A CRITIQUE OF NEO-IMPERIAL INTERPELLATION IN TARIQ ALI’S WRITINGS by Hammad Mushtaq NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF MODERN LANGUAGES ISLAMABAD December 2018 A Critique of Neo-Imperial Interpellation in Tariq Ali’s Writings By Hammad Mushtaq MS English Linguistics and Literature, International Islamic University, Islamabad, 2011 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In English Literature To FACULTY OF LANGUAGES NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF MODERN LANGUAGES, ISLAMABAD © Hammad Mushtaq 2018 ii NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF MODERN LANGUAGES FACULTY OF LANGUAGES DISSERTATION AND DEFENSE APPROVAL FORM The undersigned certify that they have read the following thesis, examined the defense, are satisfied with the overall exam performance, and recommend the thesis to the Faculty of Languages for acceptance: Thesis Title: A Critique of Neo-Imperial Interpellation in Tariq Ali’s Writings Submitted by: Hammad Mushtaq Registration #: 397—PhD/ELit/Fall 11 English Literature Discipline Nighat Ahmed, PhD ______________________________ Supervisor Prof. Dr. Muhammad Safeer Awan ______________________________ Dean Faculty of Languages Maj. Gen. Zia Uddin Najam HI (M) (R) ______________________________ Rector 24.12.2018 iii CANDIDATE DECLARATION FORM I, Hammad Mushtaq, Son of Mushtaq Ahmed Registration # 397—PhD/ELit/Fall 11 Discipline English Literature Candidate of Doctor of Philosophy at the National University of Modern Languages do hereby declare that the dissertation A Critique of Neo-Imperial Interpellation in Tariq Ali’s Writings submitted by me in partial fulfilment of PhD degree, is my original work, and has not been submitted or published earlier. I also solemnly declare that it shall not, in future, be submitted by me for obtaining any other degree from this or any other university or institution. I also understand that if evidence of plagiarism is found in my thesis/dissertation at any stage, even after the award of a degree, the work may be cancelled and the degree revoked. ________________________ Hammad Mushtaq 24 December 2018 iv ABSTRACT Thesis Title: A Critique of Neo-Imperial Interpellation in Tariq Ali’s Writings This dissertation critiques the neo-imperial interpellation in fictional and non-fictional writings of British-Pakistani author Tariq Ali while focusing on the creation of hailed subjects interpellated by neo-imperial Western powers, particularly the United States of America. The study also examines Tariq Ali’s standing in relation to the Marxist and Postcolonial theories using the lens of Althusserian notions of Interpellation, Ideology, and Ideological State Apparatuses. The study analyzed three fictional and six non-fictional works of the author. Significance of this study lies in the fact that Tariq Ali’s fictional and non-fictional works were previously not analyzed using the postcolonial-Althusserian notions of interpellation and ideology. The Althusserian notion of interpellation and ideology in context of Marxist and Gramscian notions of ideology has provided new insights into postcolonial discourse and added significant knowledge to the realm of contemporary postcolonial literary theorization. The study has utilized qualitative textual analysis technique in order to reach to the answers it raised in the beginning. Content analysis technique, taken from the domain of textual analysis was applied which helped in analyzing huge amounts of textual content present in the nine books used for the study. A categorizing matrix was prepared, using the model proposed by Polit and Beck (2004), based on the themes and concepts present in the books, in line with the theoretical framework of the study. The text was then coded and analyzed while the analysis led to the findings of the study. The study concludes that Tariq Ali’s nonfiction necessarily positions him as a postcolonial critic who sees the contemporary imperialism of the West as violent, exploitative and interpellative. He sees the neo-imperial design and hegemonic nature of the US Empire and its ideological and interpellative impact on the world as one of the most significant issues that need to be defied by the forces of dissent. A dire need of subverting the neo-liberal, anti-social, and neo-imperial approach of the Western thought and politics is prevalent in his non-fiction. He establishes himself as a Marxist-Socialist critic who view of Ideology is more in line with the Gramsci as he criticizes the hegemonic designs of the neo-imperial America and Europe while believing in the Gramscian view of existence of multiple ideologies sees/encourages all forms v of dissent against the neo-colonialism in the contemporary world. His works subvert the interpellated and hailed images of the Muslims and Islam in an anti-colonial, subversive strain of thought. In the fictional works of the Islam Quinter, Tariq Ali has successfully disrupted the neo-colonial allegorical representations and Eurocentric versions of history by appropriating the neo-imperial allegory and using it to respond to the allegories of hegemony. The Islam Quintet is an attempt to replace the Eurocentric, monolithic cultural traditions with cross cultural pluralism. The erased or (mis)represented history of the Muslims and Islam through colonial and neo-colonial allegory and palimpsest has been subverted by Ali through presentation of certain vital historical moments of the Islamic history where followers of different religions lived with peace and cultural harmony. He subverts the colonizing gaze of the West by presenting grandeur of the Islamic culture during various historical epochs when Islam was the epitome of learning and cultural advancement. He persistently reverses the binary of civilized/barbaric to reveal the historic truth that there was a time when the Muslims were learned, scholarly and civilized while the Christians were barbaric, illiterate, barbaric and extremists. Ali uses the subversive strategies of appropriation, orality and disruption of allegorical images. Ali’s post-coloniality in the fiction resides in his presentation of the Islamic version of history. He repetitively disrupts the myths and allegories of colonial hegemony by recovering the re-inscribed identities and representations in the cultures of Jerusalem and Moorish Spain at carefully and meaningfully chosen points of time in history. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS DISSERTATION AND DEFENSE APPROVAL FORM ii CANDIDATE DECLARATION FORM iii ABSTRACT iv TABLE OF CONTANTS vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS x DEDICATION xi CHAPTER1: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1. Context and the Background 5 1.2. Statement of the Problem 8 1.3. Objectives of the Research 9 1.4. Research Questions 9 1.5. Rationale of the Study 10 1.6. Tariq Ali: A Brief Biography 12 1.7. Empire, Control, and Exploitation 14 1.8. Althusser, Interpellation and Human Subjectivity 17 1.9. Significance of the Study 22 1.10. Delimitation 22 1.11. Chapter Breakdown 24 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 26 2.1. Introduction 26 2.2. Review of Tariq Ali’s Fiction and Non-Fiction 26 2.2.1. Fiction: The Islam Quintet (1999-2010) 33 2.2.2. Non-Fiction 35 2.2.2.1. The Duel: Pakistan on the Flight Path of American Power (2008) 35 2.2.2.2. The Obama Syndrome: Surrender at Home, War Abroad (2010) 38 2.2.2.3. The Extreme Centre: A Warning (2015) 39 2.3. Theoretical Perspective 40 vii 2.3.1. Post-colonialism 40 2.3.2. Marxism and Althusser 42 2.3.3. Debates on Ideology and Interpellation 45 2.3.3.1. Interpellation and Ideological State Apparatuses 49 2.3.3.2. Interpellation and Subject Formation 53 2.3.3.3. Althusser and Foucault: Ideological Crossroads 59 2.3.3.4. Interpellation and Discourse 61 2.3.3.5. Interpellation and the Hailed Subjects 64 2.4. Debates on Colonialism, Imperialism and Neo-Imperial Interpellation 67 2.4.1. Colonialism and Neo-Colonialism 67 2.4.2. Interpellative Practices and the Empire 71 2.4.3. ISA of Media and Interpellative Fear 85 2.4.4. Imperial Wars and Interpellative Practices 88 2.4.5. Emergence of Contemporary Neo-Imperialism 93 2.4.6. Empire’s Interpellative Deceptions 99 2.4.7. Neo-Imperial Dimension of the Global Empire 106 2.5. Conclusion 112 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 114 3.1. Introduction 114 3.2. Conceptual Framework 114 3.3. Suggested Model of Textual Analysis 116 3.3.1. Categorization Matrix 117 CHAPTER 4: A CRITIQUE OF NEO-IMPERIAL INTERPELLATION IN THE EXTREME CENTRE (2015) AND ROUGH MUSIC (2005) 119 4.1. Introduction 119 4.2. The Capitalist Lie: Interpellation of the Proletarians in The Extreme Centre 120 4.2.1. Capitalism, Militarism, and Neo-Imperialism: Ideological Intersections 128 4.2.2. Neo-imperial Ideology and Interpellation in The Extreme Centre 136 4.2.3. Forces of Dissent: Subversion of Neo-Imperial Interpellation 138 4.3. “The Grammar of Deceit”: Interpellation and ISA of Media in Rough Music 140 4.3.1. ISA of Media: Hiding Repression, Interpellating Masses 143 viii 4.3.2. Interpellative Propaganda of the Neo-Liberal Discourse 148 4.3.3. Subversion of Interpellation: Efforts and Hurdles 151 4.3.4. Interpellative Binaries and the Way Forward 157 4.4. Conclusion 160 CHAPTER 5: SUBVERSION OF NRO-IMPERIAL INTERPELLATION IN TARIQ ALI’S FICTION 163 5.1. Introduction 163 5.2. The Islam Quintet and the Need to Subvert Neo-Imperial Interpellation 164 5.3. Subversion of Neo-Imperial Interpellation in A Sultan in Palermo (2005) 168 5.3.1. Al-Idrisi’s Cartography: A Disruptive Tool against Interpellation 175 5.3.2. Interpellation, Interculturality and Hybrid Space 177 5.4. Subversion of Interpellation in The Book of Saladin (1998) 183 5.5. Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree (1992): A Subversive Text 191 5.6. Subversion of Interpellation through Appropriation 199 5.3. Conclusion 204 CHAPTER 6: “DOMINATION BY CONSENT”: NEO-IMPERIAL INTERPELLATION AND HEGEMONY IN THE OBAMA SYNDROME (2010) AND THE DUEL (2008) 206 6.1. Introduction 206 6.2. The Obama Syndrome (2010): Interpellative Designs of the Empire 209 6.2.1.