An Other Middle East - Muslim readings of Orientalists and travelers between the 17th and 19th century

Description

The image of Western scholarship on the Middle East has been analyzed in various studies, drawing particularly on Edward Said's Orientalism (1978). These studies often imply a one-dimensioned perspective on the mutual encounters between "Orient" and "Occident", ignoring for instance the reception of Orientalist ideas and images by Muslims and/or Arab readers. Focusing on references by contemporary Muslim actors to Orientalists and travelers between the 17th and 19th century, this paper draws attention to the echo of Orientalist literature and scholarship in the "Orient" itself and analyses its impact on cultural inheritance.