The Adnan Husain Show

In this episode, Adnan discusses Professor Gabriel Rockhill's new book, Who Paid the Pipers of Western Marxism, v. 1 of The Intellectual World War. This incredibly important book contributes an insurgent foray, a guerrilla attack, against the imperial theory industry and its ideological work in the psychological, intellectual war that is central to the perpetuation of imperialist capitalism of our era. This first volume lays out a crucial method and approach, a way of performing intellectual history through dialectical and historical materialism, while exposing the relationship between the deep state/permanent state forces that have patronized a compatible left culture and the wider systemic network of institutions where intellectual and cultural production takes place. The work goes on to examine some important figures particularly in the so-called "Frankfurt School" and situate these thinkers/scholars and their work within the imperial theory industry. It is a fascinating conversation about an profoundly important new book. We look forward to further volumes in this important series on the Intellectual World War. Dr. Gabriel Rockhill is a professor of philosophy and global interdisciplinary studies at Villanova University. He is the author or editor of a dozen books and co-founder of the Critical Theory Workshop. Check out its website and consider joining their summer school, attending their events and supporting this collective intellectual and liberatory project: https://criticaltheoryworkshop.com/ Support the show on Patreon if you can (and get early access to episodes)!  www.patreon.com/adnanhusain  Or make a one-time donation to the show and Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/adnanhusain Like, subscribe, share!  Also available in video on YouTube:  https://youtube.com/@adnanhusainshow X: @adnanahusain Substack: adnanahusain.substack.com www.adnanhusain.org  

The Struggle Session was back for November on Sunday Nov 23rd at 3pmET! Enjoy full audio of the program. This monthly livestream panel program is not convening to make you feel better--the unvarnished analysis and fierce self-criticism may make you feel a bit worse! But, it will inform and, hopefully, spur you to taking action. As Marx said, the point isn't just to understand the world but to change it. This is an activist panel for a much needed Struggle Session: Nerdeen Kiswani, founder of Within our Lifetime; Sina Rahmani, host of East is a Podcast and impressario/producer of the online tankie left; Henry Hakamaki, editor at ISKRA Books and co-host of Guerrilla History podcast; and Mehmet Ali Arslan, musician, activist, and co-host of Fredshetsarna podcast in Swedish and English.  Join us for a wide-ranging discussion of the key developments and issues for the anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist, anti-genocide left. We'll talk about directions of the Palestine solidarity movement and Gaza resistance in light of the ceasefire/UN occupation force resolution that Russia and China didn't veto, Mamdani on the Left and MAGA civil war on the Right, Jolani at the White House and Kremlin, imperial wars on Venezuela, Lebanon, Iran brewing and much more. Post your questions, suggested topics, and comments. Note there are now two livestream formats: landscape and portrait depending on which fits best on your screen. So do choose the alternative if it doesn't show up properly on your mobile device or computer monitor/screen. You can get priority for your questions/suggestions/comments by posting on patreon.com/adnanhusain. Support the show on Patreon if you can (and get early access to episodes)!  www.patreon.com/adnanhusain  Or make a one-time donation to the show and Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/adnanhusain Like, subscribe, share!  Also available as audio podcast on all major platforms:  https://adnanhusainshow.libsyn.com X: @adnanahusain Substack: adnanahusain.substack.com  www.adnanhusain.org

