‘You have to fight back,’ public intellectual Tariq Ali tells packed Fredericton auditorium [video]

Renowned public intellectual Tariq Ali delivered a lecture to a full capacity auditorium on Tuesday evening at St. Thomas University in Fredericton.

The talk, entitled “the Frailties of Western Civilization,” explored the themes of colonialism, dispossession, and imperialism in the wake of Israel’s assault on Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank following the Hamas-led surprise attacks of Oct. 7, 2023. 

“The reason I chose this particular subject is, I think, obvious,” Ali said. “For one whole year we have been witnessing what virtually all the human rights organizations — including from within the United Nations, including Amnesty International, and many others — have characterized as a genocide.”

He described how the devastation in Gaza has been paired with increasing levels of repression in the Western world, with countries that have supported Israel militarily, economically, and diplomatically also seeking to isolate or contain Palestinian solidarity movements

He focused in particular on the denial of free speech and free assembly, once held up as fundamental liberal values. He told the crowd to fight back and defend their rights.

“Do not be frightened away by politicians or any others telling you not to think what you want to think,” he said, noting widespread efforts in countries such as the United States, Canada and elsewhere to smear Palestine solidarity activists as antisemitic.

“The freedom to think, the freedom to make up your own minds, the freedom to read books that they want you to stop reading, the freedom to say what you want to say without being accused of antisemitism, which is grotesque in 99 per cent of the cases — just to stop people thinking — don’t ever accept that… you have to fight back.”

He also spoke about U.S. President Donald Trump and warned that his threats of territorial expansion, including the annexation of Canada and Greenland, should be taken seriously.

“If they can take over and break Iraq into pieces, if they can do the same to Palestine at the present moment, if they can threaten other parts of the Middle East, why shouldn’t they threaten parts of Europe which they feel are in their interest, like taking over Greenland?”

He urged the public to prepare themselves for the possibility that Trump will manage to co-opt the Canadian upper classes and annex the country. “Even a weak and supine Canadian political leadership would, at the very least, one hopes, insist on a referendum,” he said.

His remarks came just as Trump stated that the U.S. should “take over” and “own” the Gaza Strip and relocate its Palestinian population, in what has been widely condemned as a blatant call for ethnic cleansing.

Ali detailed the historical context for the current moment, drawing attention to events such as the conquest of South America by Spain.

He noted that philosopher Francesco di Vittoria justified that process at the time by suggesting that Indigenous people there had violated the “law of communication,” meaning “the freedom to travel freely across the continent and the right to trade.” 

This theme was present throughout the lecture, with Ali calling attention to the Western self-perception as superior, entitled to freedom of movement and rule over Indigenous populations. This stands in contrast to the language of liberalism and individual rights such as security of the person.

The talk concluded with a Q&A session, followed by a book signing and reception. The NB Media Co-op spoke with attendees who shared their thoughts on how to address the global issues that Ali had raised at a local level. 

“The last year has been very hopeless,” said one Palestinian audience member. “The message I took away was to have hope and to fight back and to continue resisting and not to allow these systems to overpower us.”

“I think a lot of the conversation focused on just being honest with ourselves about the political moment,” another attendee said.

One St. Thomas University student said the message was essentially hopeful, underlining the importance of community action for social justice at the local grassroots level.

“It’s just about community coming together and having their priorities put forward, whether that’s through peaceful assembly or that’s through citizens groups,” he said. “There are things we can do collectively.”

The talk was organized by the Atlantic Human Rights Centre and co-sponsored by STU’s departments of Political Science, History, English, and Sociology.

Ryan Hillier is a writer and settler living on the banks of the Petkootkweăk. David Gordon Koch is a staff reporter with the NB Media Co-op. This reporting has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada, administered by the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS).