Muftah Magazine
@muftah.org
Muftah is a biannual digital magazine that probes key issues at the intersections of religion, culture, and politics. Follow our podcast @proteanview.muftah.org
"Optimization" may usher life-saving AI-assisted medical advancement, but with it comes disturbing AI cartoons aimed at children running endlessly on YouTube Shorts. These developments are of a piece.
American Slop and the Empire of Optimization
"Optimization" may usher life-saving AI-assisted medical advancement, but with it comes disturbing AI cartoons aimed at children running endlessly on YouTube Shorts. These developments are of a piece.
muftah.org
America is in the news again—it always is. Headlines celebrating the World Cup and the nation’s semiquincentennial run alongside grimmer ones about Iran, Gaza, and ICE. Americans are celebrating, grieving, and debating what America is and means. Our new issue is a small contribution to that debate.
Issue 5: America
Our America issue focuses on militarism, foreign policy, technology, capitalism, and exceptionalism through the lens of a word we’re hearing with increasing frequency: multipolarity.
muftah.org
Adnan Husain joins Protean View to discuss the recent Vanderbilt report on the state of the humanities, the responsibility of intellectuals, the genocide in Gaza, and much more.
Academia and Crisis with Adnan Husain
Episode 20 of the Protean View podcast
muftah.org
We talk to Alex Thurston about the recent events in Mali, the politics of the Sahel, and the War on Terror. This is an excellent primer for those not familiar with what’s been happening there or the politics of the Sahel more broadly. Give it a listen!
Mali and the War on Terror with Alexander Thurston
Episode 18 of the Protean View podcast
muftah.org
I did a podcast with Dr Mohammed El-Sayed Bishra from @muftah.org on VC accelerationism, Marc Andreessen and Israel podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/v...
Venture Capitalism and Tech Utopianism with Olivier Jutel
Podcast Episode · Protean View · April 10 · 1h 2m
podcasts.apple.com
We chat with @ojutel.bsky.social about why Marc Andreessen lacks "introspection" and what that has to do with the crisis of over-accumulation, accelerationism, and the utopian delusions of our tech overlords. Enjoy!
Venture Capitalism and Tech Utopianism with Olivier Jutel
Episode 16 of the Protean View podcast
muftah.org
The good people @muftah.org had me and @dbessner.bsky.social on to talk the "Fascism Debate"! Even w/ a lot on the cutting room floor, and so much more to cover, it's a pretty deep dive. I hope generative at addressing this question and why it's important, analytically and politically...
Muftah Magazine@muftah.org · 4mo agoThis is an excellent dissection of the fabled ‘fascism debate’ in America, India, Israel, and beyond featuring two voices whose critical disagreements offer much needed clarity. From @proteanview.muftah.org
This is an excellent dissection of the fabled ‘fascism debate’ in America, India, Israel, and beyond featuring two voices whose critical disagreements offer much needed clarity. From @proteanview.muftah.org
On Fascism with Daniel Bessner and Ajay Singh Chaudhary
Episode 15 of the Protean View podcast
muftah.org
Today marks 2 years since Aaron Bushnell burned himself alive at the Israeli Embassy in DC. I wrote this for @thenation.com last year because I was (and remain) convinced his protest had nothing to do with raising awareness or calling us to action, as many have claimed. I say this for 2 reasons:
What Aaron Bushnell Is Still Teaching Us
thenation.com
On the new Syrian state, the future of Islamism, and more with @thomaspierret.bsky.social
Syria and the Future of Islamism with Thomas Pierret
Episode 14 of the Protean View podcast
muftah.org
On Israel, the Christian Right is fracturing. But why now? Our latest episode with Melani McAlister explains and touches on a key issue rarely discussed: the differences and similarities between Christian nationalism, evangelicalism, and Christian Zionism. 👇
Israel, Islam, and the Christian Right with Melani McAlister
Episode 13 of the Protean View podcast
muftah.org
Asad Haider was a singular presence on the U.S. left: rigorous, optimistic, and relentlessly focused on the problem of political thinking. He died in November at 38.
“Socialists Think”: In Memory of Asad Haider
On socialism, self-criticism, and the end of a political sequence.
muftah.org
When did “community” come to mean “a service you subscribe to”? For Muftah’s latest issue, Jamal Mehmood takes on the hollowing of “community” in tech and corporate culture to show how subscription platforms co-opt a term of real human connection by turning it into a “pay-to-say” product.
