Read a selection of articles from Critical Muslim
CM42: Liberty
Shanon Shah wrestles with the contradictions of liberty, Mustafa Akyol dissects mores that prevent the liberation of Muslim minds, Jeremy Henzell-Thomas examines the etymology of freedom and liberty, Vinay Lal provides a short history of liberty from the Greeks to Gandhi, Naomi Foyle supports the Ukrainian resistance despite Western hypocrisy, Giles Goddard re-reads E M Forster, Ole Jorgen ...
CM41: Bodies
C Scott Jordan confronts body horror, Robin Yassin-Kassab takes a close look at his own body, Samia Rahman argues that honour and shame should not be ...
CM40: Biography
We celebrate ten years of Critical Muslim, Shanon Shah examines recent biographies of the Prophet, Ziauddin Sardar honours the life of anthropologist and ...
CM39: World Order
C Scott Jordan dissects the notion of 'world order', Abdelwahab El-Affendi suggests we are moving towards radical evil, Anwar Ibrahim reconsiders ...
CM38: Humour
Hassan Mahamdallie remembers the comedy and comedians of his youth, Hussein Abdulsater explores the Islamic approach to humour, Bruce B Lawrence is ...
CM37: Virus
Ehsan Masood unravels the connections between Covid science and geopolitics, Anwar Ibrahim wants to see true justice in a post-pandemic world, Colin Tudge ...
CM36: Destinations
Samia Rahman explores potential directions of travel, Ebrahim Moosa considers the influences that affect our choices of Destinations, C Scott Jordan takes a ...
CM35: Muslim Atlantic
Daniel Nilsson DeHanas and Peter Mandaville pin down the notion of Muslim Atlantic, Aisha Khan explains how a Muslim Atlantic can be realised, Amandla ...
CM34: Artificial
C Scott Jordan reflects on life, death and whether or not authenticity is possible, Jeremy Henzell-Thomas tries to pin down the numerous meanings and ...
CM33: Relics
Samia Rahman is concerned about her personal relics, Boyd Tonkin meanders through Sicily, Aaron Tugendhaft exposes the veneration of certain relics, ...
CM32: Music
Samia Rahman is lost in music; Jeremy Henzell-Thomas suggests music opens hidden windows to the soul; Ziauddin Sardar witnesses the annihilation of the ...
CM31: Climate
Ehsan Masood fears a coming mass extinction, Medina Tenour Whiteman sings the praises of water, Giles Goddard denounces Western attitudes to the ...
CM30: West Africa
Yovanka Paquete Perdigao and Henry Brefo navigate the rich cultural and political geography of West Africa by telling the Lion’s story, Shanka Mesa ...
CM29: Futures
Ziauddin Sardar argues that our survival depends on taking alternative futures seriously. Mirza Sarajkić shows that the Qur'an is a future-oriented ...
CM28: Narratives
Merryl Wyn Davies argues that narrative, the weaving of information into world pictures, is integral to cultures, Jeremy Henzell Thomas explores the ...
CM27: Beauty
Shanon Shah goes in search of beautiful Muslims, Samia Rahman refuses to take a selfie, Doris Behrens-Abouseif reads the extensive Islamic literature on ...
CM26: Gastronomy
Merryl Wyn Davies shreds foodie culture as the construct of affluence and essence of abundance; Jeremy Henzell-Thomas is convinced that the rise of ...
CM25: Values
Merryl Wyn Davies tries to make sense of values in the post-truth age; Kabir Helminski provides a primer on Islam and human values; Boyd Tonkin welcomes ...
CM24: Populism
Ziauddin Sardar dismembers post-truth angst; Richard Appignanesi mourns the loss of world; Barnaby Rogerson traces the history of the word demagogue; Bhavik ...
CM23: Bangladesh
Shanon Shah tries to unravel the paradox of Bangladesh; Hassan Mahamdallie has strange encounters in Dhaka; Zeeshan Khan asks real Bangali Muslims to raise ...
