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Islam and Anarchism
Discourse around Muslims and Islam all too often lapses into a false dichotomy of Orientalist and fundamentalist tropes. A popular reimagining of Islam is urgently needed. Yet it is a perhaps unexpected political philosophical tradition that has the most to offer in this pursuit: anarchism. Islam and Anarchism is a highly original and interdisciplinary work, which simultaneously disrupts two commonly held beliefs - that Islam is necessarily authoritarian and capitalist; and that anarchism is necessarily anti-religious and anti-spiritual. Deeply rooted in key Islamic concepts and textual sources, and drawing on radical Indigenous, Islamic anarchistic and social movement discourses, Abdou proposes 'Anarca-Islam'. Constructing a decolonial, non-authoritarian and non-capitalist Islamic anarchism, Islam and Anarchism philosophically and theologically challenges the classist, sexist, racist, ageist, queerphobic and ableist inequalities in the entwined imperial context of societies like Egypt, and settler-colonial societies such as Canada and the USA.
352 pages, Paperback
First published March 31, 2022
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925 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 21, 2023
Update - Full review here:
https://www.thecommoner.org.uk/agains...
I appreciate the project of advancing anarchist reinterpretations of history and religion, but I found Islam and Anarchism incredible, and not in a good way. For one, in a volume dedicated to Islam and anarchism, there is almost no discussion of Shi'ism or Sufism, much less of the utopianism of the Iranian Ali Shariati. Unfortunately, this lapse may have to do with the author's Salafi jihadi orientation, which comes out strongly on almost every page. As it is clear that Abdou (an Egyptian Sunni) considers the Qu'ran to be the literal word of Allah, perhaps he should consult Ludwig Feuerbach's The Essence of Christianity. In mixing Islamic revivalism with post-anarchism, the author engages in historical denialism regarding the Muslim conquests in the sixth and seventh centuries, overlooks how Mohammed was a merchant (and how that reality has shaped Islam), and almost entirely ignores questions of gender oppression. Instead, his focus is on racism, settler-colonialism, and decolonization.
Abdou praises the pedophile apologist Hakim Bey and affirms Peter Gelderloos' insurrectionist critique of non-violence, as he affectionately inveighs against liberalism while citing Joseph Massad, Robert Fisk, and John Pilger, all of whom have gone to bat for "anti-imperialist" dictators, from Vladimir Putin to Bashar al-Assad. I do not see how this constellation is consistent with anarchist anti-authoritarianism. I was particularly taken aback when I read the claim made in the conclusion (p. 232) that it was only Obama, not also Assad and Putin, who triggered mass-refugee flows after 2011. Would not recommend.
https://www.thecommoner.org.uk/agains...
I appreciate the project of advancing anarchist reinterpretations of history and religion, but I found Islam and Anarchism incredible, and not in a good way. For one, in a volume dedicated to Islam and anarchism, there is almost no discussion of Shi'ism or Sufism, much less of the utopianism of the Iranian Ali Shariati. Unfortunately, this lapse may have to do with the author's Salafi jihadi orientation, which comes out strongly on almost every page. As it is clear that Abdou (an Egyptian Sunni) considers the Qu'ran to be the literal word of Allah, perhaps he should consult Ludwig Feuerbach's The Essence of Christianity. In mixing Islamic revivalism with post-anarchism, the author engages in historical denialism regarding the Muslim conquests in the sixth and seventh centuries, overlooks how Mohammed was a merchant (and how that reality has shaped Islam), and almost entirely ignores questions of gender oppression. Instead, his focus is on racism, settler-colonialism, and decolonization.
Abdou praises the pedophile apologist Hakim Bey and affirms Peter Gelderloos' insurrectionist critique of non-violence, as he affectionately inveighs against liberalism while citing Joseph Massad, Robert Fisk, and John Pilger, all of whom have gone to bat for "anti-imperialist" dictators, from Vladimir Putin to Bashar al-Assad. I do not see how this constellation is consistent with anarchist anti-authoritarianism. I was particularly taken aback when I read the claim made in the conclusion (p. 232) that it was only Obama, not also Assad and Putin, who triggered mass-refugee flows after 2011. Would not recommend.
