Archive for 'Ideas & Philosophy'
When “Islamism” Becomes an Opium
Ali Harfouch When Marx wrote vehemently on religion, referring it to‘opium’ he was referring to a particular clerical order which legitimized the Monarchial power-structures shaping the dismal status-quo in the Middle Ages . Religion was sedative, [...]
Reflections on the Fate of Political Islam: A Reply To Zaid Shakir
(A reply to Zaid Shakir’s Al-Jazeera English article “The Egyptian Coup and the Fate of Political Islam”) The military coup against the Muslim Brotherhood backed Morsi administration has seen a revival of the “failure of [...]
Book Preview – Dr. Reza Pankhurst’s “The Inevitable Caliphate?”
‘Reza Pankhurst’s deftly argued, thought-provoking book addresses the significant yet neglected topic of [...]
Thinking Beyond Erdogan
Ali Harfouch Reactionary v. Revolutionary Positions To be reactionary, means quite simply, to react to an existing reality. Being a revolutionary however means one changes the existing reality. Reactionary positions and revolutionary positions are often [...]
Exploring the role of Caliphs & Popes
Sharique Naeem The history of Christian Europe and Caliphate of the Muslim civilization followed distinctive paths. Historians and even average students of history recognize this distinction. The structure of ruling and the role religion played, do [...]
Democracy, Dictatorship, and the Mimic
Ali Harfouch The Self-Defeating Mimic: A Walking Paradox A liberating moment occurs when the oppressed can think beyond the imaginary horizon constructed by the oppressor. A liberation of the consciousness and the inauguration of an emancipatory [...]
