"Dead Men in Sultry Darkness": Western Theory and the Problematic of a Baseline Cultural Motif in Islamic Ascetic Tradition
In my researches on the mystical chanters in Egypt and Morocco, I have had to grapple with the problem of how to understand the whole culture of the ascetic tradition in Islam. I have concluded that the usual procedures among Western social sciences lead to a distortion of the lived experience of th...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
1999
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| In: |
Journal of Asian and African studies
Year: 1999, Volume: 34, Issue: 1, Pages: 56-67 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | In my researches on the mystical chanters in Egypt and Morocco, I have had to grapple with the problem of how to understand the whole culture of the ascetic tradition in Islam. I have concluded that the usual procedures among Western social sciences lead to a distortion of the lived experience of the Suf and may not encapsulate Islamic tradition faithfully. This paper is an attempt to sketch a modified approach. The focal point of the paper is the claim that the potential member is initiated into a coherent socio-spiritual organization that transcends the normal time/space framework. It deals with issues of learning the code, with spiritual kin-group relationships and with the content of the spiritual cosmos. It suggests that the liturgical dimension of Sufism is the central ingredient of an independent-minded spiritual movement; it both holds the disparate social elements together, and connects the ordinary world with the supernatural world in an apparently seamless manner. |
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| ISSN: | 1745-2538 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of Asian and African studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/156852199X00176 |
