This is an interesting piece, but I think the authors underestimate the depth of the new Syrian leaders' adhesion to neoliberal economics, which was already patent when they were ruling over Idlib.

For Muftah Magazine's latest issue, Zaid Adhami asks: What does it mean to hold commitments 'in the gray'? Though our culture often extols the critical virtues of 'being skeptical,' with Gaza, it can often be an excuse to waver and mask moral evasion.

Is the new Syrian state revolutionary? In Muftah Magazine's new issue, @alarian.muftah.org & @mesbushra.muftah.org argue that while post-Assad Syria seemed, in theory, a blank canvas for revolutionary change, its inherited conditions narrowed the horizon of possibility.

Muftah Magazine’s new issue is out. We explore the theme of ‘authenticity,’ with essays on revolution and the state, capitalism and self, activism, democracy, and more. Articles are being released weekly, and the first two are available now.

Religion and the American Border with @bethhurd.bsky.social F'19 on @proteanview.muftah.org podcast: www.muftah.org/p/religion-a...

Such a pleasure to speak with the @muftah.org crew about my new book. 👇

Our conversation with @bethhurd.bsky.social is out now wherever you podcast. We discuss the American border, its religious meanings, and 'AmericaIsrael' as a single entity. Check out her new book: Heaven Has a Wall: Religion, Borders, and the Global United States. muftah.org/p/religion-a...

Had a great time talking with Muftah for their new podcast series. Discussing the role of policing "superstition" and the secular, the history of magic-religion-science, my more recent work on critical history. If that sounds like your kind of thing, give it a listen: www.muftah.org/p/superstiti...

Please consider supporting our work, either by subscribing on the @muftah.org website www.muftah.org

Very excited to share our latest episode of @proteanview.muftah.org, in which we interview Jason Ānanda Josephson Storm on Superstition and the Secular. On @muftah.org: www.muftah.org/p/superstiti...

If you’re a writer, editor, or digital strategist and want to work with an amazing and dedicated team producing content on the cultural and political frictions of our time, Muftah Magazine is the place for you. Details below.

This was a really fun interview. If you have any interest in religious or gender studies (and their intersection), this is an episode you won't want to miss. Many interesting points to the discussion, including a great back-and-forth re: the late Saba Mahmood's work on piety.

Pleased to share the latest episode of @proteanview.muftah.org, in which @alarian.muftah.org and I interview Professors Karen Bauer and Feras Hamza on their new book, Women, Households, and the Hereafter in the Qur'an: A Patronage of Piety (OUP, 2024). On @muftah.org: www.muftah.org/p/women-in-t...

The right’s shift from “we need to protect free speech before the snowflakes destroy it” to “we will use state power to punish free speech” isn’t mere hypocrisy, it’s part of a longstanding history. The right has always feigned concern over free speech while in fact squashing it.

Really hope Bluesky takes off, because X is a dumpster fire. But finding a community feels harder here.

If you haven't explored @proteanview.muftah.org yet, what are you waiting for? We have six great episodes out (on our website and wherever you podcast) featuring Ariella Aïsha Azoulay, Salman Sayyid, Sherman Jackson, Daniel Tutt, Nader Hashemi, and Norman Finkelstein. Much more soon––follow us!

If you haven't explored @proteanview.muftah.org yet, what are you waiting for? We have six great episodes out (on our website and wherever you podcast) featuring Ariella Aïsha Azoulay, Salman Sayyid, Sherman Jackson, Daniel Tutt, Nader Hashemi, and Norman Finkelstein. Much more soon––follow us!

“Nah dude due process is only for Americans/citizens”

Aaron Bushnell didn’t self-immolate to “raise awareness” or call us to action, argues @alarian.muftah.org. Responding to the limits of protest and the fact that the truth about Gaza means nothing to the ruling elite, Bushnell’s message was arguably: watch this—nothing will change.

Alex Odeh is probably not a name you've ever heard before, even though his murder in 1985 remains one of the most bizarre, unresolved mysteries of our time. Read this incredible piece about Odeh's murder and its ongoing implications by William Lafi Youmans.

The ruling elite love to proclaim concern for the weak, powerless, and forgotten in our society. But as Daniel Tutt powerfully and correctly argues here, they perpetuate a cynical winner-loser logic that reverberates in the most destructive ways.

In this excellent essay, @profstorm.bsky.social asks: What happens when the grand narratives of modernity and critical insights of postmodern thought discordantly converge? On the cusp of new unknowns, unfamiliar questions emerge that a familiar world can't answer.

We have some really, really great stuff in the ol’ archive. Not just ‘blast from the past’ stuff, but genuinely thought-provoking, well-written essays that remain highly relevant. We haven’t been the best at making that known, so here’s a thread with some examples:

For @thenation.com, I reflect on Aaron Bushnell’s death & the limits of protest. I deny that he self-immolated to raise awareness, or because he thought he could quell the Gaza genocide, & I claim that part of his message was: watch this, nothing will change. www.thenation.com/article/acti...

