Is there a controversy in Edward Said's works?

Some of the largest criticism against Said and his work comes
from the idea that he views Western European thought and action as coming from a point of view
that is discriminatory.  Critic Robert Irwin argues as much, when he criticizes what he claims to
be Said's thesis that throughout Europe’s history, “every European, in what he could say about
the Orient, was a racist, an imperialist, and almost totally ethnocentric."  In the end, this
becomes the crux of argumentation against Said.  Others argue that it is time "to look past
orientalism" and move into a realm that transcends the issue of racial and ethnic identity,
something that critics argue Said does not do.  The majority of arguments against Said seem to be
the same ones made against the conflict view of historical narratives, when individuals who
believe in a consensus methodology of history suggest that the alternative seeks to fragment
history and break from a central and unified narrative.  It is in this light that arguments are
made against Said and his work.