Mostly intelligible rambles.
NY
Joined May 2022
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Article’s out! Memoirs and travelogues as genres should be revived, so as my own contribution, I wanted to write on my recent travels and my discovery of «home»—here’s the outcome. LMK what y’all think. traversingtradition.com/2025…
Pragmatism for people like these is whatever serves American interests in the region, and whatever contravenes that is “ideological.” If you’re a true pragmatist you’ll realize the only way to change the status quo is what Sinwar said and was vindicated by: burn everything down.
The problem with the Muslim laity is that we keep lionizing idiots like OBL, Nasrallah, Sinwar type rank idiots who work in siloes with zero strategy. Non-state actors plunging a region into war after every decade or 2 with the hope that somehow this time results will be different is exactly the problem. Non-state actors only bring chaos. And if the collective Muslim statehood doesn’t back their designs then ask yourself: Then whose designs are these non-state actors actually serving? Stop this silly brain rot where you think a random guy in a cave somehow came to a better understanding than all of the collective Muslim statehood.
Nafi‘ retweeted
The initial planning of Riyadh or other cities followed the same urban logic to prevent mobilization, hence suburbanization being visible in Saudi. This coupled in with treating Bedouins as movable commodities as well since they were prone to rebellion. In Cairo as well, Tahrir Square itself underwent many changes to erase popular memory of Egyptian uprising, replacing the grassy circle with an obelisk to project notions of Egyptian heritage (rather than maintain the meaning the Square gained from the Arab Spring), gov’t offices that were targeted being swapped for hotels, traffic being rerouted, and so on.
Horrendous as Cairo is, these decisions are calculated. To challenge authority, an idea must form. To share ideas, you need a «place» where you can discuss with people. Following these discussions, you need another place to mobilize. Destroy the place, and you destroy rebellion.
The initial planning of Riyadh or other cities followed the same urban logic to prevent mobilization, hence suburbanization being visible in Saudi. This coupled in with treating Bedouins as movable commodities as well since they were prone to rebellion. In Cairo as well, Tahrir Square itself underwent many changes to erase popular memory of Egyptian uprising, replacing the grassy circle with an obelisk to project notions of Egyptian heritage (rather than maintain the meaning the Square gained from the Arab Spring), gov’t offices that were targeted being swapped for hotels, traffic being rerouted, and so on.
This will continue. Gen Z featured a population mostly incapable of thought apart from whatever their algorithms dictated, but Gen Alpha and later are growing up in a world that increasingly incentivizes outsourcing the intellect. The counter-culture now will be thinking itself.
Nafi‘ retweeted
Mark Carney has quietly rebuilt how Canada's government actually works, and sidelined almost everyone who used to run it.
A Toronto Star investigation finds cabinet, Parliament, the civil service and the press have all been pushed to the margins in favour of a small circle around the prime minister. 🧵👇 (1/8)
Nafi‘ retweeted
My dear cousin has been battling cancer for many yrs now & medical bills have piled up (as u know, the system is merciless when it comes to this).
If it is within ur means, please consider donating. Duaa is much appreciated too! May Allah ﷻ bless u all
gofund.me/90747295e
