Civilizational Decline or Intellectual Distortion? Interrogating Lewis’s What Went Wrong?

Bernard Lewis’s What Went Wrong? promises an inquiry into how one of the earliest and supreme civilizations got eclipsed, fell low and failed in the course of history. Published in the aftermath of 9/11, Lewis’s work is less a study of history than a rehearsal of well-worn clichés, wrapped in the authority of an eminent scholar. The question this review essay seeks to address is: How does the book reflect a reductionist, essentialist, and orientalist portrayal of the Islamic world, and to what extent does it overlook the impacts of colonialism, external interventions, and the complex histories of both the Islamic world and the West?