Overview

Sufism is typically thought of as the mystical side of Islam. In recent years, it has been held up as a supposedly peaceful alternative to the spread of forms of Islam associated with violence, an embodiment of democratic ideals of tolerance and pluralism. Are Sufis in fact as otherworldy and apolitical as this stereotype suggests? Modern Sufis and the State brings together a range of scholars, including anthropologists, historians, and religious-studies specialists, to challenge common assumptions that are made about Sufism today. Focusing on India and Pakistan within a broader global context, this book provides locally grounded accounts of how Sufis in South Asia have engaged in politics from the colonial period to the present. Contributors foreground the effects and unintended consequences of efforts to link Sufism with the spread of democracy and consider what roles scholars and governments have played in the making of twenty-first-century Sufism. They critique the belief that Salafism and Sufism are antithetical, offering nuanced analyses of the diversity, multivalence, and local embeddedness of Sufi political engagements and self-representations in Pakistan and India. Essays question the portrayal of Sufi shrines as sites of toleration, peace, and harmony, exploring cases of tension and conflict. A wide-ranging interdisciplinary collection, Modern Sufis and the State is a timely call to think critically about the role of public discourse in shaping perceptions of Sufism.

Full Product Details

Author:   Katherine Pratt Ewing ,  Rosemary R. Corbett
Publisher:   Columbia University Press
Imprint:   Columbia University Press
Volume:   40
ISBN:  

9780231195744

ISBN 10:   0231195745
Pages:   360
Publication Date:   25 August 2020
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock  
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Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Note on Transliteration Introduction: Sufis and the State: The Politics of Islam in South Asia and Beyond, by Katherine Pratt Ewing Part I: Sufism and Its Modern Engagements with a Global Order 1. Anti-Colonial Militants or Liberal Peace Activists? The Role of Private Foundations in Producing Pacifist Sufis During the Cold War, by Rosemary R. Corbett 2. From Taṣawwuf Modern to Neo-Sufism: Nurcholish Madjid, Fazlur Rahman, and the Development of an Idea, by Verena Meyer 3. Beyond Barelwiism: Tahir-ul-Qadri as an Example of Trends in Global Sufism, by Marcia Hermansen Commentary on Part I: Ambiguities and Ironic Reversals in the Categorization of Sufism, by Carl W. Ernst Part II: Sufis, Sharia, and Reform 4. Is the Taliban Anti-Sufi? Deobandi Discourses on Sufism in Contemporary Pakistan, by Brannon D. Ingram 5. Sufism Through the Prism of Sharia: A Reformist Barelwi Girls’ Madrasa in Uttar Pradesh, India, by Usha Sanyal 6. Lives of a Fatwa: Sufism, Music, and Islamic Reform in Kachchh, Gujarat, by Brian E. Bond Commentary on Part II:Sufis, Sharia, and Reform, by Muhammad Qasim Zaman Part III: Sufis and Politics in Pakistan 7. “A Way of Life Rather Than an Ideology?”: Sufism, Pīrs, and the Politics of Identity in Sindh, by Sarah Ansari 8. Sufi Politics and the War on Terror in Pakistan: Looking for an Alternative to Radical Islamism?, by Alix Philippon 9. “Our Vanished Lady”: Memory, Ritual, and Shiʿi-Sunni Relations at Bībī Pāk Dāman, by Noor Zaidi Commentary on Part III: The Problems and Perils of Translating Sufism as “Moderate Islam,” by SherAli Tareen Part IV: Sufism in Indian National Spaces 10. Is All Politics Local? Neighborhood Shrines and Religious Healing in Contemporary India, by Carla Bellamy 11. Sufi Healing and Secular Psychiatry in India, by Helene Basu 12. Sufi Sound, Sufi Space: Indian Cinema and the Mise-en-Scène of Pluralism, by Rachana Rao Umashankar Commentary on Part IV: Sufism in Indian National Spaces, by Bruce B. Lawrence Conclusion: Thinking Otherwise, by Rosemary R. Corbett Notes Glossary Bibliography List of Contributors Index

Reviews

This welcome book explores the roles of those widely influential figures identified as Sufis. This is an important subject given the ignorance about Sufis and much else that often fuels the anti-Muslim violence and Islamophobia all too evident in today's world. The work should be of interest to policy makers involved with Muslim populations as well as to academics and others interested in Islam in the contemporary world. -- Barbara Metcalf, author of <i>Islamic Contestations: Essays on Muslims in India and Pakistan</i> Discussions of Islam and politics typically focus on Islamic states and Islamists, leaving Sufis to appear transcendently above the political realm. These twelve compelling case studies show how Sufi leaders and organizations became entangled in local, national and transnational politics among the world's largest Muslim communities in India and Pakistan. -- Nile Green, author of <i>Sufism: A Global History</i> Modern Sufis and the State shows the diversity, multivalence, and local embeddedness of Sufi political engagements and this emphasis on complexity and local rootedness is a welcome contribution to the field. The editors and the contributors bridge several different fields and combine expertises to offer new and important perspectives on the Barelwi and Deobandi movements. -- Scott Kugle, author of <i>Sufis and Saints' Bodies: Mysticism, Corporeality and Sacred Power in Islam</i>

