Hannah Arendt spoke of the banality of evil the normalisation of the unutterable, simply because that was how things were in any given place and time. Is evil really so disappointing? We expect evil to be dramatic, unfathomable and remarkable; the workings of a twisted genius, a fallen angel, Iblis. But what if the mediocre perpetuate it, the followers, the weak, the masses? What defines evil? What is the devil s greatest trick in our contemporary world? Some even claim evil no longer exists if it ever did. The greying morality of postmodernism begs the question of whether one can even be good.
About Critical Muslim: A quarterly publication of ideas and issues showcasing groundbreaking thinking on Islam and what it means to be a Muslim in a rapidly changing, interconnected world. Each edition centers on a discrete theme, and contributions include reportage, academic analysis, cultural commentary, photography, poetry, and book reviews.
What defines evil? An examination of evil through the lens of Islamic Studies
