"I Don't Like Said; and Israel, Too"

That's Edward Said to whom we are referring. The "Orientalism" 'scholar'.

Anyway, there's been a discussion over at the Times' Literary Supplement these past 3-4 weeks over the worthiness of Said's scholarship. And what interested me was this snippet:-

...Said’s attack on Bernard Lewis would have been more effective if it had been more accurate and more thoroughly researched. I disagree with a great deal of what Lewis has written in recent years. I also regard Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians as barbarous and unfair and have always thought that our war in Iraq is illegal, immoral and stupid. Yet none of these things impels me to endorse Said’s account of past Western literary and scholarly encounters with the Middle East, for it was in general, as well as in almost every detail, false.

ROBERT IRWIN
39 Harleyford Road, London SE11.

And I was always taught that if you are doubtful, continue pressing your doubt, researching it. Who knows? You might discover that if Said's scholarship isn't genuine scholarship, maybe his politics aren't genuine politics.