The Anti-Islam Discourse of Medieval Europe That Fueled the Crusades to 19th Century Orientalism - Essay Example

In the conquest of the world, Europe brought with them preconceived ideas that Muslims and Islam had a backward way of life and needed to be helped to civilize. This notion was the conviction of Medieval Europe in the conquest of the Middle East, Asia, and the Eastern part of the world (Lyons 43). Lyons brings to light the reason for the negative perspectives toward the Muslim world. He argues that for decades the West has considered the Muslim world as a hostile people whole are envious of the Western civilization.

In Medieval Europe, they used force to conquer the Middle East and the rest of the territories owned by the Roman Empire. However, this changed in the 19th Century when the West embraced Orientalism. Through Orientalism, the West has redefined, distorted, and even exaggerated the differences between the Arab and Western civilizations. The Medieval European notions fueled the Enlightenment in Europe and the consecutive colonization of the Arab world (Frakes 1). However, through marginalization and exotic portrayal of Arab culture, the movement for political freedom sparked in the Arab world and has continued to this day.

Edward Said in his book Orientalism (1978) wrote a lot of medieval references to non-Muslims as well as to Muslims. The authors describe the situation at the time with limited use of trajectory and analysis. However, they lay well the descriptive study with a few selected examples (Frakes 1).  Said argues that European expansionism was based on the use of knowledge as a powerful force against the Orient. The European power argued that Muhammad was a fabricated religious leader. This notion was also used in the 19th Century as was in Medieval Europe.

One example of the result of Orientalism is the Western geographical boundaries that continue to elicit conflict in the Arab world. For this reason, the Western negative reference to the Arab world, brought about Enlightenment in the Middle East as it did in Medieval Europe (Kinoshita 75).The use of stereotypes against the Arab world is synonymous in Medieval Europe as well as in the 19th Century Orientalism. The Arab world has been portrayed as people who do not value the lives of women, as well as a sexually insatiable region.

The ‘feminine’ exotic has thus defined the Muslim world for a decade, and this has connoted negatively their contribution toward civilization (Kinoshita 75).Moreover, Medieval Europe just like the 19th Century Orientalism has depicted the Arab world as a corrupt and despised world with a mystical religiosity (Kinoshita 75).  This propaganda gave out authority to the Western world to infiltrate and undermine the Arab culture while introducing the Western way of life and education to the Muslims.

However, anti-Islam and Orientalism have not achieved their mission by the 19th Century. The Arad have resisted Western domination in academia, religion, and science even after the West orchestrated finding.Method/ApproachThe research looks at the secondary sources of post-Medieval European and 19th Century literature. The authors of this time documented the fundamental history, facts, and aims of the European power in their quests for anti-Islam semantic and Orientalism. For them, it was a positive gesture to introduce civilization into an uncivilized society.

However, the Arab world hesitantly and without knowing embraced the European sentiment. The sources used are credible because they rely on primary sources to write their description and analytical modes of Medieval Europe. Moreover, the explanation I have used in writing the literature review helps in comparing the two-period in question towards anti-Islam.  The Medieval text used to write about anti-Islam and Orientalism are so specific and link the negativity towards Islam to the nationalism in Europe as well as colonial expansion in the Arab world.