Category Archives: Sufism

Reviewing the Review

Anthropology/Sociology, Books You Should Read, Islam: Introduction, Islamic Texts, Orientalism, Scholars, Sufism

In 2005 I published Islam Obscured, a critical assessment of four books widely read as “the” anthropology of Islam. The books I examined were by Clifford Geertz, Ernest Gellner, Fatima Mernissi and Akbar Ahmed. Having wielded an iconclastic hammer over the first four chapters, I concluded the book with a brief question-and-answer survey of the ways in which “Islam” has and should be studied by anthropologists who value the role of ethnographic fieldwork. At the time, the publisher failed to send the book out for review, although some review copies finally went out over a year ago. There are many, many books out there on “Islam,” but my text was, to not mire myself in humility, somewhat unique. It faulted these texts for not using ethnographic data but rather essentializing their own views of what Islam should be.

I recently received a lengthy review by Ken Lizzio, whose research was on Sufi texts, in The Journal of North African Studies (14:309-316, June, 2009). Having written my book in large part for non-anthropologists, I was quite interested in how a specialist in Near Eastern Studies would react to it. The thrust of the reviewer strikes me as quite positive, especially when he states: “As Varisco proceeds to fell some of the giants in the anthropological forest, he does so with an axe sharpened with impeccable logic and refreshing intellectual honesty” (p. 310). The reviewer agrees with me that both Geertz and Gellner both fail to apply data from fieldwork to their assertions. So far, so good. Continue reading Reviewing the Review →

Hashish in the Muslim World

Books You Should Read, Ethics, Islamic Law, Plants, Scholars, Sufism

Webshaykh’s note: In the process of researching the medical aspects of the chewing of qât (Catha edulis) leaves in Yemen, I consulted an important study published almost forty years by the distinguished historian Orientalist (in the best sense — and there is a best sense — of the word) Franz Rosenthal. This was his The Herb: Hashish versus Medieval Muslim Society (Leiden: Brill, 1971). Appearing at a time when hashish had become a household word in America, Rosenthal sorts through legal, medical and literary sources to provide a historical overview of the issues surrounding the use of hashish, the plant known as qinnab in Arabic (Cannabis sp). This is a valuable resource, but also worth a good read to get a sense of how an addictive socially popular drug was viewed for almost the last full millennium. Fortunately for those of us who cannot afford massive libraries, this book is available as a Google Book online. I quote from the conclusion.]

Hashish, the Individual, and Society

In conclusion we must state again that our knowledge is very limited. The gaps are tremendous. The nature of the information we do have is not easily assessed. Its applicability to the realities prevailing over the immense extension in time and space of medieval Islam is often suspect. Partisanship pro or con, coupled with a seemingly widespread ignorance of hard facts, obscures everything. Statistics naturally are non-existent.

Our sources give the impression of a westward march of hashish that had its serious beginnings int he twelfth century and gathered speed during the thirteenth century. Continue reading Hashish in the Muslim World →

Sufi Soul

Film and Video, Islam: Introduction, Morocco, Music and Dance, Pakistan, Sufism, Syria, Teaching Resources, Turkey, YouTube Watch

Cyberspace is increasingly crowded with videos, the virtual youtubization of the internet. This is especially the case for documentaries. Youtube has a wide range of videos on Islam, from professional films to homemade khutbas and television reruns. The diversity of Muslim practice is available, as is the worse Islamophobia, with just a click of the mouse and a wifi point. This ease of access is also convenient for professors, who can often find relevant video excerpts to power point into their lectures. Of the numerous videos out there, here is one well worth watching: Sufi Soul – The Mystic Music of Islam, a 50-minute film directed by Simon Broughton for Channel 4 in the U.K. To watch it, click here.

Here is a brief description of the film: Continue reading Sufi Soul →

Iranian Authorities Destroy Sufi Holy Site In Isfahan

Architecture, Iran, Shi'a, Sufism

By Golnaz Esfandiari, Radio Liberty Website, February 18, 2009

A house of worship of the Gonabadi dervishes in Isfahan has reportedly been destroyed by the Iranian authorities.

The reason for the destruction — which reportedly took place shortly after midnight on February 18 — is not clear, but it comes amid growing pressure on dervishes, who practice the Sufi tradition of Islam, and other religious minorities in Iran.

