Iqra 000
On Progressivism as technology, Islamic arguments for Bitcoin, Islam and the modern project plus much more
To readers,
Peace be upon you
I believe the Ishmaelite in the years to come must be antidisciplinary in outlook and spirit which means keeping a keen interest on multiple fronts. Complexity shatters silos and obliterates sterile credentialism. Yet to confront it, one must still be grounded in the Sacred.
This is a one-man operation - there is no organization. I suspect these letters will go out weekly although the frequency will likely change.
The Iqra Post will be a collection of readings on a wide range of topics that I believe deserve closer inspection and reflection, its function is essentially to provide a sieve to readers who may be interested in the topics and themes covered but are unsure how to start.
The topics in this issue are initial offerings but there are others I hope to cover in future issues. Additional topics such as longevity tech, the developments in the GCC and other salient Islamicate spheres. I’m also open to readers suggesting topics.
I hope that this spurs other individuals who are far more intelligent, resourceful and blessed by the Almighty to focus their attentions on the themes and issues covered here.
Ultimately, all action, all knowledge obtained is for the sake of attaining closeness to the One.
And truly God knows best
Muslim Twitter
Insightful thread by Evollaqi on the limitations of scientific enquiry, here he takes a look at physics - full thread
Shaykh Spiker using the work of Imam al Ghazali to warn about the dangers of fanaticism that although were made in the context of Islamic scholastic controversies could also serve of some use for our own times - full thread
New publication incoming from Prof. Caner Dagli - I enjoy the rather striking cover art and see the work as perhaps a long awaited and needed comprehensive rebuttal to "What Is Islam?" by Shahab Ahmed alongside other sacred cows of Euro-American academic orthodoxy
AI
"While Kurzweil and others are overly optimistic about the prospects of Dataism, others such as Harari and Bostrom—despite acknowledging the inevitability of such a future—see ominous signs. Harari, who writes for a popular audience and has earned a huge online following, claims, naively, that science is converging on an all-encompassing dogma, according to which everything is algorithm, while life is but data processing. Nevertheless, he correctly observes that Dataism adopts a strictly functional approach to human beings, evaluating the value of human experiences according to their function in data processing mechanisms. In this perspective, algorithms will eventually substitute for the richness of human life by fulfilling those functions better.[26](https://renovatio.zaytuna.edu/article/ai-versus-human-consciousness#footnote-26) In Harari’s estimation, the dystopian future resulting from the dominance of Dataism is inevitable. He portrays such a future in bleak terms, predicting how a data-centric world will replace a homocentric world" - AI Versus Human Consciousness
China's slow AI roll-out points to its tech sector's new regulatory reality
“Proposals for stringent AI model licensing and surveillance will likely be ineffective or counterproductive, concentrating power in unsustainable ways, and potentially rolling back the societal gains of the Enlightenment. The balance between defending society and empowering society to defend itself is delicate. We should advocate for openness, humility and broad consultation to develop better responses aligned with our principles and values — responses that can evolve as we learn more about this technology with the potential to transform society for good or ill” - AI Safety and the Age of Dislightenment
BioTech
The AI bubble similar to the dot.com bubble is creating wildly optimistic moves at present but techno-bubbles are merely a prelude to a Kuhnian paradigm shift that will lags a decade or two behind investor mania. Consider the recent partnership between NVIDIA and Recursion that at present may seem like hype but may alter the pharmaceutical industry in the years to come.
A good realistic look at AI hype can be found here
Economics/Investment
Lately, I have found the works of investors particularly those who are successful insightful for understanding the world in a practical fashion. Many have philosophical sensibilities but they turn their attention to specific worldly goals, but I believe there is still much to be gained from their insights on the direction of travel that we find ourselves on. I also think it is important to understand Progressivism as a type of technology which is grounded in a particular financial and economic order. Therefore, it is important to understand such matters.
