This conversation is a direct challenge to the moral claims of Western philosophy in the face of Gaza. I speak with Professor Dr. Irfan Ahmad, professor of anthropology and sociology at Ibn Haldun University in Istanbul. The discussion looks at Habermas as a major German public intellectual, then moves into Western Marxism, colonial blind spots, and the way Palestine is pushed out of the moral frame. I also press the question of universalism, and the exchange shows how claims of reason, consensus, and humanism can turn into cover for power, war, and selective silence. In the end, the episode is both a critique of Habermas and a wider critique of the West’s refusal to face colonialism as a living structure.
Links:
DOI of Irfan's article on Habermas:
https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2025.2466001Website:
https://www.irfanahmad.org/Academia page:
https://ibnhaldun.academia.edu/ProfIrfanAhmadResearchGate profile:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Irfan-Ahmad-24Neutrality Studies substack:
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https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourthwall.comTimestamps:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:22 Habermas and German public life
00:06:22 Western Marxism and imperial blind spots
00:11:14 Gaza and the erasure of history
00:18:54 Colonialism missing from Western thought
00:32:06 Habermas as an ethnic thinker
00:42:06 Consensus talk and support for war
00:58:35 Final reflections and guest links