Islam and Anarchism

 

Islam and Anarchism: Core Theses of Mohamed Abdou

Executive Summary

This document synthesizes the core arguments presented by scholar-activist Mohamed Abdou in an interview regarding his book, Islam and Anarchism: Relationships and Resonances. The central thesis posits that modern uprisings, such as those in Tahrir Square and Iran, consistently fail due to a lack of three essential revolutionary components: decolonized education, the construction of tangible alternative institutions, and the capacity for self-defense. Abdou argues that these movements are often united only by a negative goal (e.g., overthrowing a despot) and neglect to address the internalized "micro-fascisms" of patriarchy, racism, and nationalism.

Abdou proposes a decolonial framework as the only viable path to liberation, one that is materially grounded in land-back initiatives and solidarity with indigenous and Black struggles. He critiques the complicity of settlers—including Muslims and other migrants of color—in the ongoing violence of settler colonialism. Central to this project is a radical reinterpretation of Islam through a methodology termed "Anarchic Ijtihād," which uncovers inherently anti-authoritarian and anti-capitalist principles within the Qurʾān and Islamic tradition. Concepts such as Tawḥīd (divine oneness), Shura (mutual consultation), and Ummah (a non-territorial, multi-faith community) are presented as foundations for an anarchist polity. Finally, Abdou reclaims the concept of jihād as a multifaceted struggle, distinguishing it from qitāl (the act of fighting), which he argues is a necessary tactic of self-defense against the inherent violence of the state, capitalism, and colonialism.

Introduction: Biographical and Contextual Framework

The analysis is drawn from an interview with Mohamed Abdou, a North African-Egyptian Muslim anarchist, scholar-activist, and author. Abdou identifies as a Visiting Scholar at Cornell University and an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the American University of Cairo. His activist background is extensive, including involvement in post-Seattle 1999 anti-globalization movements, the 2011 Tahrir Square uprising, and solidarity work with the Zapatistas and indigenous struggles such as the Mohawks of Tyendinaga.

Abdou's work is profoundly shaped by his direct experiences in Tahrir, which he describes as a "triggering" yet formative event that exposed the critical flaws in contemporary revolutionary movements. His analysis critiques the Orientalist and often misleading coverage of such events by Western media while offering a framework for building sustainable, decolonial, and liberatory alternatives rooted in a synthesis of anarchist principles and Islamic traditions.

1. The Anatomy of Failed Revolutions: Lessons from Tahrir and Beyond

Abdou provides a sharp critique of modern uprisings, using the 2011 Tahrir Square events as a primary case study. He argues that their ultimate failure to produce lasting, systemic change stems from predictable and reproducible errors.

The Three Prerequisites for Revolution

Drawing lessons from movements like the Zapatistas, Abdou posits that any truly revolutionary movement requires three foundational pillars, all of which were absent in Tahrir:

1. Decolonized Education: The production of alternative knowledge—through books, oral histories, art, or zines—is necessary to replace the paradigms of "modern coloniality" and transform individuals internally. Abdou cites the Qurʾānic verse: "God does not change your people until they change in and of themselves."
2. Construction of Alternatives: The movement must actively build parallel institutions like egalitarian schools, hospitals, and free breakfast programs, akin to the work of the Black Panthers. These tangible alternatives provide the material basis for a new society.
3. Capacity for Self-Defense: Revolutionaries must be prepared to defend these alternative initiatives and communities from the inevitable violence of the state.

The "Negative Unity" of Uprisings

The millions who gathered in Tahrir were diverse, comprising anarchists, Marxists, the Muslim Brotherhood, Salafis, liberals, and Nasserites. However, their unity was superficial and negative, centered on the slogan "Down with the regicide, Mubarak!" There were no substantive discussions about a shared future, an alternative project, or the ethics of disagreement. Abdou notes a failure to confront the "regicide that exists inside each and every single one of us," such as internalized sexual harassment, anti-Blackness, and patriarchy. This lack of a positive, unifying vision meant that once the immediate goal was achieved, the coalition fragmented.

Critique of Western Media Narratives

Abdou forcefully refutes the dominant Western portrayals of the Tahrir uprising:

• The "Nonviolent Revolution" Myth: He calls this narrative "desecrating and insulting" to the over 1,000 martyrs who died. The burning of 99 police stations and direct confrontations with security forces using live ammunition underscore the violent reality of the struggle.
• The "Twitter Revolution" Myth: This Orientalist depiction ignores the grassroots organizing that occurred after the internet was cut. Activists went door-to-door, established community councils, and saw women "manning" checkpoints, demonstrating a breakdown of traditional gender roles.

