“You do not need intellectuality for deep faith. You do not need it for behaving humanely towards people whether fellow Muslims or non-Muslims. You do not need a concept, a theory, you do not need intellectual arguments for justifying a way of living that is already in place in order for it to proceed.” PeopleWayNeedsOrderTheoryIntellectualConceptsArgumentFellows Author:Talal Asad
“I think we need to think about Islamic tradition as a way of asking questions that cut across (and transgress) the assumptions of a purely secular world in which we already know how things stand for individual subjects as well as for societies.” ThinkingKnowsWorldWayNeedsWellsIndividualKnow HowCuttingSubjectsTraditionAskingAssumptionIslamicSecularAsking Questions Author:Talal Asad
“For the law, the clarity of language and the finality of judgment is crucial, because you have to decide a case one way or another - whether it is criminal or civil or whatever. In ordinary life, you do not have to decide things with absolute finality. You do not have to decide on a theory in order to behave in a certain way towards other people.” PeopleWayLawCertainOrderLanguageCasesTheoryJudgmentOrdinaryAbsolutesCriminalsClarityOne WayBehaveCrucialOrdinary LifeFinality Author:Talal Asad
“Agency has become a catch word. In a way, this intoxication with ‘agency’ is the product of liberal individualism. The ability of individuals to fashion themselves, to change their live, is given ideological priority over the relation within which they themselves are actually formed, situated, and sustained.” WayPersonsIndividualGivenAbilitySituationRelationshipSocietyFashionProductsConsequenceRelationPrioritiesLife ChangingAgencyLiberalismIndividualismSustainabilitySociologyMaking ChangesFormationIdeologicalIntoxicationCatchySocial Interaction Author:Talal Asad