EUR  â¬132.00EUR  â¬110.00 excl. VAT
Sufism in Saudi Arabia Since 1979
The Politics of Orthodoxy in Contemporary Islam
Series: - Studies on Sufism, Volume: 11
Author:
This is the first full-length monograph to explore Sufism in Saudi Arabia since 1979âa groundbreaking journey into a rarely seen side of the kingdomâs religious life. Drawing on rich fieldwork, in-depth interviews with Sufi practitioners, and archival research, the book brings readers deep into the spiritual networks that persist beneath the surface of state-enforced Wahhabi orthodoxy. It traces a century of scholarly life in the Hejaz, follows transnational tiesâespecially those of the Ba Ê¿Alawi orderâand uncovers stories of persecution, such as that of Muhammad Alawi al-Maliki. Timely and vivid, it also examines the profound religious shifts unfolding under the rule of Mohammed bin Salman.
Besnik Sinani, PhD (2020), is AIWG Research Fellow at the Center for Islamic Theology at Tübingen University. Before working in Tübingen, he taught and conducted research at the Freie Universität Berlin and the Leibniz â Center for the Modern Orient.
Acknowledgments
Introduction
â1âSaudi Sufism in the Context of WahhÄbÄ« Dogma and State Power
â2âSufism as a Discursive Tradition
â3âClassical and Contemporary WahhÄbism
â4âSources Employed in This Book
1 The Standing Shrine
â1âThe Prophetâs Tomb as Unfinished Reform
â2âIbn Taymiyya and Early WahhÄbÄ« Scholars on the Tomb of the Prophet
â3âModern-Day WahhÄbÄ« Teachings on the Tomb of the Prophet
â4âWahhÄbÄ« Teachings on Tombs, IstighÄtha, and ZiyÄra of the Tomb of the Prophet
â5âExcessive veneration of the Prophet: A Christian-Like Problem?
2 The Polemical Sufi Teacher
â1âMuḥammad Ê¿AlawÄ« al-MÄlikÄ«: The Life of a Sufi Scholar in Saudi Arabia
â2âAl-MÄlikÄ«âs Riḥlas, IsnÄds, andIjÄzas
â3âAl-MÄlikÄ«âs Students and Writings
â4âThe Intermediary Life of the Prophet (al-ḥayÄt al-barzakhiyya) in MafÄhÄ«m
â5âAl-MÄlikÄ«âs Textual Argumentation of Intercession
â6âRe-Affirming Divine Sovereignty: The Charge of ghuluww and the Prophetâs Attributes
â7âAl-MÄlikÄ« on the Visitation and the Preservation of the Tomb of the Prophet
3 Facing the WahhÄbÄ« Orthodoxy
â1âWahhÄbÄ« Orthodoxy and Saudi Political Rule
â2âThe Institutions of WahhÄbÄ« Orthodoxy
â3âThe Events of 1979 and the Appeal to WahhÄbÄ« Orthodoxy in Times of Crisis
â4âEarly WahhÄbÄ« Views on Sufism
â5âLate WahhÄbÄ« Views on Sufism
â6âSufism as the Other
â7âRefutation of al-MÄlikÄ« by the Committee of Senior Scholars
â8âThe WahhÄbÄ« Scholarly Refutation of al-MÄlikÄ«
â9âThe Refutation of MafÄhÄ«m
â10âThe Refutation from al-á¹¢aḥwa
4 The Memory of the Meccan School
â1âAl-MÄlikÄ« as Heir of the Meccan School
â2âThe Men of Meccan IsnÄds Prior to the Establishment of the Saudi State
â3âThe Meccan School in a Changing Political Environment
â4âSaudi Rule and the Public Demise of the Meccan School
â5âWahhÄbism as Breaking the Chain of Connection to the Prophet
â6âThe Regionalist Dimensions of the Debate on Sufism in Saudi Arabia
â7âThe Regional Dimension of the Debate on Sufism in Saudi Arabia
â8âTakfÄ«r in WahhÄbÄ« Teachings
â9âThe Critique of TakfÄ«r in MafÄhÄ«m and the Response of á¹¢Äliḥ al-Shaykh
â10âAl-MÄlikÄ«âs TaḥdhÄ«r and the Modern Politicization of TakfÄ«r in Saudi Arabia
â11âThe Path towards the National Dialogue in 2003
â12âThe Legacy of al-MÄlikÄ«
5 The BÄ Ê¿AlawÄ« Sayyids in Modern Saudi Arabia
â1âNarratives of Exile and Preaching in BÄ Ê¿AlawÄ« Communal Consciousness
â2âÊ¿AlawÄ« Gathering Spaces and Corresponding Ethics
â3âFemale Ethical Concerns in Contemporary BÄ Ê¿AlawÄ« Teachings
â4âÊ¿AlawÄ« Blood Genealogies and Notions of Communal Balance
â5âAn Exploration of the Ê¿AlawÄ« Silsila
â6âThe Ê¿AlawÄ« Path of the Ancestors (Salaf)
â7âBiography and Prosopography as Tools of Tradition
â8âAḥmad MashhÅ«r al-ḤaddÄd: The Exemplary Caller unto God
6 Authority, Accommodation, and Pedagogy in the Majlis
â1âKnowledge and Authority in Contemporary Sufi Teaching in Saudi Arabia
â2âContemporary Traditionalist Construction of Authority
â3âThe New Media and the New Spaces of Traditionalist Expansion
â4âWahhÄbÄ« Attacks against al-JifrÄ« and the New Spaces of Religious Contestation
â5âThe Search for Sectarian Coexistence after the National Dialogue
â6âÊ¿AbdullÄh FadÊ¿aq as the Public Face of Saudi Sufism
â7âSufi Pedagogy in Contemporary Saudi Arabia
â8âHadith Study in Contemporary Sufi Gatherings in the ḤijÄz
â9âEmulating, Connecting with, and Attaining a Vision of the Prophet
â10âThe Pedagogical, Spiritual, and Cultural Dimension of ḤijÄzÄ« NashÄ«d
7 The Majlis is Closed
â1âThe Rise of MBS and International Anti-Revolutionary Ecumenism
â2âThe Politics Traditionalism: Is There One?
â3âThe Reconfiguration of the Role of Religion in KSA
â4âThe WahhÄbization of a Shrinking Religious Field at the Expense of Religious Pluralism
Conclusions
Bibliography
Index
Introduction
â1âSaudi Sufism in the Context of WahhÄbÄ« Dogma and State Power
â2âSufism as a Discursive Tradition
â3âClassical and Contemporary WahhÄbism
â4âSources Employed in This Book
1 The Standing Shrine
â1âThe Prophetâs Tomb as Unfinished Reform
â2âIbn Taymiyya and Early WahhÄbÄ« Scholars on the Tomb of the Prophet
â3âModern-Day WahhÄbÄ« Teachings on the Tomb of the Prophet
â4âWahhÄbÄ« Teachings on Tombs, IstighÄtha, and ZiyÄra of the Tomb of the Prophet
â5âExcessive veneration of the Prophet: A Christian-Like Problem?
