Sufis: Mystics in Islam

Catalog description

This course offers a general and interpretive narrative tracing of Sufism from its period of origin until recent times. It observes the development and spread of the so-called “Islamic mysticism” through the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and ultimately Europe and the United States. Moving beyond a focus on doctrines and practices, this course situates Sufism in its social, cultural and historical contexts. We will learn how Sufi holy personages gained followers, not only among tribesmen and peasants, but also emperors, merchants, and bureaucrats. We will then look at how such alliances made leading Sufis powerful even at the zenith of European imperialism and in today’s globalized world.