December 1, 2022
I read this book in the middle of an ocean (on my vacation) out of curiosity for the author’s arguments. I managed to finish it on the same day. I will revisit the book after a few months, just in case I missed something.
The book claimed that the claim of Islam as authoritarian and capitalist is incorrect.
However, if authoritarianism is not something that suggests the existence of God, who is above all living beings, and when someone can be sent to hell for disbelieving in such a god, I don’t see any form of authoritarianism all over the world. I am saying this as a person who was born and raised in a third-world country where the dictatorship still exists.
Islam indeed was not capitalist. However, the socioeconomic condition of the breeding ground for Islam is sort of pre-capitalistic. So, rather than Islam shaping capitalism, the material condition of socioeconomic development has shaped Islam.
The book suggests that anarchism's being anti-religious is a colonialist belief. Show me one religion where an individual can argue against the god or the founder and still not have to go to hell. Plus, all religions are based on either personality cults or moral objectivism, where a set of ethics developed by an individual or a god is imposed on its followers.
So, accusing anti-religion of being "Western" is not only irrational but also reveals the author’s lack of knowledge on religious studies. It's not a surprise for a postcolonial scholar. Most rich and western trained postcolonial scholars I have read seem to have this issue. It seems like under the term "postcolonial," they seem to be colonized by a western self-guilty academic idea of "anti-white politics." Going back to the review, there have been a lot of strong anti-religious atheists since the eras of the early prophets and the last prophet, when the western world didn't have hegemonic power.
This book reminds me of some reactionary western leftists who thought of Islamism as anti-imperialist. This book will result in similar kinds of reactionary postcolonialists who are willing to endorse everything that is against western values.
Such reactionary, western-hating post-colonial elite academics should revisit organic anti-colonial scholars such as C.L.R. James, James Baldwin, Chen Duxiu, and several third-world organic revolutionaries.
This author seems to be a follower of Salafi or Sunni Islam. This author deserves to be challenged to share his ideas on topics like LGBTQ+, women’s empowerment, and slavery with direct reference to several verses from the Quran and Hadith. These verses should be properly cited to dispute his reactionary claims of "western narratives on Islam."
This book certainly will get support from useful idiots of Islamism. As a rationalist who was born and raised as a Sunni Muslim, I am pretty sure this book serves more Islamists than progressives politically.
Overall, I think this book is reactionary to its core.
The book claimed that the claim of Islam as authoritarian and capitalist is incorrect.
However, if authoritarianism is not something that suggests the existence of God, who is above all living beings, and when someone can be sent to hell for disbelieving in such a god, I don’t see any form of authoritarianism all over the world. I am saying this as a person who was born and raised in a third-world country where the dictatorship still exists.
Islam indeed was not capitalist. However, the socioeconomic condition of the breeding ground for Islam is sort of pre-capitalistic. So, rather than Islam shaping capitalism, the material condition of socioeconomic development has shaped Islam.
The book suggests that anarchism's being anti-religious is a colonialist belief. Show me one religion where an individual can argue against the god or the founder and still not have to go to hell. Plus, all religions are based on either personality cults or moral objectivism, where a set of ethics developed by an individual or a god is imposed on its followers.
So, accusing anti-religion of being "Western" is not only irrational but also reveals the author’s lack of knowledge on religious studies. It's not a surprise for a postcolonial scholar. Most rich and western trained postcolonial scholars I have read seem to have this issue. It seems like under the term "postcolonial," they seem to be colonized by a western self-guilty academic idea of "anti-white politics." Going back to the review, there have been a lot of strong anti-religious atheists since the eras of the early prophets and the last prophet, when the western world didn't have hegemonic power.
This book reminds me of some reactionary western leftists who thought of Islamism as anti-imperialist. This book will result in similar kinds of reactionary postcolonialists who are willing to endorse everything that is against western values.
Such reactionary, western-hating post-colonial elite academics should revisit organic anti-colonial scholars such as C.L.R. James, James Baldwin, Chen Duxiu, and several third-world organic revolutionaries.
