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Bernard Lewis

What Went Wrong?: Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response 1st Edition

by Bernard Lewis (Author)

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For many centuries, the world of Islam was in the forefront of human achievement--the foremost military and economic power in the world, the leader in the arts and sciences of civilization. Christian Europe, a remote land beyond its northwestern frontier, was seen as an outer darkness of barbarism and unbelief from which there was nothing to learn or to fear. And then everything changed, as the previously despised West won victory after victory, first in the battlefield and the marketplace, then in almost every aspect of public and even private life.

In this intriguing volume, Bernard Lewis examines the anguished reaction of the Islamic world as it tried to understand why things had changed--how they had been overtaken, overshadowed, and to an increasing extent dominated by the West. Lewis provides a fascinating portrait of a culture in turmoil. He shows how the Middle East turned its attention to understanding European weaponry and military tactics, commerce and industry, government and diplomacy, education and culture. Lewis highlights the striking differences between the Western and Middle Eastern cultures from the 18th to the 20th centuries through thought-provoking comparisons of such things as Christianity and Islam, music and the arts, the position of women, secularism and the civil society, the clock and the calendar.

Hailed in The New York Times Book Review as "the doyen of Middle Eastern studies," Bernard Lewis is one of the West's foremost authorities on Islamic history and culture. In this striking volume, he offers an incisive look at the historical relationship between the Middle East and Europe.

ISBN-10

0195144201
ISBN-13

978-0195144208
Edition

1st
Publisher

Oxford University Press
Publication date

December 1, 2001
Language

English
Dimensions

8.57 x 5.79 x 0.84 inches
Print length

192 pages
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Bernard Lewis is the West's greatest historian and interpreter of the Near East. Books such as The Middle East and The Arabs in History are required reading for anybody who hopes to understand the region and its people. Now Lewis offers What Went Wrong?, a concise and timely survey of how Islamic civilization fell from worldwide leadership in almost every frontier of human knowledge five or six centuries ago to a "poor, weak, and ignorant" backwater that is today dominated by "shabby tyrannies ... modern only in their apparatus of repression and terror." He offers no easy answers, but does provide an engaging chronicle of the Arab encounter with Europe in all its military, economic, and cultural dimensions. The most dramatic reversal, he says, may have occurred in the sciences: "Those who had been disciples now became teachers; those who had been masters became pupils, often reluctant and resentful pupils." Today's Arab governments have blamed their plight on any number of external culprits, from Western imperialism to the Jews. Lewis believes they must instead commit to putting their own houses in order: "If the peoples of Middle East continue on their present path, the suicide bomber may become a metaphor for the whole region, and there will be no escape from a downward spiral of hate and spite, rage and self-pity, [and] poverty and oppression." Anybody who wants to understand the historical backdrop to September 11 would do well to look for it on these pages. --John Miller

From Publishers Weekly

In the fields of Islamic and Middle Eastern history, few people are as prominent and prolific as Lewis, emeritus professor at Princeton. This time around, however, he has written a book with an inconsistent argument and an erratic narrative consisting of recycled themes from his earlier books, a work that sheds no new light on Middle Eastern history or on the events of September 11. His general argument is that Islamic civilization, once flourishing and tolerant, has in modern times become stagnant. This, he contends, has led to considerable soul-searching among Muslims, who ask themselves, "What went wrong?" But while sometimes the author states that there is a critical inquiry into the source of economic weakness in Muslim civilizations, other times he says that, instead of looking into the mirror, Muslims have blamed their problems on Europeans or Jews and thus fed their sense of victimhood. In medieval times, Lewis notes, Muslim civilization transmitted scientific ideas into Europe. But after offering intriguing examples of Muslim physicians and astronomers on the cutting edge in the 13th to 15th centuries, this chapter abruptly ends by stating that in modern times the roles have reversed, leaving the reader baffled over what between the 15th and the 20th centuries may have contributed to this reversal. Thus, the book raises more questions than it answers. Furthermore, Lewis discounts the effects of various decisions made by European and American colonial powers that negatively impacted the development of a democratic political community and a viable economy in the Middle East. Lewis's earlier books, such as The Muslim Discovery of Europe and The Middle East and the West, are much more useful for anyone seeking to understand the historical dynamic between these two parts of the world. First serial to Atlantic Monthly.

