Deliver toBahrain
Queer Companions: Religion, Public Intimacy, and Saintly Affects in Pakistan

Description:

In Queer Companions Omar Kasmani theorizes saintly intimacy and the construction of queer social relations at Pakistan’s most important site of Sufi pilgrimage. Conjoining queer theory and the anthropology of Islam, Kasmani outlines the felt and enfleshed ways in which saintly affections bind individuals, society, and the state in Pakistan through a public architecture of intimacy. Islamic saints become lovers and queer companions just as a religious universe is made valuable to critical and queer forms of thinking. Focusing on the lives of ascetics known as fakirs in Pakistan, Kasmani shows how the affective bonds with the place’s patron saint, a thirteenth-century antinomian mystic, foster unstraight modes of living in the present. In a national context where religious shrines are entangled in the state’s infrastructures of governance, coming close to saints further entails a drawing near to more-than-official histories and public forms of affect. Through various fakir life stories, Kasmani contends that this intimacy offers a form of queer world making with saints.


Editorial Reviews

Review

“A lyrical and moving meditation on Islamic saints, Sufi intimacies, and affective histories of contemporary Pakistan. Through encounters with fakir life stories, Omar Kasmani offers us an exquisitely written ethnography on the queerness of religion, region, and belonging. Queer Companions pulls us in, moving us toward more radical modes of the social life of the intimate.” -- Anjali Arondekar, author of ― For the Record: On Sexuality and the Colonial Archive in India

Queer Companions presents the reader with perceptive observations that illustrate how desire not only works, but worlds. How striving for saintly companionship puts certain futures within your reach, while this orientation alienates you from other normative ways of life.” -- Max Schnepf ― Hypotheses

“By engaging with the ways in which fakirs in Sehwan encounter and experience affective bonds with the more-than-human and more-than-living, Kasmani ingeniously illustrates a form of queer world-making in unexpected places. For those who ruminate on questions pertaining to queerness, Islam, affective encounters with more-than-human entities, and/or religion-state relations,
Queer Companions is an essential book and it will truly bloom as a companion in the time to come.” -- Febi R. Ramadhan ― Reading Religion

"In reading queerness religiously, this ethnography unsettles the epistemological foundations of both queer and religious studies, leaving the reader to contemplate unorthodox intimacies between saints and fakirs, religionists and queer scholars, shrines in the global South and gayborhoods in the global North." -- Lucinda Ramberg ―
GLQ

"It is a testament to Kasmani’s engaging, poetic writing and thought-provoking theoretical intervention that I found myself mulling over the book for some time after reading it and continue to do so now months later. This is not a book to be read once. It warrants multiple (re)readings to fully tease out and appreciate the intricate suturing Kasmani performs of queer, religious, and affect studies to make an insightful, transformative argument for tarrying at the intersections of these disciplines to rethink their very constitution and possibilities." -- Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz ―
Pacific Affairs

“Kasmani’s multilingualism, the length of his fieldwork research, and his personal cultural and religious backgrounds offer a unique perspective that is a valuable addition to the literature.” -- Suvarna Variyar ―
Journal for the Academic Study of Religion

“An excellent read . . . [
Queer Companions] will draw in students at all levels while introducing them to recent anthropological theorizing and method.” -- Katherine Pratt Ewing ― Journal of Anthropological Research

"Kasmani’s
Queer Companions moves through a detailed web of relationships, networks, and bureaucracies to give us a rich and moving ethnography of fakir lives in Sindh, Pakistan." -- Hafsa Arain ― Anthropological Quarterly

"A tour de force in the anthropology of Pakistan, this book is certain to break new grounds in our understanding and engagement with the microcosm of South Asian Muslim devotional selfhood, in all its internal diversity."
  -- Vanja Hamzic ―
Bloomsbury Pakistan

Review

“Feeling through the intimacies that reveal the ways that ‘coming close’ and ‘going astray’ can sometimes unfold together, Omar Kasmani composes a remarkable cartography of unstraight lines and affective textures, of the plural besideness of the mundane and the divine and the queer. Compelling and conceptually original, this is a book of singular encounters with subtly shifting forces.” -- Gregory J. Seigworth, Professor of Digital Communication and Cultural Studies, Millersville University

Details:

Queer Companions: Religion, Public Intimacy, and Saintly Affects in Pakistan

Product ID: U1478018038
|

Returns & Warranty policies

Imported From: United States

At BOLO, we work hard to ensure the products you receive are new, genuine, and sourced from reputable suppliers.

