From the Iranian crisis to the Gulf War and from the attack on the World Trade Center to the paranoid terrorist strike of September 11, the Islamic threat haunts the West. According to the image projected by both the media and a host of government, academic, and economic experts, Islam is synonymous with terrorism and religious hysteria.

At the same time, several Islamic countries invoke "Islam" to justify the tyrannical nature of their regimes. Edward Said's book explores the mechanisms by which experts and the media construct the Western view of Islam, as well as the consequences that the reproduction of this monolithic image of "Islam" has for the modern world.

Combining political commentary with literary criticism, the thinker reveals the biases and distortions that permeate even the most "objective" approach to the Islamic world.