Cyrus,


You know better. Research is certainly not about finding a few links which support your point of view. After a very brief search, I can locate sources which will contradict all of the points you make, but am I to accept those sources uncritically? Of course not. Although the Internet does provide a quick and easy research tool, it comes, as Chris Alger points out, loaded with landmines.


Most of us do not have the time or inclination to begin historical inquiry, but I will suggest two texts as a beginning: Edward Said's Orientalism and Hayden White's Metahistory . Any good research effort begins with the general and concludes with the specific--not the other way around.


John