This is a narrative, to be sure, for those who are certain of the unseen intensities that shape law, aim, and intention. Laws coalesce around intuition then reason, so to regard the fruits of sense and thought as mindless lose sight of the root and branch of arboreal knowledge; the differential relations of mathemes precede the language of algorithms. Similarly, the dualism inherent in habitual practices of religion lack traction for a critical ontology of thought to subsume the metastasizing oncology of tribalism and violence that threaten our world. So unlike Radical Muslims who kill innocents for a past that never was and a future never to pass, Alt-Radical Muslims serve the sanctity of life that each moment exercises its universal power. In contrast to alt-right facts that weld world view to fantasy, sober drunkards imbibe the endless draught of Absolute Being’s non-identity to itself, an open totality of the differences in kind that originate and recreate the worlds of law, aim and intention. I begin by framing my radical introspection as a Muslim FDNY responder against the events of 9/11. From there I wander between epiphany and doubt, all in the shadow of radical finitude that render teleological goals meaningless. Indeed, it was in nihilism that I recognized an old foe in the FQXi theme, of alienated mindless laws little different from an arbitrary supreme lawmaker. I haven’t figured out my ending yet, and doubt I should or even could in a meaningful way for your story. I am indebted to Muhammad Asad’s translation and commentary on the Quran, Prophetic traditions (hadith), and numerous profound thinkers such as Gilles Deleuze and Mahmoud Taha.
Kevin James