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From Library Journal
In this collection of essays, Lewis (Professor Emeritus of Near East Studies, Princeton) is concerned with relations between the Islamic and European civilizations. Lewis, well known for his myriad works on the Middle East (most recently, Race and Slavery in the Middle East , Oxford, 1990), focuses on perceptions and reactions to intercultural contact and the problems that preclude understanding. In 11 essays, he explores questions of patriotism, economics, and linguistics. In part, this collection is a skillful rebuttal to the attack by Edward Said ( Orientalism , LJ 11/1/78) and others against Western scholarship, motives, and interpretations of the Middle East, which challenged savants such as Lewis himself. A work of sound scholarship; highly recommended.
- Paula I. Nielson, Loyola Marymount Univ. Lib., Los Angeles
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
- Paula I. Nielson, Loyola Marymount Univ. Lib., Los Angeles
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Kirkus Reviews
Eleven superb essays on the culture clash between the Islamic nations of the Middle East and the more secularized West; from distinguished Orientalist Lewis (Near Eastern Studies/Princeton; Semites and Anti-Semites, 1986, etc.). Scholarly but not pedantic, writing without fear or favor, Lewis makes an ideal guide through the political, religious, and cultural thickets of Islam. As the range of subjects demonstrates, his reach is as wide as his touch is sure. His tone is objective throughout, except for two pieces: a searing critique of Edward Said and other critics of Orientalism for their ``science-fiction history and...lexical Humpty-Dumptyism''; and an impassioned defense of non-Western studies against adversaries who employ contradictory rhetoric to mask a hidden agenda (``If we don't study and teach other cultures we are called arrogant and ethnocentric and if we do we are accused of spoliation and exploitation''). Lewis begins with a capsule history that outlines the odd affinities and tensions between Europe and the Islamic nations--a struggle in which each side has called the other ``infidel'' and has swapped commercial and military supremacy. He also considers medieval Islamic debates on worship in lands where the teachings of Mohammed did not hold sway--and the implications of this today amid the Arab diaspora to Europe and America. Lewis is equally comfortable with more specialized topics, including Edward Gibbon's influence on the Western image of Mohammed; the difficulties of translating from Arabic; and the Ottoman threat to Europe until the Turkish defeat at Vienna in 1683. The author concludes with four meditations on the contemporary Islamic response to Western might, discussing resurgent Islamic fundamentalism as a unifying factor in Mideast politics; the split between the Shi'a and Sunni sects; the passage of the concept of ``country'' into Islamic lands; and why few Islamic countries have traditions of religious coexistence and secularism. A learned, forceful analysis that treats Islam with respect, not condescension. (Photos) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
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First Sentence
Between these two terms, "Europe" and "Islam," there is, or there would appear to be, a certain asymmetry. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Between these two terms, "Europe" and "Islam," there is, or there would appear to be, a certain asymmetry. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Disjointed, but some interesting insights,
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This review is from: Islam and the West (Paperback)
Bernard Lewis, of course, is the well-known Princeton professor (emeritus) who emerged, after 9/11, as the principal "interpreter" of the world of Islam for U.S. audiences. In the introduction to this book, he proposes that he will illustrate the way that the worlds of Christendom and Islam view each other. Unfortunately, as noted by the previous reviewers, this is a collection of essays (several of which were previously published) rather than a de novo work, and the individual parts are only variably subordinate to the overarching goal. Despite this limitation, which gives the book a disjointed feel, there are some valuable insights here. The first essay is a very brief review of the history of the interaction between Islam and Christendom, which makes the important point that, for much of the history of that interaction, the European kingdoms were of only peripheral interest to the vastly greater civilization of Islam. Subsequent essays briefly review the history of the Shi'a, and the problems of cross-cultural communication illustrated by the difficulties encountered in attempting translation of Islamic texts. There are effective critiques of the late Edward Said's theory of Orientalism, which claims that the study of non-Western, and particularly Islamic, history by Westerners constitutes cultural imperialism masquerading as historical analysis. But the most useful insight to be gleaned from these essays is the explication of the role that religion plays in the world of Islam, and the contrast between Islamic and non-Islamic views of the proper relation between religion and the State. Although we are slowly becoming more aware of this fundamental difference between our own view of the place of religion in the affairs of man and that of many, perhaps most, in the Islamic world, Lewis manages to make this difference explicitly clear. The insight would be most valuable to those seeking to build new polities in the Middle East.
4.0 out of 5 stars
pretty good comparsion,
By
This review is from: Islam and the West (Paperback)
In Islam and the West, Lewis takes a look at the relationship between Islam and the West. The have had conflict for since the early days of Islam. Lewis takes a look at conflicts such as the crusades, the three Muslim invasions of Europe-Moors in the Iberian Peninsula, Ottamans in Eastern Europe and the Tartars in Russia. He also looks at how the Muslim world in North Africa and the Middle East was one time more advanced then the Europe and how the two have reveresed positions. What Lewis spends a lot of time on is the perceptions of Islam had of the West and the perceptions that the West had on Islam. He looks at each side tried to discredit the other and how each perceivced themselves. Lewis also deals with the rise of political Islam in the 20th century after the end of WWI after the break up of the Ottaman empire. Overall, a pretty good comprision and hsitory like Lewis's other works.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Skilled Writer,
By
This review is from: Islam and the West (Paperback)
Bernard Lewis is a highly skilled writer. But even then his bias against Islam can be spotted and proved from his own writing. Generally, he does not write about the Quran. He writes about muslims. As humans they are full of error, probably more so than others. Arabs, the peoples who were the first to accept Prophet Muhammad's message, have carried out many grievous acts throughout their history against other Arabs some of which go back to within the first hundred years of Prophet Muhammad's death. To learn about muslims, reading Mr. Lewis's books is a start. To learn about the Middle East, one needs to read about the ancient Hebrews(the sister race of the Arabs) and their impact as well.
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