Sufism and Islamic Reform in Egypt

Abstract

Abstract One of the most important sects in the Islamic world, Sufism has had a long and active history. Yet it has been no stranger to controversy. This has been particularly pronounced in modern times, as radical Islamic groups and modernist reformers have sought to identify Sufism as a source of either unwelcome innovation or reactionary superstition. This book focuses on the efforts of the Sūfīs of Egypt, expressed in the writings of one of the order's sheikhs, to meet the critical challenge. The sheikh offers a vigorous defence of Sufism in the context of controversial issues such as festivals, processions, congregational invocation, and the principle of guidance by the sheikh. He also touches on broader issues such as the metaphysical status of the Prophet and the question of miracles, considering these in a characteristically Sūfī light. However, he also downplays or reworks certain key elements of Sūfī belief and practice in an attempt to forestall hostile criticism. This book discusses these ideas and places them in a broader context, basing his analysis on material recorded at Sūfī gatherings in Cairo between 1988 and 1990, as well as published and unpublished texts.

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 37 citations exist upstream.