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Western Sufism

Author : Mark Sedgwick

Publisher : Oxford University Press

Page : 369 pages

File Size : 36,35 MB

Release : 2016-10-18

Category : Religion

ISBN : 0199977666

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Book Description

Western Sufism is sometimes dismissed as a relatively recent "new age" phenomenon, but in this book Mark Sedgwick argues that it has deep roots, both in the Muslim world and in the West. In fact, although the first significant Western Sufi organization was not established until 1915, the first Western discussion of Sufism was printed in 1480, and Western interest in Sufi thought goes back to the thirteenth century. Sedgwick starts with the earliest origins of Western Sufism in late antique Neoplatonism and early Arab philosophy, and traces later origins in repeated intercultural transfers from the Muslim world to the West, in the thought of the European Renaissance and Enlightenment, and in the intellectual and religious ferment of the nineteenth century. He then follows the development of organized Sufism in the West from 1915 until 1968, the year in which the first Western Sufi order based on purely Islamic models was founded. Western Sufism shows the influence of these origins, of thought both familiar and less familiar: Neoplatonic emanationism, perennialism, pantheism, universalism, and esotericism. Western Sufism is the product not of the new age but of Islam, the ancient world, and centuries of Western religious and intellectual history. Using sources from antiquity to the internet, Sedgwick demonstrates that the phenomenon of Western Sufism draws on centuries of intercultural transfers and is part of a long-established relationship between Western thought and Islam.



Western Sufism

Author : Mark Sedgwick

Publisher : Oxford University Press

Page : 369 pages

File Size : 43,80 MB

Release : 2016-10-18

Category : Religion

ISBN : 0199977658

Get eBook

Book Description

Western Sufism is sometimes dismissed as a relatively recent "new age" phenomenon, but in this book Mark Sedgwick argues that it has deep roots, both in the Muslim world and in the West. In fact, although the first significant Western Sufi organization was not established until 1915, the first Western discussion of Sufism was printed in 1480, and Western interest in Sufi thought goes back to the thirteenth century. Sedgwick starts with the earliest origins of Western Sufism in late antique Neoplatonism and early Arab philosophy, and traces later origins in repeated intercultural transfers from the Muslim world to the West, in the thought of the European Renaissance and Enlightenment, and in the intellectual and religious ferment of the nineteenth century. He then follows the development of organized Sufism in the West from 1915 until 1968, the year in which the first Western Sufi order based on purely Islamic models was founded. Western Sufism shows the influence of these origins, of thought both familiar and less familiar: Neoplatonic emanationism, perennialism, pantheism, universalism, and esotericism. Western Sufism is the product not of the new age but of Islam, the ancient world, and centuries of Western religious and intellectual history. Using sources from antiquity to the internet, Sedgwick demonstrates that the phenomenon of Western Sufism draws on centuries of intercultural transfers and is part of a long-established relationship between Western thought and Islam.



Sufism for Western Seekers

Author : Stewart Bitkoff

Publisher :

