EDC 500 Religion Paper: The Sufis

EDC 500 Religion Paper: The Sufis James W. MacDowell Cleveland State University

EDC 500 Religion Paper: The Sufis

Abstract
This paper sketches the essential characteristics and features of the Sufis (Taswwuf), an esoteric form of Islam. The intention is to inform and thereby create an awareness and sensitivity to other religions, in particular the Sufis, in the classroom.

The Sufis
Introduction Teaching has at its core, the need to motivate students to enjoy learning in a stimulating environment. Being attentive to the many and diverse cultural traits brought to the classroom by the students allows the teacher to effectively reach each learner. Their backgrounds can help to enrich the classroom experience. Being aware of ones own cultural leanings will allow the teacher an opportunity to be sensitive in reacting to cultural differences. One cultural trait for the educator to be aware of is religion. (Golnic, 209p.235-286) In order to shed light in that direction Islams Sufis will be explored in this paper in an ethnographic juxtaposition with Islams familiar forms. History Sufis are an esoteric branch of Islam in which the Mohammedan practitioners strive to commune with the transcendent through ritual dance, music, poetry, art, architecture and other mundane vehicles transformed in order to unite with the sacred other. (Churchill and Lewis, 2009 p.68) Their philosophy, and religion, may actually be ultimately rooted in Karl Jaspers Axial Age of Aryan culture which descended from the steppes of Asia to infiltrate and uplift the ancient cultures of Asia, Europe and Africa. Many scholars dispute that the Sufis were influenced by the religions which emerged from the horsemen of the steppes: the Vedic antecedents of Hinduism, Buddhism and Zoroastrianism as well as Chinas Confucianism and Daoism, the Mideasts monotheisms and the Greeks

EDC 500 Religion Paper: The Sufis rationalism. (Armstrong, 2000 p.xvi-xvii) Other influences may extend to or, in fact, be later inclusive of the shamanistic traditions typical of the Mongol invaders of the geography similarly pierced by Islam. It was a brutal time but carried deep philosophical wells as background to mundane experiences. Suffice it to say that scholars dispute the

origins of Sufi practice. Sufis apply faith in an aesthetic form. It is not a sect of Islam like the various schools that branch from the Sunni and Shiia traditions. (Nasr, 2007, p.167)The Sufi transmigrates the ascetics way along the path of love to polish the mirror of the heart and lift the veil of ignorance moving along the way toward the ineffable, Allah. (Schimmel, 1975) Islamic scholar, Rais Tchaqmaqzade says that Sufism has always existed. (Shah, 1980) This may be a more metaphysical answer than a vague historical reference. It does address the potent suggestion that there is, as Jung posits, a connection through the collective unconscious of all people connected with these Axial Age roots to reach a connected view of reality. Millennium long changes in these societies occurred with a minimum of appreciable historic contact between distant cultures. (Boeree,George 2006). Due to a lack of primary source material concerning this matter prior to the ninth century due to the repeated reciprocal sacking of adjacent cultural pockets no conclusive answer is possible and only speculation based upon the Quran and what can be gleaned from surrounding cultures and most certainly oral tradition serves as an aid to a cohesive interpretation.(Rippin,2001) Place of Origin Geographic Effects, Conditions, Ethnic diversity Islam began in the area of the Hijaz on the Arabian Peninsula along the Red Sea. Viewing a map it is adjacent to the Tigris and Euphrates river valley and within an armys ride to Damascus, Jerusalem, Cairo, and, much further but reasonably

EDC 500 Religion Paper: The Sufis approachable, to the Athenians and other peoples on the Mediterranean. Its lands extended into the ancient Russian steppes and through the old Vedic city of Mohenyo Daro, in modern Pakistan and into the continent of India. Sufism follows Islam and has

followed it to most countries on the globe. Arabia is at Granada on this hand, at Delhi on that China to the Pillars of Hercules. (Carlyle, T. /Wilson, E. 1900, p.209/p.175) The ancient way of a patron protecting members of the family and family belonging to the clan and clan belonging to the tribe failed Mohammed; so, he formed a broader alliance and pulled it under the umbrella of the Quran. Religion supplanted the old customary way. War for political/commercial dominance fell under the guise of religion over time and the followers of Mohammed extended their suzerainty from the rugged spine of mountainous land of what would be later known as the Basque region between France and Spain in the West and to India and beyond in the East. This is an area that is more easily traversed by the Mediterranean Sea than overland. Areas across modern Turkey, Iraq, Iran and the lands around the Caspian and Dead Seas were well traveled since before the time of Alexander the Great, whom had paved the way with a conquering army to Samarkand on the Silk Road to China as well as into India. Islam is the predominant faith in these Eastern areas to this day. By the 12th century the great Khans and their Mongol warriors were invested in the region and had, as it was their strategy, converted to the religion of the land, Islam. This deliberate cultural adaptation by the Mongols may have been the saving grace for the survival of Islam in this vast are of civilization. Without Mongol conversion Islam may very well have a seriously diminished foothold on such sweeping territorial influence. An era of political decline or

EDC 500 Religion Paper: The Sufis

reversal typically stirs a time of cultural wealth and Rumi, Islams greatest Sufi poet lived and wrote in this era. Heroes and Sheros (leaders and legends) Rumi is not the only poet philosopher of the Sufis but he is the most heralded. While it was Mohamed who founded this faith and the great succession of Caliphs, Abu-Bakr, Omarsupported as the true lineage by the Sunni Muslims and Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet, followed by the Shia Muslims, the faith is most known for its great artists and intellects. Effects on public, private, community, EDUCATION if any: When it (Islam) entered the picture it forced a revolutionary change on the tribal and clan based people living in Arabia. Tribal structure, capitalism and the typical patriarchic protection were jettisoned in favor of a broader based union of people following Mohameds Qurans teachings. (Armstrong, 2002pp.11-14) Against this political background of emergent Islam there were those practitioners of the new religion that focused on their individual link to God as an expression of right spiritual living. Compassion and care for all people revised but did not eliminate a narrow view of all for the family and clan and tribe. Ethnic Diversity Islam occurs in every corner of the globe. Sufism Erupts in every culture where one finds Islam. Major tenants of Islam and so too the Sufis: To seek Allah The Quran is the holy book of Islam Mohamed is the prophet of Islam just as the Jews have Abraham and Moses and others and the Christians have Jesus To make a haj or pilgrimage to Mecca to move closer to Allah

EDC 500 Religion Paper: The Sufis

Similarities and Differences with the prevailing culture The Sufis downplay religious difference while attending to appreciating a constant striving toward Allah within the locally dominant form Islam. Their methods differ from the typical call to prayer 5 times a day and include music and dance as well. What political (human) issues does this religion address, choose one or two to share thoughts on: homosexuality and gender roles. The Quran has allowed for broad interpretations of the role of women according to the time and place. It is, nevertheless, interpreted by men and this speaks volumes. It can just as easily approve a role of subservience to men as a role of equality and independence at any time period or in any cultural setting. (Wadud, Amina, 1999, p.96) The veil in many variations is most recognizable trait of an Islamic woman. It makes them anonymous and unknowable as a member of society in public. Chattel and slave are readily thought from an external perspective when viewing the relationship between men and women. But it is a well ordered society and from a phenomenological perspective women take their external circumstance as a matter of fact and acceptance. They maneuver within the safe and comforting confines of Islamic law. Western standards offer an opposing paradigms that does not fit the predominate culture of the lands where Islam is chiefly practiced. A womans behavior is behavior structured to be subservient to the man of the household (Interview with Amal AL-faifi, 3-31-2011) The beauty of Sufi poetry with its emphasis on love and the heart and the visible male in Sufi society may mislead one to think that homosexuality is a custom but the Quran does not condone such practices. Holidays and other observations

EDC 500 Religion Paper: The Sufis

Ramadan is the chief holiday of prayer and fasting. Summary The Sufis offer the world Islam without conflict but with all of the beauty and compassion that create peace, good will and the constant effortless effort to move toward the ground of being, Allah.

References for Religion Paper EDC500: Sufis

Armstrong, Karen (2002) Islam, A Short History NY, NY, Modern Library Armstrong, Karen (1993) Muhammad, A Biography of the Prophet NY,NY, Harper Collins Armstrong, Karen (2000) The Battle for God A History of Fundamentalism NY, NY Ballantine Books Boeree, George 2006, Personality Theories: Carl Jung 1875-1961 Retrieved from: http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/jung.html Retrieved on: 4-7-11 Carlyle, Thomas, E. Wilson 1900, Mohammed and Mohammedanism pp.179-209, T.Dwight, R.H. Stoddard, A.V.Marsh, P.VanDyke, A.E. Bergh (Eds.) The Worlds Great Classics Sacred Books of the East N.Y.,N.Y., The Colonial Press Churchill, B.E. and Lewis, B. (2009) Islam The Religion and the People Upper Saddle River, N.J., Wharton School Publishing Chittick, William C. (2007) The Inner Journey Views from the Islamic Tradition, Parabola Anthology Series Sandpoint, ID, Morning Light Press Gollnick, Donna and Chinn, Phillip (2009) Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic Society 8th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ, Pearson Education, Inc. Halici, Nevin (2005) Sufi Cuisine London, England SAQI

EDC 500 Religion Paper: The Sufis Ikeda, Daisaku and Tehranian, Majid (2004) Global Civilization, A Buddhist Islanic Dialogue NY, NY, British Academic Press Lewis, B. and Churchill, B.E., 2009 Islam The Religion of the People Upper Saddle River, N.J., Wharton School Publishing Nasr, Eyed Hossein, 2007, The Garden of Truth The Vision and Promise of Sufism, Islams Mystical Tradition N.Y., N.Y., Harper One Nicholson, R.A. (1967) Studies in Islamic Mysticism NY, NY, Cambridge University Press Rippin, Andrew, (2001) Muslims, Their Religious Beliefs and their Practices 2nd ed. NY,NY, Routledge Shah, Indries (1971) The Sufis Garden City, NY, Anchor Books: Doubleday and Company Shah, Indries (1980) The Way of the Sufis London, England, The Octagon Press Stoddart, William (1976) Sufism, The Mystical Doctrines and Methods of Islam NY, NY, Samuel Weiser Inc.

Wadud, Amina, (1999), Quran and Woman Rereading the Sacred Text from a Womans Perspective NY,NY Oxford University Press

Additional References for Religion Paper EDC500: Sufis For presentation

maps.google.com http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_Cf-ZxDfZA video of whirling dervishes Sufi music Sufi recipes