DOCSLIB.ORG

Exploration and Analysis of the Origins, Nature and Development of the Sufi Movement in Australia

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Exploration and Analysis of the Origins, Nature and Development of the Sufi Movement in Australia EXPLORATION AND ANALYSIS OF THE ORIGINS, NATURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE SUFI MOVEMENT IN AUSTRALIA A dissertation submitted to the School of History, Philosophy, Religion, and Classics, University of Queensland in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Celia Anne Genn, B.A.(Qld), M.Th.(Pass with Merit) (Sydney) January 2004 DECLARATION The work presented in the thesis is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, original and my own work, except as acknowledged in the text. This material has not been submitted, either in whole or in part, for a degree at this or any other university. Celia Anne Genn ii ABSTRACT Between 1910 and 1926, Hazrat Inayat Khan, a musician and Sufi master from the Chishtiyya order in India, introduced Sufism to the United States of America and Europe. He established a Western Sufi order, the International Sufi Movement, with groups in America, England, and across Europe. In the early 1930s this Western Sufism was introduced into Australia. The aim of this study is to explore and analyse the origins, nature and development of the Sufi Movement in Australia with particular attention to the relationship between the spiritual teacher and the disciple. The study, in its various aspects, and as a whole, makes a contribution to understanding religious change, religion and New Religious Movements in Australia, Sufism in the West and the murshid-mureed relationship. Using what has been termed a “dynamic of religions” framework and Baumann’s model of religious adaptation in cross-cultural circumstances, the study employs a combination of in-depth fieldwork, participant observation, interviews and historiography to identify and analyse both continuity and change in Sufi Movement groups in contemporary Australia. The study found that the early phases of transplantation from India to Europe and America, as well as the struggles within the group after the death of Inayat Khan, substantially shaped the Western Sufism that arrived in Australia. The most significant early adaptations included redefining the relationship between Sufism and exoteric Islam, gender equality, formation of a formal organisation, and the use of music to spread the Sufi Message. Addressing issues identified in the literature on the master-disciple relationship in Eastern traditions in the West, the study describes and analyses the murshid-mureed (master-disciple, spiritual teacher-student) relationship in Inayat Khan’s time, and in contemporary Australia. It shows that Sufism’s development in the West has been interconnected with understandings and practice of this central relationship. The study shows that the continued strength of the murshid-mureed relationship alongside emerging alternatives, the factors affecting change generally in the Sufi Movement, as well as the growing popularity of Sufism in Australia, demonstrate iii the need to consider not only East-West aspects of transplantation, but also the influences of modernity on spiritual traditions. As well as documenting the Australian history, the study describes the details of the variety of practices and rituals, forms of community and organisation, and forms of the murshid-mureed relationship, found in contemporary Australian groups. This provides insight into the intricacies of Sufi practice in Australia and provides a basis for comparison with other groups. Sufi practice within these groups in Australia includes highly innovative developments alongside preservation of the tradition as taught by Inayat Khan. It also reflects a tension between the spiritual and organisational hierarchy, and concerns for democracy and local autonomy. