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insomniacsun's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Si deve far propria l'idea che ogni sapere è interpretazione e che l'interpretazione deve essere autocosciente nel metodo e negli scopi se vuole essere attenta e umana e se vuole arrivare alla conoscenza.
Ma al di sotto di ogni interpretazione di culture esiste una scelta di fronte alla quale il singolo studioso si trova: se mettere l'intelletto al servizio del potere o al servizio della critica, della comunità, del dialogo e del senso morale, Questa scelta deve essere il primo atto interpretativo oggi, e deve oggettivarsi in una presa di posizione e non semplicemente in un rinvio.
Purtroppo non sono riuscita a procurarmi il libro in lingua originale, per cui mi sono accontentata della traduzione.
Ho aspettato molto prima di leggerlo, perchè volevo prima affrontare lo storico "orientalismo" dello stesso autore. Devo ammettere che è stata una scelta saggia, in quanto questo libro può essere apprezzato molto di più con conoscenze di base sul tema. Allo stesso tempo l'ho trovato più accessibile, e la reputo una buona introduzione alle idee dell'autore.
Nonostante l'anno in cui è stato scritto, la tesi di Said continua ad essere molto rilevante nel clima geopolitico attuale, risultato di una culminazione di tutto ciò che descrive qui, in modo migliore di gran parte di "esperti" contemporanei.
Non dò il punteggio pieno per alcune decisioni stilistiche ed errori di ortografia frequenti nella traduzione. Punto a rileggerlo in lingua originale appena possibile ed eventualmente rivalutarlo.
jpowerj's review against another edition
5.0
One of the best books I've ever read, no question. Wow. Although it was published in 1981, IMO it's more relevant to today's issues (ISIS, the Arab Spring, Israel/Palestine, etc.) than 99% of contemporary writings. I started underlining sentences/paragraphs that I thought were particularly poignant, but ended up underlining almost the entire book - I know that sounds cliche, but truly almost every sentence made me want to stop reading and just go ponder in a corner somewhere...
amid's review against another edition
5.0
Covering Islam by Edward Said is an enlightening critique of the Western media’s portrayal of Islam. Said brilliantly unpacks the concept of ‘Orientalism’ and how it leads to a distorted and oversimplified view of the Islamic world. The book challenges readers to question these stereotypes and seek a more nuanced understanding. An essential read for those interested in media studies, cultural interpretation, and Islamic perspectives.
misspalah's review against another edition
5.0
Significantly, these things also make it evident that covering Islam from the United States, the last superpower, is not interpretation in the genuine sense but an assertion of power. The media say what they wish about Islam because they can, with the result that Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism and "good" Muslims (in Bosnia, for instance) dominate the scene indiscriminately; little else is covered because anything falling outside the consensus definition of what is important is considered irrelevant to United States interests and to the media's definition of a good story. The academic community, on the other hand, responds to what it construes as national and corporate needs, with the result that suitable Islamic topics are hewn out of an enormous mass of Islamic details, and these topics (extremism, violence, and so forth) define both Islam and the proper study of Islam so as to exclude everything not fitting neatly between them. Even when on occasion the government or one of the university Middle East departments or one of the foundations organizes a conference to deal with the future of Middle East studies (which is usually a euphemism for "What are we going to do about the Islamic world?"), the same battery of concepts and goals keeps turning up. Little is changed.
- Knowledge and Power - Covering Islam : How the Media and the experts determine how we see the rest of the world by Edward Said
.
This is by far one of the most enlightening read this year. I am not going to pretend that i can summarise every single thing that has been unpacked and discussed in the book - i will even admit that i wish i have time to re-read and even buddy read again with anyone who wanted to experience this level of “eyes wide open, mind was blown” in the most academical sense. My goodness, why do i put this book in my shelves for 1 year before i decided to read it. Here’s why you should read this book (And please do because i can’t describe much on his wisdom. The level of knowledge and insight is beyond my comprehension capacity).
