Table Of Content

the other hand, he argues that the individual alone has the righttodeterminethevalidityofthoseethics”(Fiscella,2009). Whereas in Knight’s case, “Knight’s vision is one of multiple heresies and quasi-orthodoxies [of Islam and Muslims] living Anarca-Islam underthesameroofandtogethermanifestinganIslamwhere individualistsareboundtogetherinaradicallyintentionalplu- ralism” (Fiscella, 2009). I however believe in the need for a morebalancedapproachbetweentherightsofthecommunity Mohamed Jean Veneuse and the rights of the individual, and beyond Knight’s ‘radi- cal intentional pluralism’ and which is not rooted in shared 2009 ethico-politicalcommitments.Inthissense,theliteratureinad- equatelyaddressesMuslimsandanarchistsinthenewestsocial movements,andremainslackinginKoranicsubstance,encour- agement,andcallforcommunitarianactionamongstMuslims andanarchists. It seems to me then, that Bey and Knight fail to construct what I think is necessary. That is, an anarchic interpretation ofIslamthatissimultaneouslyanIslamicinterpretationofan- archism. I accept and respect Bey’s anthropological and historical approach as well as Knight’s fictional approach. How- ever, the construction of an interpretation or a multiplicity of interpretationsisnecessary,ifonlytoeffectivelymobilizeMus- lims,Muslimanarchistsandanarchiststowardsunderstanding each other better within the newest social movements. With- outthistypeofinterpretation,Muslimanarchistsarefetishized revolutionary subjects and representatives of a dreary fusion ofIslamandanarchism.Infact,withoutthiskindofinterpreta- tion,Muslimanarchistsexistonlyinname,sincetheyarewith- outtheadequatetheologicalfoundationsforthefusionoftheir twoidentities.LeavingMuslimanarchistssusceptibletomock- ery by anarchists like Brain-fear regarding something called Anarcho-Islam,andwhichnoone,notevenMuslimanarchists, have defined. The consequence is more of the same thing for Muslim anarchists. That is, their further separation and ostra- cizationfromanarchistsandMuslims.Aninterpretationisnot 56 itsintendedmessage(s)farmoreadequatelytoaparticularau- dience.Forinstance,BeyandKnightparleybetweenrepresent- ingIslamandMuslimseitherthroughfictionalinsightsthatcall theKorana“tinylittlebookfortinylittlemen”(Knight,2004: Contents 105)orthroughinsightsusingwhatBeycalls“poeticterrorism” (Bey,1993:58)inhisquestfor“poeticfacts”(Bey,1993:58).As Fiscella writes, Bey’s “work is easy to read but difficult to fol- low…seamlesslyblend[ing] scholarly researchwith manifesto Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 in a quest for ‘poetic facts’” (Fiscella, 2009). The consequence oftheinadequateaddressingofthereligiousliterature,aswell Chapter1.PanegyricDesertofthePresent 6 as the lack of clarity, is the persistence of the former miscon- On Islam, Anarchism and the Newest Social Move- ceptionsintheheartsandmindsofanarchists. ments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Athirdweaknessfoundgenerallyinliteratureonanarchism 2.WithanAlibi:WhoisSpeaking?. . . . . . . . . . 15 andIslam,butonethatisparticulartotheliteraturebyBeyand 3.Everything Divided—TheArgumentCondensed . 18 Knight,isthattheyadoptandadvocateforaStirnerianindivid- ualisticapproachtowritingonIslamandanarchism(Kroptkin, Chapter 2. Who Says What With Respect to Islamic an- 1910).Iamvehementlyagainstthisapproach.BeyandKnight archism…CanAnyoneSpeaktoWhatitIs? 24 encourageMuslimsto: 1.ChapterIntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 2.AReviewoftheAcademicLiterature . . . . . . . 29 “not only [be Muslims in] a complete revolt 3.ReviewoftheMovementLiterature . . . . . . . . 