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A large number of people have contributed to this study. My supervisors, Dr Lynne Hume and Dr Julia Howell have given invaluable assistance in very many ways. I would particularly like to thank them for their encouragement to pursue issues of interest and for their enthusiasm for my topic. Extra special thanks to Barbara Bowler and to Jack and Helen Genn for their on- going support and encouragement throughout this project. I also want to specially mention and thank Miona Acton, Virya Best, Georgia Carr, Susan de Campo, Safa Hull, Kara Jacob, Ray Kerkhove, Susan MacFarlane, Bill Metcalf, Hakim Oerton, and Michelle Spuler for providing information, support, and assistance. The study was made possible by the willing participation of teachers and students in the Sufi Movement in Australia and Inayati orders world-wide, by the support of the Heartcentre leaders and community, and by the willingness of the Avatar’s Abode community to share their records and stories. I would like to thank them all for their co-operation and contributions to this study. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DECLARATION ii ABSTRACT iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v CHAPTER ONE OVERVIEW, RESEARCH AIMS and DESIGN 1 Research Aims and Framework 3 Theoretical Framework 4 Dynamic of Religions 4 Context and Literature Review 9 Sufism in the West 9 The Master-Disciple Relationship 14 Research Questions 21 Main Research Question 21 Subsidiary Research Questions 21 Research Design 21 Methodology 22 Subjects 24 Data Collection Methods 27 Thesis Structure 30 Further Information 32 CHAPTER TWO THE ORIGINS OF WESTERN SUFISM 33 Sufism 34 The Chishtiyya Order 43 The Murshid-Mureed Relationship in Sufism in India 53 Summary, Review, Comment 63 CHAPTER THREE THE INTERNATIONAL SUFI MOVEMENT AND SUFI MESSAGE 66 Founder Hazrat Inayat Khan 68 Background 68 Work in the West 73 Sufi Teachings 76 Establishment of the International Sufi Movement (ISM) 81 The Sufi Order or Esoteric School 82 The Universal Worship 83 The Brotherhood 83 Spiritual Healing 83 Zirat or Symbology 84 Developments after Hazrat Inayat Khan 84 Growth and Schism 84 American Branches 86 vi European Branch 89 Return to India 92 Summary, Review, Comment 95 CHAPTER FOUR THE EARLY MURSHID MUREED RELATIONSHIP – RESPONSES AND CHALLENGES 101 The Murshid Mureed Relationship as taught by Inayat Khan 102 Early Mureeds 113 Responses of Early Mureeds 114 Challenges and Adaptations 122 Summary, Review, Comment 130 CHAPTER FIVE HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF WESTERN SUFISM IN AUSTRALIA 134 A False Start (1927–1950) 135 Baron Friedrick Elliot von Frankenberg und Ludwigsdorf (Shaikh Momin) and the Sufi Society 135 The Meher Baba Schism 145 Reviewing the “False Start” 150 Founding the Sufi Movement in Australia (1950-1990) 151 Dr Karel Frederik Rechlien Jansen (Murshid Sharif) 151 Relations with the International Sufi Movement 157 Teaching style and mureed experiences 159 Reviewing Sufism in Australia under Sharif Jansen 163 Transition 163 Summary, Review, Comment 167 CHAPTER SIX THE WESTERN SUFI COMMUNITY IN AUSTRALIA AND ITS EVOLVING ORGANISATION 170 Community Composition and Membership 170 Sufi Order International (SOI) 171 Sufi Ruhaniat International (SRI) 171 Dances of Universal Peace (DUP) 171 Federation of the Sufi Message 172 Sufi Movement in Australia (SMIA) 173 Heartcentre 180 Community Organisation 183 International context 183 Leadership – SMIA 184 National Representative 187 The Council 188 The Secretariat 188 The General Assembly 188 Centre Leaders 189 Brotherhood/ Sisterhood Representatives 189 vii The Constitution 189 Leadership – Heartcentre 192 Recruitment 194 Funding 195 Ethics 196 Centres and Activities 197 Annual Summer School 200 Relations with the Wider Sufi community 203 Cyber Sufism 205 Summary, Review, Comment 207 CHAPTER SEVEN THE CONTEMPORARY MURSHID-MUREED RELATIONSHIP IN AUSTRALIA AND BEYOND 209 The Contemporary Relationship 210 Finding a teacher 212 Initiation 213 The Relationship – Benefits 216 The Relationship – Problems and Issues 221 Heartcentre 228 Alternatives to the Relationship 230 Discussion 232 Summary, Review, Comment 237 CHAPTER EIGHT PRACTICES AND RITUALS IN WESTERN SUFISM IN AUSTRALIA 240 Practices and Rituals 241 The Universal Worship Activity 241 The Universal Worship Service 242 The Confraternity 247 The Esoteric School or Sufi Order 248 Metaphysical study 249 Practices 251 Prayer 251 Breathing practices 252 Wazifa 253 Zikar 255 Other Practices 257 The Spiritual Healing Activity 258 The Zirat (Mystical Symbology) Activity 261 Retreat 262 Summary, Review Comment 263 viii CHAPTER NINE THE CONDUCT, PROGRESS AND OUTCOMES OF THE STUDY: SUMMARY, REVIEW, COMMENT 265 Analytic, Theoretical, Systematic Discussion of the Thesis Progress and Outcomes 265 Suggestions for Further Research 275 Concluding Remarks and Comment 277 APPENDICES 279 Appendix A List of Commonly Used Abbreviations 279 Appendix B Glossary of Terms 280 Appendix C Administrative Structure of the International Sufi Movement 285 Appendix D Ten Sufi Thoughts 287 BIBLIOGRAPHY 288 ix .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Sufism in the Western History : a Primary Outline
