If I can express my preference as a reader, please do write the islamic topics! Do not get me wrong, I would love to read all of it, but there is LOT of stuff on Russia or European cultural malaise. But your perspective on Islam as a somewhat of an insider is trully super interesting. People do not understand Islam at all and there is a lot of projection.
Thanks man! I understood that there was a niche to fill so I will go. The issue is the content usually gets stale once you go beyond the basics (Jihad/Salafism etc) and there is always a risk of ending up audience captured by the subject which is something I want to avoid
I am fired 💪 and this year I dealt well with winter depression.
Lets just pray that a thick big tiddies woman doesnt fall in my lap and I will probably churn half of these, with the Immaterial theory ones in the end of the spring.
I threw these ideas if people are also interested on developping their own takes on them which would be an enriching experience for all.
2. I am as of now stuck in french rural areas where it is hard to make any friendship. I work a fulltime job as a programmer and recently broke up which is why I am much more active lately. I dont like videogames and spent most time either at sports or reading/writing.
A very ambitious list. Inshallah you will get through half of it by next winter. DM me if you want to collab on the Zionism piece, I have an idea or three.
I've only skimmed this (will read properly later), but regarding "Russia as a misunderstood country": do keep in mind that things are on an upward trajectory in Russia. Maybe not great, but incomparably better than during the Yeltsin years, which is one reason why Putin is so popular in Russia itself. BTW, have you read Emmanuel Todd's book ("La Défaite de l'Occident")? It may be worth reading before you write about Russia.
I understand that, and I also understand how horrific the 90s were for Russia which is why Putin is so loved by a whole generation. He appeared (and managed) Russia into a better situation than it is.
I have learnt either through reading or through interacting with Russians about the recent history of their lands. What I mean by it is misunderstood is that outside Moscow/StP and other nice cities, Russia is an objective shithole and a lot of metrics are to support that.
The upward trajectory is reserved for a small % of society and a tenous middle class which is now suffering the consequences of the War.
Also no. I have a weird relationship to Todd. I love his work on family structures but outside that he is a simp for Putin (and 3rd world authoritarians) which biases a lot of his more recent work.
Quick Google search: Russian population size is 144M. Moscow metropolitan area: over 20M. StP metropolitan area: over 6.4M. So, just those two together give you ~27M, i.e. ~19% of the total. Add a few more "nice cities," and you'll get to something like 30%, with things generally improving, even if the most privileged may be hurting due to sanctions. Overall, nothing to be scoffed at. Plus, as per Todd, biological indicators such as infant mortality are improving in Russia, and on some of them, Russia has now surpassed some of the Western countries (seriously, do read Todd's book if you haven't already). Now, no doubt there are "shitholes" in Russia, but you'll see plenty of those in the West, too (the Rust Belt comes to mind), to say nothing of the former Eastern Block (minus Russia). And upward vs. downward trajectory matters. 30 years ago, China was an objective "shithole." It isn't anymore. It really, truly isn't.
Which isn't to say you're necessarily wrong about Western right-wingers and their (mis)understanding of Russia. As always, that has more to do with Western right-wingers than it does with Russia.
Ok you convinced me, I will see the arguments of Todd. Maybe I will do a review on his book before the Russia article.
Btw in general I would compare Russia to Europe not America. While we have some semi-rust belts we dont have the relative/absolute poverty existing in Russia which is where my points come from.
I'm not saying you're wrong, but do pay attention to the trajectories. The W.Europe-Russia gap was gigantic in ~1990. It's still there, but it's a lot narrower than it used to be. Europe is in serious trouble. I worry it's heading for a Soviet- or Yugoslav-type cliff, and I do not believe this to be the case with Russia. Interestingly, someone asked Peter Turchin (do you know his work?) about this on his 'stack, and he said he thought Russia was in the early stages of an integrative cycle.
Basically, the idea is that complex societies go through cycles, usually a couple of centuries long, where cohesion increases (integrative phase), then plateaus, then decreases (disintegrative phase), and then you start all over again. The disintegrative phase is driven by elite overproduction and popular immiseration. Anyway, this is Peter Turchin's stuff, so you can look into his work if you like.