Page : 192 pages

File Size : 19,73 MB

Release : 2011-11

Category : Religion

ISBN : 9780615562803

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Book Description

For many western spiritual seekers, Sufism is often misunderstood and viewed as an Islamic mystical tradition presented through various Sufi orders. Yet this ancient path of spiritual knowing is much broader and older, available through all religions and independent of Islam and these orders. Aldous Huxley and others have referred to this ancient mystical path as the primordial tradition or perennial philosophy. This teaching can be characterized as a generic mysticism or spirituality, available to everyone, all of the time. Once awakened, this spiritual knowing comes forward through one's own inner awareness or "heart." This book is a first hand account of spiritual knowing in two modern Sufi mystical schools. This message is intended for western spiritual travelers; this learning was not attached to Islam or presented through any of the present orders and was designed to appeal to everyone, regardless of their religious background. Additionally, this work examines spiritual knowing across a lifetime, incorporating experiences of both schools, along with traditional Sufi quotes. We offer examples of how such learning can enrich and help us with the daily problems of modern life. Praise for Sufism for Western Seekers Winner of 2011 Honorable Mention in Religion by ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year Awards! https://botya.forewordreviews.com/winners/2011/religion/ Written for the beginner as well as the intermediate traveler, Sufism for Western Seekers helps equip its reader with the necessary psycho-spiritual exercises and tools required to awaken dormant human faculties. The book also acts as map and guide helping to transition the contemporary traveler from the realm of seeking, into the realm of perception and finding. - Adeel Merali, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Stewart's book reminds us: yes, this life is about Self and the experiencing of the greatest version of the greatest vision of yourself. One of the keys to the mystery is to expand your definition of self: starting with parents, siblings, family, friends evolving to all of your school, religious congregation, community, country, and world - all of life. - JB, Nayarit, Mexico I continue to be impressed with Stewart's ability to clarify the Spiritual Traveler's angst. This book is a must read for all. In a time when people get caught up in the semantics of words, Stewart eliminates the obstacles of Labeling and reminds us that we all come from the One, regardless of the paths we choose to follow. We will be recommending it for all beginning students at Shooting for the Moon Spiritual Development Center. - Kathy Agate Brown, Owner, Shooting for the Moon Spiritual Development Center, Snydersville, PA Dr. Bitkoff exhibits a deep understanding of the spiritual sojourn and the clarity of his writing is exceptional in the way it brings the spiritual into our daily experience. This is wisdom. The book will prove valuable to any traveler seeking a path whether Sufi, Christian, Qabalistic or any of the plethoras of different roadways. - Rev. Charles T. Weatherford, OM, Saylorsburg, PA



Sufism East and West

Author : Jamal Malik

Publisher : BRILL

Page : 313 pages

File Size : 48,17 MB

Release : 2019-07-15

Category : Religion

ISBN : 9004393927

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Book Description

In Sufism East and West, the contributors investigate the redirection and dynamics of Sufism in the modern era, specifically from the perspective of global cross-cultural exchange. Edited by Jamal Malik and Saeed Zarrabi-Zadeh, the book explores the role of mystical Islam in the complex interchange and fluidity in the resonance spaces of “East” and “West.” The volume challenges the enduring Orientalist binary coding of East-versus-West and argues instead for a more mutual process of cultural plaiting and shared tradition. By highlighting amendments, adaptations and expansions of Sufi semantics during the last centuries, it also questions the persistent perception of Sufism in its post-classical epoch as a corrupt imitation of the legacy of the great Sufis of the past.



Islamic Sufi Networks in the Western Indian Ocean (c.1880-1940)

Author : Anne K. Bang

Publisher : BRILL

Page : 241 pages

File Size : 24,61 MB

Release : 2014-08-07

Category : Religion

ISBN : 9004276548

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Book Description

In the period c. 1880-1940, organized Sufism spread rapidly in the western Indian Ocean. New communities turned to Islam, and Muslim communities turned to new texts, practices and religious leaders. On the East African coast, the orders were both a vehicle for conversion to Islam and for reform of Islamic practice. The impact of Sufism on local communities is here traced geographically as a ripple reaching beyond the Swahili cultural zone southwards to Mozambique, Madagascar and Cape Town. Through an investigation of the texts, ritual practices and scholarly networks that went alongside Sufi expansion, this book places religious change in the western Indian Ocean within the wider framework of Islamic reform.



