The Middle East Institute in Washington, DC, has put out a short PDF of critical responses to the late Edward Said’s Orientalism thesis. This is the quick view of the PDF from a close collaborator who studies Said’s work closely and knows the Institute:
They range from reactionary to softly critical. There is a lot of discussion of their personal interactions with the book at the time it was released and since then. I wouldn’t say this is an ‘Orientalists strike back’ piece, but it is clearly a group that sees itself in the middle or slightly affronted, and having little use for its implications. MEI is generally pro-Arab and pro-Palestinian but in a Saudi-funded, former U.S. diplomat-backed sort of way.
really interesting, thanks for sharing