Orientalism was built on the state’s foundational distinction between civilized and uncivilized peoples.

Evidence

Like all academic fields and specializations, Orientalism was raised on and thus imbibed the Distinction, mostly unconsciously, to be sure, but thorough imbibing it did. For the Distinction was the foundation of the modern regime of truth. Orientalism was saturated with the Distinction under the shadow of the state, under the wings of which it flourished, and which it served in countless ways. — Wael Hallaq, Restating Orientalism, 206

Categorization

• DEFINE: Introduced here ‘the Distinction’ as the foundational regime-of-truth category — a term the whole book turns on.