French Literature Reviews - 2026
T. Asad, W. Brown, J. Butler, S. Mahmood, Is Critique Secular? Blasphemy, Injury, and Free Speech
Philosophy, Anthropology and Ideas
IS CRITIQUE SECULAR?
Blasphemy, Injury, and Free Speech
By:
Talal ASAD
Wendy BROWN
Judith BUTLER
Saba MAHMOOD
With a preface by Mathieu Potte-Bonneville
Presses Universitaires de Lyon
Published on 12/11/15
188 pages / 15.5 x 24 cm / 2015 / 20 €
ISBN-13 : 978-2-7297-0897-9
In the wake of the 2005 "Danish cartoon controversy," which was repeatedly featured in the European press—most notably in the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo—four American scholars, Talal Asad, Wendy Brown, Judith Butler, and Saba Mahmood, came together to discuss the place, definition, and perception of religion and secularism within critical thought and contemporary societies. Among the questions raised, they considered whether all critical endeavors can only be conceived within a secular context and, conversely, whether secularism can emerge only through critical labor.
Analyzing the presuppositions and conflations at play in discourses concerning a supposed clash of values, they interrogate Western representations of belief and rationality, along with the normative frameworks that underpin them. The ongoing inquiries and counter-arguments exchanged by these intellectuals from diverse fields of study offer a fresh perspective on conventional oppositions between the West and Islam, freedom of expression and censorship, judgment and violence, reason and prejudice.
Written in a dialogic style that has become increasingly rare, as Mathieu Potte-Bonneville notes in his preface, the contributors engage in critique themselves, striving to listen and respond to one another in order to foster a different polyphony—one that connects various cultural idioms and reflects upon their mutual translation.
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An article on this book can be read on the Mezetulle.fr blog:
This collaborative volume emerges from discussions among four scholars, addressing the entanglements of religion, secularism, and contemporary political discourse. The contributors examine the presuppositions and normative frameworks governing representations of belief and rationality, particularly in relation to the events following the 2005 Danish cartoon controversy. By questioning conventional oppositions between the West and Islam, freedom of expression and censorship, and reason and prejudice, the work engages with broader debates surrounding the limits of critical thought in modern societies.
Presented in a dialogic style noted by Mathieu Potte-Bonneville in the preface, the text reflects an ongoing exchange of inquiries and counter-arguments designed to foster a different polyphony among cultural idioms. Readers interested in contemporary political philosophy, the sociology of religion, and the intersections of secularism and free speech may find this volume relevant to their inquiries.