- First, this book was written more than 40 years ago. The book is published in 1981 and updated again in 1997. We are looking at the timeline before Aggression and Assault on Islam and Muslim Countries even started and before islamophobia is rampant in western countries. We are looking at the two Gulf wars, 9/11, Israeli Attack on Lebanon, The Afghan War, The formation of Islamic States, The Civil wars happening across Syrian, Yemen and Libyan and even the time before the end of the Iran-Iraq War. How come Edward Said has been stating the truth nothing but the truth all along? The fact that world hasn’t learned anything is frustrating.
- Second, to simplify what he wanted to say is if its not your religion, your culture, your faith and not even your goddamn country - stay out of it. Islam is not a monolithic entity. Edward Said came with the most satisfying replies to the list of these so called scholars and experts in The USA that did not even understand the language, history and people to literally feed the media with the most ridiculous statements that exhibited their ignorance. What’s more laughable that this kind of blanket statement was accepted and did not even being considered prejudice towards more than 20% of the world's population.
- Third, Edward Said also pointed out to the readers how this manufactured content in the media regarding misconceptions of Islam which best described either by CBS, FOX, ABC or or even CNN. In Fact majority of USA news outlet sort of produced their content with this archaic formula : Islam = Arab = Jihad = Terrorism and it persisted until now. The slanderous stereotypes and the ongoing falsehoods against Islam and Arab in the mainstream media is not being objected or criticised , let alone being defended of. Reading this book, i do think that Edward Said wanted fellow Americans to not 100% depended to the ideas and opinions expressed by so many of misinformed journalists and the media that they represented when it comes to its coverage of Islam in the middle east.
- Fourth, Edward Said highlighted how the nature of "Western-Islamic relations" is considered a problematic term and this overgeneralisation used in the radio, television and even newspaper do a disservice of understanding that from Islam itself, varieties of cultures, customs, language, practices, nuances and even interpretations from countries that impossible to be understood in one’s lifetime.
- Fifth, this a truly a thought-provoking book that pushed us to challenge, seek more answers , to unlearn, learn and relearn our perceptions and thoughts based on news that is reported war torn countries. What Edward Said done with this book is to demonstrate a series of observation particularly on how problematic it was when The West (specifically USA although some European Media is mentioned) started to cover on Islam. This bad analysis mixed with shock value on how Islam supposed to look like or be like reeked sort of imperialism subtleties and when you connect it to their nosey foreign policy (obviously for oil), did in fact exposed the hypocrisy of their media.
.
P/s : Before some of you come and said that Edward Said is not even Arab. He is an Arab and he was born in Palestine. Before some of you said Edward Said is over sympathetic towards Muslim and accused him of being Muslim, he is not. He is a christian. Before some of you called him anti-semitic mentioning Israel and its war crimes, he has seen countless of Israel’s atrocities upon his homeland.
.
Memorable Quotes :
- [ ] "I am not saying that Muslims have not attacked and injured Israelis and Westerners in the name of Islam. But I am saying that much of what one reads and sees in the media about Islam represents the aggression as coming from Islam because that is what "Islam" is. Local and concrete circumstances are thus obliterated. In other words, covering Islam is one-sided activity that obscures what "we" do, and highlights instead what Muslim and Arabs by their very flawed nature are."
- [ ] No expert, media personality, or government official seemed to wonder what might have happened it a small traction of the time spent on isolating, dramatizing, and covering the unlawful embassy seizure and the hostage return had been spent exposing oppression and brutality during the ex-shah's regime. Was there no limit to the idea of using the vast information-gathering apparatus to inform the justifiably anxious public about what was really taking place in Iran? Did the alternatives have to be limited either to stirring up patriotic feelings or to fueling a kind of mass anger at crazy Iran? These are not idle questions, now that this lamentably exaggerated episode is over. It will be beneficial as well as practical for Americans in particular, Westerners in general, to puzzle out the changing configurations in world politics. Is "Islam" going to be confined to the role of terroristic oil-supplier? Are journals and investigations to focus on "who lost Iran," or will debate and reflection be better employed around topics more suited to world community and peaceful development?
- [ ] 'At present, "Islam" and "the West" have taken on a powerful new urgency everywhere. An we must note immediately that it is always the West, and not Christianity, that seems pitted against Islam. Why? Because the assumption is that whereas "the West" is greater than and has surpassed the stage of Christianity, its principle religion, the world of Islam-its varied societies, histories, and languages notwithstanding-is still mired in religion, primitivity, and backwardness."