    Sufism in the Western History : A Primary Outline Andrew Rawlinson University of Lancaster Abstract The phenomenon of Western Sufi teachers is unique, not just because of the individuals themselves, though they are certainly fascinating, but because of what they represent: the flowering of the Western genius, which has discovered Eastern traditions, absorbed them and in the process changed them and been changed by them. This paper is a primary outline of the main contours of this phenomenon, trying to brief its history and attempt an explanation of what it means. Keywords: Sufism, Western Sufism, Mysticism, History of Sufism Introduction About a century ago there were no Western gurus - no Westerners who were Hindu swamis, Zen roshis or Sufi sheikhs. Now there are hundreds. From a standing start, the West has produced its own spiritual teachers in traditions that were originally quite foreign. And in the last 25 years, a number of independent teachers have appeared, who belong to no tradition but teach from themselves. These people are changing Western culture by making available a view of the human condition which is new in the West. This view is based on four principles: - human beings are best understood in terms of consciousness and its modifications, - consciousness can be transformed by spiritual practice, - there are gurus/masters/teachers who have done this, - and they can help others to do the same by some form of transmission. Hundreds of thousands of Westerners now accept this teaching. To begin with, it was propounded by Easterners: Buddhists, Hindus and Sufis. But gradually Westerners began to teach the Buddhist, Hindu and Sufi versions of it.
    [Show full text]
  • Elements of Sufism in the Philosophy of the Order: an Examination of The
    1 Elements of Sufism in the Philosophy of the Order: An Examination of the Lectures and Writings of Hazrat Inayat-Khan and Zia Inayat-Khan Keenan Nathaniel Field Ashland, Virginia Bachelor of Arts, History, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2015 Bachelor of Arts, Religious Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2015 Associates of Science, J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College, 2013 A Thesis presented to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Virginia in Candidacy for the Degree of Master of Arts Department of Religious Studies University of Virginia December, 2020 Dr. Shankar Nair Dr. Jessica Andruss 2 In 1910, when Hazrat Inayat Khan left India to visit New York and the United States for the first time, he began his journey as a traveling musician, having come from a family of highly respected musicians in Baroda, India. Before long, however, he began publicly teaching a form of primarily Chishti Sufism. The next seventeen years of his life would be spent crisscrossing the Western world giving lectures to thousands of Europeans and Americans in an attempt to spread this philosophical message. This message shifted over those first seventeen years and the subsequent century from one that heavily emphasized specifically Sufi elements of teaching and philosophy to a religious message that placed heavy emphasis on the universal elements that it considered to be the core of all religions. This philosophy is most readily observable and easily understood by studying its current iteration, the Inayattiya, who developed out of a number of schisms and splits in the mid twentieth century and trace their silsila, or spiritual lineage, back to HIK by way of his siblings and cousins, to his son Pir Vilayat Inayat-Khan, and his grandson, the current head, of the Order Pir Zia Inayat-Khan.