I won’t pretend to be a fan of Islam but I do think the religion serves to fill a void in MENA and South Asia which secular forces have failed to do. Secular powers need to build strong networks of support, education and job opportunities which can compete with Muslim counterparts like the formal Muslim Brotherhood or the informal network of mosques, madrassas, businesses, etc. which exists in the Muslim world. China’s victory over Uyghur Islamism came from opening factories and schools as much as it did from harsh treatment.
I hadn’t heard of a modern Christianization of North Africa and would be very interested in a source on that. In my own (admittedly anecdotal) experience with the Algerian diaspora they are polite towards peoples of other faiths but very firmly Muslim.
All and any criticism I give Islam will come from a place of improving it and not in the intention of becoming a capo by peddling anti-Islam speech propaganda to people who want to find an excuse to dislike it. As such I do not believe it should (or could) be replaced with a secular force because they introduce more issues than they solve, the current issues of Islam (imo) actually come from unsuccessful secularization and intellectual modernization applied into the faulty areas of the religion thus turning some normal ills into over-retarded woes (no brozzer, dont take a picture it is haram because of Hadith https://sunnah.com/riyadussalihin:1680 ). This might sound as a joke but truly the Saudi Mufti banned pics, and there are stories of tearful mothers who lost sons crying because they burn the pics https://abdurrahman.org/2010/09/24/family-phtographs-for-the-sake-of-remembrance/
The Muslim Brotherhood is deeply Hegelian once you get the logic of what they say.
It is a weird phenomenon, I think being South Asian you will understand the phenomenon. Some people have a sort of internalized cultural inferiority towards their former colonizers. The reactions in the extremes are that it expresses itself in ultra-nationalism (Hindutva, Pakistani retardedness etc) but sometimes it expresses itself in putting down your own culture and fetishizing the foreign one as more civilized, advanced and cultured. As an after effect of this there is also some who wholesaly see Islam as a caveman religion while Christianity as an enlightened one. There is also a higher number of converts amongst the anti-arab, pro-Amazigh people and in Algeria it seems notable amongst Kabyles. Estimation is 30k-100k and growing which should not exist and is worrying if you are an imam. True Numbers will be unknown because apostasy is forbidden (by law, and in some cases by death) in Islamic countries so it is all hush hush https://www.europe1.fr/societe/persecution-des-chretiens-dans-le-monde-en-algerie-le-pays-reprime-les-conversions-au-christianisme-240635
At the risk of sounding like a tankie, I am skeptical of US claims on a sensitive Chinese internal affair. The fact that (barring Turkey) the major Muslim powers (Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Qatar, Iran, etc.) have not condemned or criticized the Chinese approach to extremism amongst Uyghurs suggests to me the matter is not as severe as American sources suggest. Chinese propaganda is of course propaganda, but I will note that the increased development in Xinjiang, and the drop in terror attacks in China at large, is hard to fake.
As far as the picture thing goes, I don’t pretend to be an Islamic scholar but if that is what the Hadith says (and assuming it is Sahih) then I suppose that is what the Islamic law regarding pictures is. I don’t see much space to criticize the mufti in question, at least within the framework of fiqh.
I would be skeptical too but Arab countries are not known for caring for other muslims particularly, even less when its a big trading bloc and investor. A lot of the Palestine and anti-American rhetoric is via Israel/Palestine issue, which is central but when muslims are murdered elsewhere they seem to care little (Chechen wars, Rohingya, Sudan etc).
The issue with the fatwa is that it was later reversed, and it doesnt figure amongst the top 10 most absurd one. This goes to show how weak or absurd fiqh can be (because of the bid’a principle) and how Hadith is but a rubber you can turn and adapt to everything.
If I can express my preference as a reader, please do write the islamic topics! Do not get me wrong, I would love to read all of it, but there is LOT of stuff on Russia or European cultural malaise. But your perspective on Islam as a somewhat of an insider is trully super interesting. People do not understand Islam at all and there is a lot of projection.
Thanks man! I understood that there was a niche to fill so I will go. The issue is the content usually gets stale once you go beyond the basics (Jihad/Salafism etc) and there is always a risk of ending up audience captured by the subject which is something I want to avoid
Dude, it will be amazing if you write up half of these ideas. Your perspective is interesting and valuable.
