‘Orientalism’ has become a highly charged and contested term in several disciplinary fields, especially post-colonial studies. Since the appearance of Edward Said’s landmark Orientalism (1978), many scholars have pursued
lines of inquiry opened up by Said, arguing that Western modes of representation have created a fabric of ideological fictions about ‘the East’. This article argues that the many insights of Said notwithstanding, his model of ‘orientalism’ presents a distorted and misleading account of the actual historical realities, particularly with respect to the West’s encounter with the religious traditions of Asia. It concludes with some reflections about alternative perspectives on orientalism, especially those offered by traditionalist writers such as René Guénon and Ananda Coomaraswamy.