About the Podcast:
- How do political narratives shape legitimacy, and why do they so often divide the world into “good” and “evil”?
- Why did Islamism once inspire powerful visions of justice and dignity, and what explains its decline today?
- In a post-Islamist moment marked by disappointment and “melancholia”, what new narratives are emerging in Muslim societies?
In this episode of Thinking Islam, Dr Fatemeh Sadeghi explores the powerful role of storytelling in shaping political life. Drawing on both Islamic intellectual traditions and modern social theory, she argues that narratives are not merely reflections of power; they are the very means by which power is justified, contested, and imagined. From early Islamic history, where hadith and sīra functioned as political narratives, to contemporary movements such as Islamism and the far right, Dr Sadeghi shows how stories mobilise communities by offering visions of justice, belonging, and salvation. These narratives often rely on familiar structures – binary oppositions, nostalgic visions of a lost golden age, and promises of redemption – that give people a sense of direction in times of uncertainty.
The conversation then turns to the contemporary Muslim world, where Dr Sadeghi describes a “melancholic condition” shaped by the unfulfilled promises of Islamist movements. Once a powerful narrative of anti-colonial resistance and moral renewal, Islamism, she argues, has declined as it lost its ability to generate compelling futures, leaving behind a sense of loss, trauma, and disillusionment. Yet this moment of mourning is not merely a crisis – it is also an opportunity. Through critical engagement with both Islamic sources and global intellectual traditions, Dr Sadeghi points to emerging possibilities, from more inclusive theological narratives to new forms of belonging that move beyond narrow or exclusionary identities.
Ultimately, the discussion raises a profound question: if all political and even religious commitments are mediated through stories, what kinds of narratives are needed today to sustain hope, justice, and meaningful collective life?
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Learn More About Our Guest:
Dr Fatemeh Sadeghi is a sociologist and political theorist at the UCL Institute for Global Prosperity. Her research explores political imagination, gender, and the role of narrative in shaping social order and legitimacy, offering a powerful lens through which to understand the moral and political crises of our time.