This author seems to be a follower of Salafi or Sunni Islam. This author deserves to be challenged to share his ideas on topics like LGBTQ+, women’s empowerment, and slavery with direct reference to several verses from the Quran and Hadith. These verses should be properly cited to dispute his reactionary claims of "western narratives on Islam."
This book certainly will get support from useful idiots of Islamism. As a rationalist who was born and raised as a Sunni Muslim, I am pretty sure this book serves more Islamists than progressives politically.
Overall, I think this book is reactionary to its core.
December 7, 2022
The author actually wrote his phd in the book on islam and queer muslims unlike the 2 other reviewers note. The book was endorsed by 3 renowned queer and feminist scholars. He is also arguing for decolonization not post colonialism which the second reviewers confuses and Abdou problematizes because of settlercolonialism. I loved this book. It connects so many discourses and communities that are not necessarily in conversation with each other. Brilliant and highly recommend!
June 20, 2023
While there is some interesting ideas here and the attempt to create a religious ethic that attacks hierarchy and authority is definitely praiseworthy, this book can be extremely frustrating. Abdou relies on a framework of decolonization that doesn't include all that much in terms of a practical decolonialization program. The focus is mostly on discourse, analysis, and ethics, but very little on real world politics and activism. Which wouldn't be so bad, but when you're criticizing activists who are doing real work from a place of your alleged superior decolonial perspective, you really do need to provide some real practical alternatives. And even there, many of the few alternatives Abdou speaks to don't really address structural pieces to patriarchy, colonialism, and especially capitalism. Abdou's Anarchism seems largely informed by a politics of retreat from the hope of real political change to that of only small lifestyle and ineffective prefigurative activities. There's a lot that can be built on here, and I hope others take up the call for Anarcha-Islam, but too much here was mere words and lipservice and not enough real program of action.
September 25, 2025
I read this for a book club and am a bit ambivalent about it. On the one hand, I appreciate the project of developing a serious and researched reading of the Islamic tradition that is aligned with progressive political commitments like anarchism or communism. On the other hand, I think this project would have benefitted from more careful editing. For one, the language is extremely dense, with numerous nested clauses in every paragraph and countless cross-references that are hard to follow. It is also incredibly repetitive— some sentences are copy-pasted several times across the book. And last, most of its analysis is abstract and academic even though the author names his commitment to praxis over and over again.
I’m still giving it a high rating because it’s an ambitious project that I wish others would replicate, and I look forward to seeing the author’s growth as both an intellectual and an activist.
I’m still giving it a high rating because it’s an ambitious project that I wish others would replicate, and I look forward to seeing the author’s growth as both an intellectual and an activist.
August 31, 2025
This is a really compelling book. I was partly hoping for something like Graeber's The Dawn of everything - a book which joins the dots between historical events under the Islam umbrella and anarchism. It isn't that book - it's not making the case for an anarchy-leaden Islam. But it's also not not making that point, if you get my drift.
In a few senses it's a broad and a dense book - incorporating historical Islamic theology, contemporary understanding of Islam, colonialisation (from the perspective of Euro-American perfidy) and also the Arabisation of Islam (another form of colonialisation), queer politics etc etc. I can't fault its research and historiography. There are certainly parts where I recognise I couldn't possibly comment. For instance: the notion that the absence of a caliphate or a unified Islam supports the notion that ijtihad - roughly a system of collectivised justice that operates within Islamic communities but distinct from nation-states - is difficult for me to address without knowing much about Islamic theology. So I'm happy to take it as read.
I say that because I want to emphasise that a large amount of this book's heft is in making arguments about the nature of Islamic rationality - and whether the religion of Islam is compatible with anarchism. I'd be very interested in reading more on this subject but as it stands there's an amount of it which belongs to Islamic theology - which, despite my having a Theology MA, isn't my area of expertise. I can say the arguments are cogent and Quaranically qualified; I'd be very interested to read more on the subject.
