Sufi Brotherhoods in Syria and Israel: A Contemporary Overview

Abstract

In the geographical area of Syria, as in other parts of the Muslim world, Sufism found itself under increasing attack during the twentieth century. Though accustomed to strictures against their theosophical meditations and popular ecstatic practices, with the advent of modernity Sufis had to contend with challenges of an altogether different magnitude. These derived not only from the direct impact of the West, with its rationalist mode of thinking, but even more from the growing intervention of a secularized state and the concomitant antagonism of a rising Islamic fundamentalism. Under such circumstances, many Sufi brotherhoods declined; yet others were able to develop a variety of strategies from within their divergent traditions to survive, adapt, and at times even thrive. Since the 1980s, with the turn of Muslim governments against the radical upsurge, and the general rise of interest in “Oriental” mysticism in the West, there has been a marked revival in Sufi activities.