Arab Representations of the Occident: East-West Encounters in Arabic Fiction

by Rasheed El-Enany

This is one of the first books in English to explore Arab responses to Western culture and values in modern Arab literature. Through in-depth research El-Enany examines the attitudes as expressed mainly through works of fiction written by Arab authors during the twentieth, and, to a lesser extent, nineteenth century. It constitutes an original addition to the age-old East-West debate, and is particularly relevant to the current discussion on Islam and the West. Alongside raising highly topical questions about stereotypical ideas concerning Arabs and Muslims in general, the book explores representations of the West by the foremost Arab intellectuals over a two-century period, up to the present day, and will appeal to those with an interest in Islam, the Middle East, nationalism and the so-called ‘Clash of Civilizations’.

258 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2006

Reviews

[AYAH · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fun to read in fact! I think anyone can enjoy this book although it's full of spoilers if you're really interested in reading all the fictional texts he's discussing. I agree with his conclusions: the average Arab intellectual really did not fall into the trap of vilifying the occidental other despite the unfortunate tragedy of colonialism! But the naive view of Occidentals as materialist heartless people and Orientals as spiritual moral people is still around I think.