47 against the state and against servitude…but also [after] the full liberation of…[themselves] from 4.ConclusionsDrawnfromReviewingbothLiteratures 54 allsocialandmoralbonds[andresponsibilitiesto even themselves as community] — the rehabilita- Chapter3.MethodologyandTheories 60 tion of the ‘I’, the supremacy of the individual, 1.ChapterIntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 complete ‘amoralism’, and the association of ego- 2.ThusSpokeGod:TheMethodofAnarchic-Ijtihad 61 ists’”(Kroptkin,1910). 3.ThusSpeaksAcademia:TheTheoreticalFramework 72 For Bey and Knight, when it comes to representing Islam Chapter 4. Anarca-Islam’s Space and Political Con- and Muslims “heresy and the margins of legitimacy are per- sciousness in Relation to anarchism, Islam and the fectlyrespectableoptions”(Fiscella,2009).Thismeans,accord- capitalist-State 80 ing to Bey and Knight, that any Muslim reserves the right to 1.ChapterIntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 do as they please without being bound by or accountable for 2.IslamisDead.AnarchismisDead. . . . . . . . . . 84 theethico-politicalrightsofthecommunityoverthatindivid- 3.Daddy-Mommy-Me=Deleuze&Guattari’sOedi- ual. On the one hand, Bey “speaks of a need for the individ- palTriad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 ual to be bound by an ethical and spiritual stance…[yet] on 2 55 4. Conclusions Drawn from Reviewing both Chapter5.TheBirthoftheClinic—SeeingandKnowing Literatures the Clinic’s Commitments in Resistance to Daddy- Mommy-Me 100 1.ChapterIntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 In drawing my conclusions from reviewing the literatures, 2. Castrating Daddy: Anarca-Islam’s Anti- let me say that the literature is undoubtedly a vital sym- AuthoritarianConcepts&Practices . . . . . . 105 bolicstepthatcanhelpWesternMuslimsinconfrontingWest- 3. Shit-Talkin’ Mommy: Anarca-Islam’s Anti- ern representations ascribed to Islam. However, the literature CapitalistConcepts&Practices . . . . . . . . 122 shows weaknesses on three interrelated fronts. First, there is 4.ThePatientcomestotheirownAid . . . . . . . . 137 the weakness of the secularization of the texts, and this ap- plies to both the academic and non-academic literature. The Chapter6.TheBeginningistheEndistheBeginning 139 secularization occurs because the texts use neither the Koran 1.ASummaryoftheThesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 nor the Sunnah. The writers abstain from offering conceptual 2. Connecting M.A. to Ph.D.: Where Anarca-Islam andpragmaticKoranicandanarchicjustificationsofhowitis proceedstofromhere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 (im)possible to construct an anarchic interpretation of Islam and an Islamic interpretation of anarchism. The literature de- Bibliography(orReferences) 151 fers instead to identifying useful but still just anthropological and historical resonances between anarchism and Islam. The consequenceistheliterature’sweakenedeffectivityduetothe overarching dismissal of what I see as a critical aspect with respecttothediscourseofIslamandanarchism.AsFiscellaar- gues, it is not “merely about the imagination of the potential optionsforhowthingscanbe”(Fiscella,2009)betweenthetwo, Islamandanarchism.Rather,itisaboutprovingtheIslamicand anarchic concepts and practices necessary for this idea’s pre- sentation to a socio-political arena comprised predominantly ofnon-secularWesternMuslims.Thatsaid,Ihavelittledoubt andcanalmostguaranteethatpost-colonialimmigrantandcit- izen Muslims, regardless of how liberal, can tolerate but will neverseriouslyacceptawordinanyoftheseliteraturesunless theKoranandtheSunnahareused. Second, there is the weakness that the academic and non- academicwritersdonotidentifyclearlywhotheintendedau- dienceortheexactpurposeoftheirwriting.Theliteraturelacks claritywheninfactthewriterscoulddirecttheliteratureand 54 3 Muj’tah’eideen face at deriving different connotations and alternative readings based on the subtleties of the Sunnah