More broadly I would think that the negative attitude towards Orientalism is a little xenocentric, because it suggests somehow only Orientalists were a problem of that type during that era. I'd argue it was probably a common 'ism' in the world given one cultures view of another, and frankly demure compared to most past activity. At least Napoleon brought 'scientists' who'd be keenly trying to study something. That's already miles beyond what most entities would do.

Side note: Napoleon is weirdly unreferenced entity in North America, I think due to the fact he was French and not part of the Anglosphere directly. So much fodder for pop culture there, It'd be great to see a decent film about his foray into Egypt, or rather, a film in which that was the setting. Or even a cheesy netflix 'game of thrones' type thing that went through the revolution, his rise and demise. So many actual crazy stories there, they don't even need to wait for the author to write it ...