Is Orientalism Islamic?

Since many orientalists make Revelation to Muhammad meaningful in terms of hermeneutical engagement, does it mean that orientalism should be deemed Islamic? By raising this deliberately provocative question, this essay examines the ways in which definitions of Islam do or do not challenge orientalism. Is it possible to construct a “post-orientalist” definition of Islam without enacting a continuous critique of orientalism? Is such a critique exhausted by Edward W. Said's famous book, Orientalism, as it is too often assumed, or are we still confined by its impasses? These questions define the method that structures the essay's argument.