“Edward Said: Where
the Twain Should Have Met”
Hitchens’ review of a new edition of Orientalism, by Edward Said with a new introduction by the author.
Hitchens takes Said to task for a very one sided position that all Western
involvement in the “east” represents an unwelcome form of “orientalism.” He
describes Said’s position as having “…characterized Western scholarship about
the East as a conscious handmaiden of power and subordination.” Hitchens POV would be more in line with “…Adonis, the great
Syrian-Lebanese poet, has warned us, there exists a danger in too wrong a
counter-position between ‘East’ and ‘West.’”
As an extreme example he chastises Said for the “…fantastic
allegation that American forces powdered the artifacts of the Iraq museum in
order to show who was boss,”and goes on to say that “This passage is
rescued from sheer vulgarity only by its incoherence.”
Cover of Polk and Schuster's book on the art treasures lots, damaged or destroyed during Iraq Museum looting:
A great quote from Hitches describes the “Middle East” as “…a
story of two peoples contesting a right to the same twice-promised land.”
New Learning: Hitchens writes, “…Arab scholars in Baghdad
and Córdoba recovered the lost work of Aristotle for medieval ‘Christendom.’” It is believed that only about 1/3rd
of Aristotle’s work has survived.
New Word: irredentist
= advocating for the restoration of their country.
= advocating for the restoration of their country.
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