New episode! Sectarianization and Gaza with Nader Hashemi is out now. Apple: tinyurl.com/3s8jh8wj Spotify: tinyurl.com/2s4x7b98 YouTube: tinyurl.com/2223fp7 This episode was released early on Patreon last week. Follow and support us there for exclusive content!

The viking has become an object of cultural fetishization today––but why? For our Misfits issue, Ahmed Elbenni argues that viking culture "is being rehabilitated as one alternative to Hellenized Christianity" in response to "a Western crisis of faith and identity." tinyurl.com/y7xmdby7

The grand narratives of modernity and the critical insights of postmodern thought seem to be discordantly converging. On the cusp of new unknowns, unfamiliar questions emerge that a familiar world can't answer. Protean View emerged in response––to probe the metamodern. 🧵1/9

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What this report doesn’t mention is that the two survivors blamed antisemitism for what happened to them and then called for “death to the Arabs.”

Really great conversation on Nietzsche

We glorify rebels but punish real ones. Society loves to celebrate the trickster after they’ve won—but when they’re actually challenging the system? They’re cast out, mocked, exiled, erased. Misfits aren’t loved until they’re useful. 🧵👇

Artificial Intelligence promises to eliminate human limitations and offers personal optimization assistants to replace the pain of thinking. But at what cost? Are we sacrificing our humanity for the sake of convenience and efficiency? 🧵👇

🔥 WAKE UP LOSER! The world is run by winners—and you’re not one of them. The system is rigged so that a tiny elite hoards power while the rest of us are trapped in a permanent loser class. But what if I told you that even the so-called “left” is in on the scam? 🧵👇

I often say, to the incredulity of many, Palestinians are among the most dehumanized people in modern America. This is exactly the sort of thing I’m talking about. Palestinians are so dehumanized, humanizing them is seen as a threat & justifies harassment, violence, firing, etc. Parts 2, 3, 4 below

Sherman Jackson recently joined us on @proteanview.muftah.org to talk about his idea of the ‘Islamic Secular’. Check it out: www.patreon.com/posts/121159...

I recently had a wide-ranging and provocative conversation with Salman Sayyid on the 'Muslim question' and defeat for the new @muftah.org podcast, @proteanview.muftah.org, and he had the following to say:

From @nytimes.com: Students and faculty at Harvard could now face disciplinary action if they call Israel "racist." If you're at Harvard, you can call the United States (or seemingly any other country) "racist" and expect this to be protected free speech. Not so with Israel. tinyurl.com/rw5b4cfy

Some of us will remember her less fondly as the former vice president whose administration funded, enabled, and abetted genocide in Gaza, and as the presidential candidate who arrogantly silenced anti-genocide voices at her rallies and refused to invite a single Palestinian to speak at the DNC.

Jennifer Rubin—who echoed every lie about the campus protesters last year and said nothing about the students/professors who were suspended/fired for their Palestine activism—is now launching an outlet called “the contrarian” that claims to “challenge unchecked authority” “in defense of democracy.”

Here’s a little puzzle about @jordanbpeterson.bsky.social for the good people of Bluesky. Consider the following three points and try to square them with the questions at the end. The most compelling answer will receive a free lifetime subscription to Muftah Magazine. Dive in:

Here’s a little puzzle about @jordanbpeterson.bsky.social for the good people of Bluesky. Consider the following three points and try to square them with the questions at the end. The most compelling answer will receive a free lifetime subscription to Muftah Magazine. Dive in:

Listen to our first episode with Ariella Aïsha Azoulay on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts!

Marx wrote upon papers in the library, Gramsci upon toilet papers in prison. The Modern Academic must slap upon the computer—either desktop or laptop. The keystroke is the physico-muscular labor that the Modern Academic must engage in. Stroking the keys is no facile task. muftah.org/2024/12/31/t...

The fusing of techno-revelation, popular sci-fi, and miraculous acts of value creation indicate the syncretic religious character of American tech-capitalists. The techno-frontier has been a matter of manifest destiny whether in literal or secular terms. muftah.org/2024/12/31/t...

For most of its academic life, "liminality" was bound to the ritualistic folklore practices of indigenous societies and was generally not considered applicable elsewhere. Recently, theorists have shown that liminality’s origins reveal only part of its potential. muftah.org/2024/12/31/m...

On the online parasocial left, the “MAGA Communist” movement typifies the political irrationalism of a Gen Z alienated from the existing left. muftah.org/2024/12/31/l...

What is the Islamic Republic of Iran During a Genocide? muftah.org/2024/12/31/w...

Delighted to be published in Muftah with a piece on AI, religion and writing muftah.org/2024/12/31/t...

🌟 Introducing Issue 2: Misfits 🌟 🖋️ Our new issue launches with 5 essays—expect 5 more in the weeks ahead! 🎙️ Plus, check out our new podcast, @proteanview.muftah.org, streaming on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube! muftah.org/latest-issue/