Ali S. Harfouch

The problem of identity is largely about the question of who sets the terms of the debate. Muslims find themselves in the middle of a long-standing rift between conservative ideology on one hand and a liberal and leftist ideology on another. Among other issues, Islam and Muslims feature heavily in the on-going debate. As the debate stands now, Muslims are prevented from determining the terms of the debate. Muslims become the object of the debate and never the subjects. “Wavering between that (and this), (belonging) neither to these nor to those” (Q 4:143). What accounts for this state of wavering and what fruits will it bear for the Muslim self? What is our strategic advantage in such alliances? In this entry, I want to discuss how our alignment with the Left or Right amounts to a cruel optimism which as Lauren Berlant explains is “an optimistic attachment is cruel when the object/scene of desire is itself an obstacle to fulfilling the very wants that bring people to it.” It is cruel in the sense that there can be no representation and empowerment of the Muslim self if the self is lost in the process of pursuing that illusory optimism. (Read More)