It’s wild to see well-read folks defend Jeff Goldblum by mentioning anti-gay laws of Muslim states, w/o interrogating how the violent imposition of colonial/secular institutions and modalities created the space for those laws/violence. You’d think progressives have range but nah.

The nation-state (and all it entails from coercive legal monism, nationalism, borders, etc.) is the most violent governing institution in history. The subjectivities it creates necessitate violence as a means and an end. It was not inaugurated by Muslims. It was forced upon them.

I have to eat. Instead of a long thread, here’s reading from my teacher Talal Asad explaining the problematics of a modern state and the unique forms of violence it inculcates. When you think of “law” and violence, this should be the starting point. https://www.academia.edu/2346023/Muhammad_Asad_between_Religion_and_Politics_-_Talal_Asad