    [Show full text]
  • Hazrat Pir-O-Murshid Vilayat Inayat Khan 1916 - 2004
    1 Hazrat Pir-o-Murshid Vilayat Inayat Khan 1916 - 2004 Pir Vilayat held his last retreat at christmas 2003 in Bad Überkingen/Germany. Despite his age of 87 he was full of energy and spiritual power which filled the hall. He mostly impressed by his directness, his sincerity. He was completely authentic. No shadow to hide, no doubts to suppress. During his long life - 19 June 1916 to 17 June 2004 - he went through pain, rejection and criticism. Nevertheless he stayed open. He himself says: "Anyone volunteering to embody the archetype representing people's higher self will have to choose between artfully concealing one's shadow and, when discovered, justifying it hypocritically, or alternatively, exposing oneself to scrutiny and criticism by all. Should one have the honesty and courage to confront one's shortcomings, one will better understand people's problems through seeing oneself in others and others in oneself, thus affording real help to those who also need to transmute their shadow elements." (Elixir 1/05, p. 35) And Pir Zia adds about his father: "He wanted to stimulate what was real and true in each person." (Heart & Wings Memorial Issue 2004, p. 15) Shortly after, at the end of January 2004, he had a stroke. And on 17 June 2004 Pir Vilayat died at Fazal Manzil which is the residence of the familiy Khan in Suresnes/Paris. Pir Zia tells us: "We all stood and said prayers and held him in our hearts, and his breathing changed and then stopped, his breath left the body and filled the room.
    [Show full text]
  • On Inayati Female Visions in Austria: Female Leadership in the Western Sufi Tradition
    53 On Inayati Female Visions in Austria: Female Leadership in the Western Sufi Tradition Sara Kuehn and Lukas Pokorny In man We have shown Our nature benign; in woman We have expressed Our art divine. In man We have designed Our image; in woman We have finished it (Inayat Khan 1993: 5). 1. Introduction “I see as clear as daylight that the hour is coming when woman will lead hu- manity to a higher evolution.”1 Revealed four years after his arrival in the West in 1910, this vision reflects the pioneering spirit of the first modern Acknowledgements: This paper is part of a wider ranging interdisciplinary project on sight and visual culture in Western Sufi communities. The research leading to these results has received funding from the Kulturabteilung der Stadt Wien, Wissenschafts- und For- schungsförderung (MA7 – 1007867/16), and we would like to thank the City of Vienna for their generous support. Our sincerest thanks and appreciation to Paul Scade, Mehmet Tu- tuncu, as well as the anonymous reviewers for their comments and helpful suggestions. Above all, we are indebted to Zumurrud Butta and Lisa Malin for their involvement in this project and input throughout the writing phase. Notes on Transliteration and Style: The transliteration of Arabic and Persian terms and names follows the system used in The Encyclopaedia of Islam, third edition (Fleet et al. 2016). Modern personal names are rendered according to the most common usage without regard for the Arabic or Persian derivation of those names. Sanskrit terms are rendered according to the International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration.
    [Show full text]
  • Sufis in Western Society: Global Networking and Locality (Routledge Sufi Series)
    Routledge Sufi series General Editor: Ian Richard Netton Professor of Islamic Studies, University of Exeter The Routledge Sufi series provides short introductions to a variety of facets of the subject, which are accessible both to the general reader and the student and scholar in the field. Each book will be either a synthesis of existing knowledge or a distinct contribution to, and extension of, knowledge of the particular topic. The two major underlying principles of the series are sound scholarship and readability. Previously published by Curzon Al- Hallaj Herbert I.W. Mason Beyond Faith and Infidelity The Sufi poetry and teaching of Mahmud Shabistari Leonard Lewisham Ruzbihan Baqli Mysticism and the rhetoric of Sainthood in Persian Sufism Carl W. Ernst Abdullah Ansari of Herat An early Sufi master A.G. Ravan Farhadi The Concept of Sainthood in Early Islamic Mysticism Bernd Radtke and John O’Kane Suhrawardi and the School of Illumination Mehdi Amin Razavi Persian Sufi Poetry An introduction to the mystical use of classical poems J.T.P. de Bruijn Sufis in Western Society In recent years Sufism has undergone something of a revival as a spiritual altern- ative to other manifestations of Islam. This book investigates the development of Sufism in Western societies, with a regional focus on North America and Europe. Exploring a number of issues relating to the dynamic tensions between religious globalization processes and specific sacred localities, this book looks at the formation of Sufi movements that have migrated from their place of origin to become global religious networks. Sufi groups are highly differentiated and often inaccessible, so the origins and development of Sufism in the West have not been widely studied.
