In reality, Orientalism doesn't dwell only on Islam as its subject; it inspects the entire East, with its culture, history, geography and all, and Islam is the main subject of research. That's why it's not without good reason that Orientalism has been called "the patrolling unit of colonialism" on account of its areas of interest, the time when it emerged and the mission it has carried out throughout history. Now let's set aside the part we have so briefly touched on at the cost of a slight digression, to ask this question: Do we have experts who work on Christianity and Judaism as seriously as the West endeavors to inspect Islam and to raise experts? Or do we have anybody at all who has placed the entire West under scrutiny to inspect its history, culture, geography and civilization the way they should be; who has presented the real face of the West with its positive and negative aspects to his own people first and then to all humanity through written works; who has shed enough light on areas that can be considered dark; and who has ultimately achieved well-deserved fame in this field? In other words, do we have Occidentalism to counter Orientalism and Occidentalists to counter Orientalists? We can easily conclude that "we don't!" Now, let's also set aside all the wishful thinking, sighs and all these thoughts that express regret and include tens, hundreds of sentences beginning with "if only" -- and let's get back to Orientalists.An overwhelming majority of Orientalists have so far produced works on Islam that convey their prejudices and appeared before their publics with these works that fall so far short of meeting the measures of fairness and justness. For instance, Bernard Lewis, who is a living Orientalist in his 90s, is one of the veterans of this field. Having spent his early life in the Süleymaniye Library of İstanbul patiently inspecting manuscripts, this person has earned himself well-merited fame through the works he has produced so far. These works have exercised an immense influence over the current Western view of Islam. Lewis is the pioneer of the consultants of so many think tanks that create political projects that shape the world. Today in the United States and Europe, there is a tremendously large number of politicians, academics, experts and members of the media who see Islam from Lewis's perspective.
Lewis' power over image of Islam
Here is what I think: I wonder if the Islam-West relations would have been settled on different grounds than today if somebody else had been in Lewis' shoes, somebody who upholds the principle of objectivity, which is the most important and indispensable part of academic work. For instance, if John Esposito were in his place, or some other of the scholars with objective approaches, what would happen? Let me share my opinion right away: I cannot say the US-Iraq war would not have happened, as the matter's economic dimension -- the interest relations, oil, arms industry -- and the general concern for domination over the region far outstrip the issues of religion and democracy; but people, from politicians to academics to the people in the street, would hold a far different view on Islam. Why Esposito? He has published a new book, called "Who Speaks for Islam?" The subtitle of the book is "What a Billion Muslims Really Think." The book contains an assessment of the results of a worldwide survey conducted by the world-famous surveying company Gallup. Technically speaking, it is a "data work." During the writing phase of the book, Esposito was helped by researcher Dalia Mogahed, who works in Gallup's Islamic studies department. A Muslim who reads and writes extensively about the field, I have learned a lot of things from this book. Above all, it contains answers given by Muslims all over the world, and these answers were poured onto the paper pretty much in a mathematical language. The publication of such answers is a new thing. The assessments are unprejudiced and bold to the extent that they may unleash a volley of rumors that Esposito is secretly a Muslim. What makes me say I wish it was Esposito in place of Lewis is this: The interpretations, made using information provided over solid data on issues such as holy war, democracy, women, radicalism and terrorism, controversial issues all over the world, are new.
Let me provide a few examples: The book opens the door to tens of very new yet quite striking things, such as counter-arguments that may be considered an answer to Lawrence Auster's statement that "the problem is not radical Islam, but Islam itself as a religion"; statements that point to the war industry and the oil industry that underlie the Iraq war; statements on Westernization, modernization and Americanization; unprejudiced assessments -- without "buts" -- made on jihad in a detailed manner with the provision of Quranic verses, sayings of the Prophet Mohammed, Islamic laws and historical practices; Palestinian women sympathizing with the Muslim women circumcised in Egypt and Nigeria, even though they are at war with Israel; and many more such striking things. Published by Gallup Press, the book has five chapters: "Who are Muslims?"; "Democracy or Theocracy?"; "What Makes a Radical?"; "What Do Women Want?" and "Clash or Coexistence?" The key points that sum up the chapter's message in a sentence at the end are worth paying attention to.
As the number of such objective works penned by Western researchers of Islam increases, the obstacles before the Alliance of Civilizations, which is the compulsory direction of humanity, will be removed one by one, provided that people who dominate the destiny of humanity manage to look at the people they have "otherized" from this perspective. In praise of the book Karen Armstrong, another expert on Islam, says: "The data presented in this book are not only arresting, but indispensable. 'Who Speaks for Islam?' should be required reading for policy makers, journalists, broadcasters, teachers, students and scholars."
I believe it is a must for Turkish readers to lay their hands on this book. I wonder if there is anybody who has taken action to translate it into Turkish.
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