Howard Marks has just published a new memo that doubles up as a wonderful digest of previous memos and salient market movements over the span of his very long career. Its worth reading, and provides some commentary on a new potential macro environment that we are headed towards. My own reading is that new macro environments will definitely have ripple effects downstream on moral formation and virtue but at this moment in time it is chaotically unpredictable to say which way the wind will blow
Cornwall is an odd place, but it may come up frequently in the headlines in years to come because of lithium - the precious element that powers electronic vehicles. A really well written piece here by Zion Lights and for the Muslims of Anglia perhaps opportunity here too. I believe great days do indeed lie ahead for the UK, there is still tremendous potential and promise. Yet, there is vast biological exhaustion and cultural alienation that refuses to see the blessings from the Almighty. Perhaps what is needed is a peoples endowed with the virtues of thankfulness and gratefulness to make use of the gifts to come?
Amidst the euphoric rallies, it is still worth noting that not much has changed in regards to inflation - see this by the folks at Bridgewater
Per Bylund on the nonsense of MMT
Bitcoin/Crypto
Shaykh Abdullah Ali attended the Muslim Bitcoiner podcast (you should definitely subscribe) for a hard hitting discussion on Islam, economics, price fixing, interest, the current banking system and CBDCs - a refreshing perspective on very topical issues using an Islamic frame of reference that I trust others who are also alienated by the current arrangement would find beneficial. God does work in mysterious ways, perhaps the anti-Riba properties of Bitcoin may yet guide more people to the Muhammadi Promise.
I've been fascinated by Bitcoin in many ways and my journey towards reaching it is unusual given I came across the concept not as a retail investor or a asset manager looking to diversify. I arrive at Bitcoin through reading Hallaq's The Impossible State (I must recommend Imam Tom's series on blogging theology as perhaps the most accessible introduction/companion to the work in podcasting longform - it is worth diving into given the book is dense and difficult to read in one sitting). I remain compelled by the argument that money can be an affair that can be divorced from the State.
This episode of "What is Money" podcast takes a deeper dive into this notion. My Snipd notes on the episode:
I have no great affection for Charles Hoskinson’s Cardano altcoin but it is clear he understands the age we live in. This lecture is a good introduction to the five pillars (one can speculate if Hoskinson used the ‘five pillar’ reference deliberately) that will ultimately come to define our humanity in the coming century - AI, quantum computing, synthetic biology, nanontech and blockchain technology.
Faith and Culture
The scandals and abuses within the Catholic Church make for excessively grim reading and as a Muslim I should bear witness that the same foibles inside the Church could very well be festering within our mosques too. In any case, the tremendous loss of faith from the iniquities of men bears reflecting on. This thoughtful long form piece by Daniel Philpott deserves some consideration although I disagree in several places with the author mainly because I feel the Islamic imperative for justice for victims is utterly paramount.
Political/Social Commentary
"Short of actual revolution, new-class penetration into people’s lives and workplaces has a similarly controlling and suffocating quality. The “new professionals” of the new class latch onto human emotions and relationships, positioning themselves as saviours, therapists, and social activists. They are adept at identifying new “social emergencies” in workplaces and institutions and championing policies and bureaucracies to “address” or “abolish” them (staffed, naturally, by new cadres of salaried new-class employees)" - The Problem of the "New Elite
"Tourism is marked by its locomotive character. “I went to France.” O.K., but what did you do there? “I went to the Louvre.” O.K., but what did you do there? “I went to see the ‘Mona Lisa.’ ” That is, before quickly moving on: apparently, many people spend just fifteen seconds looking at the “Mona Lisa.” It’s locomotion all the way down" - The Case Against Travel
My own rambling reflections on Progressivism as a type of technology
Knowledge Tools
Thread on using a new AI based app called Snipd to aide in note-taking for podcasts. I've been using it for a few weeks and have it integrated into my Readwise, I never took podcasts seriously beforehand as a medium because it's incredibly time consuming to sift through them. With snipd at least I have shorthand notes to recollect and create an archive of listening so it becomes a genuinely viable source of knowledge and not just passive edutainment
Google launches NotebookLM - An AI Note-Taking Assistant - my own perspective is that one should jealously guard the privacy of one’s data. In this vein, I would suggest a more privacy orientated note taking software like Obsidian, Logseq or Anytype. Although if Mem cracks integrations with other tools the lure of a self organizing AI managing the structure of one’s notes may give pause for thought.