Researcher ORCID Identifier
Graduation Year
2023
Document Type
Campus Only Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Writing and Rhetoric
Second Department
Middle East Studies
Reader 1
Glenn Simshaw
Reader 2
Heather Ferguson
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
2023 Maryam F Khan
Abstract
Sufism, a practice dating back to early Islam and formalized in the twelfth century, still exists today. Adherents of Sufis often organize into orders called tariqas. My thesis serves both as a personal memoir and a case study into the role of tradition in the practice of Sufi tariqas today. As someone who grew up in a community that adhered to the practices of the Shadhili tariqa, I explore the way in which tradition was invoked by the Sufi shaykh as a form of control over his students. Reference to tradition, to the practices of Sufis of old, was integral to granting legitimacy to the Sufi shaykh's actions and his status as divinely connected. The result was a repressive system in which the shaykh's actions could not be questioned, nor his word disobeyed. More generally, the community I grew up in demonstrates the intersection between history and modernity and the fine line between community and cult.
Recommended Citation
Khan, Maryam, "The Role of Tradition in Modern Sufi Tariqas: A Personal Case Study" (2023). Scripps Senior Theses. 2007.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/2007
This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.
