The Orient was cast as a passive stage for European world-historical action

Evidence

Because Egypt was saturated with meaning for the arts, sciences, and government, its role was to be the stage on which actions of a world-historical importance would take place. — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 225

Categorization

• DEFINE: The Orient-as-stage metaphor: conquered lands are scenery for European actors, denied agency of their own.
• XREF: Connects to later constructions of the Muslim world as a backdrop or battleground for Western projects, and to Hegel’s world-historical peoples in the canon.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 225