Orientalism and Conspiracy

The relationship between Islam and the West has frequently been subject to misunderstanding and mistrust and recent events in the international arena have only deepened this perceived divide, culturally and politically. The West often views the Islamic world - and the Islamic world the West - through a prism of mutual suspicion. In such conditions conspiracy, theories can flourish on both sides of the cultural fence, but these highly complex and important global phenomena have been the subject of surprisingly little investigation. "Orientalism and Conspiracy" explores fully for the first time the relationship between the sometimes controversial concept of Orientalism, as developed by Edward Said, and contemporary conspiracy theories, and includes Robert Irwin's fascinating survey of the role of secret societies in orientalist mythology. The authors offer a comprehensive and ground-breaking study of the conspiracy theory and Islam. It is essential reading for those seeking to understand historical and contemporary relationships between the East and West as well as the enduring and controversial legacy of the concept of Orientalism.

Preface- Arndt Graf, Schirin Fathi and Ludwig PaulSadik al-Azm - Speaking Truth to Power- Stefan WildSadik al-Azm- Gernot RotterI. THEORETICAL APPROACHESChapter 1: Orientalism and Conspiracy- Sadik al-AzmChapter 2: Occidentalism as the Political Unconscious in the Literary Construction of the Other- Lorenzo CasiniChapter 3: Edward Said and Bernard Lewis on the Question of Orientalism: A Clash of Paradigms?- Mohd Hazim ShahII. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVESChapter 4: An Orientalist Mythology of Secret Societies- Robert IrwinChapter 5: A Cultural Sense of Conspiracies? The Concept of Rumour as Propaedeutics to Conspiracism- Karin HörnerChapter 6: Political Culture, Political Dynamics, and Conspiracism in the Arab Middle East- Matthew GrayIII. CONTEMPORARY DISCOURSESChapter 7: Polemics on 'Orientalism' and 'Conspiracy' in Indonesia: A Survey of the Public Discourse of JIL versus DDII (2001-2005)- J.M. MusliminChapter 8: Structural Orientalism, Contested Orientalism, Post-Orientalism: A Case Study of Western Framings of 'Violence in Indonesia'- Arndt GrafChapter 9: memri.org - a Tool of Enlightenment or Incitement?- Schirin FathiChapter 10: The Tragedy of Iblis- Sadik al-AzmAnnexPersonal bibliography of Sadik Jalal al-Azm- Tanja Strube/Karin HörnerNotes on the Authors