Western Orientalists Research Articles

The Distorted Views of William Muir on Prophet Muhammad (saw)’s Character: A Critical Evaluation

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the inaccurate assertions made by the Western Orientalist William Muir regarding the Character attributed to the Prophet Muhammad (saw). Muir’s portrayal of the character of the Prophet (saw) may attract the interest of his readers. In his many works, he presented the character of the Prophet (saw) in an embarrassing way. Muir associated him with a figure of moral failure who used false revelations to justify immoral actions such as violence, cruelty, and hostility. In an attempt to evaluate the distorted assertions made by Muir, the paper analyses his evidence and observations. At the same time, it conducts a careful examination of Islamic historical records about the character of Prophet Muhammad (saw) to prove the authenticity of his character. According to the findings of historical evidence, it can be said with good reason that Muir’s denial of the Prophet’s good personality was part of his distortion of Islam, and since the claim is not substantiated by real and accurate historical evidence, therefore, it must be baseless.

Traversing borders of representation: Occidentalism in a Moroccan traveller’s account of Britain’s modernity

In 1876, Moroccan Sultan Moulay Hasan sent a delegation to Britain to study artillery and return with a specimen of modern weaponry. This article examines Driss Jaaidi’s report on the journey to Britain through the theoretical lens of Occidentalism, which offers a counter-narrative to Western Orientalism. Jaaidi’s account, produced within the diplomatic context of Moroccan–British relations, diverges from traditional Orientalist texts, offering a respectful and admiring depiction of British modernity. By focusing on technological advancement, industrialization, and mass urban life, Jaaidi’s travelogue emphasizes observation without condescension, contrasting the estrangement found in Western accounts of the East. This study explores how Occidentalism allows non-Western travellers to view the West through a lens of curiosity and respect, fostering a narrative that is forward-looking and temporally progressive. The observer’s language, shaped by an Occidentalist perspective, reflects a register of praise and awe rather than alienation and distortion. The present text suggests that while Orientalism views the East as a relic of the past, Occidentalism, in contrast, portrays the West as a vision of the future – a futuristic artefact.

Orientalism and Christian Pilgrimage in Contemporary History

This study focuses on the concept of orientalism and its relation to Christian pilgrimage in modern times, and the views of Western Christian religious figures, historians, researchers, and pilgrims to share their experiences with Christians who want to make a journey to the Holy Land, monks’ caves or other holy places around the world. The benefits of Christian pilgrimage in their view will be spiritual more than physical by visiting the Christian pilgrim's true places of pilgrimage. The invitation here is to teach Christians the religious ceremonies that were done by the early pilgrims who had followed Christ's steps and his apostles who took the Bible as their guide. According to them, pilgrimage is not for fun or entertainment but for worship and forgiveness, an idea that lasted for a long time until now. This study included an introduction, a definition of orientalism, and an explanation of the western Orientalists’ point of view of pilgrimage, by giving examples of pilgrims' stories who made their journey whether in reality or in a dream.

KONTROVERSI PEMIKIRAN IGNAZ GOLDZIHER DAN IMPLIKASINYA BAGI PERKEMBANGAN TREN STUDI ISLAM PADA ABAD 19-21 M

The study of Islamic studies has been carried out by many Western orientalists, such as Ignaz Goldziher. His thoughts on Islam have invited various controversies from many parties. The purpose of this research is to examine the controversy of Ignaz Goldziher’s thoughts and its implications for the trend of Islamic studies in the west (19-21 AD). This research is a qualitative research with a historical approach and uses historical research methods consisting of heuristics, verification, interpretation, and historiography. The results and discussion in this study found five thoughts of Ignaz Goldziher in Islamic studies, namely: Ignaz Goldziher’s scepticism towards the Qur'an; Ignaz Goldziher’s classification of mufassir; differentiation of the meaning of hadith and sunnah according to Ignaz Goldziher; Ignaz Goldziher’s scepticism towards hadith; and Ignaz Goldziher's views regarding Islamic sharia law. Then, for the controversy of the implications of Ignaz Goldziher’s thoughts on the development of trends in Islamic studies in the 19th-21st centuries is the emergence of groups of supporters and opponents of his thoughts. From among the orientalists who support and agree, two of them are Roskeen Alexander Hamilton Gibb and Joseph Schacht. Meanwhile, those who oppose and disagree with him are Gregor Schoeler and Harald Motzki (orientalists) and ‘Abdul Muttalib and Mustafa al-Sibai (Islamic scholars). In conclusion, Ignaz Goldziher’s thoughts are diverse and spark controversy and not all of his thoughts can be justified.

Civilizational Development in Andalusia in the Writings of Orientalists in the French Orientalist School Gustave Le Bon as A Model

This study intends to present the cultural development in Andalusia and indicates the most prominent writings of French Orientalists regarding this civilization, as well as their appreciation for Arab culture. In this sense, the French Orientalist Gustave Le Bon is a role model. Among the most well-known philosophers in the West, he has shown justice to the Arab people and Islamic culture. This research therefore centers on his writings, which are full of references to the contributions that Arabs and the Arab Islamic nation have made to the West. He wrote the important work "La Civilisation des Arabes" ("The Civilization of the Arabs"), which offers insightful details on Arab civilization, and he accepted that Muslims were the ones who brought civilization to Europe. Additionally, the study seeks to expose the genuine character of Western Orientalists by differentiating between those who are sympathetic to Arab Muslims and those who are hostile to both Islam and Arabs. It demonstrates how the Arabs taught the West about civilization and advancement in many spheres of life.There are three sections to the research. The history, growth, and current status of the French Orientalist School are covered in the first section. The biography, writings, and methods of French Orientalist Gustave Le Bon are the main subjects of the second half. The final segment looks at Andalusia's cultural evolution.In writing this research, I have relied on both Arab and foreign sources, and I hope it will meet the reader's approval.

Benturan Paradigma: Respons terhadap Penggeseran Paradigma Islam

The clash between paradigms, in this case the Islamic and Western paradigms, is inevitable. This cannot be separated from the globalization that has swept the world. Religious issues from various regions around the world are easily accessible to anyone, anywhere, and anytime. The influx of these issues shapes the patterns and attitudes of Muslims, both in dealing with external and internal problems. The problem is that Muslims are then forced to submit to the Western paradigm. Since the late 19th century, Western penetration of the Islamic world has at least forced some Muslim countries to adopt Western laws. In addition, Islamic academics and intellectuals have lately been moving towards a rationalism-nihilism paradigm that tends to be oriented towards Western orientalist thought and philosophy. As a result, the Islamic paradigm adopted as a framework for Muslims' thinking has shifted and been replaced with a secular-liberal Western paradigm. Therefore, Islamic law is considered to be in conflict with human rights and the way of life of modern society. Departing from that, this paper is important as a response as well as an analysis and offer that the Islamic paradigm is different from the Western paradigm, so that the products produced are also different. The Islamic paradigm is not just a view of the human mind towards the physical world or human involvement in it from a historical, social, political and cultural perspective, but includes aspects of the world and the hereafter.

Prophethood of Muhammad SAW in the Orientalist Perspective: A Critical Analysis

The urgency to reassess the Western Orientalism concept is currently recognized by the Islamic community. Orientalism, with its aim to investigate the East and its entire civilization, is a movement with a relatively long history. Originating from concerns about the diminishing role of the church in Western society post-Renaissance, Orientalist thinking stems from a perspective seeking to emphasize studies on the civilizations of the Eastern world. Orientalist thought not only addresses the Eastern world in general but tends to be highly critical of Islam and the civilization developed within it. Therefore, this paper attempts to examine the aspect of Western Orientalist diabolism in scrutinizing and developing criticisms regarding the Prophethood of Muhammad SAW. This represents a thought model synonymous with the Orientalist movement. In its analysis, the researcher presents some unfounded accusations of Orientalism, also providing critiques to address these accusations.

THE EAST PERCEIVED THROUGH WESTERN PERSPECTIVE: FAUSTO ZONARO AND ISTANBUL

For many centuries, Istanbul, as a city of culture, has been a source of inspiration for artists from many different countries. Italian artists were especially influenced by the Eastern world and reflected this influence in their work in almost every era. When we talk about "Western Orientalists on Ottoman lands", we doubtlessly first think of Italian Orientalists such as Gentile Bellini, Fausto Zonaro, Leonardo de Mango, Amadeo Preziosi, Salvatore Valeri, Luigi Acquarone, Raimondo D'Aronco, whose paths crossed through the Ottoman Empire, and who built bridges between these foreign cultures by depicting these exotic lands in their works. During the reign of Sultan Abdulhamit the Second, Fausto Zonaro (1854 – 1929) assumed the title of “Palace Artist” after the Italian artist Luigi Acquarone. Zonaro, as well as being recognized for his realistic depictions, became well known for introducing the newly emerging Western art movements in the Ottoman art circles during its initial stages and became influential by nurturing a new generation of young Ottoman artists by providing training. The way Zonaro perceived Istanbul and the local culture through an Italian perspective, and his difference from other Orientalist artists are crucial in making him a pioneering figure in the history of Turkish painting.

Exploring the Phenomenon of Timelessness in Morocco: Insights from Paul Bowles and Other Travel Writers

This article aims to explore the phenomenon of timelessness in Morocco through the insights of renowned travel writers such as Paul Bowles. The semi-systematic method was used primarily due to the limited amount of research done on the topic of timelessness. It will analyze the representations of Morocco in Western discourse, particularly in the context of Western Orientalism. Thanks to decolonization, deconstructionism, and Edward Said’s Orientalism, hitherto neglected travel writing has elicited academic responses from scholars who have recognized that travel writing is not simply an innocent and objective description of a traveler’s encounters in a foreign land. Instead, it is a genre that is inherently political, intertwined with projects of orientalism, colonialism, imperialism, and post-colonialism, and characterized by a hegemonic gaze directed towards the other, often marginalizing the voices of peripheral people. This research references books, notable authors, and Western explorers who commonly mention the unchanging quality of time in the Orient, particularly in Morocco. Additionally, the study will draw on the insights of Edward Said to explain why this timelessness was prevalent in the 20th century.

Soraya Antonius’s Arab awakening: Palestinian identity, activism, and Anglophone literature

ABSTRACT While scholarship on Anglophone Palestinian literature has burgeoned in recent years, there has been no attempt to retrieve and assess the work of Soraya Antonius (1932–2017), author of two remarkable English-language novels depicting British-ruled Palestine from the 1910s to 1948, The Lord (1986) and Where the Jinn Consult (1987). Exploring and contextualising Antonius’s contribution to this literary corpus, this article examines the cultural, political and linguistic forces shaping her writings. It begins by tracing the fusion of Anglophile mimicry and anti-colonial resistance typical of her parents – George Antonius, author of The Arab Awakening (1938) and Katy Antonius, Mandatory Jerusalem’s leading socialite. While her parents funnelled their Levantine-cosmopolitan options into a distinctive Palestinian identity, the Nakba compelled their daughter to take the opposite trajectory, leaving Palestine to pursue cosmopolitan possibilities elsewhere. The article’s second section thus considers her work in 1960s and 1970s Beirut, first as a journalist and editor, committed to developing a critical discourse on Western Orientalism, and subsequently as an activist and spokesperson, advocating the Palestinian cause. Probing how these biographical and professional strands shaped her fiction, the final section demonstrates how the first novel’s Anglophile fascination with the coloniser’s mindset is replaced, in the second novel, with a decided focus on Palestinians’ perspectives. Echoing Albert Hourani’s critique of the ‘Politics of Notables’, Where the Jinn Consult thus offers a loving yet bitter account of her parents’ generation, complacent and ineffectual in the face of looming catastrophe.

СРЕДНЕВЕКОВЫЕ АРАБСКИЕ ГЕОГРАФИЧЕСКИЕ ТЕКСТЫ И КАРТЫ

Over the centuries, the interest of scholars in Arabic medieval sources on geography and geographical maps has been growing. This is connected with the important contribution of the Arab-Muslim civilization to the development of ideas about the inner and surrounding world, on the one hand, and the desire to restore or renew the history of various peoples involved in the zone of research interests of Arabic-speaking geographers, on the other hand. The authors of the article considered the sources stored in European repositories, available for study thanks to the descriptions and publications of Western orientalists, while discovering some trends manifested in the academic traditions of different stages of the development of historical geography. The interest of scientists of the 19th century was directed primarily to medieval texts, which were considered the primary and most important object for research, and the establishment of their authenticity was perceived as the main task of critical analysis of their content. As for maps, only in recent decades, did the historical and cultural context of this pictorial genre begin to be interpreted by scholars in all their fullness and functionality and published in the form of atlases, books, and encyclopedias, inviting readers to immerse themselves in a re-evaluated cultural tradition. The article aims to determine the features of different approaches to the interpretation of geographical Arabic-language sources in European oriental studies. For this purpose, critical editions of the sources undertaken in the projects of the Leiden and Bodleian libraries were studied and their characteristics were revealed through historical and comparative methods of analysis. The general dynamics in understanding historical geography from primarily philological textological work to cultural and interdisciplinary reevaluation of medieval Islamic maps is noted.

Merchants, Sorcerers, Fire Worshippers: ‘Snapshots’ of Persian Culture and the Central European Mirror

Critiques of Western Orientalism have been well-known since the Saidean perspective, and in-depth analysis of Frontier Orientalism has also gained prevalence and academic recognition. Yet, another tendency, namely, that of exoticizing Persia, has not been given wide-ranging attention. This paper delivers a theoretical and empirical framework describing another variant of Central European Orientalism, which may be remotely reminiscent of alleged colonial thought, yet with regional peculiarities and without any direct exposition of historical-political conflict.

Western Orientalism Targeting Eastern Europe: An Emerging Research Programme

This article discusses pre-existing studies of Euro-Orientalism (Orientalism directed at Eastern Europe), and advocates for further study of the inequal relationship between Europe's West and East. In this sense, this article should help to overview and advance the study this phenomenon. A better understanding of Euro-Orientalism is necessary both in order to counter epistemic injustice, and in order to promote realistic policy recommendations for the region. In this latter connection, the article argues that the West's inability to take proper account of Eastern European historical experiences contributed to its failure to prepare for Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.

Eastern Horsefly: Implications of Fatima Mernissi's Work on the Islamic Ethos

This study comprises Fatima Mernissi's discourse analyses on the Islamic ethos and examines how these narratives can be traced in history, providing an archaeological method of research. It explains the conditions under which Islamic normative attitudes, which are replicated through ancient narratives like 1001 Nights Tales, Hosrev and Shirin, Kerem and Asli, become effective. Mernissi challenges the mindset of Western Orientalists' understanding through her observations on the Islamic Middle East in Moroccan culture. The Islamic Middle East, with harem nights and concubines, has always been an element of fantasy for Westerners. However, when the harems are reconsidered through Mernissi's analyses, far beyond what is assumed, harems were a field of exchange where women were not passive but active agents displaying various forms of resistance. The Islamic Middle East defines male-female dynamics with reference to the holy book, the Qur'an, and hadiths of Islam while maintaining its close contact with modernity. Mernissi highlights the search for power resources within the context of gender roles by both men and women in their engagement with modernity. This study examines Mernissi's Scheherazade Goes West: Different Cultures, Different Harems through her arguments on how Scheherazade, the character of 1001 Nights Tales, is instrumentalised to reproduce Islamic normative attitudes in the context of gender roles.

Christian Perspectives of Lingayatism: The Trajectory of Lingayat Identity and Literatures in Colonial Karnataka

Abstract: Recent postcolonial scholarship gives an impression that Western Christianity was an overarching religion, which reinforced Orientalism and self-imposed the task of civilizing/modernizing the local literatures and traditions. In this article, I enter into these debates, tracing a trajectory not only of Christianity in the colonial period but also local traditions and literatures. In this connection, I focus on the Lingayat literatures of south India, which are understood to be exclusively the product of colonial modernity and Western Christianity. It stands on the premises that knowledge production in colonial India evolved through the intermediary relations and participation of both local scholars and Western orientalists. I argue that these relations were neither integrated nor harmonious. Rather I highlight the collaborative, competitive, resistant and appropriative energies of local vernacular voices in defining and representing their literatures and traditions vis-à-vis Christianity.

The ‘Galilean Q Community’ and the Orientalist Legacy in 2DH Scholarship

Contemporary Q scholarship imagines the existence of a ‘Galilean Q Community’ furnished with a simple religious piety standing over against Judean/Jerusalem-centered Judaism with its narrow ethnic particularism, its cult ritualism, and its scribal legalism. The ‘Galilean Q community’ plays the same role vis-à-vis Judean Judaism in the imaginary of contemporary Q scholarship that Sufi Islam does in past and present western Orientalist discourses on Islam: in G. A. Lipton’s words, as embodying ‘a type of philosophical Protestantism freed from all outward prescriptions of religious law’, as an ‘Oriental version of a Kantian universal faith’ over against Islamic orthodoxy, which is Semitic, legalistic, obsessed with Sharia, dogmatic, ritualistic, intolerant, coercive, and politicized. This essay explores the roots of this Orientalist paradigm in nineteenth-century Synoptic source criticism and its continued influence in circles of 2DH scholarship.

Colonization of minds: Ukraine between Russian colonialism and Western Orientalism.

This article focuses on investigating how Russian colonialism has re-invented Ukrainian identity and framed its perception both in Ukraine and in Western societies. Although postcolonial approaches to studying power hierarchies have contributed a lot to our understanding of global inequalities, Ukraine has long been excluded from this interdisciplinary, complex discussion. Such exclusion has created a knowledge gap, which this study aims to address by analyzing the evolution of gender identities and roles in Ukrainian society and critical rethinking of the existing body of knowledge. This article demonstrates the degree to which European societies perceived Ukrainians as Orientalized passive objects, which went in line with the Russian imperialistic ideology of russkii mir, examines its influence on gender identities in Ukraine and, finally, proves that the strengthening of Ukrainian civil society as well as women's and LGBTQ+ rights is a part of the decolonial processes that were instigated by the Russian war against Ukraine.

Rus ve İsrailli Oryantalistlerin Çalışmaları Etrafında Oryantalizm Tarifi: ‘el-İstişrâk el-Rûsîyeh dirâseh târîkhîyeh şâmileh’ ile ‘el-İstişrâk el-İsraili fî el-maṣâdir el-ʻIbrīyyeh’ Kitapları Örneği

The definition of Orientalism has gained momentum in more than one area until today and has become controversial in the dimension of a common definition. This study aims to contribute to this definition. Orientalists with the same aim give a new identity to the definition of Orientalism with their work in the East, not in a Western way. Another aim is to examine the loss of meaning of the concepts of "East and West" as regional definitions. The study basically aims to find answers to two important questions. First; Was the definition of Orientalism made only by Western orientalists? Latter; Can an author from an Eastern nation be considered an Orientalist? It is hoped that some titles of works copyrighted in this way will also benefit this discussion. The first of these books ''al-Istishrāq al-Rūsīyah dirāsah tārīkhīyah shāmilah'' (Russian Orientalism- General Historical Study-) which, was published by Prof. Dr. Sadun Mahmud As- Saamuk in 2003 in Jordan. It raises the question of whether Russian orientalism can be seen from Western orientalist studies. However, there is the book'' al-Istishrāq al-Israili fī al-maṣādir al-ʻIbrīyah''(Israel Orientalism in The Hebrew Sources) that was published by Mahmud Cela Idris in 1995 in Egypt, It has brought to mind the question of whether Israeli Orientalism should be reduced to the West, and will form the center of the definition to be described. Working in this way has a comparative method in terms of method. As a result of this study, Orientalism is on the verge of being redefined within the framework of the studies of orientalists who are far from the East-West (Regional) patterns it has, leaving the portrait of the nation and the state, for the same purpose. For this purpose, the ideas, suspicions, and claims of Russian and Israeli orientalists around Islam and Muslims will nullify the definition of Orientalism, which is indexed to the West. Now the East will start a tradition of Orientalism within itself. The globalizing world will have continued the state logic of Israeli orientalists with the help of Israeli orientalists. However, the work of Russian Orientalists will be similar to the work of Israeli Orientalists. In addition, Russian orientalists will reveal the logic of the notion of Islamic Arab History. Under this heading, Islam and Muslims will be targeted.

Historiographical Analysis of the Work «Taqwim Al-Buldan» by Abu Al-Fida in the System of Philosophical Views Orientalists

Ancient and medieval historical and geographical written monuments are valuable sources for studying the geographical, toponymic, etymological, ethnopolitical history of various territories. Geographical discoveries of medieval scientists and travelers based on specific materials will make a new scientific contribution to the reconstruction of ideas about the area, but also contribute to the study of the heritage of the Turkic peoples. As part of the study of historiography, the works of Arab geographers and travelers occupy a huge place among foreign sources related to various countries. And the studies of Western orientalists of the new time have not lost their relevance to this day. This article is dedicated to the book of the Syrian geographer, historian and politician Abu al-Fida’ (1273-1331) «Taqwim al-Buldan». The article provides a historiographical analysis of the accumulated knowledge of historical science in order to identify important information, as well as conducting paradigmatic links with sources of medieval time. The level of study of the topic shows new aspects of historical reality that are necessary for further research.

REKONSTRUKSI TEORI AGAMA PRIMITIF DI ERA POSTMODERNISME

<em>Every soul in the human person have great curiosity about a substance that created them or a substance that is believed to have power which can also be interpreted as a ruling spirit. Therefore, various views arose regarding what is called primitive belief or religion. The history of the emergence of primitive religion is increasingly being discussed by thinkers in modern to postmodern times because the emergence of religion often becomes a science used as research material by academics. Various theories were put forward as material for finding factual data related to the early emergence of primitive religion. The method used in this study is the library study method, the data obtained through books, journals or research related to the reconstruction of primitive religious theory. This study uses an anthropological approach to religion which seeks to understand religion by examining forms of religious practice that grow and develop in the life of primitive society. The results of the research reveal the reconstruction of primitive religious theories, various forms of primitive religion, theories that gave rise to primitive religious beliefs, and the characteristics of primitive religious adherents to the reconstruction of views on primitive religion. The result of this discussion is that the theory regarding the emergence of primitive religion put forward by Eastern scientists often encounters many disputes with the ideas of Western Orientalists. Most western orientalists assume that primitive religion emerged at the very beginning of human civilization itself, although there are several western theories which say that what is meant by primitive humans is a society far from civilization. This proves the importance of studying the reconstruction of primitive religious theory in the postmodern era.</em>