the focus is on
representations regarding the Middle East and Islamic Civilization, academics,
and post-colonial thinkers from outside the Muslim world have also been
influenced by Said’s literary work. Indian, Russian, Chinese, and African
thinkers employed Said’s work to expose western stereotypes about their
respective cultures. Translation of this book into a multitude of languages also
advanced this effect.
As
mentioned earlier, the book was not without its critics. One of the most problematic
aspects of the book was Said’s representation of Marx. He has been accused of
misconstruing Marx’s views on non-western cultures and his supposed Orientalist
tendencies. Moreover, the book continuously jumps between modern Orientalism
and ancient ideas of superiority which makes the layout of the book rather
inconsistent and littered with repetitions. Said has also received a barrage of
criticism and attacks from Zionists, for his expression of opinions on the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Zionist critics have accused Said of clouding his
work with too much politics and ideology, although such a view is often
motivated by political affiliations itself. Furthermore, due to the extensiveness
of Orientalist discourse, Said has been accused of cherry-picking and
maliciously choosing the material he wanted to be compatible with his
arguments. Another issue with this book is the fact that it has become
obsolete, as academic discourse and methodology have since moved on and
incorporated much of Said’s suggestions within its structure. The redundancy
and rare but present hyperbolic assertions often degrade the quality and
structure of the book. Nonetheless, the book was highly insightful for its time
and has since stood the test of time, being read by millions every year.
Key Takeaways
To
conclude, the book essentially points out that humans have innate biases when
studying foreign cultures and the least we can do is recognize that we have
these biases when studying said cultures. The book also deconstructs the notion
of the West-East divide, arguing that there are far more cultures, and the
world is far more diverse than the Orientalists and the public had imagined.
The reality is not black and white but has shades of grey. Said has also argued
for the representation and integration of natives in academia. It is imperative
that locals, not outsiders, should tell their history. The principal argument
in this book is the relationship between power and knowledge. For many years
the vast libraries of Oriental literature have served colonial interests of
domination and control. It is said ‘a history written in blood cannot be
unwritten by lies written in ink’.
Further reading:
Said, E. W. (1995). Orientalism: Western
Concepts of the Orient. Penguin Books.
Tuastad, D. (2003). Neo-Orientalism and
the new barbarism thesis: Aspects of symbolic violence in the Middle East
conflict(s). Third World Quarterly, 24(4), 591–599.
https://doi.org/10.1080/0143659032000105768
Andalusi, A. A. (2022, October 17). Lord
Cromer on the British Colonial project for Egypt. Abdullah Al Andalusi.
https://abdullahalandalusi.com/2013/12/23/a-brief-word-by-lord-cromer-on-the-british-colonial-project-for-egypt/
Matthew Scott, Edward Said's Orientalism, Essays
in Criticism, Volume 58, Issue 1, January 2008, Pages 64–81, https://doi.org/10.1093/escrit/cgm025
Orientalism and orientalism in reverse
- Sadik Jalal al-’Azm. (n.d.). libcom.org.
https://libcom.org/article/orientalism-and-orientalism-reverse-sadik-jalal-al-azm
