Therein lies the revolutionary contribution Said made to a field — Islamic Studies — that was not even his own: he showed how ideological commitments — in this case commitments to the superiority of Western civilization — could not only lead to profound mischaracterizations of the subject of study, but also how such errors can become core doctrines of a discipline.’ Fadel

good point to keep in mind when reading ‘expert’ opinions.

Said’s books Orientalism was a tad bit dry and boring at times, as was some of his other books.

He reminds me of Rushdie in some ways, I like them when they talked, but their academic writings, spare me the bore.