Overview

As Europe goes astray, deeply conflicted about where it is both within and with the world, it does not know what it wants to know about, or do, with the racial subject. It is into this context of anxiety, and the Muslim subject as its most intense source, that I write Islamophobia. Islamophobia represents not merely a species of the racism constitutive of European modernity, but is rather symptomatic of deep contemporary transformations in (racist) power, knowledge and governance, propelled by technologies and economies of seemingly endless wars on/of terror. The Muslim, who is at once the terrifying object and dehumanised subject of race, is called to answer for Europe’s existential fear of relegation. But who, or rather what is s/he? How might the Muslim speak about the world, its past and unfolding terror(s)? Which questions must s/he answer, and which answers are deemed acceptable? Presenting a speculative theory of the (post)racial subject of Islamophobia, this book is an attempt to build an adequate vocabulary for analysing the complexities of racism today, its potential futurity, and (Muslim) techniques for its dismantling.

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9781538165072

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Can Muslims Think? is a deeply illuminating account of why Muslim identity has become so significant to the post-empire British imagination about self and other. In the process, Hafiz displays a mastery of philosophical and historical sources and teases out in compelling detail continuities and disjunctures in racial formation. The result is an essential guide for making sense of Islamophobia today as well as for confronting persistent and intertwined logics of racism and colonialism.--Aziz Rana, Cornell University Both refreshing and daring in its command of rich but often neglected theoretical repertoires, Can Muslims Think brings a striking freshness to the critique of Islamophobia's rotten hold on Europe's melancholic psyche. With timely originality, Hafiz places today's all-consuming Islamophobia squarely within the wider conditions of Europe's general decline. Hafiz poignantly shows that Europe's refusal to reconcile itself to a humbled sense of its place in the world not only renders Muslims a fetichised and brutalised object of revanchist fear and alarm, but also stunts the very ability of Europeans who believe themselves to be natives to realise an affirmative, humanist future. At stake in Can Muslims Think is nothing less than our collective ability to live humane lives once spared the violent and now anachronistic delusions of European grandeur, civilisation and cohesiveness.--Sivamohan Valluvan, University of Warwick Muneeb Hafiz has written a necessary book on Islamophobia, making sense of it in its proper time and place. That is, British Islamophobia is not just about Muslims per se, but about Britain coming to terms with its troubled past and uncertain future.--Tarek Younis, Middlesex University

Both refreshing and daring in its command of rich but often neglected theoretical repertoires, Can Muslims Think brings a striking freshness to the critique of Islamophobia's rotten hold on Europe's melancholic psyche. With timely originality, Hafiz places today's all-consuming Islamophobia squarely within the wider conditions of Europe's general decline. Hafiz poignantly shows that Europe's refusal to reconcile itself to a humbled sense of its place in the world not only renders Muslims a fetichised and brutalised object of revanchist fear and alarm, but also stunts the very ability of Europeans who believe themselves to be natives to realise an affirmative, humanist future. At stake in Can Muslims Think is nothing less than our collective ability to live humane lives once spared the violent and now anachronistic delusions of European grandeur, civilisation and cohesiveness. Can Muslims Think? is a deeply illuminating account of why Muslim identity has become so significant to the post-empire British imagination about self and other. In the process, Hafiz displays a mastery of philosophical and historical sources and teases out in compelling detail continuities and disjunctures in racial formation. The result is an essential guide for making sense of Islamophobia today as well as for confronting persistent and intertwined logics of racism and colonialism. Muneeb Hafiz has written a necessary book on Islamophobia, making sense of it in its proper time and place. That is, British Islamophobia is not just about Muslims per se, but about Britain coming to terms with its troubled past and uncertain future.

