Beyond the Liberal/Non-Liberal: Reclaiming Secularism in the Palestinian Society

Abstract

In August 2019, the local council of Umm al-Fahem, Israel, cancelled a scheduled performance of the known Palestinian rapper Tamer Nafar, claiming that Nafar’s artistic work did not meet with the town’s accepted religious, moral, and social norms. Subsequently, residents of the town and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, petitioned the Court against the local council’s interference with Nafar’s freedom of artistic expression. Significantly, Nafar was not among the petitioners. The Court concurred with the petitioners, determining that the local council had no authority to interfere with Nafar’s artistic content, and if there was concern regarding detrimental effects on public peace or security, police security should be provided for the event. Despite this ruling from an Israeli court, Nafar refused to perform in Umm al-Fahm. Instead, he accepted an invitation for dialogue with the conservative non-liberal forces within Umm al-Fahm council, a dialogue that resulted in reconciliation. I argue that Nafar’s decision, as a liberal subject to choose dialogue with non-liberal forces in Palestinian society embodies the conceptual foundations of post-secularism, which extend beyond the binary of liberal/non liberal divisions and binaries and pave the way for internal dialogue between religious and secular actors. It constructs a platform for liberal subjects in Palestinian society to be heard in the public Palestinian sphere, providing social and political alternatives to the violent authority of Israeli law.