In this edition of Office Hours, Friday Nov. 7 at a special time, 6pm ET, Adnan hosts Hamza Al-Muqawi a Sudanese writer and activist to talk about Sudan's history as a crucial and continuing front in the struggle against colonialism, imperialism, and capitalist exploitation of Eastern Africa and West Asia. We will learn about Sudan's strategic place on the Red Sea and the geopolitical factors fueling imperial and subimperial designs and interventions as well as the resistance and struggle for liberation by Sudan's people facing terror, deliberate starvation and genocide. Hamza's analysis will help illuminate a central battleground in resisting empire and the struggle for liberation. This is a crucial conversation about a major crisis that is thoroughly ignored. Join us and post your questions and comments. You can prepare for Office Hours 13 by reading Hamza's article on substack: https://abuhureirah.substack.com/p/su... You can have priority for your questions and comments by becoming a supporter and posting on patreon.com/adnanhusain or make a one time contribution via buymeacoffee.com/adnanhusain Support the show on Patreon if you can (and get early access to episodes)! www.patreon.com/adnanhusain Or make a one-time donation to the show and Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/adnanhusain Like, subscribe, share! Also available as audio podcast on all major plaforms: https://adnanhusainshow.libsyn.com X: @adnanahusain Substack: adnanahusain.substack.com www.adnanhusain.org

Adnan has a conversation with noted writer and religion scholar Reza Aslan on the 20th anniversary edition of his classic popular history of Islam, "No god but God: the Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam". Reza talks about his unique background and interests in religion, the reasons he wrote this work in the cauldron of Islamophobia during the "Global War on Terrorism" GWOT just a few years after 9/11 and after the Afghanistan and Iraq invasions and occupations. We talked about its reception then and the goals of examining Islam as a religion like any other and how that allowed for an appreciation of its diverse traditions, devotional streams, and cultural expressions while still having a coherent unity. Reza explained what has changed in his thinking over the 20 years and why/how misunderstanding and hostility toward Islam seems as virulent as ever. We also talked about future directions for this faith of nearly 2 billion. An engaging discussion about an important work that has been carefully updated. A must listen! Follow Reza's work:  https://www.rezaaslan.com/ Support the show on Patreon if you can (and get early access to episodes)!  www.patreon.com/adnanhusain  Or make a one-time donation to the show and Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/adnanhusain Like, subscribe, share!  Also available in video on YouTube:  https://youtube.com/@adnanhusainshow X: @adnanahusain Substack: adnanahusain.substack.com  www.adnanhusain.org

In this episode, Adnan and Marc explore the most frequently mentioned of the names that serves both as an attribute and a sort of "proper name" in some fashion. We explored the meanings of the Arabic root R-H-M that gives rise to "rahmah" or mercy as a noun and the two adjectival attributes al-Rahman and al-Raheem, the names that are part of the invocation of chapters of the Qur'an. We considered the particular onological and psychological relationships surrounding al-Rahman as the most merciful or the most benificent. In addition, we wrestled with questions of theodicy. How can we reconcile the manifest cruelty and oppression humanity has wrought--something the angels in Qur'anic origin narratives objected to and charged that humans would sow corruption and shed blood in the world rather than serve as responsible stewards--with the cosmic foundations of the universe in rahma/mercy and the fact that God is pre-eminently understood and uniquely described as al-Rahman? What can this possibly mean in the face of the suffering of most of the world's population in deprivation, during a time of genocide in Palestine and Sudan, as well as in the suffering and difficulty we all face in our lives? This was a problem medieval mystics and theologians also tried to think through. Intriguingly, these included a sense of a profoundly necessary social empathy as a spiritual value of making the name al-Rahman real that impels sacrifice for the weak, defenseless, and suffering. We had to recognize the limits of these discourses however and consider further what this might mean for the contemporary human experience from psychological and spiritual perspectives. Many issues and concerns came up in the discussion and particularly in contending with how we can understand spiritual and psychological growth in the apparent contradiction of cosmic mercy in a cruel world. that will flow naturally into the next episode on al-Raheem, the compassionate. Thank you for joining us in this journey through the Names of God. We look forward to your comments and questions. Support the show on Patreon if you can (and get early access to episodes)!  www.patreon.com/adnanhusain  Or make a one-time donation to the show and Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/adnanhusain Like, subscribe, share!  Also available in video on YouTube:  https://youtube.com/@adnanhusainshow X: @adnanahusain Substack: adnanahusain.substack.com  www.adnanhusain.org