This welcome book explores the roles of those widely influential figures identified as Sufis. This is an important subject given the ignorance about Sufis and much else that often fuels the anti-Muslim violence and Islamophobia all too evident in today's world. The work should be of interest to policy makers involved with Muslim populations as well as to academics and others interested in Islam in the contemporary world. -- Barbara Metcalf, author of <i>Islamic Contestations: Essays on Muslims in India and Pakistan</i> Modern Sufis and the State shows the diversity, multivalence, and local embeddedness of Sufi political engagements. Its emphasis on complexity and local rootedness is a welcome contribution. The editors and the contributors bridge several different fields and combine expertise to offer new and important perspectives on the Barelwi and Deobandi movements. -- Scott Kugle, author of <i>Sufis and Saints' Bodies: Mysticism, Corporeality, and Sacred Power in Islam</i> A crucial resource for understanding the limits and legacies of 'Sufism'-a category invented by nineteenth-century Orientalism-in shaping patterns of religious and political conflict, affinity, and indifference across South Asian societies. This superb collection offers a powerful rebuttal to the reigning orthodoxy of Sufi contra Salafi within studies of contemporary Islam. -- Charles Hirschkind, author of <i>The Ethical Soundscape: Cassette Sermons and Islamic Counterpublics</i> Discussions of Islam and politics typically focus on Islamic states and Islamists, leaving Sufis to appear transcendently above the political realm. These twelve compelling case studies show how Sufi leaders and organizations are entangled in local, national, and transnational politics among the world's largest Muslim communities in India and Pakistan. -- Nile Green, author of <i>Sufism: A Global History</i>

Modern Sufis and the State shows the diversity, multivalence, and local embeddedness of Sufi political engagements and this emphasis on complexity and local rootedness is a welcome contribution to the field. The editors and the contributors bridge several different fields and combine expertises to offer new and important perspectives on the Barelwi and Deobandi movements. -- Scott Kugle, author of <i>Sufis and Saints' Bodies: Mysticism, Corporeality and Sacred Power in Islam</i>

Discussions of Islam and politics typically focus on Islamic states and Islamists, leaving Sufis to appear transcendently above the political realm. These twelve compelling case studies show how Sufi leaders and organizations are entangled in local, national, and transnational politics among the world's largest Muslim communities in India and Pakistan. -- Nile Green, author of <i>Sufism: A Global History</i> A crucial resource for understanding the limits and legacies of 'Sufism'-a category invented by nineteenth-century Orientalism-in shaping patterns of religious and political conflict, affinity, and indifference across South Asian societies. This superb collection offers a powerful rebuttal to the reigning orthodoxy of Sufi contra Salafi within studies of contemporary Islam. -- Charles Hirschkind, author of <i>The Ethical Soundscape: Cassette Sermons and Islamic Counterpublics</i> Modern Sufis and the State shows the diversity, multivalence, and local embeddedness of Sufi political engagements. Its emphasis on complexity and local rootedness is a welcome contribution. The editors and the contributors bridge several different fields and combine expertise to offer new and important perspectives on the Barelwi and Deobandi movements. -- Scott Kugle, author of <i>Sufis and Saints' Bodies: Mysticism, Corporeality, and Sacred Power in Islam</i> This welcome book explores the roles of those widely influential figures identified as Sufis. This is an important subject given the ignorance about Sufis and much else that often fuels the anti-Muslim violence and Islamophobia all too evident in today's world. The work should be of interest to policy makers involved with Muslim populations as well as to academics and others interested in Islam in the contemporary world. -- Barbara Metcalf, author of <i>Islamic Contestations: Essays on Muslims in India and Pakistan</i>

Author Information

Katherine Pratt Ewing is professor of religion at Columbia University and professor emerita of cultural anthropology at Duke University. Her books include Arguing Sainthood: Modernity, Psychoanalysis, and Islam (1997) and Stolen Honor: Stigmatizing Muslim Men in Berlin (2008). Rosemary R. Corbett is the author of Making Moderate Islam: Sufism, Service, and the “Ground Zero Mosque” Controversy (2017). She is a faculty fellow for the Bard Prison Initiative and holds a PhD in religion from Columbia University.

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