“Sufism” and “folk Islam”: discourse and perception in late 19th – early 20th centuries

Abstract

The article is devoted to an important aspect of the study of everyday Muslim religiosity in retrospect – the perception of Sufism (tasawwuf) by Muslims in the late 19th – early 20th centuries. Based on eyewitness reports published in the Shura magazine, the authors describe the reception of some manifestations of Sufism in everyday life. The discovered typical patterns of representation of saints and the most common practices allow us to conclude that the phenomenon is normalized in society, primarily as a medical practice. An important aspect of the tradition is the self-reflection of those who are involved. Commentators observe how “tradition is being invented,” deconstructing it in a rational way, and fix the continuation of the established urfs and adats (goref-gadätlar). The article discusses R. Fahreddin's opinion on certain subjects and his understanding of the phenomenon, which is an important aspect illustrating the difference in the levels of comprehension of the problem.

Keywords

• sufism
• islam
• religiosity
• folk islam
• shura