Asim Qureshi
asimqureshi.bsky.social
Asim Qureshi
@asimqureshi.bsky.social
Research Director at CAGE International. Author of Rules of the Game: Detention Deportation Disappearance (2009), A Virtue of Disobedience (2019), When Only God Can See: The Faith Muslim Political Prisoners (2024); and editor of I Refuse to Condemn (2020).
Pinned
Hi bluesky - trying to break from what feels like a lifetime on X/Twitter, so hope to connect with old and new friends here.

I mostly write and research on the violence of global War of Terror that has pathologised and harmed communities across the world.

The pic is of my latest book.
To understand Zionism at its core, the team at Riverway Law representing Hamas, wanted to ensure that adequate material was made available to the Home Secretary in understanding settler colonialism - the root of Zionist presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
May 12, 2025 at 8:21 PM
🧵 In preparation for the Riverway Law application to the UK Home Secretary to have Hamas removed as banned terrorist organisation, I worked with the lawyers to gather experts who provided the evidence base that would form the factual backbone of our legal submissions
May 5, 2025 at 9:29 AM
I write for Ceasefire on my expert reports for the Riverway Law application to have Hamas removed from the list of proscribed terrorist organisations.

Palestinians have a natural law right to resist their dispossession - and we must support that right.

ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/comment-disp...
Comment | Dispossession resistance is a natural law right of the Palestinian people | Ceasefire Magazine
The Palestinian struggle is very much one of the theft of land, and the choice of a people to not give up on that land and maintain their moral authority over it, writes Asim Qureshi.
ceasefiremagazine.co.uk
May 4, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Reposted by Asim Qureshi
April 17, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Reposted by Asim Qureshi
Fed up with electoralism? Looking for a better way to engage politically? This is an adaptation of an older subMedia zine that serves as a good introduction to direct action. 🧵1/10
March 5, 2025 at 11:18 PM
After 13 years of working slowly on this, I finally publish this report on the Islamic duty towards Muslim political prisoners/captives this Ramadan for CAGE International. Sincere thanks to Shaykh Yusuf Shabbir for his comments to improve the argument. A 🧵

t.co/qpf5PgTCZp
https://www.cage.ngo/articles/new-report-examines-muslim-duty-towards-prisoners
t.co
March 3, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Reposted by Asim Qureshi
At the infamous Palestine branch in Damascus, several former detainees who were brutally tortured there are now guarding the facility. What will happen to this site of so much horror will say a lot about the Syria's future.

My piece w. Obaida Hamad.

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...
‘Finally this is justice’: the Assad torture survivors who guard their former jail
Men imprisoned and abused at the notorious Palestine branch detention centre return to the facility as free men
www.theguardian.com
February 12, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Enjoyed this translation of Wisam Rafeedie’s The Trinity of Fundamentals, a fictionalised account of his time in the Zionist occupation prisons. Yeah get a real understanding of how, even in the act of hiding, resistance movements maintain their dignity.
February 9, 2025 at 8:23 AM
“What happens to us in the future? Do we become assholes or something?”

I thought of this line from Back to the Future when considering the renewed policy of sending migrants to Guantanamo. It's nothing new, rather it’s central to the architecture of US violence

www.newarab.com/opinion/trum...
Trump sending migrants to Guantanamo isn't new
Trump is not the first US president to confine migrants in Guantanamo, but this sets back over 20 years of campaigning for its closure, explains Asim Qureshi.
www.newarab.com
February 7, 2025 at 2:41 PM
I can't believe that 5 years after publishing our book 'I Refuse to Condemn' and ten years since the anniversary of this interview, we are still being asked to condemn in order to prove that we are human beings.
January 13, 2025 at 10:00 AM
I wrote for @thenewarab.bsky.social on the purgatory of enforced disappearances from the secret prisons of Pakistan and the US to those in Syria. Of the continued search of Amina Janjua and Wafa Ali Mustafa, as they seek any details/accountability of their loved ones.
www.newarab.com/opinion/paki...
From Pakistan to Syria: The purgatory of enforced disappearances
sim Qureshi describes the painful limbo of families of those disappeared as many Syrians still await news on the fate of loved ones taken by the Assad regime.
www.newarab.com
January 9, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Thinking of my friend Dr Abbas Khan this morning. A wonderful man who was martyred by Assad's forces in the course of trying to use his medical skills to aid the Syrians. Allah yarhamahu, ameen.
December 12, 2024 at 10:55 AM
Syria liberated from Assad’s brutal regime, spanning more than 5 decades, after nearly 14 years of resistance. Victory is a testament to the sacrifices of the Syrian people, enduring unimaginable hardship while maintaining hope.