Every product in the BOLO catalogue is sourced through our Verified Global Supply Network of verified sellers, authorized distributors or directly from the manufacturer.

Each product undergoes thorough inspection and verification at our consolidation and fulfilment centers to ensure it meets our strict authenticity and quality standards before being shipped and delivered to you.

If you ever have concerns regarding the authenticity of a product purchased from us, please contact Bolo Support. We will review your inquiry promptly and, if necessary, provide documentation verifying authenticity or offer a suitable resolution.

Your trust is our top priority, and we are committed to maintaining transparency and integrity in every transaction.

While we strive to display accurate information, variations in packaging, labeling, instructions, or formulation may occasionally occur due to regional differences or supplier updates. For detailed or manufacturer-specific information, please contact the brand directly or reach out to BOLO Support for assistance.

Unless otherwise stated, all prices displayed on the product page include applicable taxes and import duties.

BOLO operates in accordance with the laws and regulations of Bahrain. Any items found to be restricted or prohibited for sale within the Bahrain will be cancelled prior to shipment. We take proactive measures to ensure that only products permitted for sale in Bahrain are listed on our website.

All items are shipped by air, and any products classified as “Dangerous Goods (DG)” under IATA regulations will be removed from the order and cancelled.

All orders are processed manually, and we make every effort to process them promptly once confirmed. Products cancelled due to the above reasons will be permanently removed from listings across the website.

Queer Companions: Religion, Public Intimacy, and Saintly Affects in Pakistan

Product ID: U1478018038
Queer Companions: Religion, Public Intimacy, and Saintly Affects in Pakistan-0
|

Returns & Warranty policies

Imported From: United States

At BOLO, we work hard to ensure the products you receive are new, genuine, and sourced from reputable suppliers.

Every product in the BOLO catalogue is sourced through our Verified Global Supply Network of verified sellers, authorized distributors or directly from the manufacturer.

Each product undergoes thorough inspection and verification at our consolidation and fulfilment centers to ensure it meets our strict authenticity and quality standards before being shipped and delivered to you.

If you ever have concerns regarding the authenticity of a product purchased from us, please contact Bolo Support. We will review your inquiry promptly and, if necessary, provide documentation verifying authenticity or offer a suitable resolution.

Your trust is our top priority, and we are committed to maintaining transparency and integrity in every transaction.

While we strive to display accurate information, variations in packaging, labeling, instructions, or formulation may occasionally occur due to regional differences or supplier updates. For detailed or manufacturer-specific information, please contact the brand directly or reach out to BOLO Support for assistance.

Unless otherwise stated, all prices displayed on the product page include applicable taxes and import duties.

BOLO operates in accordance with the laws and regulations of Bahrain. Any items found to be restricted or prohibited for sale within the Bahrain will be cancelled prior to shipment. We take proactive measures to ensure that only products permitted for sale in Bahrain are listed on our website.

All items are shipped by air, and any products classified as “Dangerous Goods (DG)” under IATA regulations will be removed from the order and cancelled.

All orders are processed manually, and we make every effort to process them promptly once confirmed. Products cancelled due to the above reasons will be permanently removed from listings across the website.

Description:

In Queer Companions Omar Kasmani theorizes saintly intimacy and the construction of queer social relations at Pakistan’s most important site of Sufi pilgrimage. Conjoining queer theory and the anthropology of Islam, Kasmani outlines the felt and enfleshed ways in which saintly affections bind individuals, society, and the state in Pakistan through a public architecture of intimacy. Islamic saints become lovers and queer companions just as a religious universe is made valuable to critical and queer forms of thinking. Focusing on the lives of ascetics known as fakirs in Pakistan, Kasmani shows how the affective bonds with the place’s patron saint, a thirteenth-century antinomian mystic, foster unstraight modes of living in the present. In a national context where religious shrines are entangled in the state’s infrastructures of governance, coming close to saints further entails a drawing near to more-than-official histories and public forms of affect. Through various fakir life stories, Kasmani contends that this intimacy offers a form of queer world making with saints.


Editorial Reviews

Review

“A lyrical and moving meditation on Islamic saints, Sufi intimacies, and affective histories of contemporary Pakistan. Through encounters with fakir life stories, Omar Kasmani offers us an exquisitely written ethnography on the queerness of religion, region, and belonging. Queer Companions pulls us in, moving us toward more radical modes of the social life of the intimate.” -- Anjali Arondekar, author of ― For the Record: On Sexuality and the Colonial Archive in India

Queer Companions presents the reader with perceptive observations that illustrate how desire not only works, but worlds. How striving for saintly companionship puts certain futures within your reach, while this orientation alienates you from other normative ways of life.” -- Max Schnepf ― Hypotheses

“By engaging with the ways in which fakirs in Sehwan encounter and experience affective bonds with the more-than-human and more-than-living, Kasmani ingeniously illustrates a form of queer world-making in unexpected places. For those who ruminate on questions pertaining to queerness, Islam, affective encounters with more-than-human entities, and/or religion-state relations,
Queer Companions is an essential book and it will truly bloom as a companion in the time to come.” -- Febi R. Ramadhan ― Reading Religion

"In reading queerness religiously, this ethnography unsettles the epistemological foundations of both queer and religious studies, leaving the reader to contemplate unorthodox intimacies between saints and fakirs, religionists and queer scholars, shrines in the global South and gayborhoods in the global North." -- Lucinda Ramberg ―
GLQ

"It is a testament to Kasmani’s engaging, poetic writing and thought-provoking theoretical intervention that I found myself mulling over the book for some time after reading it and continue to do so now months later. This is not a book to be read once. It warrants multiple (re)readings to fully tease out and appreciate the intricate suturing Kasmani performs of queer, religious, and affect studies to make an insightful, transformative argument for tarrying at the intersections of these disciplines to rethink their very constitution and possibilities." -- Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz ―
Pacific Affairs

“Kasmani’s multilingualism, the length of his fieldwork research, and his personal cultural and religious backgrounds offer a unique perspective that is a valuable addition to the literature.” -- Suvarna Variyar ―
Journal for the Academic Study of Religion

“An excellent read . . . [
Queer Companions] will draw in students at all levels while introducing them to recent anthropological theorizing and method.” -- Katherine Pratt Ewing ― Journal of Anthropological Research

"Kasmani’s
Queer Companions moves through a detailed web of relationships, networks, and bureaucracies to give us a rich and moving ethnography of fakir lives in Sindh, Pakistan." -- Hafsa Arain ― Anthropological Quarterly

"A tour de force in the anthropology of Pakistan, this book is certain to break new grounds in our understanding and engagement with the microcosm of South Asian Muslim devotional selfhood, in all its internal diversity."
  -- Vanja Hamzic ―
Bloomsbury Pakistan

Review

“Feeling through the intimacies that reveal the ways that ‘coming close’ and ‘going astray’ can sometimes unfold together, Omar Kasmani composes a remarkable cartography of unstraight lines and affective textures, of the plural besideness of the mundane and the divine and the queer. Compelling and conceptually original, this is a book of singular encounters with subtly shifting forces.” -- Gregory J. Seigworth, Professor of Digital Communication and Cultural Studies, Millersville University

Details: