Sufism: The Essentials

Commonly associated with the poetry of Rumi and frequently equated with whirling dervishes, Sufism has often been viewed as a development quite apart from mainstream Islam. Although partially eclipsed in the Middle East, Sufism remains vital in some areas and is gaining popularity in the West, through both the expansion of traditional Sufi orders and the development of ""alternative"" practices bearing questionable resemblance to Sufism. Given this situation, a publication introducing the ""essentials"" of Sufism seems timely indeed. Sedgwick, an instructor of Islamic history at the American University in Cairo, has written such a book, outlining Sufism's origins, leadership and practices, as well as its changing role in relation to larger communities and nations. The book's greatest strength lies in the author's thesis that Sufism developed within mainstream Islam. He traces reasons for misconceptions about Sufism's origins to racial theories that a religion as ""spiritual"" as Sufism could not have derived from the ""Arab mind,"" commonly characterized as ""legalistic."" Sedgwick importantly explains that Sufism was marginalized by Muslims, including fundamentalists, who sought to change Islam as a whole by challenging Sufi practices. Not surprisingly, the book's greatest weakness is that it neglects important differences between Sufism and Islam, for instance as expressed in Rumi's language of wine and ""intoxication."" However, the author includes a selection of Sufi hakim, or sayings; left uninterpreted, these effectively provide a certain insight into the spiritual path of Sufism. (Jan.)