    [Show full text]
  • Inayatian Mystical Movement As a Deviant Sect in Contemporary Muslim World
    Journal of Education and Social Sciences, Vol. 5, (October) ISSN 2289-1552 2016 INAYATIAN MYSTICAL MOVEMENT AS A DEVIANT SECT IN CONTEMPORARY MUSLIM WORLD Mohamed Mihlar Abdul Muthaliff Senior Lecturer at Faculty of Leadership and Management, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM). [email protected] Mob.no: +60192394102 ABSTRACT The paper investigates the Mystical Ontology of Inayat Khan (1882-1927), the Indian Sufi master who presented Universal Sufism to the Western Culture, and established the Sufi Order International in 1920 as an international organization which has more than 100 Centres in the contemporary World. The Purpose of this study is to analyse Inayat Khan’s mystical thoughts that include Non-dualistic concepts such as Manifestation of God, Divine Being and divinity of human soul. The Sufi message presented by Inayat Khan creates contradictions and confusions in the basics and principles of Islam as they are presented in the name of Islam and Sufism. It is primarily based on qualitative and textual research in which an analysis of Inayat Khan’s works is employed as the founding method. It shows further how Inayat Khan systematized Non dualistic ideas and his own in a complex colour symbolism and expounded the monistic concept of God. The paper concludes that Inayat Khan introduced a Philosophy of Non dualism and Religious Pluralism in Muslim dress. Keywords: Non dualism, Religious Pluralism, Sufi Order International, and Western Sufism. Introduction Inayat Khan (1882-1927) was an Indian mystic who left for Europe in 1910 in order to bring a universal spiritual message to the Western world. The Sufi Order International he established in 1920 is an international organization of people following the mystical message.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction
    Introduction Marcia Hermansen This volume brings together detailed ethnographic and historical work on diverse Sufi orders operating in the United States. While it is generally observed that the Indian mystic Inayat Khan introduced Sufism to the United States in 1910,1 it was not until the late 1960s and early 1970s that we find larger numbers of Americans participating in movements related to Sufism, together with growing public awareness of the phenomenon. The themes of “what is a Sufi?” and “what is the relationship of Sufism to ‘orthodox’ or ‘mainstream’ Islam?” are ones that vex this study and are often debated among American Sufis themselves, taking on new dimensions with an upsurge in Islamic revival on a global scale beginning in the 1970s. As American popular culture and the popular imagination is always changing and evolving, both in its self-understanding and in its view of Islam, Muslims, and Muslim-majority countries, the realities and the images of Sufism encountered by Americans have likewise not remained static. Participants in the movements studied here are therefore situated in and view themselves against a diverse and contested background of both the Islamic and the Sufi. The appeal and significance of the chapters gathered here is that many of them provide for the first time detailed reports on certain Sufi orders by scholars who have carried out in-depth participant observation of the movements involved. Such studies are able to provide us with rel- evant examples of the current and ongoing challenges facing small and somewhat exotic religious groups in diverse American contexts.
    [Show full text]
  • Program Sufism Cini 2017
    Program of the International Conference Transnational Sufism in Contemporary Societies: Reconfiguring Practices, Narratives and Boundaries Fondazione Giorgio Cini 9-11 November 2017 Centro di Studi di Civiltà e Spiritualità Comparate Thursday, 9 November 2017 09:00 - 09:30 Welcome Pasquale Gagliardi, General Secretary of the Cini Foundation. Francesco Piraino, Responsible for the “Centre for Comparative Studies of Civilisations and Spiritualities”. Mark Sedgwick, Aarhus University and conference co-organiser. 09:30 – 11:00 Thomas Dähnhardt Ca’ Foscari University - Italy: “Sufis, yogis and the West: can spiritual power defy the border of modernity?” Thomas Joassin London School of Economics - UK: “Popular Islam, Transnational Sufism and war on terrorism in Algeria”. 11:00 – 11:30 Coffee break 11:30 – 13:00 Francesco Piraino KU Leuven - Belgium: “Who is the infidel in contemporary Sufism?” Justine Howe Case Western Reserve University - USA: “Honoring the Prophet, Performing American Islam: Mawlid Practices in Contemporary Chicago” 13:00 – 14:00 Lunch 14:30 – 16:00 Muhammed Haron University of Botswana - Botswana: “Evaluating and Comparing the Murabitun and Haeriyyun: Reflections of Contemporary South African Sufism” Andrea Brigaglia Cape Town University – South Africa: “Narratives of Eurapia: Autobiographies of Conversion to Islam by French Rap Artists” 16:30 – 17:00 Coffee break 17:00 – 18:30 Maike Neufend Justus-Liebig University - Germany: “Between Spiritual Colonialism and the Re- appropriation of Islam: Emotional Styles of Popular
    [Show full text]
  • Metode Pengukuhan Dan Penyebaran Ajaran Universal Sufism Inayat Khan Ke Seluruh Dunia Methods of Effectiveness and Spread of Universal Sufism Inayat Khan to Worldwide
    ISLÓMIYYÓT 40(1) 2018: 51 - 59 (https://doi.org/10.17576/islamiyyat-2018-4001-06) Metode Pengukuhan dan Penyebaran Ajaran Universal Sufism Inayat Khan ke Seluruh Dunia Methods of Effectiveness and Spread of Universal Sufism Inayat Khan to Worldwide NOZIRA SALLEH FAUDZINAIM BADARUDDIN ABSTRAK Pada zaman kini, pelbagai bentuk ajaran dan pemikiran baru telah menembusi setiap ruang kehidupan manusia secara langsung dan tidak langsung dalam pelbagai aspek sama ada dalam agama, politik dan ekonomi menerusi metode penyebaran yang pelbagai. Daripada sudut agama, muncul ajaran kerohanian yang digelar sebagai ‘Universal Sufism’ di mana ia telah diperkenalkan oleh Inayat Khan, dan ajaran tersebut berbentuk sejagat iaitu mencampuradukkan bersama beberapa unsur doktrin dan amalan kerohanian daripada Islam, Kristian, Hindu dan lain-lain lagi. Apa yang membimbangkan, ia mendapat sambutan yang baik dari hari ke hari terutama bagi mereka yang mencari dan memerlukan pengisian rohani serta amalan alternatif untuk memenuhi tuntutan jiwa mereka. Ia telah diterima bukan sahaja oleh orang-orang Barat dan bukan Islam, tetapi juga oleh umat Islam itu sendiri seperti di Indonesia, Turki dan Pakistan. Oleh itu, artikel ini cuba menerokai ajaran Universal Sufism dan memfokuskan perbincangan kepada pergerakan- pergerakan ajarannya seperti the International Sufi Movement dan the International Sufi Order sebagai agen utama dalam menyebar luaskan ajaran kerohaniannya ke seluruh dunia. Metode kajian yang digunakan dalam artikel ini adalah kajian kepustakaan dengan menganalisis buku-buku Inayat Khan seperti the Dance of the Soul (Gayan, Vadan, Nirtan), the Sufi Message of Hazrat Inayat Khan I (Way of Illumination, the Inner Life, the Soul, Whence and Whither? the Purpose of Life?) dan lain-lain lagi.
