
The Metacolonial State
Pakistan, Critical Ontology, and the Biopolitical Horizons of Political Islam
Najeeb A. Jan(Author)
Wiley (Publisher)
1st Edition
Published on 15. March 2019
Book
Paperback/Softback
256 pages
978-1-118-97938-9 (ISBN)
Description
'An urgent and extraordinary book. Weaving a philosophical analysis of Heidegger, Agamben and Foucault, Jan draws out the implications of their thought for a radical analysis of the ontological politics of Islam and Pakistan. Whether writing about the 'Ulama and Deoband schools, blasphemy laws, the military, beards, or the Bamiyan Buddhas, Jan provokes and challenges our thinking while unearthing the ground on which Pakistan-and our world-are built.' -Joel Wainwright, Department of Geography, Ohio State University, USA
'In this exceptionally inventive and important book, Jan shows us that the problems besetting political life in Pakistan are part of a more troubling crisis in modern forms of power. Challenging accounts that cordon off "political Islam" from "the West," Jan discloses their fundamental indistinction and thus, through his practice of critical ontology, reorients our understanding of how power and violence are at work in the world.' -Joshua Barkan, Department of Geography, University of Georgia, USA
The Metacolonial State presents a novel rethinking of the relationship between Islam and the Political. Key to the text is an original argument regarding the "biopoliticization of Islam" and the imperative need for understanding sovereign power and the state of exception in resolutely ontological terms. Through the formulation of a critical ontology of political violence, The Metacolonial State endeavors to shed new light on the signatures of power undergirding postcolonial life, while situating Pakistan as a paradigmatic site for reflection on the nature of modernity's precarious present.
The cross-disciplinary approach of Dr. Jan's work is certain to have broad appeal among geographers, historians, anthropologists, postcolonial theorists, and political scientists, among others. At the same time, his explication of critical ontology - with its radical reading of the interlacement of history, power and the event - promises to add a bold new dimension to social science research on Islamism and biopolitics.
'In this exceptionally inventive and important book, Jan shows us that the problems besetting political life in Pakistan are part of a more troubling crisis in modern forms of power. Challenging accounts that cordon off "political Islam" from "the West," Jan discloses their fundamental indistinction and thus, through his practice of critical ontology, reorients our understanding of how power and violence are at work in the world.' -Joshua Barkan, Department of Geography, University of Georgia, USA
The Metacolonial State presents a novel rethinking of the relationship between Islam and the Political. Key to the text is an original argument regarding the "biopoliticization of Islam" and the imperative need for understanding sovereign power and the state of exception in resolutely ontological terms. Through the formulation of a critical ontology of political violence, The Metacolonial State endeavors to shed new light on the signatures of power undergirding postcolonial life, while situating Pakistan as a paradigmatic site for reflection on the nature of modernity's precarious present.
The cross-disciplinary approach of Dr. Jan's work is certain to have broad appeal among geographers, historians, anthropologists, postcolonial theorists, and political scientists, among others. At the same time, his explication of critical ontology - with its radical reading of the interlacement of history, power and the event - promises to add a bold new dimension to social science research on Islamism and biopolitics.
Reviews / Votes
'An urgent and extraordinary book. Weaving a philosophical analysis of Heidegger, Agamben and Foucault, Jan draws out the implications of their thought for a radical analysis of the ontological politics of Islam and Pakistan. Whether writing about the 'Ulama and Deoband schools, blasphemy laws, the military, beards, or the Bamiyan Buddhas, Jan provokes and challenges our thinking while unearthing the ground on which Pakistan-and our world-are built.'Joel Wainwright, Department of Geography, Ohio State University, USA
'In this exceptionally inventive and important book, Jan shows us that the problems besetting political life in Pakistan are part of a more troubling crisis in modern forms of power. Challenging accounts that cordon off "political Islam" from "the West," Jan discloses their fundamental indistinction and thus, through his practice of critical ontology, reorients our understanding of how power and violence are at work in the world.'
Joshua Barkan, Department of Geography, University of Georgia, USA
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 228 mm
Width: 153 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
391 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-118-97938-9 (9781118979389)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Najeeb A. Jan
The Metacolonial State
Pakistan, Critical Ontology, and the Biopolitical Horizons of Political Islam
Book
03/2019
1st Edition
Wiley
€88.50
Shipment within 15-20 days

Najeeb A. Jan
The Metacolonial State
Pakistan, Critical Ontology, and the Biopolitical Horizons of Political Islam
E-Book
01/2019
1st Edition
Wiley
€20.99
Available for download

Najeeb A. Jan
The Metacolonial State
Pakistan, Critical Ontology, and the Biopolitical Horizons of Political Islam
E-Book
01/2019
1st Edition
Wiley
€20.99
Available for download
Person
Najeeb A. Jan is Assistant Professor of Human Geography in the Department of Geography of the University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado.
Content
Series Editor's Preface
Acknowledgement
Introduction Islamapolis: The Crisis of Islam and the Political in Pakistan
1. Critical Ontology: The Biopolitical Apparatus
2. The Space of Emergency: The Military, Discipline and Political Theology
3. The Space of Law: 'Ulama, Shari'a, and the Technology of Blasphemy
4. The Space of War: Homo Islamicus, Body Politics and Jihad
5. The Space of Exception: Nationalism and Biopolitical Sovereignty
Conclusion: The Metacolonial and The Space of Thinking
Appendix A
Appendix B
Glossary
References
Acknowledgement
Introduction Islamapolis: The Crisis of Islam and the Political in Pakistan
1. Critical Ontology: The Biopolitical Apparatus
2. The Space of Emergency: The Military, Discipline and Political Theology
3. The Space of Law: 'Ulama, Shari'a, and the Technology of Blasphemy
4. The Space of War: Homo Islamicus, Body Politics and Jihad
5. The Space of Exception: Nationalism and Biopolitical Sovereignty
Conclusion: The Metacolonial and The Space of Thinking
Appendix A
Appendix B
Glossary
References