Manufacturing Consent: The Architects of the Good Muslim vs Bad Muslim Binary

By Naseer Ahmed, New Age Islam 8 August 2025 “The savage custom of denying the humanity of others is alive and well, disguised now in the language of liberalism and security.” — Frantz Fanon Introduction: Consent by Design, Islam by Dissection The modern Muslim is caught in a chokehold of narratives—not just from hostile powers, but from a class of writers, scholars, and state-endorsed thinkers who present Islam not as a religion, but as a pathology in need of surveillance, rehabilitation, or selective celebration. This is the manufacturing of consent—where Muslim identity is policed through a binary: the “Good Muslim,” who defers to liberal secular norms, upholds Zionist narratives, and disavows core Islamic principles; and the “Bad Muslim,” who is spiritual, vocal, or politically conscious in ways that threaten empire. The architects of this binary span think tanks, universities, media platforms, and even pulpits—some Muslim, others non-Muslim, all complicit in a global enterprise of ideological containment. Below is a curated list of 22 prominent figures who, through academic distortion, ideological compromise, or outright propaganda, have become the architects of this binary. Their influence shapes policy, justifies repression, and filters which Muslim voices are deemed respectable—and which are to be silenced. Profiles in Gatekeeping and Gaslighting 1. Fareed Zakaria – The Empire’s Newscaster CNN’s house Muslim who never misses an opportunity to endorse imperial wars with a velvet tongue. His Islam is ornamental—safely tucked into a neoliberal frame, denouncing “extremism” while legitimising drone strikes, sanctions, and regime change. 2. Maajid Nawaz – The Reformed Radical Turned Useful Tool Former self-proclaimed extremist turned CVE (Countering Violent Extremism) evangelist. Nawaz profits from tales of his “deradicalisation” while vilifying others who dare question the empire. His former group, Quilliam, promoted surveillance-friendly policies under the guise of Muslim reform. 3. Ayaan Hirsi Ali – The Ex-Muslim Missionary Marketed as a voice of dissent, she offers little more than recycled colonial tropes. Her attacks on Islam are often amplified by conservative and Zionist platforms, reinforcing the “Islam = terrorism” narrative under the banner of liberal enlightenment. 4. Irshad Manji – The Queer-Friendly Conformist Packages herself as a reformer who wants a “better” Islam, but her critiques are less about theology and more about reshaping Islam into something digestible to Western cultural sensibilities. Regularly hosted by pro-Israel organisations. 5. Ghulam Mohiyuddin – The Commentariat’s House Apologist An obscure yet persistent defender of Western narratives. He quickly labels incidents as “Islamic terrorism” and derides critics of US or Israeli policies as conspiracy theorists. His idea of “reform” is complete deference to Western liberalism and secular nationalism. 6. Qanta Ahmed – The Faithwashed Zionist A medical doctor who defends Israel in American media while using her Muslim identity to discredit Palestinian narratives. She paints criticism of Israel as antisemitism and frames pro-Palestinian Muslims as radical or un-American. 7. Robert S. Wistrich – The Academic Inquisitor An Israeli historian who frames Quranic critiques of Jewish injustice as antisemitic. He builds a continuity between Islamic theology and Nazi ideology, turning the religion of tawhid into an object of suspicion. His work creates the intellectual scaffolding for Islamophobic policies. 8. Ed Husain – The Polished Collaborator A former radical turned establishment darling. Now aligned with Chatham House and UAE think tanks, Husain paints any political expression of Islam as extremism and promotes a hollowed-out, state-approved version of religiosity. 9. Khaled Abou El Fadl – The Liberal Usulist A respected academic whose nuanced work is selectively cited to suggest that only liberal, Western-accommodating versions of Islam are legitimate. He critiques religious piety when it challenges the empire, but couches his critiques in scholarly language. 10. Adis Duderija – The Academic Gatekeeper A proponent of modernist Islamic theology, Duderija pushes panentheism and denies the legitimacy of intra-Qur’anic moral reasoning. He frames traditional and Quran-centric approaches as naive or dangerous, presenting liberal theology as the only safe Islam. 11. Zuhdi Jasser – The Patriot Imam Wants a domesticated Islam that fits neatly into the American nationalist project. He denounces Muslim political activism, paints mosques as hotbeds of extremism, and offers himself as the prototype of the ideal, state-serving Muslim. 