and the Koran. In not recognizing this, these anarchists undermine the power and burden of a Muj’tah’eid (singular forMuh’tah’eideen).Anarchists,forthemostpart,dismissthe sacred responsibility a Muj’tah’eid is entrusted with and for whichheand/orsheisaccountablebeforeGod.Allanarchists must understand that “the East and Islam don’t necessarily have the same regimes of truth as the West” (Foucault, 1978, 753–4).Theseregimesoftruthareknowabletruths,butwhich a majority of anarchists know little of. Anarchists cannot affordtobeignorantorambivalentofIslamoutoffear. Gods’intendedmeaningdonotoppose.Eachistheconditionofpossibility fortheexistenceoftheotherprovidedtheKoranandtheSunnahs’textual sustenanceoftheimprintandtheMuj’tah’eid’ssincereinvestigativeintent indealingwiththesubjectmatterwhiledecidingwhetheraKoranic“text may be regarded… as either general or specific, absolute or limited, sum- minguporclarifying”(Al’alwani,1993,82).Otherwiseandintheabsenceof thispowerofaMuj’tah’eidtherewouldnotbeapoweroforiginalformation ofIslamorimpressiontoarriveanewtoasinscribedthroughtheconcepts ijtihadandjihad.Infact,aspracticesthetwowouldbeinnate,benignand utterly useless while Muslims dispute as they do now in ignorance. Most anarchistsdonotrecognizethatMuh’tah’eideen,andwhatevertheir“rela- tiontoreligionmaybe,andtothisorthatreligion”(Derrida,1996:7),“are notpriestsboundbyaministry,northeologians,norqualified,competent representativesofreligion…inthesensethecertainsocalledEnlightenment philosophers are thought to have been” (Derrida, 1996: 7). A Muj’tah’id’s jihadandijtihadcanneverbeaquestfortheMuj’tah’id’sselfasanauthori- tativefigure.Anarchist’sneedtorealizethataMuj’tah’id’sIslamislongingly aspiritualbond,“areflectingfaith…opposedtodogmaticfaith…insofaras thelatterclaimstoknowandtherebyignoresthedifferencebetweenfaith andknowledge”(Derrida,1996:10). 53 theimmigrantcommunitiesareopposed”65(Flood, Abstract 2003). As an anarchist and a Muslim, I have witnessed troubled timesasaresultofextremedivisionsthatexistbetweenthese The two misconceptions exist amongst these anarchists for two identities and communities. To minimize these divisions, tworeasons.Thefirstisthattheseanarchistsareinfluencedby I argue for an anti-capitalist and anti-authoritarian Islam, an Orientalist and Fundementalist Western representations of Is- ‘anarca-Islam’, that disrupts two commonly held beliefs: one, lamandMuslims.Thesecondisthefactthattheseanarchists, thatIslamisnecessarilyauthoritarianandcapitalist;two,that forthemostpart,donotreadArabic,practiceIslam,andhave anarchismisnecessarilyanti-religious.FromthispositionIof- never read the Sunnah or the Koran. Moreover, these anar- fer‘anarca-Islam’whichIbelievecanhelpopen-minded(non- chistshaveneverpracticedjihadandijtihadandthereforehave essentialist/non-dogmatic) Muslims and anarchists to better notunderstoodinterpretativetraditionsofIslamderivedfrom understand each other, and therefore to more effectively col- eithertheSunnahortheKoran.Themajorityofanarchistsare laborate in the context of what Richard JF Day has called the notawarethatwithinIslam,“everythingthatissaidunderthe ’newest’socialmovements. explicit form of the law usually also refers to another mean- ing” (Foucault, 1978: 753–4). For instance, they are not aware thattheArabicwordaynintheKoranmaychangefrommean- ing“anorganofsight”to“runningwater”,from“puregold”to a “spy” (Al’Awani, 1993: 82). Anarchists for the most part do notrealizethatitispossiblethroughjihadandijtihadthatthe Koranic“wordqar’(plural:quroo’)caneithermeanmenstrua- tion”(Al’Awani,1993:82)ortheexactopposite,“purityfollow- ingmenstruation”(Al’Awani,1993:82).Asaresultofnotbeing awareofanyofthis,themajorityofanarchistsremainblindto thefactthattherearenon-dogmaticpossibilitiesinliteraland figurative connotations that Muslim