From Library Journal

Since its inception in the seventh century, Islamic civilization has remained a significant force in the world. In fact, the Muslim world was a leader in the humanities, arts, and sciences while Europe was still in relative darkness and mired in internecine wars and religious zealotry. The Muslim world was also largely responsible for preserving and transmitting Greek and other Western scholarship to Christian Europe. However, Islamic civilization was eventually overshadowed by the achievements of European Christendom, and much of the Muslim world came under the direct or indirect domination of the West. In this highly readable book, eminent historian Lewis (Near Eastern studies, emeritus, Princeton Univ.) explains Islam's encounter with the West and the Middle East's varied responses to the West's sociocultural and political hegemony in the Muslim world. Like many of Lewis's previous writings on this subject (e.g., The Arabs in History), this book will undoubtedly generate significant debate and disagreement among scholars regarding the author's analysis of Islamic responses to modernity and Westernization. Recommended for academic and large public libraries. Nader Entessar, Spring Hill Coll., Mobile, AL
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Arguably the West's most distinguished scholar on the Middle East."--Newsweek

"Lewis has done us all--Muslim and non-Muslim alike--a remarkable service....The book's great strength, and its claim upon our attention, [is that] it offers a long view in the midst of so much short-term and confusing punditry on television, in the op-ed pages, on campuses and in strategic studies think tanks."--Paul Kennedy, The New York Times Book Review

"When it comes to Islamic studies, Bernard Lewis is the father of us all. With brilliance, integrity, and extraordinary mastery of languages and sources, he has led the way for Jewish and Christian investigators seeking to understand the Muslim world."--National Review

"A timely and provocative contribution to the current raging debate about the tensions between the West and the Islamic world....One wishes leaders in the Islamic world would pay heed to some of Lewis' themes."--Stanley Reed, Business Week

"A sobering picture, delivered with persuasive detail and respect. Bernard Lewis comes not to bury Islam, but to praise what it once was--and might be again."--Carlin Romano, Philadelphia Inquirer

"Lucidly argued and richly supported by telling quotations....Lewis is a persuasive chronicler of Muslim resistance to change and modernity."--Robert Irwin, Washington Post Book World

"An accessible and excitingly knowledgeable antidote to today's natural sense of befuddlement."--Michael Pakenham, Baltimore Sun

"Replete with the exceptional historical insight that one has come to expect from the world's foremost Islamic scholar."--Karen Elliott House, Wall Street Journal

"A provocative and suggestive review of Islamic response to ideas and practices of the Christian West....Lewis has given us a thoughtful treatment of the historical backdrop of the Sept. 11 tragedy."--Fritz Lanham, Houston Chronicle

"A compelling book. One of our most distinguished historians throws a floodlight on that cruel divide between the West and the societies of Islam. Learned and urgent at the same time."--Fouad Ajami, The Johns Hopkins University

"I know of no other scholar of Islam in the Western world who has more thoroughly earned the respect of generalists and academics alike than Bernard Lewis, a towering figure among experts on the culture and religion of the Muslim world....He has produced a topical, accessible and excitingly knowledgeable antidote to today's natural sense of befuddlement."--Michael Pakenham, Baltimore Sun

"An introduction to some important issues--and a lot of food for thought."--Christian Science Monitor

"Only a scholar of Bernard Lewis's quality could produce the sweep and depth of this fascinating analysis. He gives meaning to history, and illumination and challenge to the question he poses. He brings a clear and lively style to this beautifully written book."--George P. Shultz

"Muslim loss of civilizational leadership and retreat from modernity is at the center of global history over the last five hundred years and remains at this very time a major factor in international conflicts and diplomatic quarrels. What went wrong? Indeed. Muslims often have the feeling that history has somehow betrayed them, and on no comparable issue is the historian's potential contribution more important--the more so because the subject is plagued by ideological commitments, partisan blather, and the constraints of political correctness. People have shunned the topic for all the wrong reasons. All the more reason to be grateful for Bernard Lewis's interventions. No one knows better the languages and motivations of the players, and no one is more reliable in the objectivity of his judgments."--David Landes, Harvard University