The Geopolitical Quagmire and False Binaries

When analyzing the 2022 uprisings in Iran, Abdou emphasizes the complex geopolitical context. He points to the framing of events within a false binary: on one side, the "tyrannical State repression" of the Iranian regime, and on the other, the co-optation of the movement by forces promoting "Euro-American hetero-patriarchy, homo-nationalism, pink-washing islamophobia." He highlights the danger of figures like Masih Alinejad, who supports Zionism and praises US officials like Mike Pompeo, being positioned by Western media as leaders of the uprising. This dynamic mirrors the situation in Syria, where a revolutionary impulse was undermined by regional powers (Saudi Arabia, Turkey) and foreign interests (Israel, US), threatening to fracture the country along sectarian lines.

2. Decolonization as the Foundational Struggle

For Abdou, decolonization is not a metaphor but a material, land-based project that serves as the essential precondition for any meaningful liberation.

Beyond Metaphor: Land, Materiality, and the "Master's Tools"

Citing Audre Lorde, Abdou argues, "The masters tools will never dismantle the masters house." The anti-colonial movements of the 1950s and 60s are critiqued for failing to heed this warning; by internalizing the nation-state model, they merely reproduced colonial hierarchies and violence. True decolonization requires a complete divestment from colonial institutions—including the academy, law, and governance—and a return to indigenous traditions to establish new forms of life. The ultimate goal is the material return of land to its proper stewards.

The Critique of Settler Colonialism and Complicity

A core argument is the inescapable complicity of all non-indigenous people living in settler colonies like the US and Canada. This includes migrant settlers of color and Muslims.

• The Hypocrisy of Diasporic Activism: Abdou challenges the cognitive dissonance of Muslims chanting "Free, Free Palestine!" on stolen indigenous land. He states, "The road to Jerusalem runs through the Grand River and vice versa." Benefiting from the privileges of a settler state is tantamount to being a Zionist on Turtle Island.
• The Failure of Western Anarchism: He criticizes white anarchists who fetishize faraway struggles like Rojava, suggesting it is a way to avoid confronting "the monster in the mirror"—their own complicity in ongoing indigenous genocide and the "Afterlife of Slavery" in North America. Settlers have a "double responsibility" to confront both imperialism abroad and settler colonialism at home.

The Role of Diasporic Communities and Indigenous Solidarity

Abdou calls for diasporic communities—Muslims, Jews, and descendants of the Atlantic slave trade—to forge deep, material solidarity with indigenous movements. This requires:

• Learning and Relationship-Building: Moving beyond rhetoric to understand the specific histories, treaties, and territories of the lands they inhabit.
• Divesting from the State: Rejecting the "American Dream" and the illusion of changing the system from within through representational politics (e.g., Ilhan Omar, AOC).
• Building on the Land: Creating alternative, abolitionist, Land Back projects alongside indigenous communities to develop horizontalist forms of governance.

3. Anarchic Islam: Reclaiming an Anti-Authoritarian Tradition

Abdou's central project is to demonstrate that Islam, when stripped of centuries of misinterpretation and colonial influence, contains a robust and coherent anarchistic core.

The Methodology of "Anarchic Ijtihād"

Abdou employs "Anarchic Ijtihād" (anarchic independent reasoning) as a methodology to provide a "reading of the Qurʾān for the oppressed." This approach draws not only on the Qurʾān and Sunnah (prophetic practice) but also on 1,443 years of Islamic culture (thaqafa), from astronomy to chemistry, to build a "pluriverse." It challenges the myth that the "door to ijtihād" was closed, asserting that interpretation is a right given by God.

Deconstructing Colonial Language: Islam, Dawla, Anarchy

A primary symptom of colonization is the theft of language and meaning. Abdou points to critical mistranslations that distort Islamic concepts to fit authoritarian frameworks:

Term	Common Misinterpretation	Original Anarchic Meaning
Islam	"Submission" (implying a docile state)	Comes from salima: "to willfully deliver" based on intellect and choice. The Arabic for submission is khudhu.
Dawla	"State" (a fixed, centralized entity)	From a root meaning "to rotate" or "change." Denotes a temporary, decentralized mode of governance.
Anarchy	Alfawdawia ("chaos," "disorder")	La sultawiya ("without authority")

Core Anti-Authoritarian Concepts in the Qurʾān

Abdou identifies several key concepts in the Qurʾān that form the basis of a non-authoritarian Islamic polity.

Concept	Description and Qurʾānic Basis
Tawḥīd	Oneness of God. The belief that only God is worthy of worship implies that no earthly power—be it a nation, state, leader, or money—should be deified. It is a radical rejection of all forms of mastery.
Ash-Shura	Mutual Consultation. An entire chapter of the Qurʾān is dedicated to this principle, which aligns directly with anarchist practices of collective decision-making.
Ijmaa	Community Consensus. The principle that the community should arrive at decisions together, reinforcing horizontalist governance.
Maslaha	Collective Welfare. The idea that decisions must be made in the best interest of the entire community, balancing individual autonomy with collective good.