scholars, Muj’tah’eideen, encounter when they engage in jihad and ijtihad, especially when Muj’tah’eideen are orienting Islam ethically and politi- callytoaspecifichermeneuticsuchasanarchism. What the majority of anarchists need to recognize then is that they cannot take for granted the difficulty66 65ThelinkbelowistoAnrewFlood’sarticletitledTheProblemwithIslam. Retrievaldate:October23rd,2008.Retrievedfrom:struggle.ws. 66Most anarchists do not realize that a Muj’tah’eid could succumb to meanings and imprints “totally at odds” (Al’alwani, 1993, 82) with God’s intendedimprintandword.Thetwo,theMuj’tah’id’sintenttoimprintand 52 5 Islamicreligion.Freedomof religionmust alsoal- lowfreedomfromreligion!”64 (Flood,2003). WhileIconcurwithFlood’sviewsthat‘freedomofreligion Chapter 1. Panegyric Desert of mustallowfreedomfromreligion’andthatthe‘leftoughtpos- sess the right to critique Islam without fear of the accusatory the Present charge of Islamophobia’, Flood’s argument is problematic be- causeFloodwritesofIslamandMuslimsasifbothweremono- lithic. Flood dismisses the possibility of constructing an an- On Islam, Anarchism and the Newest Social archic interpretation of Islam. Causally, and by failing to ac- Movements knowledge Islam’s multiplicity, Flood also denies the possibil- ityoftheexistenceofMuslimanarchistsinsocialmovements. However,IfindthatthemostunfortunatepartofFlood’sarti- InOpenSky (1990),PaulVirilioarguesthat“thebanonrep- cleishisconcludingstatement.Init,hepraisesanarchistsand resentationincertainculturalpracticesandtherefusaltosee— anarchisms’historicalcommitmentstoanti-oppression,yetex- women,forexample,inthecaseofIslam—isbeingsuperseded presseshisyearningforananarchicvigilanceinoppositionto atthisverymomentbythe[Western]culturalobligationtosee, Islam. Flood supports this conclusion through his view of Is- with the overexposure of the visible image taking over from lam as puritanical and running counter to anarchism’s com- theunderexposureoftheageofthewrittenword”(90).Thatis, IslamandMuslims1arenownotonlyfacingtheperilsofinvis- mitmenttofreedomfromoppression(s).Floodwrites: 1Consciousoftheforceofsuchaword,anditssingularform‘Muslim’as “Anarchists have a long and proud tradition of opposedtoitspluralform‘Muslimeen’,Iuseitsomewhatdifferently.AMus- fighting the power of organised religion, includ- limissomeonewhochoosestoidentifyasaMuslim,orisby‘nature’that ing in countries like Spain fighting fascist gangs (thatis,embodiesIslamictendencies/characteristics).Unless,andineither ofthetwocasesstated,theindividualhasundergonecompulsion,coercion formed on a religious basis. While we recognise orrejectedIslamafterknowingit.Moreover,IchosetouseMuslim,asop- the freedom of people to hold a religion we also posedtoMuslima—thefeminizedform—followingacliché,butonlyin recognise that there has to be a freedom from re- sofartoallowroomforboththereaderandmyselftosubscribeand/ornot ligion — an idea that runs against the basis of Is- tooneareaorcategoryofgender,theother,orboth.ThiswayIamrecog- nizingthattherearethosewhowanttoexhibitandremaininstatesofthe lam. Anarchists in the Middle East and beyond DeleuzianandGuattarianconceptofbecoming withrespecttogender,sex willneedtodetermineforthemselvesthemostef- andsexuality.Asforthequestion‘whoisaMuslim’?Personally,Ibelieve fectivewaysofcounteractingtheinfluenceofthe aMuslimisanindividualwhoexpendsfromhisandherwealthforajust fundamentaliststhere.Inthewestwecanatleast cause,andwhobelievesinthehereafterandalsochoosestobelieveinthe makesuretheirattemptstoimposethemselveson valueoftheprimaryprinciplepillarofIslamcalledAl-Shahada.Thatis,La illahailAllah,MuhammadonRasoolAllah(trans.:ThereisauthoritybutGod andMuhammadisthefinalMessengerofGod).Thebasisoftheseprerequi- 64ThelinkbelowistoAnrewFlood’sarticletitledTheProblemwithIslam. sitesandonlytheseprerequisites,tobeidentifiedasaMuslim,Itakefrom Retrievaldate:October23rd,2008.Retrievedfrom:struggle.ws. 6 51 to the core. Just read the fucking Koran”61 (Chris ibility,butalso “the impossibility of not being seen”(1997: 90, R.,2009). emphasisadded).ThisWesternobligationto“gingerlysneaka sidelong look” (Virilio, 1990: 90) at Islam and Muslims, I con- TreadinginlinewithBrain-fear,PJP,andBurning-man,inre- tend, is generally based on two intents: First, an intent to un- gurgitatingthesemisconceptionsarealsoanarchistsassociated maskaninexhaustiblesupplyofhiddenterrorists.And,second, with the Anarchist Federation in London, England. The anar- tosetupIslamasanoppressiveregime,asisthecasewiththe chistsinquestionproducedanarticleinthe“December2001is- clichédviewofveiledMuslimwomenundergoingthehorrors sue”62(AdamK.,2007)thatlevelsalldifferencesbetweenIslam of Non-Western patriarchy, or of Iraqis and Afghanis as fee- andMuslimsandportraysIslamasmonolithic,fundamentalist, ble subjects of Islamic tyranny who must be freed. Muslims reactionary,homo-trans-queerphobic,andoppressivetowards in the West face an intensified assault on representation; in women. The article reductively and Islamophobically claims otherwords,representationsareabundantandoftenfunction Islam “the enemy of all Freedom loving people”63 (Adam K., throughbinarysignifications.AsJeanBaudrillardarguesthere 2007). isa“reductionofIslam[andMuslims]to”therepresentations Similarly, in Flood’s article The Trouble with Islam the two FundamentalismandOrientalism,orterrorismandoppression, misconceptions reappear. Flood’s argument revolves around “not to destroy but to domesticate [them]…and the symbolic thisintroductorystatement: challenges” they represent “for the entire West” (Baudrillard, 1995:28). “Theleftingeneral…[butinparticular]groupslike In the West, it has practically become a pathological obli- the British SWP [Socialist Party of Britain] have gation, born “of scorn”, to clear the semiotic space of any al- gone so far as to describe left criticism of the Is- ternativerepresentations,asiftheFundamentalist/Orientalist lamic religion as ‘Islamophobia’ echoing the offi- pairing were school uniforms (Foucault in Afray and Ander- cial line of their government which insists ‘The son,2005:210).TheWest’ssymbolicchallengeisforcingMus- realIslamisareligionofpeace,toleranceandun- lims to submit to these representations, especially immigrant derstanding’.Whilethereisarealneedfortheleft andcitizenMuslimsoftheWestwhohaveslippedacrossthat todefendpeoplewhoareMuslimsfromstateand formation’snecessarilyporousborders(Deleuze,2000:90).To non-state victimisation in the aftermath of 9–11 thisshouldnotatanytimeimplyadefenceofthe theKoranicverse:“The(true)believersarethoseonlywhobelieveinAllah 61ThelinkbelowistoChrisR.s’articletitledIslamandAnarchyjointo- and His messenger and afterward doubt not, but strive with their wealth getherandBurning-man’smisconception.Retrievaldate:October23rd,2008. andtheirlivesforthecauseofAllah.Sucharethesincere”(TheHolyKo- Retrievedfrom:(74.125.95.104) ran,Chapter49:ChapterofThe‘Hujurat’,Verse:15).Respectively,whenI 62The link below is to the article titled Anarchist Orientalism and the useandaddressMuslims(myownstraw-persons,unlesstheyarespecified, BritishMuslimCommunitybyAdam.K.Retrievaldate:June22nd,2007 constructed for descriptive convenience) here: I mean to address all Mus- Retrievedfrom:72.14.205.104 lims(andalsobutindirectlynon-Muslimsaswell).Particularly,howeverI 63The link below is to the article titled Anarchist Orientalism and the addressthoseMuslimswhohavenotyetembeddedandopenedthemselves BritishMuslimCommunitybyAdam.K.Retrievaldate:June22nd,2007 uptoanethicallyandpoliticallyorientedIslamtomeetourconditionsas Retrievedfrom:72.14.205.104 Muslimsinourpresentdayandage. 50 7 theWest,controlling2 Muslimsbylimitingfieldsofpossibility its blog forum. In their comments, the anarchist bloggers dis- forrevolutionaryrepresentationsoftheirsubjectivitiesisnow missedthepossibilityofMuslimanarchistsandthepossibility theonlyremainingfeasibleformofdiscipline,consideringthat of an anarchic interpretation of Islam and Islamic interpreta- the West cannot ex-communicate Muslims en masse to Guan- tionofanarchism,basingtheirviewsontheirhomogenization tanamoBay,Cuba,orthenotoriousAbuGhraibthathasbeen ofIslamandMuslims.Brain-FearandPJPwrite: renamedBaghdadCentralPrison3.ButthenIrhetoricallyask, what is the difference between being held between the four “Anyformofreligionisthoughtcontrol—Islamis wallsofaprisoncell,andthemanipulationofone’sidentityto sexistandhomophobic…Ifthey[Muslims]arese- thepointthatonecomestoresentoneself?.4 rious about anarchism, they would have dropped thesexistandhomophobicaspectsofthereligion 2Thereisaspecial,deliriousanddifferentrelationbetweenDisciplinary andControlsocieties.Indisciplinary:“we’resupposedtostartalloveragain andaccentuatedmorelibertarianaspectsofthere- eachtime…it’sanalogical…asyougofromschooltothebarracks,fromthe ligion”60 (ChrisR.,2009) barracks to the factory” (Deleuze, 1990: 178). Disciplinary societies adore relating between two confinements they have created, and using binaries, male/female, black/white or hetero/homo. That is, in order to define and A third anarchist blogger, ‘Burning-man’, also expresses a manageeveryoneallinaneffortatcharacterizingandgivingcharacterthe similar yet more direct critique towards what is described as complexitiesofwhatisreallystaticinlife.ButinControl,thevariousforms ‘Anarcho-Islam’;aneitherKoranicnoranarchicallyprovenfu- ofcontrolusedwanttojailusallthetimeusingtheseinseparablevariations digitally.AllthetimeinControl,thereareconstantlymodulatingconfine- sionofIslamandanarchism.Burning-man’scommentsdemon- ments,peopleandinstitutions,capableandwilling,identifyinganddiffer- strate the two misconceptions of the impossibility of an anar- entiating,pinpointingandmonitoring.Thisresultsinthecreationorbirth chicinterpretationofIslamandanIslamicinterpretationofan- ofusasmicro-fascists,“‘littlecommandcentres’proliferat[ing]everywhere, archismaswellastheimpossibilityoftheco-existenceofIslam makingcoaches,teachersandcopsalllittleMussolinis”(Deleuze&Guattari, andanarchisminasinglesubjectivity.Burning-manwrote: 1980: 279/228). In Control there is a system of: “Varying geometry, a lan- guagethat’sdigital”andthatcanbe,butisn’tnecessarilybinary(Deleuze, 1990:179).AndnowyouandIareneverfinishedwithanything—notbusi- ness,trainingormilitaryservicewithouthavingcoexistedwithmetastable “Anarcho-Islam is about the stupidest thing I’ve statesofasinglemodulationofcontrol;asortofuniversaltransmutationof ever heard of. Islam is about submission. Slave to everythingthatisaroundyouandI. Allahandallthatcrap.Ithasanextremelyrigidset 3Thenewprison,nowsupposedlya“humaneprison”,has“waterfoun- ofrulesandconductand,whilemoreenlightened tains, a freshly planted garden and a gym — complete with weights and sports’teamjerseysonthewalls”.Andisthissupposedtoeraseandrewrite than other monotheistic religions in a number of thehistoryofalltheatrociousmonstrositiesthathappenedinbetweenits importantways,itneverquitewentthroughany- prisonwallsbefore?Article:“AbuGhraibnowahumanprison,Iraqofficial thing like the Reformation. It is reactionary, pro- say”byArwaDamon.RetrievalDate:February22nd,2009.Retrievedfrom: capitalist, pro-slavery, imperialist and misogynist www.cnn.com 4‘What is the difference’ between a rage that destroys, exterminating, stranglingeverythinghumanpouredbetweenconcreteprisonwallsorin- 60ThelinkbelowistoChrisR.s’articletitledIslamandAnarchyjointo- ducingloss,manipulatingallyouwant,wearingthesubjectoutwithnoob- getherandBrain-FearandPJPs’misconception.Retrievaldate:October23rd, jectiveoroutofshearpleasureofwatching,withagrin,thesubjectwears 2008.Retrievedfrom:(74.125.95.104) 8 49 especially the poor and dispossessed, to see the Many scholars have contended that September 11th has re- struggle against injustice as being divinely sanc- sulted in the intensification of reductive imagery of Muslims. tioned. However, although Kharijites saw all be- As Jean Baudillard argues, “September 11th …is there first — lievers completely equal regardless of any social only then does its possibility and its causes catch up with it, differences, they believed that non-believers had throughallthe[binary]discoursesthatwillattempttoexplain norights,andcouldbekilled.Atleastonesectof it” (2005: 135), like heroes/villains, victims/perpetrators, inno- Kharajites, the Najdiyya, believed that if no suit- cent/evil,“enemies/futureallies”(Virilio&DerDian,1998:89), able [imam] was present in the community, then with us/against us, terrorists/oppressed, Fundamentalist/Ori- the position could be dispensed with. A strand of entalist.“TheUnitedStates’‘waronterror’”successfullybred MutazalitethoughtparalleledthatoftheNajdiyya: “a particular geopolitical terrain in the post-9/11 period,” en- if rulers inevitably became tyrants, then the only abling the blatant racism now being exercised on the bodies acceptable course of action was to stop installing of Western Muslims (Razack, 2008: 84). Now when Western- rulers”58 (Luxzenburg,2009). ers “speak of the ‘martyrs’, it is their way of Islamicizing the Japanese suicide attack[s]” (Virilio, 2002: 178) on Pearl Har- In addition to Luxzenburg’s article, but hardly as histori- bor.Butthesatirebehind9/11isnotonlythatitcreatedMus- cally and anthropologically informative and interrogative as limsasracializedenemytargets,butthatany‘other’remotely his, there is also Chris R.’s article Islam and Anarchy Join To- resembling, defending or supporting Muslims became a ter- gether. In the article, Chris R. also acknowledges resonances rorist or a co-conspirator of terror as well. In the article 9/ betweenIslamandanarchism.Hewrites: 11 Violence ‘stalks UK Sikhs’ (2004), published on the British “ISLAM and the LIBERTARIAN SOCIAL struggle are, in no way, opposed, but rather have an am- and tears his and her own identity out; to make them resent and despise thevinethatmakesthemdifferent.Thisisnottoinsinuate—nodifference ple nexus that joins them together. To that end, —betweenaliteralconcreteasylumwallasAbuGhraib,butanemphasis brothers and sisters, know that we are not differ- thatthegreatesttraumas,therealasylums,areengrainedaswallswithin. ent,wearelikeyouandhavethesameobjectives, ThisviewisinlinewithShereneRazack’sargument.Thatis,thatWestern bringing awareness to social struggles…in reality Muslims,asShereneRazackargues,echoingEtienneBalibar,areclearlya ISLAM is pureness, love, peace, social awareness stigmatizedgroup,barricadedandinternallywalledbytherepresentations OrientalismandFundamentalism:“qualitatively‘deterritorialized’,asGilles andmore”59 (ChrisR.,2009) Deleuzewouldsay,inanintensiveratherthanextensivesense;they‘live’ ontheedgeofthecityunderpermanentthreatofelimination;butalso,con- Nevertheless, and in spite of the article’s positive view- versely,theyliveandareperceivedas‘nomads’,evenwhentheyarefixed point(s)onIslamandanarchism,anarchistbloggerslike‘Brain- intheirhomelands,thatis,theirmereexistence,theirquality,theirmove- Fear’ and ‘PJP’ responded negatively to the article through ments,theirvirtualclaimsofrightsandcitizenshipareperceivedasathreat for[Western]‘civilization’(Balibar,2003:125–130;Razack,2008:84–85).Be- 58ThelinkbelowistoEricvanLuxzenburg’sarticletitledMuslimAnar- causeofthedichotomousrepresentations,WesternMuslims’subjectivities chism.Retrievaldate:January22nd,2009.Retrievedfrom:knol.google.com# havebeen“markedfordying”(Razak,2008:85),“subjectedtoconditionsof 59ThelinkbelowistoChrisR.s’articletitledIslamandAnarchyjointo- life[,unworthyofthefullbenefitsofcitizenship,tantamountto]conferring gether.Retrievaldate:October23rd,2008..Retrievedfrom:74.125.95.104 onthemthestatusofthelivingdead”(Mbembe,2003:40). 