CM22: Utopias
Boyd Tonkin surfs the coast of utopia, Bruce Wannell explores the Gardens of Paradise, Hassan Mahamdallie joins the community of Findhorn, Marco Lauri ...
CM21: Relations
Samia Rahman is perplexed by our complex network of relationships, Aamer Hussein looks back on his affectionate bonds with the great Urdu writer Qurratulain ...
CM20: PostWest
Shanon Shah suggests PostWest is a speculative concept that obscures as much as it explains, Jasper M Trautsch explores the concept of the 'West', ...
CM19: Nature
Jeremy Henzell-Thomas goes for a long walk 'out in the open', Charles Upton delineates basic Islamic concepts and symbols for the contemplation of ...
CM18: Cities
Hassan Mahamdallie discovers shoots of hope in the wastelands of Detroit. Peter Clark thinks that Istanbul is the eternal capital of the world, Robert Irwin ...
CM17: Extreme
Ziauddin Sardar and Samia Rahman suggest that extremism is an expected product of our complex and chaotic postnormal times, Anne Alexander traces the ...
CM16: Turkey
Tahir Abbas is captivated by the complexity of Turkish politics and culture. Ahmet T. Kuru is unimpressed by the authoritarian tendencies of the current ...
CM15: Educational Reform
Jeremy Henzell-Thomas seeks an integrated approach to education and knowledge, Richard Pring answers the question – what is a university, Marodsilton ...
CM14: Power
Ziauddin Sardar and Merryl Wyn Davies attempt to locate the sources of power. Barnaby Rogerson deconstructs the dreams of Caliphate. Malise Ruthven ...
CM13: Race
Hassan Mahamdallie thinks that the colour line will blight the twenty-first century, Shanon Shah argues that Islam and race have combined to produce a ...
CM12: Dangerous Freethinkers
Ziauddin Sardar argues that freethinkers can be dangerous in numerous ways, James E. Montgomery examines the radical freethought of the ninth-century ...
CM11: Syria
Peter Clark explores the roots of the Syrian crisis, Robin Yassin-Kassab explores revolutionary culture, Sam Hamad dissects the Islamist opposition, Rasha ...
CM10: Sects
Ziauddin Sardar and Merryl Wyn Davies put sectarianism under the scalpel; Ebrahim Moosa suggests the Sunnis, the majority Muslim sect, need to rethink ...
CM09: The Maghreb
Robin Yassin-Kassab has an enlightening sojourn in Morocco, Robert Irwin argues that the great historian Ibn Khaldun was a Sufi, Marcia Lynx Qualey is ...
CM08: Men in Islam
Ziauddin Sardar confesses his shortcomings as a Muslim man, Merryl Wyn Davies asks what exactly is the problem with men, Abdennur Prado grapples with ...
CMO7: Muslim Archipelago
Merryl Wyn Davies unravels the paradox that is Malaysia and Indonesia, Ziauddin Sardar reads the history of Kuala Lumpur from the window of his ...
CM06: Reclaiming Al-Andalus
Ziauddin Sardar sides with the philosophers of al-Andalus in their struggle with orthodox theologians, Robin Yassin-Kassab goes on a poetic journey, Nazry ...
CM05: Love and Death
Aamer Hussein takes love to its logical conclusion, Robert Irwin traces the origins of the ghazal (love lyric), Christopher Shackle recites epic Panjabi ...
CM04: Pakistan?
Ziauddin Sardar questions the question mark that is always placed in front of Pakistan, Robin Yassin-Kassab asks why Pakistan has not imploded, Taimur Khan ...
CM03: Fear and Loathing
Merryl Wyn Davies explores what we fear, AbdelWahab El-Affendi tackles Islamophobia and Orientalism in the age of liberal paranoia, Arun Kundnani charts the ...
CM02: The Idea of Islam
Ziauddin Sardar argues why Islamic reform is necessary, Bruce Lawrence sees Muslim cosmopolitanism as the future, Parvez Manzoor declares jihad on the idea ...
CM01: The Arabs Are Alive
Critical Muslim is a quarterly magazine devoted to examining issues within Islam and Muslim societies.