2 The Polemical Sufi Teacher
â1âMuḥammad Ê¿AlawÄ« al-MÄlikÄ«: The Life of a Sufi Scholar in Saudi Arabia
â2âAl-MÄlikÄ«âs Riḥlas, IsnÄds, andIjÄzas
â3âAl-MÄlikÄ«âs Students and Writings
â4âThe Intermediary Life of the Prophet (al-ḥayÄt al-barzakhiyya) in MafÄhÄ«m
â5âAl-MÄlikÄ«âs Textual Argumentation of Intercession
â6âRe-Affirming Divine Sovereignty: The Charge of ghuluww and the Prophetâs Attributes
â7âAl-MÄlikÄ« on the Visitation and the Preservation of the Tomb of the Prophet
3 Facing the WahhÄbÄ« Orthodoxy
â1âWahhÄbÄ« Orthodoxy and Saudi Political Rule
â2âThe Institutions of WahhÄbÄ« Orthodoxy
â3âThe Events of 1979 and the Appeal to WahhÄbÄ« Orthodoxy in Times of Crisis
â4âEarly WahhÄbÄ« Views on Sufism
â5âLate WahhÄbÄ« Views on Sufism
â6âSufism as the Other
â7âRefutation of al-MÄlikÄ« by the Committee of Senior Scholars
â8âThe WahhÄbÄ« Scholarly Refutation of al-MÄlikÄ«
â9âThe Refutation of MafÄhÄ«m
â10âThe Refutation from al-á¹¢aḥwa
4 The Memory of the Meccan School
â1âAl-MÄlikÄ« as Heir of the Meccan School
â2âThe Men of Meccan IsnÄds Prior to the Establishment of the Saudi State
â3âThe Meccan School in a Changing Political Environment
â4âSaudi Rule and the Public Demise of the Meccan School
â5âWahhÄbism as Breaking the Chain of Connection to the Prophet
â6âThe Regionalist Dimensions of the Debate on Sufism in Saudi Arabia
â7âThe Regional Dimension of the Debate on Sufism in Saudi Arabia
â8âTakfÄ«r in WahhÄbÄ« Teachings
â9âThe Critique of TakfÄ«r in MafÄhÄ«m and the Response of á¹¢Äliḥ al-Shaykh
â10âAl-MÄlikÄ«âs TaḥdhÄ«r and the Modern Politicization of TakfÄ«r in Saudi Arabia
â11âThe Path towards the National Dialogue in 2003
â12âThe Legacy of al-MÄlikÄ«
5 The BÄ Ê¿AlawÄ« Sayyids in Modern Saudi Arabia
â1âNarratives of Exile and Preaching in BÄ Ê¿AlawÄ« Communal Consciousness
â2âÊ¿AlawÄ« Gathering Spaces and Corresponding Ethics
â3âFemale Ethical Concerns in Contemporary BÄ Ê¿AlawÄ« Teachings
â4âÊ¿AlawÄ« Blood Genealogies and Notions of Communal Balance
â5âAn Exploration of the Ê¿AlawÄ« Silsila
â6âThe Ê¿AlawÄ« Path of the Ancestors (Salaf)
â7âBiography and Prosopography as Tools of Tradition
â8âAḥmad MashhÅ«r al-ḤaddÄd: The Exemplary Caller unto God
6 Authority, Accommodation, and Pedagogy in the Majlis
â1âKnowledge and Authority in Contemporary Sufi Teaching in Saudi Arabia
â2âContemporary Traditionalist Construction of Authority
â3âThe New Media and the New Spaces of Traditionalist Expansion
â4âWahhÄbÄ« Attacks against al-JifrÄ« and the New Spaces of Religious Contestation
â5âThe Search for Sectarian Coexistence after the National Dialogue
â6âÊ¿AbdullÄh FadÊ¿aq as the Public Face of Saudi Sufism
â7âSufi Pedagogy in Contemporary Saudi Arabia
â8âHadith Study in Contemporary Sufi Gatherings in the ḤijÄz
â9âEmulating, Connecting with, and Attaining a Vision of the Prophet
â10âThe Pedagogical, Spiritual, and Cultural Dimension of ḤijÄzÄ« NashÄ«d
7 The Majlis is Closed
â1âThe Rise of MBS and International Anti-Revolutionary Ecumenism
â2âThe Politics Traditionalism: Is There One?
â3âThe Reconfiguration of the Role of Religion in KSA
â4âThe WahhÄbization of a Shrinking Religious Field at the Expense of Religious Pluralism
Conclusions
Bibliography
Index
Essential reading for scholars of Islamic studies, Middle Eastern history, religious politics, and anthropology, as well as students and researchers interested in Sufism, Saudi Arabia, and contemporary Islamic thought.