Imagining Sufism and Muslimness: the Production of Knowledge About Sufism and Its Power Against Political Islam in the United States, Canada, and Pakistan
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Imagining Sufism and Muslimness: The Production of Knowledge about Sufism and Its Power against Political Islam in the United States, Canada, and Pakistan Geneviève Mercier-Dalphond School of Religious Studies McGill University, Montreal August 2017 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the degree of Master of Arts Geneviève Mercier-Dalphond 2017 Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... 2 Notes on Transliteration ...................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. 4 Introduction: Weaving Tales of Sufi Identities ................................................................... 7 Sufism in Perspective ................................................................................................................ 14 Chapter One ................................................................................................................................. Sufism in Translation: Tracing the Making of Moderate Muslims in North America ............ 23 Part One: African Muslim Migration and Black American Movements in North America ...... 25 Part Two: The Exotification of Sufism in the United States ...................................................... 31 Part Three: Sufism in US State Politics at the Crossroads of the “War on Terror” ................ 42 Chapter Two.......................................................................................................................... Local Tales of Sufis in Quebec: From Global Community to Cosmopolitan Identity ..... 50 Part One: Historical Reflections on Quebec and Islam ............................................................ 51 Part Two: Politics of Identity and Authenticity: The Re-Localisation of Sufism ...................... 62 Part Three: The Production of the “Moderate Muslim” in Quebec: The Charismatic Sufi ..... 71 Chapter Three........................................................................................................................ Sufis and Politics in Pakistan: Tracing Networks of Sufi Knowledge and Power ........... 78 Part One: Islam in the Indian Subcontinent: The Patronage of Saints and Shrines ................. 80 Part Two: The Marginalisation and “Resurgence” of Sufis in Pakistan.................................. 91 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ Twenty-First Century Sufism: Reviewing the Ostensible Power of Peaceful Mystics .. 105 Appendix ......................................................................................................................... 111 Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 112 1 Abstract In this thesis, I offer new insight into the construction of twenty-first century Sufism as an ideological ally of North American liberal democracies through an ethnographic reflection on the Naqshbandi-Haqqani Sufi group of Montreal and its leader, Shaykh Omar Koné, from September 11, 2001 to the present (2001-2017). The Naqshbandi- Haqqani order has emerged as one of the dominant “moderate” Muslim voices in North America, specifically in Quebec, where it informs a discourse that opposes peaceful Sufism to political Islam. A closer look at this partnership sheds light on enduring Orientalist depictions of Sufism as essentially mystical since the eighteenth century. This view was then reinforced through different movements in the United States and Canada. I will argue, first, that Sufism and Sufis have become a potent political force in North America since the beginning of the “War on Terror,” and that, second, this dynamic is in fact reflective of the global knowledge production of Sufism and its power. To this effect, the latter section of this thesis will address the history of Sufism in Pakistan, as the country is a frontline partner of the United States in the “War on Terror,” to reveal the broader genealogies of meaning that have pervaded the naturalised construction of Sufism as apolitical and antithetical to so-called political or militant Islam since the eighteenth century. Résumé Cette thèse présente une nouvelle perspective sur la construction du soufisme au 21ème siècle en tant qu’allié des démocraties nord-américaines à travers une exploration ethnographique du groupe soufi Naqshbandi-Haqqani de Montréal et de son imam, Shaykh Omar Koné, de 2001 jusqu’à aujourd’hui (2001-2017). L’ordre Naqshbandi- Haqqani s’inscrit comme une des voix Musulmanes “modérées” dominantes en Amérique du Nord, et plus précisément au Québec, où il contribue au discours qui oppose le soufisme pacifique à l’islam politique. Un examen plus approfondi de cette association révèle des représentations orientalistes du 18è siècle persistantes du soufisme en tant que tradition essentiellement mystique, un regard qui a été renforcé à travers différents mouvements aux États-Unis et au Canada. Je soutiens, premièrement, que le soufisme et ses acteurs-trices sont devenu-e-s des joueurs politiques importants en Amérique du Nord depuis le début de la « guerre contre le terrorisme », et que, deuxièmement, cette dynamique reflète la circulation globale des connaissances et du pouvoir soufis. À cet égard, la dernière section de cette thèse s’intéressera à l’histoire du soufisme au Pakistan, un pays partenaire de première ligne des États-Unis dans la « guerre contre le terrorisme », afin d’illustrer les significations plus larges qui ont imprégné la construction du soufisme depuis le 18è siècle comme apolitique et antithétique au soi-disant islam politique ou militant. 2 Notes on Transliteration This thesis employs transliterated words from Urdu and Arabic. In general, Urdu and Arabic words are transliterated into roman characters, in italics, following the Library of Congress (LOC) system. However, proper names are given without diacritics. Terms that are found in the English dictionary are kept in their commonly accepted form, e.g., imam, qawwali, shaykh. All interviews in this thesis have been conducted in French. Unless stated otherwise, translations are my own. 3 Acknowledgements Firstly, thanks must be offered to my two supervisors to whom I am grateful for their encouragement and friendship throughout the years. To Pasha Mohamad Khan, many thanks for offering constant feedback on my research on Sufism since 2014 and fostering a great community of South Asianists at the Institute of Islamic Studies. Professor Khan and his wife, Kanita Ahmed, gave me invaluable support as well as insight into the South Asian world of adab and “desi mindfulness,” qualities that have proven indispensable as I spent one year in South Asia. Secondly, to Andrea Marion Pinkney, who gave me the confidence to engage in a Masters degree and, more importantly, who has given me the necessary tools, writing and research-wise, to pursue my dream of conducting ethnographic fieldwork in Canada, India, and Pakistan. For any successes I have had in this Masters degree, I can only say one thing: I have been able to see far because I was standing on the shoulders of giants. Research in Canada was made possible thanks to a Masters fellowship from the Social Sciences and Human Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). With the additional SSHRC Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement, I was able to conduct fieldwork in South Asia over a period of six months in 2016-2017. During this time, I was incredibly lucky to spend the Fall 2016 semester in Pakistan as an affiliated scholar at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). I am most grateful to my Urdu professors at LUMS, Dr. Ahmad Bilal Awan and Dr. Moeen Nizami for their patience, as well as Asif Iftikhar for assisting me in the process. Throughout my fieldwork, Dr. Farida Ali in 4 Delhi (of the dargah of Inayat Khan) and Professor Marcia Hermansen (Loyola University Chicago) have been great influences and mentors. I would also like to express a special note of appreciation to Shaykh Omar Koné, the leading imam of the Naqshbandi-Haqqani Montreal Sufi Centre, who has been, for the past three years, my main contact within the group and a source of inspiration in many ways. For those times he patiently listened to and answered all my questions, and agreed to participate in the different initiatives I was leading at McGill, merci infiniment. Of my colleagues at McGill, first and foremost to Henria Aton, my confidante, best friend, editor, and source of inspiration, thank you for giving me such strength throughout the years. To Lucie Robothan, who survived the second year with me, your energy, support, and encouragement were, simply, essential. In Islamic Studies, à mes soeurs de coeur, Odile Schürch, for giving me a family on campus, and Jessica Stillwell, for being my partner in crime on so many levels. Finally, to my family, the Mercier-Dalphonds, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for having trusted me in this whole process, especially when I moved to Pakistan. Last, but not least, to Muqaddas, bahut “shankriya.” 5 I would like to dedicate this thesis to my grandparents, Claudine Ducharme, Philippe Dalphond, as well as Louise Lacroix, Claude Mercier, and René Montpetit, who have been my pillars and inspiration. 6 Introduction: