http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/1407767481

Living Sufism in North America : between tradition and transformation

As Sufism becomes more established in North America, observers note the difficulty in making sense of a tradition with such a beguiling diversity of form, ranging from Sufi orders characterized by their Islamic practice, to Sufi orders with little in the way of explicit Islamic reference. Why is it that Sufism takes such a diversity of form? What is at the heart of this diversity? Why are some orders in North America more explicitly Islamic whereas others have little to do with Islamic religiosity? Why have some orders taken on a more distinctly North American cultural style, while others have maintained the culture of their country of origin? Furthermore, is there a way to think about Sufism in North America that transcends these dichotomies? In this work, I suggest that the answers to these questions can be found in understanding the role of the shaykh or Sufi teacher. It is the shaykh or shaykha (feminine) who makes critical decisions on how to teach Sufism: what elements of the tradition to maintain and what to adapt in a new context. Beginning in late 2009 and continuing to November 2010, I traveled throughout the United States and Canada visiting Sufi centers and interviewing ten Sufi leaders. During my research with Sufi leaders in North America I found that commonly used categories based on the term "Islamic" too often obscure the many ways that "non" or "quasi" Islamic Sufis are grounded in the Islamic tradition, and alternately the ways in which "Islamic" Sufis maintain broadly universalistic perspectives. I also found that ostensibly "traditional" Sufi leaders engaged in notable adaptations of their tradition, or held views that might be seen as surprisingly liberal, while those Sufi leaders thought of as liberal, or even "New Age," considered themselves deeply traditional in their approach to Sufism. In light of these findings, I argue that Sufism is better understood as an inherently fluid, dynamic, and diverse tradition that takes a multiplicity of forms in North America based on the choices Sufi teachers make regarding: a) the degree to which Sufism can or should be adapted to suit the North American context, and b) the degree to which Sufism is connected to Islamic practice (the rituals and rules prescribed by Islamic law). I offer here the first exploration of Sufi leadership in North America, bringing to light the views of leaders who, in many ways, shape the discourse and practice of Sufism as it takes root in a new cultural, geographic space.

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