The most profound, fundamental ideological paradox I have come across is no doubt Michel Foucault supporting the Islamic revolution in Iran. I cannot emphasise enough my amazement. Foucault is God in Swedish academia, not a prophet but God the Father Himself. In the social sciences, he is the one who paved the way for critical thinking about how language shapes our social practices, how power oppresses those who deviate with its norms of normality and mechanisms of exclusion. Foucault is the father of postmodern thought and discourse analysis. Every student who aspires to higher education must grasp his importance and take his ideas into account. It is inconceivable to criticise him in the academic world.

Yet he supported the Islamic Revolution and Khomeini, who practiced exactly what Foucault criticised so brilliantly: the violent exercise of power against those who deviate from the norm. I do not understand it but live daily with his legacy: the leftist-radical students wh...