Some nineteenth-century Orientalists held genuine admiration for Islam and Muhammad.

Evidence

The nineteenth and twentieth centuries witnessed a flourishing of European scholarship, literature, and art that focused on the Orient. It is important to stress that some Orientalists held great admiration and respect for the Orient and Islam. Thomas Carlyle, a prominent nineteenth-century British author, presented a famous lecture in 1840 on Muhammad. Contradicting the medieval Christian accounts of Muhammad as an imposter and false prophet, Carlyle insisted that Muhammad was a legitimate prophet and indeed a hero, a person of great vision who instilled hope in millions upon millions of people and whose impact qualified him to hold a place of honor alongside other transformative figures in history, including Martin Luther, Shakespeare, and Frederick the Great. — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 192

Categorization

• XREF: Nuances the simple Orientalism-equals-demonization picture; shows binary of good/bad Orientalist already present, complicating any clean definition of Islamophobia. — connects to: Nineteenth-century Orientalism portrayed Islam as a monolithic, fixed, inferior essence. — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 194; Nineteenth-century Orientalism essentialized Muslims as intrinsically inferior during colonial expansion. — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 201; Even the most learned, sympathetic Orientalists converged on Islam’s latent inferiority (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Nineteenth-century Orientalism essentialized Muslims as intrinsically inferior during colonial expansion. #qualifies (0.60) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 201