- [ ] There is no longer much excuse for bewailing the hostility of "the West" towards the Arabs and Islam and then sitting back in outraged righteousness. When the reasons for this hostility and those aspects of "the West" that encourage it are fearlessly analyzed, an important step has been taken toward changing it, but that is by no means the whole way: something must be put in its place if a new mass of anti-Islamic propaganda is not to result. Certainly there are great dangers today in actually following, actually fulfilling, the prevailing hostile image of Islam, though that has thus far only been the doing of some Muslims and some Arabs and some black Africans. But such fulfillments underline the importance of what still has to be done. In the great rush to industrialize, modernize, and develop them-selves, many Muslim countries have sometimes been too compli-ant, I think, about turning themselves into consumer markets. To dispel the myths and stereotypes of Orientalism, the world as a whole has to be given an opportunity, by the media and by Muslims themselves, to see Muslims and Orientals producing and, more im-portant, diffusing a different form of history, a new kind of sociology, a new cultural awareness: in short, Muslims need to emphasize the goal of living a new form of history.
- [ ] "It is only a slight overstatement to say that Muslims and Arabs are essentially covered, discussed, and apprehended either as oil suppliers or as potential terrorists. Very little of the detail, the human density, the passion of Arab-Muslim life has entered the awareness of even those people whose profession it is to report the Islamic world. What we have instead is a limited series of crude, essentialized caricatures of the Islamic world presented in such a way as, among other things, to make that world vulnerable to military aggression."
- Knowledge and Power - Covering Islam : How the Media and the experts determine how we see the rest of the world by Edward Said
.
This is by far one of the most enlightening read this year. I am not going to pretend that i can summarise every single thing that has been unpacked and discussed in the book - i will even admit that i wish i have time to re-read and even buddy read again with anyone who wanted to experience this level of “eyes wide open, mind was blown” in the most academical sense. My goodness, why do i put this book in my shelves for 1 year before i decided to read it. Here’s why you should read this book (And please do because i can’t describe much on his wisdom. The level of knowledge and insight is beyond my comprehension capacity).
- First, this book was written more than 40 years ago. The book is published in 1981 and updated again in 1997. We are looking at the timeline before Aggression and Assault on Islam and Muslim Countries even started and before islamophobia is rampant in western countries. We are looking at the two Gulf wars, 9/11, Israeli Attack on Lebanon, The Afghan War, The formation of Islamic States, The Civil wars happening across Syrian, Yemen and Libyan and even the time before the end of the Iran-Iraq War. How come Edward Said has been stating the truth nothing but the truth all along? The fact that world hasn’t learned anything is frustrating.
- Second, to simplify what he wanted to say is if its not your religion, your culture, your faith and not even your goddamn country - stay out of it. Islam is not a monolithic entity. Edward Said came with the most satisfying replies to the list of these so called scholars and experts in The USA that did not even understand the language, history and people to literally feed the media with the most ridiculous statements that exhibited their ignorance. What’s more laughable that this kind of blanket statement was accepted and did not even being considered prejudice towards more than 20% of the world's population.
- Third, Edward Said also pointed out to the readers how this manufactured content in the media regarding misconceptions of Islam which best described either by CBS, FOX, ABC or or even CNN. In Fact majority of USA news outlet sort of produced their content with this archaic formula : Islam = Arab = Jihad = Terrorism and it persisted until now. The slanderous stereotypes and the ongoing falsehoods against Islam and Arab in the mainstream media is not being objected or criticised , let alone being defended of. Reading this book, i do think that Edward Said wanted fellow Americans to not 100% depended to the ideas and opinions expressed by so many of misinformed journalists and the media that they represented when it comes to its coverage of Islam in the middle east.
- Fourth, Edward Said highlighted how the nature of "Western-Islamic relations" is considered a problematic term and this overgeneralisation used in the radio, television and even newspaper do a disservice of understanding that from Islam itself, varieties of cultures, customs, language, practices, nuances and even interpretations from countries that impossible to be understood in one’s lifetime.
