18. sufism in egypt today

8/3/2019 18. Sufism in Egypt Today

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Sufism through EthnographicEyes

Women in contemporary Egyptian Sufism



F raming her argument

Sufism dead in t he modern world? PureSufism only in t he past

the critique of Islamic moderism (Abdu h, Rida)the critique of t he Muslim Brot her hood

(despite Banna¶s own formation as a Sufi)

State regulated Sufism: t he EgyptianSupreme Council of Sufi OrdersTwo Sufisms?



Sufism in Egypt today

how many Sufis? 3-5 million? 50% of t he population? W hat does it mean to be aSufi? Tasawwuf as just religiouslyobservantall social classescontrast category of d arwasha

an alternate social world? A spiritualunderworld? How to explain t he difference between Hoffman and Gilsenan?



T he importance of classical

authorsal-Qus hayri (d. 1072)al-G hazali (d. 1111)

al-Makki (d. 909)Ibn µArabi (d. 1240)

But above all t he importance of oral

instruction to make sense of t he literaryheritage



T he presence of the past:

Here were people w ho ranged from illiteracy toonly modest education but w ho nevert heless wereaware of t he great early Sufi saints and quoted Sufi

poetry allegedly composed by t hem. T hey openlydefended suc h controversial Sufis as al-Hallaj (d.922) and Ibn µArabi (d. 1240) and embraced alifestyle t hat mocked t he materialistic concerns andobsession wit h social status t hat c haracterized somany of t heir countrymen. Alt houg h they laudedthe spread of education , they emp hasized t hat noamount of book learning could substitute for divineillumination.



W omen in Sufism

no official presence of women in SufiOrders

yet a strong female presence in practice , attendance at d hikrsThe importance of female S hayk has andspiritual mot hers



T he meeting with her Shaykh

µAmm Amin suggested , ³Let¶s see if S hayk h µIzz ishere.´ At t hat very moment S hayk h µIzz appearedat the door . . .He immediately welcomed us in.

Later I learned t hat µIzz regarded it as a sign of divine guidance and spiritual connection betweenthat he appeared at t he door just as we were aboutto pass t he mosque . . . S hayk h µIzz claimed t hatK hidr had pointed out to him t he place w here hewas to build his mosque , althoug h the location had been a garbage dump . . . T he essence of Sufism , ismorals and self-denial . . .On µIzz spoke , erasingany doubt I mig ht yet have entertained t hat trueSufism still existed in Egypt.



T eacher and discipleIn this sense , µIzz and I conformed to t he patternthat was expected of a s hayk h and his disciple.Althoug h I never became a true disciple of his ² indeed t hat was impossible wit hout my conversion

to Islam²¶Izz came to hope and evene xpect t hatultimately we would experience t he spiritualconnection t hat typifies a good s hayk h-disciplerelations hip. Alt houg h µIzz believed t hatMu hammad wqas t he only gateway to God , in

contemporary Egyptian Sufism it is ³anni hilation´in the shayk h, effected t hroug h intense love andidentification wit h the shayk h, that brings a personinto t he Prop het¶s presence. µIzz hoped t his wouldoccur wit h me . . .



W omen and Sexuality in Sufi thought

women as spiritual mot hers , as Sufileaders in t he informal Sufi networks

³Sufi attitudes toward women are boundwit h a perspective on t he nature of spirtuality and sexuality t hat sets t hem off from ot her Muslims. T his perspective hasdeep roots in Sufism and must be situatedin the broader context of t he position of womjen in Islam and Sufi tradition.´



Ambivalent attitudes towards women

fear of sexual temptationfemale Sufi saints suc h as Rabi¶a

classified as menasceticism wit h its wariness regarding sexthe presence of women as spiritual guides

and leaderswomen¶s roles in Sufism influenced bytheir social class



Ibn µArabi¶s view of sex

³In his major work , The Meccan Revelations , hestates , ³I used to hate women and sex at t he start if my entry into t his pat h .´ he continued t his way for eighteen years , until he came to contemplate t hehadit h in w hich Mu hammad says , ³T hree t hingshave been made beloved to me in t his world of yours: women , perfume , and prayer.´ He noted t hat

Mu hammad¶s love for women did not spring fromhis own nature , but he specifies t hat God had madethem beloved to him.´



Ibn µArabi¶s view of sex ( II)³W hen a man loves a woman , he desires sexual unionwith her , because t here is ³no greater union t hat betweenthe sexes.´ T he goal of t he Sufi is to be anni hilated inGod , in order to ac hieve union wit h Him. Iin sexualintercourse , the man is anni hilated in t he woman , saysIbn µArabi , but t his is in fact a type of anni hilation inGod. T he ritual was hing t hat is required after intercourse is a total purification of his desire , for God is

jealous t hat man s hould desire any but Him. T his purification by ritual ablution enables man once again to behold God in t he woman. Yet , he says in The Meccan Revelations , if a gnostic¶s passion is divine and notcarnal²t hat is , if his attac hment is to God and not to atemporal being²t hen no purification is needed.´



B ut how is this relevant?

do Ibn µArabi¶s views reflect Sufi practicein Egypt?

control of t he body wit hin sex , not t hefulfillment of desire , is seen as t hedirection taken by Sufis w ho experiencesex spirituallyhere again , Mu hammad is seen as a model

to follow

18. sufism in egypt today

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