@CAGEintl statement: www.cage.ngo/articles/ass...
Assad’s Tyranny Ends with Syria’s Liberation
www.cage.ngo
December 8, 2024 at 1:25 PM
For those familiar with the murders, executions, and enforced disappearances and torture in post-9/11 Pakistan - such videos of the military are not surprising at all based on testimony we gathered over the last 23 years. It’s just that it’s now being caught on video.
November 27, 2024 at 11:54 AM
One of the most detailed accounts of Palestinian resistance from the Nakba through to Oslo - showing how tactics varied based on the exigencies of different moments of Palestinians demanding their right to self determination.

I hope @yezidsayigh.bsky.social will follow up from 93 to today.
November 26, 2024 at 4:50 PM
Humanitarian efforts for Gaza exist in a cycle of abuse that ultimately benefits the economy of Israel. This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be helping to reconstruct Gaza, but it does mean we need to rethink efficacy of efforts.
November 23, 2024 at 1:55 PM
Reposted by Asim Qureshi
The UK is no longer safe for families who have faced political persecution. I came to the UK in 1990, we were the first Tunisian family from Ennahda to seek refuge here. There were Palestinians, Egyptians & other asylum seekers that already established communities in London.
November 22, 2024 at 10:14 AM
Reposted by Asim Qureshi
The SOAS Lecture by Francesca Albanese is now available on Youtube:

Imperialism, Colonialism and Human Rights: The Litmus Test of Palestine youtu.be/v9_mzAzWnXA?...
Imperialism, Colonialism and Human Rights: The Litmus Test of Palestine
YouTube video by SOAS University of London
youtu.be
November 20, 2024 at 2:16 PM
Zoe Rogers turned 21 a few weeks ago while inside prison for shutting down an Elbit weapons site - a company directly involved in the ongoing genocide in Palestine. She is one of the bravest souls in the UK.

This is Zoe’s brave mother, reading a poem by her incarcerated daughter. 1/3
November 21, 2024 at 8:55 AM
Always a wonderful moment when friends you respect read your work.

Been great engaging in conversations with readers about the stories these political prisoners have to tell and how different readers internalise them.

It was an honour to narrate these prisoners away from racist pathologies.
Recently read #WhenOnlyGodCanSee by Walaa Quisay & @asimqureshi.bsky.social. It continues with the theme of Muslims caught up in the global War on Terror.

I read this primarily as an introspective Muslim reflecting on my own faith, and the faith of fellow Muslims.
November 20, 2024 at 9:09 AM
Reposted by Asim Qureshi
Edward Said wrote about the racist function of the label "terrorist" back in 1986 in this book review: www.thenation.com/article/arch...

The book he was critiquing was "Terrorism: How the West Can Win", by Benjamin Netanyahu.
November 19, 2024 at 6:00 PM
Decolonial texts forthcoming:

‘Gastronomy of the Oppressed’ by Paulo FryingPan

‘Decentring Europe from the tongue: towards a decolonial praxis of fillings, seasoning and condiments’ by Maryam X
congrats to gen-z for finally killing sandwiches, and taking over the role of "serial killer of cultural nostalgia" from millennials. Millennials, you are now boomers, and need to defend your turf. Boomers, you need to yell at preschoolers. Gen X ... we are still being ignored.
November 19, 2024 at 5:32 PM
Reposted by Asim Qureshi
Day 29: "I Refuse to Condemn: Resisting Racism in the times of National Security" edited by Asim Qureshi. @AsimCP

Relevant, powerful 2020 compilation by global voices that shines light on root causes of imperialism & racism.

Paired w/ "Neon sprinkles". 🧶
June 29, 2024 at 4:41 PM
Reposted by Asim Qureshi
The complicity of universities cannot be ignored. Some thoughts for @aljazeera.com a couple of months ago: www.aljazeera.com/opinions/202...
November 17, 2024 at 8:57 AM
Reposted by Asim Qureshi
I've put together this starter on Global Muslim Studies, based on my work at the Middle East Department, Edinburgh University.

Lots of brilliant academics and activists who have often provided both inspiration and hope.

If you want to be added (or removed), please message me!

go.bsky.app/CG71aga
November 16, 2024 at 11:09 AM