names. It is an extremely polemic book, and throughout time many polemic books for or against Islam and the Muslim world have been written, but none have been taken seriously in the same way as Said." On Edward Said:"The fact is that researchers cannot build anything on Said's thoughts-dead-end. ... He has made it difficult for Westerners to say anything critical about Islam and the Muslim world. You cannot do that because then you run the risk of getting denounced as an orientalist, i.e. a racist, an imperialist and other terrible things." See also Arabist Orientalism Orientalism (1978 book) References External links at Dedalus Books 1946 births Living people People educated at Epsom College Alumni of SOAS University of London Converts to Islam British orientalists 20th-century English novelists English fantasy writers Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature British historians of Islam Translators of One Thousand and One Nights Postmodern writers Alumni of the University of Oxford Academics of the University of St Andrews English male short story writers English short story writers English male novelists 20th-century British short story writers 20th-century English male writers People associated with The Institute for Cultural Research