The Cultural Products of Global Sufism

THE CULTURAL PRODUCTS OF GLOBAL SUFISM Milad Milani Introduction Sufism is an Islamic form of mysticism in which some Muslims are moti- vated to seek the divine love and knowledge of God by way of direct per- sonal experience. The origins of Sufism remain to some extent contested, but where ordinary Muslims are devoted to imitation of the Prophet Muhammad, Sufis long to apprehend that which Muhammad himself had experienced (Malik 2006: 3). From its beginnings in the ninth century, Sufism has spread and mutated. It has captured the contemporary imagination and serves as a pertinent example of religion shaping culture. This chapter introduces the Sufi worldview as a basis for the examina- tion of its specific cultural productions. For example, the Persian Sufis adopted a fusion of styles that resulted in the unique influence of qawwali music in South Asia, the whirling dervish dances of Turkey, and particu- larly the Sufi lyrical poetry (using the newly resurrected Persian language) that eventually found expression in the visual arts. In the modern era Sufism was chiefly introduced to a Western audience by Hazrat Inayat Khan (1882–1926). А faction of his following was later merged with that of Meher Baba (1894–1969) (Sedgwick 2005: 846b–847a), who founded the Western Sufi orders, Universal Sufism and Sufism Reoriented (Rawlinson 1997: 371–372, 439–440). Western Sufism rapidly transformed due to its new liberal environment, and can be read as a means of reinventing the cultural past, free from the restrictions of Islamic institutions. Sufism is a mystical tradition over a thousand years old, yet it continues to capture the contemporary imagination. Sufis first appeared in the ninth century, and their movement grew rapidly within the Persian lands, primarily in Baghdad and later in Khurasan. Sufism professes a simple doctrine: die to self and live in God ( fana fi’llah wa baqa bi’llah). The worldview of Sufism aimed to reflect the light of God through acts of altruism. True to the spirit of mysticism, the Sufis were those Muslims who pushed the boundaries of tradition and religion. This meant that in every stage of its development the Sufi movement represented innovation and change. By its very nature, Sufism engenders transformation and ultimately the 660 milad milani transfiguration of the nafs or the ‘soul’ (Sedgwick 2000: 10). There are count- less Sufi orders and sects, which are differentiated by one prominent fac- tor; the nature of their adherence to tradition and orthodoxy. Traditional Sufis retain their link to traditional Islam while non-traditional Sufis are more flexible. Neo-Sufism, as the contemporary form of Sufism, claims to be closer to the ‘essence’ of Sufi mysticism, whereas traditional Sufism preserves the Islamic context of the Sufi experience. Because of this cultural and geographical transplantation it is legiti- mate to call global Sufism a ‘new religion’. It has migrated a great dis- tance from the Islamic mainstream, and continues to undergo radical changes in terms of its very definition. In Western culture, the East is often presented as a source of mysticism and undiscovered knowledge (Rawlinson 1997). This facilitates the consumption of its spiritual and cultural products, including Sufism. The commercial impact of Orientalism in the twenty-first century is substantial, fuelled by New Age spiritual seekership and the rise of World Music, among other phenomena. Paul M. Hirsch describes a cultural product as something that “embodies a live, one-of-a-kind performance and/or contains a unique set of ideas” (Hirsch 1972: 642). Although his examples include films and football games, this same concept may be applied to religious movements. Hirsch’s case study focuses on commercial organisations as the filters for cultural products. This chapter will expand upon his definition to include religions as cultural filters and specific arts and crafts as their products. This chapter notes, for example, the traditional Iranian singers, Shajarian and Shahram Nazeri, who actively promote the egalitarian spirit of the Sufi poets, Hafiz and Rumi, in the West. This is achieved through the non-Islamic medium of classical Persian poetry and music (Taylor 2010). Interest in Sufism will also be connected to its ability to create space for individual expression, a pervasive requirement of modern Western culture. History and Doctrines There are, in effect, three stages of Sufi history: asceticism (750–900 CE); classical mysticism (950–1100 CE); and the period of the fraternities (1100–1300 CE) (Malik 2006: 4–7). Wherever Sufism was found, the Sufis introduced new concepts and practices that made it uniquely distinguish- able from the institutional Islamic tradition. To understand and contex- tualise the cultural practices that have emerged from Sufism, one must comprehend its history. This chapter will outline the changes in Sufism .

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