Few academics have enjoyed the influence of Edward Said (1935–2003), the father of “post-colonialism”, and a dominant figure across the board in left-wing postmodernism. Yet fewer public intellectuals, even among gurus of the Left intelligentsia, have been more inaccurate or perverse in their influence.
Said became probably the best-known Palestinian intellectual, and was, from 1977 until 1991, a member of the Palestinian National Council, although he later fell out with Yasser Arafat and had his books banned from sale in areas controlled by the PLO. To many in the West, Said was a relative moderate, to others a genuine radical who hated the Israelis. Although he was universally seen as an authentic Palestinian, his background is a strange one. Said repeatedly distorted many aspects of his origins and early life, the actual facts of which were pieced together by investigative journalists only after he became internationally famous; his early life and background have been the subject of much discussion and debate.
Read Full Article »