What are the main arguments involved in the Orientalism debate?

"" was a neutral term referring to the study of the Middle East and Asia by
Western scholars, untilpublished his book, Orientalism, in 1978. This
single work turned "Orientalism" into a pejorative word in academic circles, since
Said argued that Western depictions of "the East" (his principal focus is on the
Islamic Middle East) have typically been condescending, ignorant, and focused on a notion of
"the exotic" and "the other," which defines Middle Eastern culture only in
Western terms. This was true even of authors generally considered liberal or progressive, such
as George Orwell, who produced work in which only Western characters were permitted to be
complex, while those from the East were relegated to the status of comic sidekicks or pasteboard
villains.

Said's book attracted great controversy as soon as it was
released. Early critics included Bernard Lewis and Albert Hourani. Lewis accused Said of combing
the work of serious scholars for a few discreditable...