Core Anti-Capitalist Tenets in Islam

The Islamic tradition also contains powerful critiques of and alternatives to capitalism.

Concept	Description
Property	All property, including human bodies and natural resources, belongs to God. Humans are merely caretakers (khalifs) and cannot engage in private ownership of resources like water.
Interest (Riba)	The charging of interest, a primary pillar of capitalism, is strictly forbidden.
Debt Forgiveness	The Qurʾān commands the cancellation and forgiveness of debt.
Solidarity (Sadaqa)	Often translated as "charity," sadaqa is framed as the right of the poor over the rich. It is to be given directly, face-to-face, to build affinity and solidarity.
Shared Partnership	Models like mudārabah and mashārakah promote cooperative, shared-risk economic relationships instead of parasitic lending.

The Anarchist Ummah: A Pluriversal, Multi-Faith Community

Abdou reclaims the concept of Ummah from its modern association with a nation-state. He points to the Prophet Muhammad's first polity, founded on the Medina Charter, which was a multi-faith community including Jews, Christians, and polytheists. This original Ummah was a non-territorial concept bound not by a single faith or identity, but by shared "ethical, political, social justice responsibilities." It represents a model for a porous, expanding community of communities.

4. The Question of Violence: Jihād and Revolutionary Self-Defense

Abdou directly confronts the weaponized term jihād and articulates a Fanonian understanding of violence as a necessary component of decolonization.

Redefining Jihād: Beyond "Holy War"

• Meaning: Jihād literally means "to struggle." The concept of "holy war" (harb muqadasa) does not exist in the Arabic lexicon or Islamic tradition.
• Forms of Jihād:
  • Greater Jihād (jihād al-akbar): The internal struggle against one's own "inner micro-fascisms," privileges, and ego.
  • Lesser Jihād: External struggles, such as writing a book, feeding one's children, or communicating complex ideas.

Qitāl: The Rules and Ethics of Self-Defense

The specific Qurʾānic term for battle or war is qitāl. It is permitted only under strict conditions of self-defense after a community has suffered intense persecution. The rules of engagement include:

• No desecration of land (e.g., destroying trees without strategic purpose).
• No destruction of property.
• Protection for non-combatants, specifically women, children, and the elderly.

A Fanonian Critique of Non-Violence

Abdou argues that the state and its liberal apologists enforce a monopoly on the definition of violence, rendering invisible the daily violence of racism, sexism, classism, and colonialism. He is deeply critical of the fetishization of non-violence, quoting Gandhi: "if there’s violence in our hearts, that it’s better to be violent than to don the cloak of non-violence to cover for our impotence." He views calls for non-violence from the oppressor as a tool to maintain power and dismisses state-sanctioned protest (e.g., acquiring permits) as a farce.

Violence as a Tactic, Not a Strategy

While asserting the absolute right to self-defense by "any means necessary," Abdou is clear that violence is a tactic, not a strategy. A revolutionary movement must first focus on building the alternatives—the communities, schools, and food systems—that are worthy of defending. To engage in armed struggle without this foundation is strategically "stupid." The goal is not wanton violence but the principled defense of a newly created world.

5. Building the Alternative: Hospitality, Ethics, and Community

The final pillar of Abdou's framework centers on the relational work required to build durable, liberatory communities. He critiques the Left for being "really good at tearing each other apart" and proposes an alternative rooted in Islamic ethics.

The Ethics of Disagreement and Hospitality

Abdou advocates for the revival of two key Islamic ethical frameworks:

• Usul al-ikhtlaf: The ethics and politics of disagreement, which provide tools for conflict resolution based on understanding that disagreements arise from ego, ideology, and ignorance.
• Usul al-dhiyafa: The ethics of hospitality, which involves creating the time and space for genuine connection. Hospitality is an act of surrendering power, where the guest becomes the "owner of the home," and connection is built through shared presence, food, and gestures of love, not compulsion.

Beyond Identity Politics to Ethical-Political Commitments

Labels like "queer," "anarchist," or "Muslim" mean nothing on their own. Abdou insists on defining oneself by the "ethical political commitments" that inform those identities. The key question is not what you are, but what social justice commitments you embody. This shifts the focus from static identity categories to active, lived principles.

The Imperative of Investment in Relationships

True solidarity cannot be built through fleeting protest alliances. It requires deep, long-term investment in relationships. Abdou challenges anarchists who protested the Iraq War: "How many of them went to a mosque? How many of them picked up the Qurʾān? How many of them have cooked meals or broke bread with Muslims?" This investment is the patient, difficult work of creating trust and shared understanding, which is the only foundation upon which a revolutionary community can be built.