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Sufis and Anti-Sufis
Despite its continuing appeal in the Muslim world, Sufism has faced fierce challenges in the last 250 years. This volume assesses the evolution of anti-Sufism since the middle of the eighteenth century and Sufi strategies for survival. It also considers the efforts of a few significant Muslim intellectuals to contemplate a future for a mystical approach to Islam without traditional Sufism. Many studies of Islam in the modern period have focused on the attempts of Muslim 'modernists' or 'fundamentalists' to come to terms with western modernity, and Sufis have often been marginalised in the process. Elizabeth Sirriyeh redresses this neglect by assigning to Sufism a central place in the broader history of Islam in the modern world and by examining how changing understandings of Sufism's role in modern conditions have affected Muslims of all shades of opinion.
Sufi Visionary of Ottoman Damascus
'Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulusi (1641 to1731) was the most outstanding scholarly Sufi of Ottoman Syria. He was regarded as the leading religious poet of his time and as an excellent commentator of classical Sufi texts. At the popular level, he has been read as an interpreter of symbolic dreams. Moreover, he played a crucial role in the transmission of the teachings of the Naqshabandiyya in the Ottoman Empire, and he contributed to the eighteenth-century Sufi revival via his disciples. This pioneering book analyzes important aspects of al-Nabulusi's work and places him in the historical context.
Dreams and Visions in the World of Islam
People in Western societies have long been interested in their dreams and what they mean. However, few non-Muslims in the West are likely to seek interpretation of those dreams to help them make life-changing decisions. In the Islamic world the situation is quite different. Dreaming and the import of visions are here of enormous significance, to the degree that many Muslims believe that in their dreams they are receiving divine guidance: for example, on whether or not to accept a marriage proposal, or a new job opportunity. In her authoritative new book, Elizabeth Sirriyeh offers the first concerted history of the rise of dream interpretation in Islamic culture, from medieval times to the present. Central to the book is the figure of the Prophet Muhammad - seen to represent for Muslims the perfect dreamer, visionary and interpreter of dreams. Less benignly, dreams have been exploited in the propaganda of Islamic militants in Afghanistan, and in apocalyptic visions relating to the 9/11 attacks. This timely volume gives an important, fascinating and overlooked subject the exploration it has long deserved.
Sufism
In Sufism: A Guide for the Perplexed, Elizabeth Sirreyeh explores key themes in the topic, clarifying a number of the most vital and complex issues in Sufism. The book draws upon both original Sufi materials and on recent specialist research, in addition to some earlier seminal studies. Sufism has been a subject of considerable fascination for students of Religious Studies, Islamic Studies and Asian and African Area Studies. Yet it is often misunderstood, particularly in the present climate when those commonly described as 'Muslim fundamentalists' frequently condemn Sufism as unacceptable innovation and no part of Islam. The picture is further obscured by those looking anxiously for a moderate and peaceful version of Islam that might prove an ally in countering the 'fundamentalists', and especially radical jihadists, and hold up Sufism as such an ideal version, ignoring the historical record that includes eirenic, but also militant, Sufis. For a topic characterized by conflicting and confusing viewpoints, this book serves as an ideal companion to the study of Sufism and Islam.
Sufis and Anti-Sufis
Sirriyeh seeks to redress the neglect of Sufism by assigning it a central place in the broader history of Islam in the world and by examining how changing understandings of Sufism's role have affected Muslims of all shades of opinion.
Authority and Identity in Medieval Islamic Historiography
An innovative exploration of the local histories of the Persianate world and its preoccupation with identity, authority, and legitimacy.
Sufi Civilities
Despite its pervasive reputation as a place of religious extremes and war, Afghanistan has a complex and varied religious landscape where elements from a broad spectrum of religious belief vie for a place in society. It is also one of the birthplaces of a widely practiced variant of Islam: Sufism. Contemporary analysts suggest that Sufism is on the decline due to war and the ideological hardening that results from societies in conflict. However, in Sufi Civilities, Annika Schmeding argues that this is far from a truthful depiction. Members of Sufi communities have worked as resistance fighters, aid workers, business people, actors, professors, and daily workers in creative and ingenious ways...
Sufism in Ottoman Damascus
Sufism in Ottoman Damascus analyzes thaumaturgical beliefs and practices prevalent among Muslims in eighteenth-century Ottoman Syria. The study focuses on historical beliefs in baraka, which religious authorities often interpreted as Allah's grace, and the alleged Sufi-ulamaic role in distributing it to Ottoman subjects. This book highlights considerable overlaps between Sufis and ʿulamāʾ with state appointments in early modern Province of Damascus, arguing for the possibility of sociologically defining a Muslim priestly sodality, a group of religious authorities and wonder-workers responsible for Sunni orthodoxy in the Ottoman Empire. The Sufi-ʿulamāʾ were integral to Ottoman networks...
Morals and Mysticism in Persian Sufism
Sufism is often understood to be the mystical dimension of Islam, and many works have focused on the nature of "mystical experiences" and the relationship between man and God. Yet Sufism was a human response to a wide range of contexts and circumstances; the fact that Sufis lived in society and interacted with the community necessitating guidance on how to behave. This book examines the development of Persian Sufism, showing it to be a practical philosophy of the everyday rather than just a metaphysical phenomena. The author explores the ethic of futuwwat (or jawanmardi), an Iranian code of honour that emphasised loyalty, humility, generosity and bravery. Although inevitably some Sufis spiri...
Early Mystics in Turkish Literature
Newly translated into English, this influential book examines literary and religious history in late medieval Anatolia. Invaluable to those interested in early Turkish literature, Sufism, Anatolian and Middle Eastern history in the late Middle Ages.
