Introducing Muslim Thinker and Philosopher Taha Abdelrahman

The Moroccan Taha Abdelrahman is considered to be one of the leading philosophers and thinkers in the Arab and Islamic world. His work centers on logic, philosophy of language, and philosophy of morality. He seeks, according to his own description, to establish an ethical and humanitarian modernity based on the values and principles of Islam and the Arab tradition. He’s recently been expressing his joy — his ecstasy — about the October 7 attacks, seeing them as marking an enormous step forward for Islamic and world civilization. More on this celebrator of antisemitic atrocities can be found here: “Moroccan ‘philosopher of morality’ is ecstatic about Muslims massacring Jews,” Elder of Ziyon, November 14, 2023:

Wikipedia says:

Taha Abderrahman, (born on 28 May 1944) is a Moroccan philosopher, and one of the leading philosophers and thinkers in the Arab and Islamic worlds. His work centers on logic, philosophy of language and philosophy of morality and contractarian ethics. He believes in multiple modernities and seeks to establish an ethical and humanitarian modernity based on the values and principles of Islam and the Arab tradition.

A leading Arab and Islamic philosopher of morality must be pretty moral, right?

Moroccan news site Febrayer.com reports:

Dr. Taha Abdelrahman sees the “Al-Aqsa Flood” [the name given to Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israeli civilians] as a new beginning for civilization, a new rise for the nation, and a new birth for humanity. It involves discovering new values where individuals delve into their depths, connecting the apparent with the hidden, the immediate with the future.

The Moroccan thinker Taha Abdelrahman adds in an interview published on the Center for Civilization Studies and Research website: “Today, Palestinian resistance is writing the history of the nation and leading humanity towards enlightenment through the brilliance of its self-reviews, both individual and collective. It is truly a mature resumption of continuous giving, a creative inheritance of renewable energy in the paths of Islamic and human history.

As the “philosopher of ethics” adds, though few in number [those who took part in the attacks] it is significant in its trustworthiness and noble in its will because it re-establishes values based on divine qualities, re-establishes Islam on a sacred tint[sic], and re-establishes the spirit on divine proximity. The nation’s survival today and in the future is contingent on the resistance’s survival, and God forbid, its defeat signals the demise of the nation.

Taha Abdelrahman says: I witnessed this battle through the jihadists’ excellent preparation and planning, the innovation of means for attack and defense despite limited resources and tremendous challenges.

The Moroccan thinker believes that resistance is the act that contributes to building Islamic civilization and constructing human civilizations. He adds: The way our nation can contribute today to civilizational construction and human renewal is through “jihad” and no other path.

According to the philosopher, the vigilant Palestinian resistor has risen to carry this trust with skill, bearing this responsibility virtuously. He has undertaken it as the best burden and performed it as the best performance. Indeed, he is unique in this time.

Yes, I agree that the Palestinian “resistors” of Hamas are “unique” in this time, but not in a positive way. They are, rather, unique in their limitless barbarism, unique in their willingness to sacrifice their own people so as to score propaganda points against the Zionist enemy, unique in their endless nonsense, lies, and deception. 

Resistance, in the philosopher’s perspective, is not a partial act but a holistic one. He says: I looked at resistance from an existential standpoint, meaning that existence has no meaning without resistance, and life is meaningless without jihad. Existence and life gain meaning from the act of resistance itself.

Resistance and jihad are the elixir of life bestowed by God upon the resistors. Without it, there is nothing but death and perdition.

He believes that the greatest manifestation of the Arab and Islamic mind in the modern era is embodied in the Al-Aqsa flood. It showcased the potential of the Islamic mind, revealing its breadth and strength while exposing the limitations and fragility of the Zionist mind. The practical responsibility towards these realities was shouldered, and significant achievements were realized with the support of God.

The philosopher sees the secret behind the success achieved on October 7th as the mind supported by God. He adds: This mind is filled with pure faith, surpassing all material and worldly limits. It ascends like a king, with no sin remaining with it – “Light upon light.”…

Yes, it was quite a “success” that Hamas achieved on October 7. Much of Gaza now lies in ruins. Thousands of Hamas fighters have been killed. When this war is all over, Hamas will not exist as a military threat. It may not exist at all. May Palestinians achieve other such successes!

Abdelrahman is considered a major thinker by the Islamic world; in the rest of the world he is regarded, quite correctly, as a crank. He is convinced that the “Al-Aqsa Flood” — the name the Arabs give to that orgy of torture, rape, and murder — is a splendid event in the history of the world, carried out by the “kingdomly” fighters who are “beacons shining in all of humanity.” He insists that existence has no meaning without resistance, and “life is meaningless without jihad. Existence and life gain meaning from the act of resistance itself.” “Resistance” is the word used by Hamas to describe its mass-murdering of Israeli civilians on October 7.

I cannot fathom the “thought” of this thinker. All I come away with is a deep foreboding that his paean of extravagant praise for the Hamas torturers, rapists, and murderers may be shared by many Muslims. Perhaps you can make a semblance of sense from his chilling, and chiliastic, celebration of a world where only Islam rules. Let us hope that the complete dismemberment by the IDF of the terror group that unleashed the “Al-Aqsa Flood” will deflate Abdelrahman’s pride in their ghastly accomplishments.