The Politics of Popular Religion

Sufis, Salafis, and Muslim Brothers in 20th-Century Hamah

Dados Bibliográficos

ID8969413
AutoresItzchak Weismann (0000-0003-1888-8784, University of Haifa, autor correspondente)
Ano2005
Volume37
Fascículo1
Páginas39-58
Data de publicação2005-01-18
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoInternational Journal Middle East Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0020-7438 • E-ISSN: 1471-6380
EditoraCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s002074380505004x
OpenAlexW2119848928
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas20
Referências citadas15

With the advent of the 20th century, Sufism found itself under increasing attack in many parts of the Muslim world. In previous centuries, mystical movements had played a prominent role in the struggle for the revival of Islam and occasionally, where governments were weak or nonexistent, also in actual resistance to European encroachment. In the wake of the increasing consolidation of the state and the spread of Western rationalism, however, Sufis came to be regarded as a major cause of the so-called decline of Islam and an obstacle to its adaptation. In the Arab world, this anti–Sufi feeling was generally associated with the Salafiyya trend. The Salafi call for a return to the example of the forefathers ( al-salaf al-**sdotu**āli**hdotu** ) amounted to a discrediting of latter-day tradition, which was described as cherishing mystical superstition as well as scholarly stagnation and political quietism. Under the burden of this critique, and as a response to the general expansion of education and literacy, Sufism has been forced to assimilate new ideas and to make room for a new form of organization; the populist Islamic association. These developments culminated in the establishment of the Society of the Muslim Brothers

Ancient history · Islam · Muslim world · Mysticism · Political science · Politics · Sociology · State (computer science · Sufism · Theology · Education and Islamic Studies · History · Islamic Studies and History · Islamic Studies and Radicalism · Law · Philosophy · Religious studies