Debating Sufism: The Tijāniyya and its Opponents

This dissertation examines the larger theme of Sufism and anti-Sufism through the lens of debates between proponents of the Tijāniyya Sufi order and their Salafī opponents in the twentieth century as reflected in writings by authors hailing from Morocco, Mauritania, Mali, Sudan, Egypt and Saudi-Arabia. The conflict is basically a battle about who speaks for Islam, drawing on different sources of authority. Salafīs underline the importance of textual and discursive knowledge extracted from Islam’s foundational texts: they perceive the Qur'ān and the Sunna as the only true sources of religious authority. For them, all other possible sources of authority are fallible, and, by the same token, devoid of evidentiary value. For the protagonists of the Tijāniyya, however, the sources of authority extend from the foundational texts to include the God-given knowledge embedded in the spiritual experiences of the supreme master of their brotherhood, as well as that derived from daylight communications with the Prophet. Whereas earlier, nineteenth-century debates surrounding the Tijāniyya often involved other Sufis, especially from the Qādiriyya, and where strongly shaped by their competition for followers and political influence, the case studies subjected to scrutiny in this dissertation demonstrate that the Salafī critics were strongly motivated by their endeavor to engage in daʿwa (propagation of “proper” Islam) and to spread a “correct” understanding of tawḥīd (Oneness of God). The Tijānī authors who responded to their attacks considered the defense of the Tijāniyya a religious duty and a compulsory service to Aḥmad al-Tijānī, the founding figure and supreme master of the brotherhood, perceived as the perfect embodiment of the religion of Islam. As the dissertation shows, the vast field of theological and doctrinal debates allowed both protagonists and antagonists of the Tijāniyya to flex their muscles, construct their own authority and enhance their personal recognition. Polemical literature produced by Salafīs became standard references for opponents of the brotherhood, whereas Tijānī shaykhs who responded appeared as heroic scholars to their constituencies. The analysis also reveals a gradual change in the perception of certain Tijānī tenets among some of its representatives. This is best illustrated by the changing perception of the extraordinary reward for the recitation of the ṣalāt al-fātiḥ, which suggests the emergence of a sharī‘a-centric argumentation attracting mostly the younger generations among the Tijānīs. On the other hand, the spread of Salafism in previously Tijānī-dominated areas also made Tijānī authors resort to a harder and sharper tone in their polemical writings, thus pointing to the increasing tensions between Sufis and their opponents over the course of the twentieth century