Your Subscription Service Is Not a Community
Corporate-born "communities" are astroturfed projects that fabricate connections and make purchasing power the limiting, necessary, and determining point of access.
muftah.org
Interesting essay by Moshik Temkin "In an era of rising authoritarianism meant to destroy democracy, FDR knew that a certain degree of authoritarianism was necessary to protect democracy, since it couldn’t just save itself."
Muftah Magazine@muftah.org · 7mo agoDemocracy survived the 1930s because of (not despite) authoritarian and populist tactics, argues Moshik Temkin. Procedural restraint alone is never enough to preserve democratic life. Restoring material security and public faith matter, even at the cost of elite consensus and institutional decorum.
Unilateral demands for “disarmament” seem to have little to do with achieving peace. In fact, they actively avoid the politics that make actual peace possible. Militant movements can’t be disarmed by force; mutual political arrangements must make their weapons unnecessary and even counterproductive.
Is Disarming Hezbollah and Hamas Possible?
The lesson of history is that armed movements do not disarm because they are defeated, but because political developments and integration make their arms functionally obsolete.
muftah.org
Democracy survived the 1930s because of (not despite) authoritarian and populist tactics, argues Moshik Temkin. Procedural restraint alone is never enough to preserve democratic life. Restoring material security and public faith matter, even at the cost of elite consensus and institutional decorum.
When Populism and Authoritarianism Saved Democracy
In the past thirty years, the top 1% in America have added $21 trillion to their wealth, while the bottom 50% has lost $900 billion. We know from history that democracy cannot survive such conditions.
muftah.org
Muftah Magazine’s final issue of 2025, “Community & Crisis,” is here. Our first two essays—on the challenges of disarming groups like Hezbollah and Hamas, and the curious history of rescuing American democracy by “authoritarian” means—are now available, with the rest to follow soon.
Issue 4: Community & Crisis
Our final issue of the year focuses on questions of community, crisis, and the tensions in between.
muftah.org
William Barylo recently sat down with us to talk about neoliberalism, its effects on Muslims in the West, his experience being homeless as a graduate student, the folly of the "hijra industry," and more. This is our 12th and final episode of 2025. See you for more in 2026 ✌️
The Burdens of Neoliberalism with William Barylo
Episode 12 of the Protean View podcast
muftah.org
Pleased to share Episode 12 of the Protean View podcast: The Burdens of Neoliberalism, in which @alarian.muftah.org and I speak with sociologist William Barylo. Other URLs in the replies. www.muftah.org/the-burdens-...
The Burdens of Neoliberalism with William Barylo
Episode 12 of the Protean View podcast
muftah.org
It’s easy to publish something loud. It’s much harder to publish something that lasts. If you’ve followed Muftah Magazine, you know we care about great writing that earns your attention and holds up under scrutiny. 🧵
It’s been less than a year since Bashar al-Assad was deposed, and much is still in flux, but I think the arguments @mesbushra.muftah.org and I made in June about Syria’s present condition and possible future continue to hold 👇
Is the New Syrian State Revolutionary?
Post-Assad Syria was, in theory, a blank canvas for revolutionary transformation—in reality, its leaders inherited conditions that narrowed the horizon of possibility before the first stroke was made.
muftah.org
Very pleased to announce the latest from @proteanview.muftah.org Episode 10: On the Politics of Analytic Philosophy, in which @alarian.muftah.org and I speak with @schuringa.bsky.social. Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube URLs in replies. www.muftah.org/the-politics...
The Politics of Analytic Philosophy with Christoph Schuringa
Episode 10 of the Protean View podcast
muftah.org
Don’t miss this—the recent response of philosophy departments to the Gaza genocide is also discussed. Other topics include Rawls’ early religious & political influences, the meaning of the analytic-continental divide, & how philosophy has historically reinforced the status quo.
Protean View@proteanview.muftah.org · 10mo agoWe have a new episode out with @schuringa.bsky.social on the politics of analytic philosophy. Want to know how and why analytic philosophy framed itself as apolitical even as it was bankrolled by the CIA and the RAND corporation? Listen to our conversation, out now wherever you podcast.
With Syria back in the news, here’s our article from June in which @alarian.muftah.org and @mesbushra.muftah.org reflect on the condition of the new Syrian state and where it’s headed in the future. Full, un-paywalled article 👇
Is the New Syrian State Revolutionary?
Post-Assad Syria was, in theory, a blank canvas for revolutionary transformation—in reality, its leaders inherited conditions that narrowed the horizon of possibility before the first stroke was made.
muftah.org