Sufism in the West

Author : Jamal Malik

Publisher : Routledge

Page : 350 pages

File Size : 41,65 MB

Release : 2006-04-18

Category : Political Science

ISBN : 1134479816

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Book Description

With the increasing Muslim diaspora in post-modern Western societies, Sufism – intellectually as well as sociologically – may eventually become Islam itself due to its versatile potential. Although Sufism has always provoked considerable interest in the West, no volume has so far been written which discusses this aspect of Islam in terms of how it is practised in Western societies. Bringing together leading international authorities to survey the history of Islamic mysticism in North America and Europe, this book elaborates the ideas and institutions which organize Sufism and folk-religious practices. The chapters cover: the orders and movements their social base organization and institutionalization recruitment-patterns in new environments channels of disseminating ideas, such as ritual, charisma, and organization reasons for their popularity among certain social groups the nature of their affiliation with the countries of their origin. Providing a fascinating insight into how Sufism operates within different spheres of society, Sufism in the West is essential reading for students and academics with research interests in Islam, Islamic history and social anthropology.



Sufis in Western Society

Author : Markus Dressler

Publisher : Routledge

Page : 220 pages

File Size : 15,44 MB

Release : 2009-06-02

Category : Religion

ISBN : 1134105746

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Book Description

This book examines the development of Sufi movements that have migrated from their place of origin to become global religious networks.



Deep Knowledge

Author : Oludamini Ogunnaike

Publisher : Penn State Press

Page : 333 pages

File Size : 43,17 MB

Release : 2020-11-11

Category : Religion

ISBN : 0271087617

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Book Description

This book is an in-depth, comparative study of two of the most popular and influential intellectual and spiritual traditions of West Africa: Tijani Sufism and Ifa. Employing a unique methodological approach that thinks with and from—rather than merely about—these traditions, Oludamini Ogunnaike argues that they contain sophisticated epistemologies that provide practitioners with a comprehensive worldview and a way of crafting a meaningful life. Using theories belonging to the traditions themselves as well as contemporary oral and textual sources, Ogunnaike examines how both Sufism and Ifa answer the questions of what knowledge is, how it is acquired, and how it is verified. Or, more simply: What do you know? How did you come to know it? How do you know that you know? After analyzing Ifa and Sufism separately and on their own terms, the book compares them to each other and to certain features of academic theories of knowledge. By analyzing Sufism from the perspective of Ifa, Ifa from the perspective of Sufism, and the contemporary academy from the perspective of both, this book invites scholars to inhabit these seemingly “foreign” intellectual traditions as valid and viable perspectives on knowledge, metaphysics, psychology, and ritual practice. Unprecedented and innovative, Deep Knowledge makes a significant contribution to cross-cultural philosophy, African philosophy, religious studies, and Islamic studies. Its singular approach advances our understanding of the philosophical bases underlying these two African traditions and lays the groundwork for future study.



Sufism

Author : Nile Green

Publisher : John Wiley & Sons

Page : 288 pages

File Size : 22,1 MB

Release : 2012-02-20

Category : Religion

ISBN : 1405157658

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Book Description

Since their beginnings in the ninth century, the shrines, brotherhoods and doctrines of the Sufis held vast influence in almost every corner of the Muslim world. Offering the first truly global account of the history of Sufism, this illuminating book traces the gradual spread and influence of Sufi Islam through the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and ultimately into Europe and the United States. An ideal introduction to Sufism, requiring no background knowledge of Islamic history or thought Offers the first history of Sufism as a global phenomenon, exploring its movement and adaptation from the Middle East, through Asia and Africa, to Europe and the United States of America Covers the entire historical period of Sufism, from its ninth century origins to the end of the twentieth century Devotes equal coverage to the political, cultural, and social dimensions of Sufism as it does to its theology and ritual Dismantles the stereotypes of Sufis as otherworldly 'mystics', by anchoring Sufi Muslims in the real lives of their communities Features the most up-to-date research on Sufism available



Sufism

Author : Mark J. Sedgwick

Publisher : Oxford University Press

Page : 101 pages

File Size : 43,97 MB

Release : 2003

Category : Religion

ISBN : 9774248236

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Book Description

A scholar with long experience of Sufism in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Europe succinctly presents the essentials of Sufism and shows how Sufis live and worship, and why.