What Did Young Zohran Learn from His Father?
I just came across Good Muslim, Bad Muslim, the 2004 book written by Mahmood Mamdani, father of Zohran Mamdani. In it, he argues that modern jihad isn’t rooted in Islamic theology but is instead the result of Western imperialism, especially U.S. Cold War policies, and 9/11 was a result of these policies. He says the West created this “Good Muslim / Bad Muslim” narrative, where the “good” ones are those who assimilate to Western values and the “bad” are the ones who resist. He goes as far as comparing U.S. military actions to jihadist terrorism, claiming both stem from the same kind of moral absolutism. He dismisses the idea of a cultural or religious clash altogether and pins the Arab-Israeli conflict on colonialism and political grievances.
Wait for my full response to this nonsense. In the meantime, read the article linked below on the true roots of Islamic jihad.
Rethinking the Roots of Islamic Terrorism
It has become normal in postcolonial and academic circles to frame Islamic terrorism as the logical byproduct of Western imperialism. According to this perspective, U.S. Cold War entanglements in the Middle East, military interventions, and support for Israel have cultivated the conditions necessary for terrorism to emerge. The logic is deceptively simp…