Talal Asad Quotes

Modern sovereignty, whether expressed through killing in battle or the torture of suspects, brings together the desire to build up and the desire to destroy, to let Aid Agencies offer charity (in its...

Modern sovereignty, whether expressed through killing in battle or the torture of suspects, brings together the desire to build up and the desire to destroy, to let Aid Agencies offer charity (in its...

Talal Asad

Tags: compassion, killing, sovereignty, war

Let me pursue this point briefly with reference to what is described in our media, and by many of our public intellectuals, as the Islamic roots of violence—especially since September 2001. Religion h...

Talal Asad

Let me pursue this point briefly with reference to what is described in our media, and by many of our public intellectuals, as the Islamic roots of violence—especially since September 2001. Religion h...

Talal Asad

About Author

Talal Asad (born 1932) is a Saudi-born cultural anthropologist who is currently Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Anthropology and Middle Eastern Studies at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. His prolific body of work mainly focuses on religiosity, Middle Eastern studies, postcolonialism, and notions of power, law and discipline. He is also known for his writing calling for an anthropology of secularism. His work has had a significant influence beyond his home discipline of anthropology. As Donovan Schaefer writes:The gravitational field of Asad’s influence has emanated far from his home discipline and reshaped the landscape of other humanistic disciplines around him.