Also, to emphasise that is to miss somewhat the broader thrust of the book - I don't believe this is a book expressly for Muslims. There's a great and full-throated articulation of the nature of violence within anarchism and within Islam which illustrates not so much that Islam has commonalities with Western anarchistic practice but that the Euro-American left's resistance to violence is exemplary of the success of the nation-state's domination of violence. I'm thinking of the way that the Ukranian left was absolutely blindsided by the need to militate against Russia, but there's innumerable examples.
Speaking of contemporary history - there's a great and careful discussion of Tahrir revolution, situating it within it's wider colonial context and within a complex flush of narratives, and how that revolution was neither successful nor unsuccessful. I suspect that to be a common approach of anarchist scholars - the revolution doesn't end.
I think there's a great deal here for a non-Muslim leftist to learn from - plenty of discussions which render revolutionary and colonial history in greater detail than is common to leftist literature. The range of sources is prolific - there's a dependence upon Deleuzian conceptions of 'micro-fascisms' as much as there is leveraging of arguments about the nature of the Umma from the Quran.
Definitely one for me to return to. I'd say that it's not a book to take on lightly - it's necessarily dense and complex - but it's certainly more righteous than most leftist books I've read recently.
In a few senses it's a broad and a dense book - incorporating historical Islamic theology, contemporary understanding of Islam, colonialisation (from the perspective of Euro-American perfidy) and also the Arabisation of Islam (another form of colonialisation), queer politics etc etc. I can't fault its research and historiography. There are certainly parts where I recognise I couldn't possibly comment. For instance: the notion that the absence of a caliphate or a unified Islam supports the notion that ijtihad - roughly a system of collectivised justice that operates within Islamic communities but distinct from nation-states - is difficult for me to address without knowing much about Islamic theology. So I'm happy to take it as read.
I say that because I want to emphasise that a large amount of this book's heft is in making arguments about the nature of Islamic rationality - and whether the religion of Islam is compatible with anarchism. I'd be very interested in reading more on this subject but as it stands there's an amount of it which belongs to Islamic theology - which, despite my having a Theology MA, isn't my area of expertise. I can say the arguments are cogent and Quaranically qualified; I'd be very interested to read more on the subject.
Also, to emphasise that is to miss somewhat the broader thrust of the book - I don't believe this is a book expressly for Muslims. There's a great and full-throated articulation of the nature of violence within anarchism and within Islam which illustrates not so much that Islam has commonalities with Western anarchistic practice but that the Euro-American left's resistance to violence is exemplary of the success of the nation-state's domination of violence. I'm thinking of the way that the Ukranian left was absolutely blindsided by the need to militate against Russia, but there's innumerable examples.
Speaking of contemporary history - there's a great and careful discussion of Tahrir revolution, situating it within it's wider colonial context and within a complex flush of narratives, and how that revolution was neither successful nor unsuccessful. I suspect that to be a common approach of anarchist scholars - the revolution doesn't end.
I think there's a great deal here for a non-Muslim leftist to learn from - plenty of discussions which render revolutionary and colonial history in greater detail than is common to leftist literature. The range of sources is prolific - there's a dependence upon Deleuzian conceptions of 'micro-fascisms' as much as there is leveraging of arguments about the nature of the Umma from the Quran.
Definitely one for me to return to. I'd say that it's not a book to take on lightly - it's necessarily dense and complex - but it's certainly more righteous than most leftist books I've read recently.
June 12, 2023
It's seems folks that didn't like this book is non muslim, white folks, settler colonial white and non white that didn't care about the Land Back and Indigenous movement, didn't care for the Queer Trans folks, and some of them didn't know the decolonial radical discourse, and for the worst they didn't read the book at all because, first they have been indoctrinated by Islamophobic narrative and then they said this a reactionary narrative, second they been indoctrinated by global white supremacists passive liberal reforms then they said this book too radical.
All of this without genuine engagement with the text and reality of the author themselves.
Also the dogma and micro fascism inside all of us, that they didn't want to know others comrade that are religious, and also fighting fascism external and internal, within the community and outside.
It's so frustrating, to know the so called leftist or anarchist in this context, that just doing the performative activism in the name of solidarity for the Muslim (including Palestine) in the street, but end up, simultaneously marginalized muslim when they rise their voices and causes, the saviour of the Closeted white supremacists and islamophobic is everywhere.
This book give a multidisciplinary analysis, historical facts and praxis from the author and themselves are activist and scholar (you know when yourself read the book)
If you feel lazy to read; i recommended you to Listen to this podcast:
1. https://revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn...
2.
https://newbooksnetwork.com/islam-and...
'This is one of the fiercest books I've ever read. It is a call to action. It is conceptually rich and gives us new methodological tools for thinking theory and politics together. It is unrelenting in its critique of liberal assimilationist tendencies in diasporic and BIPOC knowledge production and movement organizing. Abdou is a truth-teller of the highest order. Drawing together disparate geographies and thought into a dazzling web of interconnectedness and dialogue, Islam and Anarchism proffers a kaleidoscopic vision of what could be otherwise'
- Jasbir K. Puar, author of 'Terrorist Assemblages' and 'The Right to Maim'
'A passionate plea for a spiritual decolonial movement. Mohamed Abdou advances a vision of Islam that is abolitionist at its core, reminding us that Islam has been and can still be a religion of the oppressed, one that is anti-capitalist, egalitarian, anti-ableist, anti-patriarchal, queer feminist and for Muslims and non-Muslims alike'
- Sherene H. Razack, Distinguished Professor and Penny Kanner Endowed Chair, Gender Studies, UCLA
'An uncompromising queer-feminist vision of decolonial, abolitionist, and anti-capitalist praxis that is keyed to the pluralistic traditions of Islamic spirituality and anarchic thought'
- Iyko Day, Elizabeth C. Small Associate Professor of English and Critical Social Thought at Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts
Solidarity ✊🏽
All of this without genuine engagement with the text and reality of the author themselves.
Also the dogma and micro fascism inside all of us, that they didn't want to know others comrade that are religious, and also fighting fascism external and internal, within the community and outside.
It's so frustrating, to know the so called leftist or anarchist in this context, that just doing the performative activism in the name of solidarity for the Muslim (including Palestine) in the street, but end up, simultaneously marginalized muslim when they rise their voices and causes, the saviour of the Closeted white supremacists and islamophobic is everywhere.
This book give a multidisciplinary analysis, historical facts and praxis from the author and themselves are activist and scholar (you know when yourself read the book)
If you feel lazy to read; i recommended you to Listen to this podcast:
1. https://revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn...
2.
https://newbooksnetwork.com/islam-and...
'This is one of the fiercest books I've ever read. It is a call to action. It is conceptually rich and gives us new methodological tools for thinking theory and politics together. It is unrelenting in its critique of liberal assimilationist tendencies in diasporic and BIPOC knowledge production and movement organizing. Abdou is a truth-teller of the highest order. Drawing together disparate geographies and thought into a dazzling web of interconnectedness and dialogue, Islam and Anarchism proffers a kaleidoscopic vision of what could be otherwise'
- Jasbir K. Puar, author of 'Terrorist Assemblages' and 'The Right to Maim'
'A passionate plea for a spiritual decolonial movement. Mohamed Abdou advances a vision of Islam that is abolitionist at its core, reminding us that Islam has been and can still be a religion of the oppressed, one that is anti-capitalist, egalitarian, anti-ableist, anti-patriarchal, queer feminist and for Muslims and non-Muslims alike'
- Sherene H. Razack, Distinguished Professor and Penny Kanner Endowed Chair, Gender Studies, UCLA
'An uncompromising queer-feminist vision of decolonial, abolitionist, and anti-capitalist praxis that is keyed to the pluralistic traditions of Islamic spirituality and anarchic thought'
- Iyko Day, Elizabeth C. Small Associate Professor of English and Critical Social Thought at Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts
Solidarity ✊🏽
September 9, 2025
After following Dr. Abdou on Substack and feeling inspired by his incredible Communiqué series, I was pleasantly surprised to see that he also published this book, which was significantly less impactful to me. I was frankly shocked it was even written by the same person.