The dervish house of worship, or hosseinieh, was located next to the tomb of the great poet and dervish Naser Ali at the historical Takht-e Foulad cemetery, where a number of respected Iranian figures are buried. Continue reading Iranian Authorities Destroy Sufi Holy Site In Isfahan →

Holy Men and Social Discourse in Colonial Benaadir

Books You Should Read, Islamic History, Scholars, Somalia, Sufism

Renewers of the Age: Holy Men and Social Discourse in Colonial Benaadir
by Scott Reese (Leiden, Brill, 2008)

Studies of nineteenth and twentieth century Islamic reform have tended to focus more on the evolution of ideas than how those ideas emerge from local contexts or are disseminated to a broad audience. Using the urban culture of southern Somalia, known as the Benaadir, this book explores the role of local ʿulamāʾ as popular intellectuals in the early colonial period. Drawing on locally compiled hagiographies, religious poetry and Sufi manuals, it examines the place of religious discourse as social discourse and how religious leaders sought to guide society through a time of troubles through calls to greater piety but also by exhorting believers to examine their lives in the hopes of bringing society into line with their image of a proper Islamic society.

Table of contents
Chapter 1– Introduction— The Ê¿Ulamāʾ as “local intellectuals”
Chapter 2– Religious History as Social History
Chapter 3–Saints, Scholars and the Acquisition of Discursive Authority
Chapter 4–Urban Woes and Pious Remedies: Sufis, Urbanites and Managing Social Crises in the Nineteenth Century
Chapter 5–When is Kafāʾa Kifayah? – Sufi Leadership, Religious Authority and Questions of Social Inequality
Chapter 6–The Best of Guides: Sufi Poetry, theological writing and Comprehending Qadiriyya popularity in the Early 20th Century

Scott S. Reese, Ph.D. (1996) in History, University of Pennsylvania, is Associate Professor of Islamic History at Northern Arizona University. He has published extensively on Islam in Africa including the edited collection The Transmission of Learning in Islamic Africa (Brill, 2004).

A Timely Lesson from Ibn Yaqzan

Ethics, Islam: Introduction, Sufism

[In a recent and provocatively stimulating book. Bill Chittick examines the relevance of centuries of intellectual pursuit of Islamic cosmology for Muslims in the modern world. This is a fascinating book that is worth reading by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. It is a welcome relief from the constant drumbeat of Islam and politics. Order a copy today… Webshaykh.]

by William C. Chittick

It is commonly imagined that if our ancestors could be brought from the past in a time machine, they would be amazed and dumbfounded by the feats of modern science and civilization. But how would a Muslim intellectual of the past react to the modern world, and in particular to its intellectual ambiance? What would an al-Farabi, or an Avicenna, or a Mulla Sadra think of contemporary science and scholarship?

For the purpose of this experiment, I will borrow the name of our time-traveler from the famous philosophical novel of Ibn Tufayl, Hayy ibn Yaqzan, “Alive, son of Awake.” The name refers to the soul that has been reborn by actualizing the intellect. I will simply call him Ibn Yaqzan.

No doubt Ibn Yaqzan would be astonished by the ready availability of an enormous amount of information. However, he would be much more astonished by the fact that people have no idea that all this information is irrelevant to the goals of human life. He would see that people’s understanding of their true situation has decreased roughly in proportion to the amount of information they have gathered. The more “facts” they know, the less they grasp the significance of the facts and the nature of their own selves and the world around them. Continue reading A Timely Lesson from Ibn Yaqzan →

The Ecstatic Faith of Rumi

Iran, Poetry, Sufism

NPR has archived its December 13, 2007 program on the Persian mystic poet Rumi. At the main website you can download the podcast, read the script for the program, watch a video of a Rumi performance at Stanford University and more. This is a treat for all Rumiphiles. By the way, last September 30 was the 800th anniversary of the birth of Rumi.

Ibn al-Farid’s “Khamriyya” – or “Ode on Wine”

Languages, Literature, Poetry, Sufism


[Illustration: Tile panel with picnic scene (detail), Iran (Safavid), Isfahan, 17th century, fritware with colored glazes, Victoria and Albert Museum, London]

Ibn al-Farid’s “Khamriyya” – or “Ode on Wine”
A critical introduction, translation and analysis.

by George Nicolas El-Hage, P.h.D. Columbia University

Sufism has been defined as both “the apprehension of divine realities and as a universal message of love, brotherhood, and unity of man.” (1) Although R.A. Nicholson writes that Sufism is at once “the religious philosophy and the popular religion of Islam” (2), nevertheless it must not be understood that Sufism is a type of organized or conventional religion. It is not a religion, nor does it claim to create another sect, but it attempts to eliminate hatred and conflicts and to gather people in brotherhood. In his book, Sufism: Message of Brotherhood, Harmony, and Hope, Nasrolla S. Fatemi says that the elements common to Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam can best be appreciated in Sufism. To the Sufi, only the moment of ecstasy can cleanse the soul of all its earthly concerns and elevate it to a joyful reunion with its creator. The soul, anxious to partake in divine love, will become ready to behold the truth and embrace the light and the beauty. Continue reading Ibn al-Farid’s “Khamriyya” – or “Ode on Wine” →