I am fired 💪 and this year I dealt well with winter depression.
Lets just pray that a thick big tiddies woman doesnt fall in my lap and I will probably churn half of these, with the Immaterial theory ones in the end of the spring.
I threw these ideas if people are also interested on developping their own takes on them which would be an enriching experience for all.
immaterial sounds really interesting.
1. Can you write about the different Islamic diasporas in Europe?
I see a lot of Pakistanis and Bangladeshis in Europe doing blue collar work or just selling trinkets. Don’t know how these guys reached there.
2. Do you have a day job or are you a student?
How do you find the time to write and engage on Substack.
1. Interesting
2. I am as of now stuck in french rural areas where it is hard to make any friendship. I work a fulltime job as a programmer and recently broke up which is why I am much more active lately. I dont like videogames and spent most time either at sports or reading/writing.
A very ambitious list. Inshallah you will get through half of it by next winter. DM me if you want to collab on the Zionism piece, I have an idea or three.
Hopefully, interested for sure in the Zionism one.
I read this all in breathless excitement. Can't wait for your write ups - lots of macro insight here, which is always in short supply..
That is very nice to hear!
Lets hope the writings are up to your expectations
Hell yeah
I've only skimmed this (will read properly later), but regarding "Russia as a misunderstood country": do keep in mind that things are on an upward trajectory in Russia. Maybe not great, but incomparably better than during the Yeltsin years, which is one reason why Putin is so popular in Russia itself. BTW, have you read Emmanuel Todd's book ("La Défaite de l'Occident")? It may be worth reading before you write about Russia.
I understand that, and I also understand how horrific the 90s were for Russia which is why Putin is so loved by a whole generation. He appeared (and managed) Russia into a better situation than it is.
I have learnt either through reading or through interacting with Russians about the recent history of their lands. What I mean by it is misunderstood is that outside Moscow/StP and other nice cities, Russia is an objective shithole and a lot of metrics are to support that.
The upward trajectory is reserved for a small % of society and a tenous middle class which is now suffering the consequences of the War.
Also no. I have a weird relationship to Todd. I love his work on family structures but outside that he is a simp for Putin (and 3rd world authoritarians) which biases a lot of his more recent work.
Quick Google search: Russian population size is 144M. Moscow metropolitan area: over 20M. StP metropolitan area: over 6.4M. So, just those two together give you ~27M, i.e. ~19% of the total. Add a few more "nice cities," and you'll get to something like 30%, with things generally improving, even if the most privileged may be hurting due to sanctions. Overall, nothing to be scoffed at. Plus, as per Todd, biological indicators such as infant mortality are improving in Russia, and on some of them, Russia has now surpassed some of the Western countries (seriously, do read Todd's book if you haven't already). Now, no doubt there are "shitholes" in Russia, but you'll see plenty of those in the West, too (the Rust Belt comes to mind), to say nothing of the former Eastern Block (minus Russia). And upward vs. downward trajectory matters. 30 years ago, China was an objective "shithole." It isn't anymore. It really, truly isn't.
Which isn't to say you're necessarily wrong about Western right-wingers and their (mis)understanding of Russia. As always, that has more to do with Western right-wingers than it does with Russia.
Ok you convinced me, I will see the arguments of Todd. Maybe I will do a review on his book before the Russia article.
Btw in general I would compare Russia to Europe not America. While we have some semi-rust belts we dont have the relative/absolute poverty existing in Russia which is where my points come from.
I'm not saying you're wrong, but do pay attention to the trajectories. The W.Europe-Russia gap was gigantic in ~1990. It's still there, but it's a lot narrower than it used to be. Europe is in serious trouble. I worry it's heading for a Soviet- or Yugoslav-type cliff, and I do not believe this to be the case with Russia. Interestingly, someone asked Peter Turchin (do you know his work?) about this on his 'stack, and he said he thought Russia was in the early stages of an integrative cycle.
What is an "integrative cycle"?
Basically, the idea is that complex societies go through cycles, usually a couple of centuries long, where cohesion increases (integrative phase), then plateaus, then decreases (disintegrative phase), and then you start all over again. The disintegrative phase is driven by elite overproduction and popular immiseration. Anyway, this is Peter Turchin's stuff, so you can look into his work if you like.
