A comparative study of the workings of a branch of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order in Lebanon and the UK

• Main Author: Habibis, Daphne
• Published: London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London) 1985
• Subjects: 100; Islamic mysticism
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.281924

The thesis studies two groups of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order. One is in Tripoli, north Lebanon, and has a loose membership of about 60 people. The other is based in London and has about 100 members, most of whom are Western Muslim converts. Sufism is Islamic mysticism. Sufis claim to emulate the mYbtical practices of the Prophet Muhammad which they believe were transmitted in their complete form to his first and fourth Caliphs. Sufi Orderb were first formalibed in the 9th c e n t u r ya . do and by -the- I-3th c en tu ryh-ad- gained an l.J ne a 5 y acceptance by orthodox Islam. They rapidly became an integral part of the Muslim world. The Naqshbandi Order c I a j m 5 tot r ace its des c e n t tot he fir s t Ca lip h and re g a r d s itself as the premier Sufi Order. The pro c e s se s 0 f model insation and industrial is ation led to drastic reduction in the influence of the Orders. Associated with this was the growing domination of a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam which denied the orthodoxy of Sufism and today dominates Muslim religious expression. The thesis examines the contemporary role of a branch of a Sufi Order in the West and the East. The discrepancy between the values of Sufism and those of the modern world are considered, as is the influence of politics on the survival of the Sufi Orders in the Middle East. Both groups contain elements of Mahdism which is a type of Muslim millenarianism. This is considered as well as the different ways in which the two groups interpret and react to these beliefs. Throughout the thesis attention is paid to the internal logic of Sufism's beliefs and practices.