THE CONCEPT OF “ORIENTALISM” IN WESTERN EUROPE AND ITS POLITICAL INTERPRETATIONS

Аннотация

This article explores the development of the concept of Orientalism in Western Europe and its interaction with Enlightenment-era political thought. Drawing upon the monographs ofAlexander Bevilacqua and Noel Malcolm, it analyzes Europe's perception of the Islamic East, the study of Arabic sources, and how these shaped the evolution of European political ideas. The article also provides a critical reading of Edward Said’s "Orientalism" thesis withinthis historical context. Keywords: Orientalism, Enlightenment, European political thought, Bevilacqua, Malcolm, Islam, Ottoman Empire, Edward Said. Annotatsiya:Ushbu maqola G‘arbiy Yevropada sharqshunoslik tushunchasining shakllanishi va siyosiy tafakkur bilan aloqadorligini tarixiy-nazariy nuqtai nazardan o‘rganadi. Aleksandr Bevilakva va Noel Malkolmning monografiyalari asosida Ma’rifat davridagi Yevropaning islomiy olamga bo‘lgan munosabati, arab manbalarining o‘rganilishi, va bu jarayon siyosiy g‘oyalar evolyutsiyasiga qanday ta’sir ko‘rsatgani tahlil qilinadi. Shuningdek, Edvard Saidning “Orientalizm” konsepsiyasigatanqidiy yondashuv berilgan. Kalit so‘zlar: Orientalizm, Ma’rifat davri, Yevropa siyosiy tafakkuri, Bevilakva, Malkolm, islom,Usmoniylar, Edvard Said. Аннотация:Статья посвящена анализу возникновения концепции ориентализма в Западной Европе и её взаимосвязи с политической мыслью эпохи Просвещения. Основываясь на трудах Александра Бевилаквы и Ноэля Малколма, автор рассматривает восприятие исламского Востока в Европе, исследование арабских источников, а также влияние этих процессов на развитие европейской политической мысли. Также предложенакритическая перспективанатезисыЭдварда Саида. Ключевые слова: Ориентализм, эпоха Просвещения, европейская политическая мысль, Бевилаква,Малколм,ислам,Османская империя,Эдвард Саид. The mode of self-perception among democratic societies within the Western intellectual space has, to this day, been deeply shaped by the norms and ideals of the Enlightenment. Despite numerous regressions and critiques, we continue to live within the horizon of expectations and hopes that were established and achieved through the long and complex process of studying the Enlightenment era. On theother hand, in contemporary Europe, there is aprevailing assumption that Islam—as a generalized entity—has never undergone an Enlightenment of its own. Therefore, the question of whether the Islamic East contributed to the formation of political thought in Enlightenment-era Europe, and ifso, how, becomes a matterofcrucial significance. page1179 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ISSN:2692-5206,ImpactFactor:12,23 AmericanAcademicpublishers,volume05,issue06,2025 Journal: https://www.academicpublishers.org/journals/index.php/ijai It isstriking to observe that thisquestion was scarcely raised in thehistory ofEuropean political ideas until recently—namely, prior to the debate on Orientalism1 initiated by Edward Said— and, as a result, has remained largely unanswered. This paper refers to two important monographs written in English. These works not only underscore the significance of the question regarding Islam’s role in European political thought, but also compile and present elements of an answer. In his richly sourced, intelligently structured, and elegantly written study, Alexander Bevilacqua portrays the “Republic of Arabic Letters” in Enlightenment-era Europe. Noel Malcolm, on the other hand, analyzes the history of European political thought between 1450 and 1750, examining how Islam and the Ottoman Empire were received and how theseperceptions influenced European intellectual developments. One of the main strengths of these two studies lies in their ability to re-open and re-evaluate the foundational sources of European political thought. Rather than focusing on well-known and widely studied thinkers, these works analyze and give due recognition to lesser-known authors andtexts that havelongremained intheshadows ofhistory. Bevilacqua investigates how Europe’s knowledge of Islamic civilization was formed and traces the origins of this intellectual engagement. In the first chapter of his study, he demonstrates how European scholars, diplomats, missionaries, merchants, and travelers—either on their own initiative or under the commission of their respective states—purchased Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman manuscripts from book markets in Istanbul and brought them back to Europe, thereby establishing Eastern-style libraries. During this period, the enthusiasm among Europeans for collecting and acquiring such works became so intense that by 1715, Ottoman authorities were compelled toprohibit thesaleofbooks to foreigners. This fact alone illustrates that Europe’s interest in Islam and the Ottoman Empire was far from disinterested; rather, it was driven by the need to appropriate knowledge deemed essential for political power. For example, in the list of books requested by the French Minister Jean- Baptiste Colbert from his learned diplomat