South Asian sufis : devotion, deviation, and destiny / edited by Clinton Bennett and Charles M. Ramsey.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Bennett, Clinton.

Ramsey, Charles M.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sufism--South Asia.

Sufism.

Sufis--South Asia.

Sufis.

Islam--South Asia.

Islam.

South Asia.

Physical Description:

xiv, 318 pages ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; New York, NY : Continuum International Publishing Group, 2012.

Summary:

Often described as the soul of Islam, Sufism is one of the most interesting yet least known facet of this global religion. Sufism is the softer more inclusive and mystical form of Islam. Although militant Islamists dominate the headlines, the Sufi ideal has captured the imagination of many. Nowhere in the world is the handprint of Sufism more observable than South Asia, which has the largest Muslim population of the world, hut also the greatest concentration of Sufis. This book examines active Sufi communities in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh that shed light on the devotion, and deviation, and destiny of Sufism in South Asia.

Drawn from extensive work by indigenous and international scholars, this ethnographical study explores the impact of Iran on the development of Sufi thought and practice further east, and also discusses Sufism in diaspora in such contexts as the UK and North America and Iran's influence on South Asian Sufism. Book jacket.

Contents:

South Asian Sufis; continuity, complexity and change / Clinton Bennett

Iran's role in stimulating South Asian Islam / Clinton Bennett

A model of Sufi training in the 21st century: a case study of the Qaediriyya in Hyderabad / Mauro Valdinoci

Understanding the philosophy of spirituality at shrines in Pakistan / Hafeez-ur-Rehman Chaudhry

Spiritual power and "threshold" identities: the Mazars of Sayyid Pier Waris Shāh Abdul Laṭīf Bhitī / Uzma Rehman

Du'a: popular culture and powerful blessing at the 'Urs / Pnina Werbner

The Sufi centre of Jhok Sharif in Sindh (Pakistan): questioning the Ziyarat as a social process / Michel Boivin

When Sufi tradition reinvents Islamic modernity

the Minhāj-ul Qurʾān, a neo-Sufi order in Pakistan / Alix Philippon

Making the case for sainthood in modern Bangladesh: narrative strategies and the presentation of holiness in the life of Zia ul-Haqq Maizbhandari / Sarwar Alam

Ahmad Sirhindī: nationalist hero, good Sufi, or bad Sufi? / Arthur Buehler

Encountering the unholy: the establishment of political parties by Sufi masters in modern Bangladesh / Sarwar Alam

The transformation and development of South Asian Sufis in Britain / Ron Geaves

Rishwaer: Kashmir, the garden of the saints / Charles M. Ramsey

Bangladeshi Sufism; an interfaith bridge / Clinton Bennett

A garden amidst the flames: the categorical imperative of Sufi wisdom / Hugh van Skyhawk

South Asian Sufism in America / Marcia Hermansen

Sufis and social activism: a Chīshtī response to communal strife in India today / Kelly Pemberton

Conclusion: South Asian Sufis, devotion, deviation, and destiny / Charles M. Ramsey.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [293]-312) and index.

ISBN:

9781441151278

1441151273

OCLC:

714723123