"Both scholarly and interesting, it is a treat to read history from a Muslim perspective. It is very instructive for acquiring both religious and cultural understanding."--Timothy Yoder, Assistant Professor, Philadelphia Biblical University

From the Back Cover

"Only a scholar of Bernard Lewis's quality could produce the sweep and depth of this fascinating analysis. He gives meaning to history, and illumination and challenge to the question he poses. He brings a clear and lively style to this beautifully written book."--George P. Shultz

"A compelling book. One of our most distinguished historians throws a flood-light on that cruel divide between the West and the societies of Islam. Learned and urgent at the same time."--Fouad Ajami, The Johns Hopkins University

"Muslim loss of civilizational leadership and retreat from modernity is at the center of global history over the last five hundred years and remains at this very time a major factor in international conflicts and diplomatic quarrels. What went wrong? Indeed. Muslims often have the feeling that history has somehow betrayed them, and on no comparable issue is the historian's potential contribution more important--the more so because the subject is plagued by ideological commitments, partisan blather, and the constraints of political correctness. People have shunned the topic for all the wrong reasons. All the more reason to be grateful for Bernard Lewis's interventions. No one knows better the languages and motivations of the players, and no one is more reliable in the objectivity of his judgments."--David Landes, Harvard University

About the Author

Bernard Lewis is the Cleveland E. Dodge Professor of Near Eastern Studies Emeritus at Princeton University. A highly eminent authority on Middle Eastern history, the author of over two dozen books, most notably The Arabs in History, The Emergence of Modern Turkey, The Political Language of Islam, The Muslim Discovery of Europe and The Middle East: A Brief History of the Last 2000 Years.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; 1st edition (December 1, 2001)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 192 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0195144201
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0195144208
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1370L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.4 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.57 x 5.79 x 0.84 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #805,973 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #227 in Middle Eastern History (Books)
- #639 in International Relations (Books)
- #821 in African Politics

Customer Reviews:
215 ratings

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Bernard Lewis

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Bernard Lewis, FBA (born 31 May 1916) is a British-American historian specializing in oriental studies. He is also known as a public intellectual and political commentator. Lewis is the Cleveland E. Dodge Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. Lewis' expertise is in the history of Islam and the interaction between Islam and the West. He is also noted in academic circles for his works on the history of the Ottoman Empire.

Lewis served as a soldier in the British Army in the Royal Armoured Corps and Intelligence Corps during the Second World War before being seconded to the Foreign Office. After the war, he returned to the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London and was appointed to the new chair in Near and Middle Eastern History.

Lewis is a widely read expert on the Middle East and is regarded as one of the West's leading scholars of that region. His advice has been frequently sought by policymakers, including the Bush administration. In the Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing, Martin Kramer, whose PhD thesis was directed by Lewis, considered that over a 60-year career Lewis has emerged as "the most influential postwar historian of Islam and the Middle East."

Lewis' views on the Armenian Genocide have attracted attention. He acknowledges that massacres against the Armenians occurred but does not believe it meets the definition of genocide. He is also notable for his public debates with the late Edward Said concerning the latter's book Orientalism (1978), which criticized Lewis and other European Orientalists.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Photo credit: Office of Communications, Princeton University. (1 English Wikipedia) [Attribution, GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons.

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Billie Pritchett

like Islamic warfare

Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2014

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Bernard Lewis's What Went Wrong? begins with the question "Why did Western countries advance in science, technology, trade, and other areas of social and economic life and Middle Eastern countries, especially those considered part of the Muslim world, did not?" Lewis then proceeds, throughout the bulk of the book, to address topics unrelated to the book's central question. The reader is treated to excursuses on warfare in the Muslim world, for example, and issues related to the Muslim world's reluctance to accept Westernization and technology and ideas and attitudes association with modernization, but not much in the way of a connection to pushing some thesis or other answering the question. Then, finally, in the conclusion of the book, Lewis returns to the central question, and feigns an answer. Lewis writes:

To a Western observer, schooled in the theory and practice of Western freedom, it is precisely the lack of freedom--freedom of the mind from constraint and indoctrination, to question and inquire and speak; freedom of the economy from corrupt and pervasive mismanagement; freedom of women from male oppression; freedom of citizens from tyranny--that underlies so many of the troubles of the Muslim world. But the road to democracy, as the Western experience amply demonstrates, is long and hard, full of pitfalls and obstacles.

