A Study of the Orientation toward Sufism among Modern Muslim Intellectuals

The most important concern modern Muslim intellectuals have shared is the means of reforming their society under the impact of the modern West. It is remarkable that many of these intellectuals have taken interest in Sufism. This paper clarifies why Sufism has attracted them. Modern Muslim intellectuals face circumstances peculiar to them. Firstly, the technology, science, and way of thinking they have attempted to introduce to their society originate in the West, which has been seen as their political enemy and an imperialist threat. Secondly, these Muslim intellectuals have been segregated from the rest of society. In particular, the gap between them and the masses is nearly unbridgeable. Thirdly, Muslim intellectuals are constantly faced with the threat of social, political, and religious sanctions on their speech and writing. Sufism presupposes the dichotomy of the elite and the masses and, thus, is located in the tradition of the "double truth." In addition, Sufism relativized the meaning of external institutions, doctrines, and laws and, then, provides them with a viewpoint free from traditional views. Consequently, modern Muslim intellectuals have found in Sufism the possibility of intellectual freedom within the domain of Islam