رمضان: شهر مناهضة الإمبريالية

لقد عتاد المسلمون على العيش في حالة دفاع دائمة كثمن لوجودهم، ونشروا بسهولة تفسيرات لممارساتهم الدينية والثقافية. قد تكون هذه صفقة مقبولة وحتى مستحسنة للحفاظ على السلام في المجتمعات الحديثة المتنوعة، ولكن مع حلول شهر رمضان المبارك، لا يمكن للمرء أن يتجاهل الصبغات الحديثة المميزة في التفسيرات المتداولة لفوائدها العديدة. يتجاهل الخطاب المعاصر حول هذه الفوائد بشكل متزايد جوهرها الأخلاقي والميتافيزيقي، ويقدم تفسيرات مادية بدلاً … Continue reading رمضان: شهر مناهضة الإمبريالية

Syria’s Conflict, Islamic Legitimacy, and ‘Order versus Anarchy’

The cataclysmic earthquakes that have struck Syria and Turkey this month have ignited debate about effective aid measures and, by extension, the politics of the Syrian conflict. The Syrian government has taken no small pleasure in an opportunity to ease its official diplomatic freeze in much of the world, blaming Western sanctions for the difficulty in aid and in turn bringing into question the politics of the conflict. Unfortunately, to claim that sanctions are in themselves to blame for aid difficulty ignores the fact that the vast majority of the devastation has hit areas outside government control and under the control of the Syrian opposition, which were already subjected to a crippling, Gaza-style siege by the very same government. It is a further mistake, not in theoretical but in purely factual terms, to compare Syria with other Muslim countries — such as Afghanistan, Iran, or formerly Iraq — that are under sanctions, because in everything but name the Syrian government has been the major beneficiary of the status quo. Continue reading Syria’s Conflict, Islamic Legitimacy, and ‘Order versus Anarchy’

Dearborn Schools and the Protests Against LGBT Books

Books like This is Book Gay by Juno Dawson and Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston sat atop library shelves in Dearborn Public Schools, Michigan, until last week, when the schools pulled them for review after parents complained of their sexual nature. Many of the books discussed LGBT relationships; This is Book Gay is a non-fiction title with instructions on how to use apps for casual sex, descriptions of sex toys and how to engage in anal sex. Other fiction titles contain numerous explicit sex scenes. While it is not a shock that most Americans view pre-marital sex as acceptable, the outrage stemmed from the portrayal of this material as innocuous and acceptable for young people. Continue reading Dearborn Schools and the Protests Against LGBT Books

Ilhan Omar, Representation and Muslim Political Organizing in the West

Ilhan Omar’s recent invite to a prominent Muslim convention in America sparked an intense debate around representation calling into question the successes or failures of Muslim activists who have allied themselves with the left in the West. While these are two separate discussions, Omar, as a Muslim political figure represents, the overlap between these two debates. As someone who has been involved with political organizations in the UK, although Omar is a figure on the American left, I will use the politics of the UK as my primary reference point in this piece.  Continue reading Ilhan Omar, Representation and Muslim Political Organizing in the West

Dowry Among Muslims in India

Dowry (jahez or tilak) – referring to the gifting of land, wealth, or gifts from the bride and her family to the groom – has an ugly and long history. It was a custom practiced in the time of the Code of Hammurabi, and in the Roman and Greek empires. In English common law, the doctrine of coverture viewed a woman’s legal existence to be merged with that of her husband, so all wealth and property would be held by him; during the Victorian era, upper-class families viewed dowries as a replacement for inheritance. While the practice of dowry was historically and today less common than payments from grooms to brides, dowry in India remains a social epidemic. Continue reading Dowry Among Muslims in India

Hijab Laws and State Violence in Iran

In the past week, a young woman, Mahsa Amini, died in Iranian custody after allegedly being arrested for wearing improper garments. The government reports that she died from heart failure or stroke; her family maintains she was beaten to death by police. We ask Allah ﷻ to have mercy on her soul, and reunite her and her family in the lush gardens of the afterlife. Continue reading Hijab Laws and State Violence in Iran

Roe v. Wade and the Hikmah of Islamic Prohibitions

The overturning of Roe sparked a strong clash between both the opposing sides of the political spectrum and has been a matter of great debate and controversy. Individual states now have the power to ban or limit abortions, which will become illegal in about half of the states in the U.S. Healthcare professionals can be criminally charged for performing an abortion. This article will shed light on the significance and impact of this ruling, and will discuss the perspectives and proposed solutions at both ends of the political spectrum. Continue reading Roe v. Wade and the Hikmah of Islamic Prohibitions

Islam and Progressive Politics: Considerations on Pluralism, Liberal Hegemony, and Foreign Policy

Here, I argue that progressivism appears to have rekindled neoconservatism (not surprising, as many current progressives were on the neoconservative bandwagon not too long ago), but this time without the “security” guise that Americans have grown tired of, instead with a pivot towards democracy and freedom. The War on Terror can be conveniently replaced with the war for democracy. This causes massive international damage to Islamic countries, who will face severe economic, political, and possibly even military pressure from adventurist foreign policies. This should challenge our assumed alliance with the Democratic Party, and that general justifications given for strongly allying with progressive coalitions at home, namely the possibility of pluralism and international restraint, are both false. Continue reading Islam and Progressive Politics: Considerations on Pluralism, Liberal Hegemony, and Foreign Policy

India’s Hijab Ban, Part II: Defining Islamic Identity

In the previous section we explored a general trend in contemporary thinkers who — while recognizing the flaws in the existing democratic-constitutional-secular-liberal regime (the ideal in international politics) — locate these flaws in something external to the regime as a kind of consequence of history. Legal scholar Faizan Mustafa and historian Irfan Habib are two prominent examples from the legal and political theory fields who have strong commitments to secular democratic projects. They view the existing BJP government as simply having violated the basic social-contract which underlies constitutional rule (namely,  adhering to the rule of law). Continue reading India’s Hijab Ban, Part II: Defining Islamic Identity

Pronouns: Progressivism’s Preposterous Plight

He/him, she/her, they/them, ze/zir — the options grow daily. One can simply wake up one day and assume the identity of a boy, the next claim that they are a girl, and the day after neither, and announce their pronouns as a part of their introduction, expecting an unquestioned adherence to affirm self-identification. This is despite the fact that there is no definition on their part of what a woman or a man actually is aside from the recursive argument, “anyone who identifies as such.” Continue reading Pronouns: Progressivism’s Preposterous Plight