I won’t pretend to be a fan of Islam but I do think the religion serves to fill a void in MENA and South Asia which secular forces have failed to do. Secular powers need to build strong networks of support, education and job opportunities which can compete with Muslim counterparts like the formal Muslim Brotherhood or the informal network of mosques, madrassas, businesses, etc. which exists in the Muslim world. China’s victory over Uyghur Islamism came from opening factories and schools as much as it did from harsh treatment.
I hadn’t heard of a modern Christianization of North Africa and would be very interested in a source on that. In my own (admittedly anecdotal) experience with the Algerian diaspora they are polite towards peoples of other faiths but very firmly Muslim.
All and any criticism I give Islam will come from a place of improving it and not in the intention of becoming a capo by peddling anti-Islam speech propaganda to people who want to find an excuse to dislike it. As such I do not believe it should (or could) be replaced with a secular force because they introduce more issues than they solve, the current issues of Islam (imo) actually come from unsuccessful secularization and intellectual modernization applied into the faulty areas of the religion thus turning some normal ills into over-retarded woes (no brozzer, dont take a picture it is haram because of Hadith https://sunnah.com/riyadussalihin:1680 ). This might sound as a joke but truly the Saudi Mufti banned pics, and there are stories of tearful mothers who lost sons crying because they burn the pics https://abdurrahman.org/2010/09/24/family-phtographs-for-the-sake-of-remembrance/
The Muslim Brotherhood is deeply Hegelian once you get the logic of what they say.
Also Uyghur Islamism was caused and solved by the same Han imperialism and "re-education camps" as well as cultural colonization. One can have his opinions on if it is good, bad or else but they are using techniques and methods that even the Brittish or French did not apply in their colonies, so the suppression should not be accounted as opening factories and jobs, more here https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/NIC-Unclassified-Report-Uyghur-Genocide-Concentrated-Reeducation-Camps-China-Oct2024.pdf.
It is a weird phenomenon, I think being South Asian you will understand the phenomenon. Some people have a sort of internalized cultural inferiority towards their former colonizers. The reactions in the extremes are that it expresses itself in ultra-nationalism (Hindutva, Pakistani retardedness etc) but sometimes it expresses itself in putting down your own culture and fetishizing the foreign one as more civilized, advanced and cultured. As an after effect of this there is also some who wholesaly see Islam as a caveman religion while Christianity as an enlightened one. There is also a higher number of converts amongst the anti-arab, pro-Amazigh people and in Algeria it seems notable amongst Kabyles. Estimation is 30k-100k and growing which should not exist and is worrying if you are an imam. True Numbers will be unknown because apostasy is forbidden (by law, and in some cases by death) in Islamic countries so it is all hush hush https://www.europe1.fr/societe/persecution-des-chretiens-dans-le-monde-en-algerie-le-pays-reprime-les-conversions-au-christianisme-240635
At the risk of sounding like a tankie, I am skeptical of US claims on a sensitive Chinese internal affair. The fact that (barring Turkey) the major Muslim powers (Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Qatar, Iran, etc.) have not condemned or criticized the Chinese approach to extremism amongst Uyghurs suggests to me the matter is not as severe as American sources suggest. Chinese propaganda is of course propaganda, but I will note that the increased development in Xinjiang, and the drop in terror attacks in China at large, is hard to fake.
As far as the picture thing goes, I don’t pretend to be an Islamic scholar but if that is what the Hadith says (and assuming it is Sahih) then I suppose that is what the Islamic law regarding pictures is. I don’t see much space to criticize the mufti in question, at least within the framework of fiqh.
I would be skeptical too but Arab countries are not known for caring for other muslims particularly, even less when its a big trading bloc and investor. A lot of the Palestine and anti-American rhetoric is via Israel/Palestine issue, which is central but when muslims are murdered elsewhere they seem to care little (Chechen wars, Rohingya, Sudan etc).
The issue with the fatwa is that it was later reversed, and it doesnt figure amongst the top 10 most absurd one. This goes to show how weak or absurd fiqh can be (because of the bid’a principle) and how Hadith is but a rubber you can turn and adapt to everything.
Very impressive. Subscribed!