ORIENTALIZED ISLAM: A CRITICAL STUDY OF BERNARD LEWIS’ BOOK: “THE CRISIS OF ISLAM: HOLY WAR AND UNHOLY TERROR”

Abstract

Multiple brands of orientalism owe to the diversity in western studies of Islam. A renowned orientalist and Western Islamologist, Bernard Lewis, is considered as an authority on Middle Eastern studies as well as on Islamic history. Lewis’ work on Islam attracted a lot of attention after the Twin Tower incident of 9/11. His works on Islam particularly his books What Went Wrong, The Crisis of Islam and his oft-quoted essay The Roots of Muslim Rage is cited by analysts and intellectuals in Western Academia. In this study views of Bernard Lewis have been analyzed through the prism of an extremely influential and paradigm shifting book Orientalism by Edward Said which discusses his Orientalist perspective and theoretical assumptions on orientalism. The researcher finds Said’s assumption in case of Lewis as an orientalist tiger more or less justified. Lewis’ study of Islam is an epitome of traditional version of orientalists, classical orientalist scholarship and dualistic and essentialist approach towards Islam. For his critics the work of Lewis on Islam has established him to a great extent a traditional orientalist and western orient list scholarship generally inflates the similar analysis about Islamic world and Islam symbolizing his massive influence on western Academy. In a nutshell, Lewis’ approach towards study of Islam is Reductionist and Essentialist.