Sufi Discourses in, and Responses to, Modern Western Expectations

Abstract

By focusing attention on the Western discourses about Sufism (Islamic mysticism) of recent years, this paper aims to reveal a form of Sufism's assertion of its current raison d'etre, by examining the expectations toward Sufism and the responses to it. Recent research on Sufism presented in Europe tend to expect it to be an important key to establish partnerships between Islam and modern secularized Christian societies, and also have hopes that it will prove to be a moderating force to "fundamentalism." Some Sufis such as Khaled Bentounes and Ahmad Kuftaru try to establish the cooperative relationship with Western society by a willingness to compromise through dialogues as they respond to these expectations. There is not always much development of intellectual argument unique to Sufism in this process, but we can decidedly see there the attempt to seek a modern Sufi way of being.