the great divide pagan factor

Shi’ah – Sunni

The Shi‘ah do not consider the narrations in Bukhari to be authentic, and argue that if things such as Ziyarah and Tawassul were innovations and shirk, Muhammad himself would have prohibited people as a precaution, from visiting graves, or seeking blessings through kissing the sacred black stone at the Ka‘bah.

Some Sunni scholars such as Ibn Taymiyyah, have also rejected the notion that such things are innovations (bid’ah).

Sufism and paganism

  • Pagan influence
  • Mysticism
  • Miracles and music

West Asia & Paganism

  • Mecca
  • Tribals

Sufism and Idol worship

  • Dargah
  • Peer
  • Chadar

Sufi saints

  • An array of saints
  • Woman saints
  • scholar and theologian Ibn Taymiyya condemned walis (saints)
  • Enemy of Sufism was Mohamed ibn ‘Abdel-Wahab, the puritanical founder of the Wahhabi movement, Saudi Arabia

Sufi debate

  • European sufism
  • West asian sufism
  • Asian Sufism
  • American Sufism

Sufism and Politics by Paul L. Heck
Sufism is often overlooked when it comes to scholarly consideration of the politics of the Muslim world. This is partly due to the difficulty of defining Sufism, which is both spiritual outlook and social institution. Both aspects, however, have been important factors in the variegated involvement of Sufism in the politics of Muslim society, past and present alike.

The political dimension of Sufism across culture and history and to offer new horizons for scholarly reflection on the socio-political role played by Sufism in both pre-modern and modern Muslim society. Sufism has been an active player in defining the societal nature of Islam, no less than its theological nature, and this volume underscores the way in which Sufism has played that role while adapting itself to changing political conditions.

Issues include charismatic authority and institutional interests, the moral good and the state (both patrimonial and national); patronage, power, and the competitive politics of sainthood; theological assessments of the value of the world, justice, and conceptions of civil society as seen through the eyes of Sufism. This volume casts further light on an important and influential side of the ongoing debate within Islam over the purposes of politics alongside its realities. Sufism and Politics