I don't even necessarily disagree with the conclusion, but what is there in the way of argument that this is the correct position to assume? And is this Lewis's position? If so, why not have established it upfront as the thesis and then made the remainder of the book an argument and provided support for this thesis? Probably because this book was originally a series of lectures he had given that begin with some kind of topic, like Islamic warfare, for instance, and then each meander for 20 or so pages without a thesis.

16 people found this helpful

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Roman

Short Read that Conveys Vital Information

Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2022

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I finished this book in about a week (it's only 161 pages not including notes and index), but the vital information it conveys to understanding the rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire and the rest of the Middle Eastern off-shoot empires is phenomenal. Negative reviewers of this book probably don't want to take an honest look at this situation despite their praise for Bernard Lewis' other works, and have fallen victim to cultural relativism. Highly recommended.

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Dog Owner

and this book serves as an excellent basis for discussion

Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2015

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Worth reading and re-reading. I purchased this after 9-11 and found the context and information to be very helpful in understanding the differences between Western ideas and Muslim ideas. The author leaves some information out, at times leaving the reading questioning the explanation that are proposed (sections on art and music seem to be unfinished). With this in mind, it was worth picking this up and re-reading it in light of recent world events in 2015. There are serious issues that are proposed as sources of conflict between the West and the followers of Islam, and this book serves as an excellent basis for discussion. There are specific references to historical "turning points" in the relationships between world powers and rising powers that provide insight into the problems between various groups today. This is an excellent companion to other discussions of relationships between the west and the middle east.

6 people found this helpful

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Patricia A. Powell

What went wrong? Who did this to us?

Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2002

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This is a brilliant book by a renowned expert, Bernard Lewis. He is a professor of Near Eastern studies at Princeton University. And, so it may surprise some readers to discover just how readable this, his most recent book, is.
Although this was written prior to 9/11, it could not be timelier. This is a timely read if you want if know about the culture that expanded from its roots in Mecca and Medina to one that ruled the Mid East, northern Africa, Spain, and Portugal and finally knocked at the gates of Vienna, not once, but twice. It is a history that we are dealing with today. Bernard Lewis presents a compelling argument that as military failures occurred, one explanation that took root in the Islamic world was that God was displeased because Muslims were not leading lives in accordance with God’s wishes. Religious leaders became more powerful, and culture became more insulated. They seem to have been disinterested in Europe.
This is a timely read, if you want to know about the culture that saw no rights for slaves, infidels, and women in the 7th century, and sees not need to change that stance even in the 21st century.
This is a timely read if you want to understand just what questions are being asked and answered. Is the question “What went wrong?” or is it “Who did this to us?” One answer leads to taking corrective actions and implementing change, the other answer leads to blaming others. I think that Professor Lewis does address what went wrong. What he does not do is this… he does not present us with a solution of how to fix it. He does not tell us how we can survive together… or even if we can.
I highly recommend this book.

19 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

CHRISTODOULOS

The root of Arab anger

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 4, 2016

Verified Purchase

It may come as a surprise to some but the Arab Empire was at a time at the forefront of civilisation and science when Europe was going throughits Dark Ages. Moreover, cities such as Cairo were once known for their tolerance and sexual permissiveness, a far cry from what the situation is today.
The book seeks to explain why a civilisation which reached such heights is today at this sorry state. It does so convincingly.

One person found this helpful

Amazon Customer

How we lost the race

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 9, 2018

Verified Purchase

A comprehensive look at the decline of the power of the Middle Eastern countries from a position of dominance to one of having fallen behind Western countries and what is needed go cast off the shackles of some types of thought

One person found this helpful

Mr. Moshe Elias

What Went Wrong?

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 20, 2014

Verified Purchase

I think I now know why Islamic nations are so out of step with the western world even though they once led it.

2 people found this helpful

tunay_ali@hotmail.co.uk

MUST BUY

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 13, 2019