- Fifth, this a truly a thought-provoking book that pushed us to challenge, seek more answers , to unlearn, learn and relearn our perceptions and thoughts based on news that is reported war torn countries. What Edward Said done with this book is to demonstrate a series of observation particularly on how problematic it was when The West (specifically USA although some European Media is mentioned) started to cover on Islam. This bad analysis mixed with shock value on how Islam supposed to look like or be like reeked sort of imperialism subtleties and when you connect it to their nosey foreign policy (obviously for oil), did in fact exposed the hypocrisy of their media.
.
P/s : Before some of you come and said that Edward Said is not even Arab. He is an Arab and he was born in Palestine. Before some of you said Edward Said is over sympathetic towards Muslim and accused him of being Muslim, he is not. He is a christian. Before some of you called him anti-semitic mentioning Israel and its war crimes, he has seen countless of Israel’s atrocities upon his homeland.
.
Memorable Quotes :
- [ ] "I am not saying that Muslims have not attacked and injured Israelis and Westerners in the name of Islam. But I am saying that much of what one reads and sees in the media about Islam represents the aggression as coming from Islam because that is what "Islam" is. Local and concrete circumstances are thus obliterated. In other words, covering Islam is one-sided activity that obscures what "we" do, and highlights instead what Muslim and Arabs by their very flawed nature are."
- [ ] No expert, media personality, or government official seemed to wonder what might have happened it a small traction of the time spent on isolating, dramatizing, and covering the unlawful embassy seizure and the hostage return had been spent exposing oppression and brutality during the ex-shah's regime. Was there no limit to the idea of using the vast information-gathering apparatus to inform the justifiably anxious public about what was really taking place in Iran? Did the alternatives have to be limited either to stirring up patriotic feelings or to fueling a kind of mass anger at crazy Iran? These are not idle questions, now that this lamentably exaggerated episode is over. It will be beneficial as well as practical for Americans in particular, Westerners in general, to puzzle out the changing configurations in world politics. Is "Islam" going to be confined to the role of terroristic oil-supplier? Are journals and investigations to focus on "who lost Iran," or will debate and reflection be better employed around topics more suited to world community and peaceful development?
- [ ] 'At present, "Islam" and "the West" have taken on a powerful new urgency everywhere. An we must note immediately that it is always the West, and not Christianity, that seems pitted against Islam. Why? Because the assumption is that whereas "the West" is greater than and has surpassed the stage of Christianity, its principle religion, the world of Islam-its varied societies, histories, and languages notwithstanding-is still mired in religion, primitivity, and backwardness."
- [ ] There is no longer much excuse for bewailing the hostility of "the West" towards the Arabs and Islam and then sitting back in outraged righteousness. When the reasons for this hostility and those aspects of "the West" that encourage it are fearlessly analyzed, an important step has been taken toward changing it, but that is by no means the whole way: something must be put in its place if a new mass of anti-Islamic propaganda is not to result. Certainly there are great dangers today in actually following, actually fulfilling, the prevailing hostile image of Islam, though that has thus far only been the doing of some Muslims and some Arabs and some black Africans. But such fulfillments underline the importance of what still has to be done. In the great rush to industrialize, modernize, and develop them-selves, many Muslim countries have sometimes been too compli-ant, I think, about turning themselves into consumer markets. To dispel the myths and stereotypes of Orientalism, the world as a whole has to be given an opportunity, by the media and by Muslims themselves, to see Muslims and Orientals producing and, more im-portant, diffusing a different form of history, a new kind of sociology, a new cultural awareness: in short, Muslims need to emphasize the goal of living a new form of history.
- [ ] "It is only a slight overstatement to say that Muslims and Arabs are essentially covered, discussed, and apprehended either as oil suppliers or as potential terrorists. Very little of the detail, the human density, the passion of Arab-Muslim life has entered the awareness of even those people whose profession it is to report the Islamic world. What we have instead is a limited series of crude, essentialized caricatures of the Islamic world presented in such a way as, among other things, to make that world vulnerable to military aggression."
literary_hazelnut's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0