Both refreshing and daring in its command of rich but often neglected theoretical repertoires, Can Muslims Think brings a striking freshness to the critique of Islamophobia's rotten hold on Europe's melancholic psyche. With timely originality, Hafiz places today's all-consuming Islamophobia squarely within the wider conditions of Europe's general decline. Hafiz poignantly shows that Europe's refusal to reconcile itself to a humbled sense of its place in the world not only renders Muslims a fetichised and brutalised object of revanchist fear and alarm, but also stunts the very ability of Europeans who believe themselves to be natives to realise an affirmative, humanist future. At stake in Can Muslims Think is nothing less than our collective ability to live humane lives once spared the violent and now anachronistic delusions of European grandeur, civilisation and cohesiveness.--Sivamohan Valluvan, University of Warwick Can Muslims Think? is a deeply illuminating account of why Muslim identity has become so significant to the post-empire British imagination about self and other. In the process, Hafiz displays a mastery of philosophical and historical sources and teases out in compelling detail continuities and disjunctures in racial formation. The result is an essential guide for making sense of Islamophobia today as well as for confronting persistent and intertwined logics of racism and colonialism.--Aziz Rana, Richard and Lois Cole Professor of Law, Cornell University, author of The Two Faces of American Freedom Muneeb Hafiz has written a necessary book on Islamophobia, making sense of it in its proper time and place. That is, British Islamophobia is not just about Muslims per se, but about Britain coming to terms with its troubled past and uncertain future.--Tarek Younis, Middlesex University

Islamophobia, a pervasive and escalating phenomenon in Western Europe, is fueling a surge of nativist and anti-internationalist sentiment. This sentiment, deeply rooted in fear and misunderstanding, has profound implications for Muslim minorities, who often find themselves at the receiving end of systemic marginalization and exclusion. The rise of populist, anti-immigrant sentiment has been a significant driver of these developments. Populist movements, often characterized by their simplistic and reductionist narratives, have capitalized on economic insecurities and cultural anxieties to scapegoat Muslim minorities and other immigrant groups. This scapegoating serves to consolidate their political base and legitimize their exclusionary policies. The resulting marginalization of Muslim minorities, in turn, exacerbates social divisions and perpetuates a cycle of fear, mistrust, and hostility... Hafiz's work is both a call for a more inclusive and empathetic future and a critical examination of the structural and historical roots of Islamophobia. It is an indispensable read for anyone interested in race, religion, or identity in contemporary Europe, making a substantial contribution to the discourse on these topics. Both refreshing and daring in its command of rich but often neglected theoretical repertoires, Can Muslims Think brings a striking freshness to the critique of Islamophobia's rotten hold on Europe's melancholic psyche. With timely originality, Hafiz places today's all-consuming Islamophobia squarely within the wider conditions of Europe's general decline. Hafiz poignantly shows that Europe's refusal to reconcile itself to a humbled sense of its place in the world not only renders Muslims a fetichised and brutalised object of revanchist fear and alarm, but also stunts the very ability of Europeans who believe themselves to be natives to realise an affirmative, humanist future. At stake in Can Muslims Think is nothing less than our collective ability to live humane lives once spared the violent and now anachronistic delusions of European grandeur, civilisation and cohesiveness. Can Muslims Think? is a deeply illuminating account of why Muslim identity has become so significant to the post-empire British imagination about self and other. In the process, Hafiz displays a mastery of philosophical and historical sources and teases out in compelling detail continuities and disjunctures in racial formation. The result is an essential guide for making sense of Islamophobia today as well as for confronting persistent and intertwined logics of racism and colonialism. Muneeb Hafiz has written a necessary book on Islamophobia, making sense of it in its proper time and place. That is, British Islamophobia is not just about Muslims per se, but about Britain coming to terms with its troubled past and uncertain future.

Author Information

Muneeb Hafiz is Associate Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Lancaster University, UK. His research concerns the intersections between race, subjectivity and ecology in the structures and afterlives of European colonialism. He is currently co-editing a collection for Vernon Press entitled Body, Politics, and Nation: Intersections of Late Modernity.

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