First of all, the language here is very dry and academic, as opposed to the free-flowing heartfelt prose of Communiqué. The ideas explored of an anarchic interpretation of the Quran felt a little contrived. I didn’t particularly like how easily the author dismisses Shi’ism and spirituality, considering the mullahs and marja’ of Iran and Iraq literally spend their entire lives in Islamic education and ijtihad, meaning that they have explored infinite avenues of Quranic teachings.
For me, any criticism of the Islamic Republic of Iran, especially by a fellow Muslim, is a red flag. Iran has shown itself to be the only Islamic nation to resist and repel neo-liberal designs on its future, and has done so with dignity and honour. It is also the only state power to fund and sustain the resistance against Zionist aggression in the region.
Nonetheless, I would recommend this book to Westerners who want to learn more about Islam but don’t yet want to dive into the meticulous work of religious scholars. Dr. Abdou illustrates how Islam has been bastardised by Western propagandists only to further their own neo-colonial interests in the most strategic geo-political sphere on earth: Eurasia.
The vision of Anarcha-Islam, though admirable, seems restricted to the realm of classroom fantasy. In the Arab world, Islam has permeated every fibre of the people and culture, spawning hundreds if not thousands of different sects with their own interpretations of the Quran. This is the real beauty of Islam, the fact that before Western intervention, these tribes all lived in harmony, evoking the spirit of the Medina Charter.
First of all, the language here is very dry and academic, as opposed to the free-flowing heartfelt prose of Communiqué. The ideas explored of an anarchic interpretation of the Quran felt a little contrived. I didn’t particularly like how easily the author dismisses Shi’ism and spirituality, considering the mullahs and marja’ of Iran and Iraq literally spend their entire lives in Islamic education and ijtihad, meaning that they have explored infinite avenues of Quranic teachings.
For me, any criticism of the Islamic Republic of Iran, especially by a fellow Muslim, is a red flag. Iran has shown itself to be the only Islamic nation to resist and repel neo-liberal designs on its future, and has done so with dignity and honour. It is also the only state power to fund and sustain the resistance against Zionist aggression in the region.
Nonetheless, I would recommend this book to Westerners who want to learn more about Islam but don’t yet want to dive into the meticulous work of religious scholars. Dr. Abdou illustrates how Islam has been bastardised by Western propagandists only to further their own neo-colonial interests in the most strategic geo-political sphere on earth: Eurasia.
The vision of Anarcha-Islam, though admirable, seems restricted to the realm of classroom fantasy. In the Arab world, Islam has permeated every fibre of the people and culture, spawning hundreds if not thousands of different sects with their own interpretations of the Quran. This is the real beauty of Islam, the fact that before Western intervention, these tribes all lived in harmony, evoking the spirit of the Medina Charter.
August 10, 2024
Firstly, I got this book because I wanted to understand a little more about Islam. Being an anarchist, this seemed like a good place to increase my knowledge. I was surprised by this perspective of Islam. A very anti-captalist and anti-statist religion is presented. I agreed with many of the ideas put forward. I struggled with doing all this in deference to a creator or god. At one oint the author states that 'god is irrelevant', and I know I am taking this oout of context, but I agree wholeheartedly. Typically academic writing that is 'elitist' and exclusionary.
October 25, 2024
The book mainly argues that Islam is not necessarily capitalist and that anarchism is not necessarily anti-religion. It opens alternative possibilities for constructing Islamic identity...
May 7, 2025
كاتب مشوش
January 1, 2024
An insightful, thought provoking, and truly decolonizing text. Reading the pages opens up immense possibilities for reimagining the world from the perspective of a liberatory spiritual practice. Its pages brim with incisive analysis critique of recent movements across the Islamic world and offers a glimpse of what Ijtihad could mean in a non-authoritarian world free of borders and empires.
Each page is truly a revelation. It is a critical resource for thinking with the unfolding Palestinian fight for liberation.
Each page is truly a revelation. It is a critical resource for thinking with the unfolding Palestinian fight for liberation.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews