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The term, "Orientalism" has more than one meaning. The meaning I assume is used here is of stereotyping Islam. The facts seem to support the opposite of stereotypification of Islam among Americans and Canadians. There is actually a preponderance of naive assumptions about the Muslim religion and practices. Most Westerners fail to appreciate how pernicious the Islamic culture and faith are. The call to avoid "orientalism" is, thus, another attack on objective values and judgments. It is a variant of the claim of "multiculturalism" and the call for "tolerance," both of which are wholly self-serving claims that our genuine rejection of the ideas and practices of Islam are nothing but bias. There is an important lesson in this, further manifestation of the attack on objective moral judgment. The cultural attack on the West is wide-spread and manifold. This will come up again and again, in new terminology and with patient calls for us to understand and accept innocent differences between our cultures. Nothing will repel it but conceptual vigilance and reasoned responses. |
Fareed, are you asking about orientalism as an artistic style encompassing art, literature and music or orientalism as a form of post-modern historical interpretation?
I am asking about it as a form of post-modern historical interpretation.