    [Show full text]
  • French Sufi Theopolitics on the Appropriation of the Akbarian Concepts of God’S Unity, Law and Perfect Man by French Modern Perennialists
    French Sufi Theopolitics On the Appropriation of the Akbarian Concepts of God’s Unity, Law and Perfect Man by French Modern Perennialists. Philipp Valentini (Français) Thèse de doctorat présentée à la Faculté des lettres et des sciences humaines de l’Université de Fribourg (Suisse) Approuvée par la Faculté des lettres et des sciences humaines sur proposition des professeurs François Gauthier (premier rapporteur) Gil Anidjar (deuxième rapporteur) Marcia Hermansen (troisième rapporteur.e) Ian Almond (quatrième rapporteur) Fribourg, le 7 Septembre 2020 La Doyenne, Prof. Bernadette Charlier 1 2 Je remercie le Prof. François Gauthier pour m'avoir permis de finir cette thèse à l'université de Fribourg et pour m'avoir enseigné à discriminer entre ce qui était utile à celle-ci et ce qui pouvait être transformé en article. Toute ma gratitude va à mon co-directeur, le Prof. Gil Anidjar pour m'avoir invité à l'université de Columbia, New York, en 2016 grâce à l'octroi d'une bourse Doc.Mobility du Fonds National Suisse. Cette expérience intellectuelle, que je dois à sa bienveillance constante, a été déterminante pour mon travail académique. Je tiens aussi à remercier tout particulièrement la Prof. et Doyenne Bernadette Charlier pour m'avoir accompagné dans la dernière phase de cette recherche. Je remercie la Prof. Marcia Hermansen de m'avoir assisté patiemment dans l'écriture de cette dernière version de la thèse et de m'avoir encouragé avec force à chercher au plus vite à publier les résultats de mes travaux. Je remercie le Prof. Ian Almond pour la précision de son rapport qui a été très utile pour cette dernière version de ma thèse.
    [Show full text]
  • Islamic Sufism in America: the Philosophy and Practices of the Oveyssi Tariqa
    Islamic Sufism in America: The Philosophy and Practices of the Oveyssi Tariqa The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Sepehri, Golzar. 2019. Islamic Sufism in America: The Philosophy and Practices of the Oveyssi Tariqa. Master's thesis, Harvard Extension School. Citable link https://nrs.harvard.edu/URN-3:HUL.INSTREPOS:37365385 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Islamic Sufism in America: The Philosophy and Practices of the Oveyssi Tariqa Golzar Sepehri A Thesis in the Field of Middle Eastern Studies for the Degree of Master of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies Harvard University May 2019 Copyright 2019 [Golzar Sepehri] Abstract The Sufis bridge the divide between the societal development of religions and the individualistic journey of the self in understanding God by teaching the Islamic concepts of peace, including tawhid (unity with all), prayer, and respect towards others. These spiritualists have existed since the beginning of time. This paper looks into the notions of Sufism, its historical and contemporary existence in the United States, and the beliefs of one specific tariqa, the Oveyssi Shahmaghsoudi order. Ethnographic research with participant observation from November-December 2018 in the Oveyssi Shahmaghsoudi khaneghah of Dallas details numerous activities and practices, which illustrate the core teachings of the order and its uniqueness amongst all others.
    [Show full text]
  • Western Sufism Ii Iii
    i Western Sufism ii iii i Western Sufism From the Abbasids to the New Age Mark Sedgwick i 1 iv 1 Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries. Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America. © Oxford University Press 2017 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above. You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Sedgwick, Mark J., author. Title: Western Sufism : from the Abbasids to the new age / Mark Sedgwick. Description: New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2017] | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2016008846 (print) | LCCN 2016011517 (ebook) | ISBN 9780199977642 (hardback : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780199977659 (updf) | ISBN 9780199977666 (epub) Subjects: LCSH: Mysticism—Islam—History. | Mysticism—History. | Sufism—History. | Sufism—Europe—History. | Sufism—North America—History. | Neoplatonism. Classification: LCC BP188.5 .S43 2017 (print) | LCC BP188.5 (ebook) | DDC 297.409—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016008846 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America v For Lina vi vii i Contents Introduction 1 Part I | Premodern Intercultural Transfers 1.
    [Show full text]