Title: And this is the West's Greatest "Interpreter" of Islam?
Product review: Better start looking a little harder as we're in a lot of trouble. It was bad enough attempting to read this book wading through poor grammar and writing style, but then the worst part is Lewis' attitude itself. He is so condescending to Arabs and Muslims that he loses all authority over his subject matter. Lewis is a classic white Orientalist, in that he exoticizes and infantilizes the "brown" people he is purporting to study. It is a chore to read a book by someone who holds in contempt the people he is writing about. Reading this book will give a reader with no background in the Middle East a truly warped perspective. The book is wonderful for massaging the racism of its white target audience, but contributes little in depth or substance to the study of Arabs and Muslims. Perhaps this is why Lewis is given such a big platform to speak from; the powers that be do not want us to see the big picture. That should make us think...
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