An interesting article on the celebrity ex-extremists the media have recently been parading in front of us; not only "Ed" Husain and Hassan Butt in the UK but Tawfik Hamid in the USA. As he points out, the alternatives to the radical world-view have been around for years, and were being advanced at precisely the time when these individuals were active in the radical or terrorist groups, a fact not readily acknowledged by the media who have suddenly discovered them now:
For the most part, however, this alternative discourse took the form of every day Muslims, like those that play cricket for their nations, who do comedy, and set up magazines and websites discussing the precise theological issues that Hamid and Butt didn't know how to address once, and wish to be spokesmen for now. I do take umbrage in the fact that back when these easily duped figures like Butt and Hussain and Hamid were agitating for Global Caliphates, my friends and I would confront them at various Islamic conventions and call them traitors to the Islamic tradition and yet now the WSJ and Observer are parading these figures around as talking heads, while not acknowledging the existent discourse among Muslim communities that challenged them previously.
Well, given the nature of market dynamics, as more and more of these 'products' appear, their claims are going to have to get more outlandish to attract any attention. It's all about supply and demand ;)
Great find! Eteraz really scratches the itch I had after reading Butt's interview. I'm glad Butt is back to reality but it doesn't mean he's got anything profound to teach the rest of us or that he's the best one to teach it.
Most people aren't very interested in islam or muslims except in when and why they might be going to try to kill nonmuslims. People who went some way down that path are more likely to have information of that kind that ordinary muslims. Apart from that, being an exfanatic might be a good career-move, rather as being an ex-communist was once.
Salaams Bro,
I have been checking out your site for years but have never commented on it but this Butt thing has made me really mad.
Eteraz's blog is great. Glad to see someone is going up against people like Butt. I just saw the newsnight interview on youtube - it made me crazy to think that he could say all of that without anyone disagreeing or putting another point of view.
Another good piece is on ummahpulse.co.uk
It cracked me up - it is good as well.
http://ummahpulse.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=145&Itemid=37
Wa alaikum assalam
Yahya