48 9 Broadcasting Corporation’s website, Jagdeesh Singh, a mem- lam (Caliphate period) and Hyper-anarchical Is- ber of the Sikh Community Action Network in Britain, noted lam (Post-Caliphate period)]…Within each cate- that“racialassaultsonBritain’sSikhcommunityhavebecome gory further distinctions can be made based on ‘fashionable’ since the 11th September attacks,”5 with “racist qualitativedevelopments”(Fiscella,2009). abusers…shout[ing] ‘Bin Laden’ at Sikh men because of their beardsandturbans”.6Singh,himselfavictim,notjustofaracial Fiscella’s identification of the preliminary parameters of Is- assaultasaresultofacaseofmistakenidentity,butalsoofthe lamic anarchism as a discourse, affirms my contention that generalclimateof9/11,isnowseenasaco-conspiratorofter- Anarca-Islam does have a theoretical and pragmatic role to ror. In this sense, 9/11 has caused the confusion of others as play in terms of its contribution to anarchism and Islamic- Muslims, legitimizing violence not only on Muslims but ‘the anarchism as discourses as well as the newest social move- generalizedother’aswell. ments. Beyondgeneralities,andalthoughtheserepresentationscan be seen as abstractions, they can be brought closer home to 3. Review of the Movement Literature demonstratetheirexistenceonaneverydaylevelthroughthe specific example of racist, Islamaphobic incidents at Queen’s Non-academic, movement articles and blogs reaffirm that University,Kingston,Canadain2008–2009.InlateSeptember thereisnomonolithicIslamandthattherehavebeenhistorical, 2008, as Jane Switzer reported in the article Muslim Student anti-authoritarian movements within Islam resonating with Targeted in Racist Incidents (2008) of the Queen’s Journal, the anarchism.Nevertheless,thesamearticlesandblogsalsopara- Queen’sMuslimStudentAssociation’s(QUMSA)prayerspace doxicallyreproducethetwomisconceptionsofIslamandMus- was barraged by multiple “anti-Islamic crimes”.7 Crimes that limsthatIdiscussedearlier.InMuslimAnarchism,Luxzenburg startedwithadvertisedslogansspanningamasscondemnation writesofanti-authoritarianresonancesbetweenIslamandan- of Muslims to death (“all Queen’s Muslims should die,”8 the archismandacknowledgestheexistenceofmultiplestrandsof graffiti said) to the “breaking in, [and the] theft of charitable Islamaswell.Luxzenburgwrites: “Thefirstrecordedstrandofanti-authoritarianIs- 5Article titled “9/11 violence ‘stalks UK Sikhs” courtesy of the British lamdatesallthewaybacktothedeathofthethird Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Retrieval date: February 14th 2009. Re- [Caliph] Uthmān ibn ‘Affān. They had a disagree- trievedfrom:74.125.95.132 mentaboutwhoshouldsucceedhimastheleader 6Article titled “9/11 violence ‘stalks UK Sikhs” courtesy of the British ofMuslims,resultinginthe[Shia]—[Sunni]split. Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Retrieval date: February 14th 2009. Re- Therewasathirdgroup,however,the[Kharijites], trievedfrom:74.125.95.132 7ArticlefromTheQueen’sJournal;“MuslimStudentTargetedinRacist who opposed both the Sunni and Shia sects, and Incidents”.Retrievedon:October6th,2008. claimed that any qualified Muslim could be an Retrievedfrom:www.queensjournal.ca Imam. They held that all people were individu- 8ArticlefromTheQueen’sJournal;“MuslimStudentTargetedinRacist Incidents”.Retrievedon:October6th,2008. ally responsible for the good or evil of their acts. Retrievedfrom:www.queensjournal.ca They challenged all authority and encouraged all, 10 47