No Change in Orientalists' Ideas

Submitted by Abdulhafeth Khrisat (Professor, Ph.D.) (Saudi Arabia), Jul 20, 2012 at 08:59

Indeed the Orientalists' ideas remained the same for centuries because of their reliance on books' ideas. Although writers seem to depend on reality in the 20^th and 21^st centuries, they still have the same stereotypical image of the Orient, particularly after Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York. This stereotypical image of the Orient as a biological inferior, culturally backward and dominating patriarchal, initiating war against civilization is the same as portrayed by William Beckford's Vathek in 1759 and Samuel Johnson's Rasselas in 1786. For more on the Oriental image in these works, see my articles in the following sites:

www.damascusuniversity.edu.sy/mag/human/images/stories/...

www.iiste.org/Journals/index.php/RHSS/article/view/2104

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