Articles Online - Questions for Study and Writing
1. Bernard Lewis and Edward Said are often seen as opposing voices in the discussion of Islam's relationship to the West. After reading the Lewis articles referenced above, read Edward Said's "Backlash and Backtrack" (http://www.mediamonitors.net/edward39.html) - or, better yet, his book Orientalism. Do you see the views of Said and Lewis as being implacably opposed? How do you think each man came to have the views he does? Do you see a discrepancy between the actual relationship of their views and the way that relationship has been described? If so, what factors may have contributed to that discrepancy?
2. How do you feel about studying Islam right now? For you, how has the experience of learning about Islam been different from learning about other religions? Are you more interested or less? Why? What do you think are some of the issues raised by studying a religion when it has been tied to the September 2001 attacks and the war on terror?
