Riad Alarian

When all is said and done, we seem to be little more than a disgruntled audience to the spectacle of mass death, unable to find a way to thwart the war machine we are all complicit in.

Bushnell knew these facts; the point of his macabre act was to show us the limits of protest as a strategy of dissent in the face of incorrigible power.

If we read his act as an expression of the message, “watch this—nothing will change,” then he was, sadly and disturbingly, absolutely right.

(2) Our ruling class complicitly and complacently watched Palestinian bodies burn every day, and largely ignored the many protests calling for an end to the genocide and our government’s involvement in it.

(1) The entire world was already watching the genocide transpire online in real time daily; there was no shortage of pubic “awareness” about what was happening to the Palestinian people in Gaza.

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:

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.

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.

Issue 4: Community & Crisis Our final issue of the year focuses on questions of community, crisis, and the tensions in between.

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.

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.

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.

The Burdens of Neoliberalism with William Barylo Episode 12 of the Protean View podcast

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

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-...

Episode 11 of the Protean View podcast: Dilemmas of Authenticity with Zaid Adhami

Two podcast episodes in a single month!
Pleased to share Episode 11 of @proteanview.muftah.org: Dilemmas of Authenticity, in which @alarian.muftah.org and I speak with Zaid Adhami.
URLs in replies.

This incredibly moving and haunting account of the Gaza genocide by a 19-year-old survivor in @thenation.com is a must-read. He was just 17 when the genocide started.

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.

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 👇

The Politics of Analytic Philosophy with Christoph Schuringa Episode 10 of the Protean View podcast

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 release of our latest episode today marks a modest milestone for Protean View––our tenth episode! Keeping the show running at a consistent pace is a challenge, but we're excited for what's ahead. We hope you're enjoying our content. Thank you for your support ✌️

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.

The Politics of Analytic Philosophy with Christoph Schuringa Episode 10 of the Protean View podcast

We 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.

Thanks Thomas, very good points.

Issue 3: Authenticity What does it mean to be authentic in our politics, within systems of power, and in acts of resistance? How is “authenticity” claimed, challenged, or co-opted?

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.

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.

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.

Commitment in the Gray Many praise doubt as a critical virtue—but what happens when skepticism becomes an excuse to waver in the face of injustice? As Gaza burns, intellectual ambivalence becomes a mask for moral evasion.

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.

Religion and the American Border with Elizabeth Shakman Hurd Episode 9 of the Protean View podcast

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

Really enjoyed this conversation, don't miss it

The Body is Never Just Flesh | Center for the Study of World Religions What actually severed modern clinical practice from older ways of knowing was state power. In 1873, German-trained Nagayo Sensai established the Bureau of Medical Affairs, launching a biopolitical, hy...

Some of you might get a kick out of this short research note I wrote for Harvard’s CSWR: “The Body is Never Just Flesh.” about rival medical epistemologies, spectral anatomies, & the contested meaning of dissection in Edo-Meiji Japan. Enjoy! cswr.hds.harvard.edu/news/2025/05...

Superstition and the Secular with Jason Ānanda Josephson Storm Episode 8 of the Protean View podcast

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...

Don't miss this, with @profstorm.bsky.social!

Women in the Quran with Karen Bauer and Feras Hamza Episode 7 of the Protean View podcast

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...

In our country today, we have to endure the circulation of genocidal statements like this as we simultaneously watch college students get caged—indefinitely and without charge—for opposing genocide.

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!