Sufism and Islamic reform in Egypt : the battle for Islamic tradition /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:Johansen, Julian.
Imprint:Oxford : Clarendon Press ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1996.
Description:323 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.
Language:English
Series:Oxford Oriental monographs
Oxford Oriental monographs (Unnumbered)
Subject:
Format: Print Book
URL for this record:http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/2504805
Hidden Bibliographic Details
ISBN:0198267576
9780198267577
Notes:Based on the author's thesis (Ph. D.)--1991.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 301-312) and index.
Based on the author's thesis (Ph. D.)--1991.
Summary:One of the most important tendencies in the Islamic world, Sufism has had a long and active history. Yet it has been no stranger to controversy. This has been particularly pronounced in modern times, as radical Islamic groups and modernist reformers have sought to identify Sufism as a source of either unwelcome innovation or reactionary superstition. This book focuses on the efforts of the Sufis of Egypt, expressed in the writings of one of the order's sheikhs, to meet the critical challenge. The sheikh offers a vigorous defence of Sufism in the context of controversial issues such as festivals, processions, congregational invocation, and the principle of guidance by the sheikh. He also touches on broader issues such as the metaphysical status of the Prophet and the question of miracles, considering these in a characteristically Sufi light. However, he also downplays or reworks certain key elements of Sufi belief and practice in an attempt to forestall hostile criticism.
In this book Dr Johansen discusses these ideas and places them in a broader context, basing his analysis on material recorded at Sufi gatherings in Cairo between 1988 and 1990, as well as published and unpublished texts.
Other form:Online version: Johansen, Julian. Sufism and Islamic reform in Egypt. Oxford : Clarendon Press ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1996