Every single empire in its official discourse has said that it is not like all the others, that … - Edward Said

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We are not naïve enough to ask for pure men; we ask merely for men whose impurity does not conflict with the obligations of their job.

Edward Said

Every single empire in its official discourse has said that it is not like all the others, that its circumstances are special, that it has a mission to enlighten, civilize, bring order and democracy, and that it uses force only as a last resort. And, sadder still, there always is a chorus of willing intellectuals to say calming words about benign or altruistic empires.

Altruistic, Bring, Civilize, Democracy, Order, Tyrants

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Every empire, however, tells itself and the world that it is unlike all other empires, that its mission is not to plunder and control but to educate and liberate.

Empires, Liberate, Mission, Plunder, World

Orientalism can be discussed and analyzed as the corporate institution for dealing with the Orient—dealing with it by making statements about it, authorizing views of it, describing it, by teaching it, settling it, ruling over it: in short, Orientalism as a Western style for dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the Orient.

Orientalism, Restructuring, Ruling, Style, Teaching, Views

History is written by those who win and those who dominate.

Dominate, History, Win, Winning, Written

The sense of Islam as a threatening Other - with Muslims depicted as fanatical, violent, lustful, irrational - develops during the colonial period in what I called Orientalism. The study of the Other has a lot to do with the control and dominance of Europe and the West generally in the Islamic world. And it has persisted because it's based very, very deeply in religious roots, where Islam is seen as a kind of competitor of Christianity.

Deeply, Dominance, Europe, Islamic, Religious, Study

Part of the main plan of imperialism. . . is that we will give you your history, we will write it for you, we will re-order the past. . . What's more truly frightening is the defacement, the mutilation, and ultimately the eradication of history in order to create. . . an order that is favorable to the United States.

Create, Imperialism, Order, Past, Plan, Writing