12. Asra Nomani – The FBI’s Favourite Feminist A self-styled Muslim reformer who justifies government spying on Muslim communities. She dismisses structural injustices and uses identity politics to silence legitimate critiques of empire under the guise of protecting women’s rights. 13. Amina Wadud – The Gender Reformer Known for leading mixed-gender prayers, Wadud’s theological interventions serve as entry points for liberal secular norms into Muslim ritual life. Celebrated by Western institutions as proof that Islam can evolve into a form that reflects their values. 14. Reza Aslan – The Smiling Obfuscator Charismatic and popular in Western media, Aslan is more interested in being palatable than principled. He often evades clear moral stances on Western imperialism, preferring vague spiritual platitudes to uncomfortable truths. 15. Yasmin Green – The Techno-Censor As a Google executive and former head of Jigsaw, Green was part of shaping AI-based censorship tools targeting “extremist content.” Her work helps algorithmically suppress dissident Muslim voices under the banner of digital safety. 16. Mustafa Akyol – The Neo-Mu'tazili Apologist Writes for Western audiences to present Islam as rational only when stripped of its metaphysical backbone. Akyol portrays spiritual commitment and legal rigour as irrational, framing liberal secularism as Islam’s natural partner. 17. Bernard Haykel – The Authoritative Interlocutor His work on Wahhabism is cited as gospel by Western media. Haykel lends scholarly weight to the idea that Islamic authenticity is a threat, thus justifying interventions, reforms, and state violence against those who embody it. 18. Thomas Hegghammer – The Terrorism Taxonomist Produces neat typologies of jihad that blur the line between legitimate grievance and violent extremism. His academic work provides an illusion of objectivity while justifying securitisation of Muslim political agency. 19. Joas Wagemakers – The Normaliser of Ideological Surveillance His writings on Salafism reduce complex theological positions to latent extremism. Strips Islamic movements of socio-political context to portray them as mere security threats needing Western oversight. 20. Tariq Ramadan – The Controlled Opposition Despite his reputation as a reformist, Ramadan's critiques stop short of indicting the empire. He has been both elevated and discredited by the West—used when convenient, discarded when not. 21. F.E. Peters – The Orientalist Historian Presents Islam as a latecomer in the Abrahamic tradition—subtly undermining its theological integrity. His comparative religious studies often reinforce the narrative that Islam borrowed and distorted earlier revelations. 22. Andrew G. Bostom – The Crusading Pseudoscientist An Islamophobic commentator who cherry-picks Islamic texts to argue that Islam is inherently violent. His works are used in anti-Muslim propaganda and far-right movements, lending false academic legitimacy to bigotry. Conclusion: The War on Muslims Is Also a War on Meaning What unites this cohort is not uniform ideology, but strategic function. Some masquerade as insiders, others as critics, still others as neutral experts—but all serve the same end: to fracture Muslim integrity and render Islam safe for empire. They flatten a vast moral tradition into manageable soundbites, isolate the Quran from living ethical discourse, and rebrand resistance as radicalism. Their power is not in their insight, but in the institutional force behind their microphones. They are credentialed but not credible. Quoted, but not trusted by the people they claim to represent. They have helped manufacture a world in which a Muslim must pass ideological background checks just to be heard. This article is not just a critique of individuals. It is a mirror held up to a system that rewards compliance and punishes conviction. The path forward is not censorship of these voices, but exposure. Let their collaborators and funders be named. Let their distortions be dissected. And let their “Good Muslim” badge be returned to the issuers—for we neither need it, nor accept the terms it comes with. ----- A frequent contributor to NewAgeIslam.com, Naseer Ahmed is an independent researcher and Quran-centric thinker whose work bridges faith, reason, and contemporary knowledge systems. Through a method rooted in intra-Quranic analysis and scientific coherence, the author has offered ground-breaking interpretations that challenge traditional dogma while staying firmly within the Quran’s framework. His work represents a bold, reasoned, and deeply reverent attempt to revive the Quran’s message in a language the modern world can test and trust. URL: https://www.newageislam.com/the-war-within-islam/consent-architects-muslim-binary/d/136439 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism