Imam Tom Weekly, a Yaqeen podcast Why Some Scholars Critique Resistance | Focal Point with Imam Tom Facchine
Oct 23, 2025
Imam Tom explores why some scholars prioritize order over justice, revealing how Western philosophy has shaped this tendency. He discusses the concept of perennialism, critiquing its preference for personal piety over activism. The podcast highlights the consequences of romanticizing hierarchy, contrasting aesthetic traditions with the messy struggle for justice. Additionally, it delves into how these views can depoliticize issues like Palestine and serve state interests. Ultimately, Imam Tom calls for a return to integrity and the Islamic obligation for solidarity.
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Perennialism Prioritizes Order Over Resistance
- Perennialist thinkers prioritize metaphysical purity and order over political activism and structural critique.
- This worldview discourages resistance and elevates personal piety above collective action against oppression.
Spiritualizing Politics Sidelines Strategy
- Perennialists distrust political struggle and recast activism as worldly and spiritually impure.
- This perspective sidelines strategy and historical causation in favor of inward metaphysical remedies.
Nostalgia Can Mask Authoritarianism
- Perennialists romanticize pre-modern harmony and justify hierarchy, sometimes defending monarchy or caste.
- That nostalgia minimizes historical abuses and aligns some religious thinkers with authoritarian agendas.
