Western Sufism

The phenomenon of Western Sufi teachers is unique, not just because of the individuals themselves, though they are certainly fascinating, but because of what they represent: the flowering of the Western genius, which has discovered Eastern traditions, absorbed them and in the process changed them and been changed by them. This paper is a primary outline of the main contours of this phenomenon, trying to brief its history and attempt an explanation of what it means.

La notion de conversion est omniprésente dans les études socio-historiques consacrées au soufisme, courant mystique de l’islam, dans le monde occidental. A tel point que le terme figure en permanence dans nos propres notes de recherche sur la genèse des mouvements soufis en Europe occidentale au début du XXe siècle. Pourtant, sa mention dans les archives des groupes étudiés est rare et parfois volontairement décriée ou dissimulée. Comment expliquer le caractère systématique de son usage ? Loin de n’être qu’une erreur d’approche, l’analyse de phénomènes de conversions peut au contraire affiner la manière de concevoir la notion d’entre-deux qui met en rapport deux univers : l’islam et l’Occident.

Present paper examines the processes of native Europeans conversion to Islam in relation to the Sufi communities in the West. It deals with theoretical aspects of the study of Western Sufi communities, the conceptualization of religious conversion and its motives, as well as collective factors and individual trajectories of conversion on the basis of own field research in the Sufi communities in Western Europe and materials presented in the relevant studies. The paper shows that conversion to Islam through Sufi communities is characterized by the transition from religious individualism to collectively shared normativity, while the charisma of the shaykh largely determines the collective identity of the community and affects the life trajectories of its members.

Present paper examines the processes of native Europeans conversion to Islam in relation to the Sufi communities in the West. It deals with theoretical aspects of the study of Western Sufi communities, the conceptualization of religious conversion and its motives, as well as collective factors and individual trajectories of conversion on the basis of own field research in the Sufi communities in Western Europe and materials presented in the relevant studies. The paper shows that conversion to Islam through Sufi communities is characterized by the transition from religious individualism to collectively shared normativity, while the charisma of the shaykh largely determines the collective identity of the community and affects the life trajectories of its members.
Keywords: Islam in Europe, Sufism, tariqa, conversion, shaykh, charisma.

The article exposes the process of the development and transformation of the Sufi communities in Western Europe. It focuses on the Sufi Centre Rabbaniyya in Berlin which is considered here as a “hybrid” community contextualizing Sufi traditions in the Western socio-cultural milieu. “Hybrid” communities are regarded in the article as unstable and exposed to the current trend in the Western Sufism known as “turn to authenticity”, in consequence of which they are partially transformed into the more traditional shari’a-oriented institutions.

The thesis explores on the Sufis of twelfth to thirteenth centuries Andalusia and how the beliefs and ideas during that time influenced the spirit and material culture of the geographical area. During the times of the Almohad administration a Sufi-laden doctrine called ‘The Doctrine of Divine Unity’ was made as an official governmental charter. This caused an effect on the artefacts that were produced during this time. On top of that, the nature of the Almohad government that encouraged intellectual development further enhanced and intensified the influence of Sufism. Two prominent figures were highlighted in this thesis are namely the founder of the Almohad administration, Ibn Tumart and the famous Andalusian Sufi and philosopher, Ibn Arabi. The thesis takes on a theological approach upon studying the artefacts. Inscriptions were analyzed and compared with Sufi texts that were produced during this time. The Ruh al-Quds and Durrat al-Fakhirah that were written by Ibn Arabi became the primary sources for the study besides ‘The Doctrine of Divine Unity’. In addition to that, a few key terms in Sufism itself were explained, problems raised by other art historian were discussed and a method to approach Sufi-themed art was introduced.

Aux XIXe et XXe siècles, nombreux furent les Européens s’intéressant à la religion musulmane et au soufisme, tout comme aux nationalismes arabes et aux luttes de résistance anticoloniale : un mélange de facteurs qui ont souvent déterminé de véritables conversions à l’islam et l’adoption d’un nouveau mode de vie.
Si les conversions ont été nombreuses à travers les siècles , l’adoption d’une nouvelle identité ne s’accomplit jamais selon un parcours linéaire, comme le montre le cas de deux figures avant-gardistes comme la Française Valentine de Saint Point (1875-1953) et l’Italienne Leda Rafanelli (1880-1971). Ces deux femmes ont vécu des expériences similaires, au croisement des cultures et des religions d’Orient et d’Occident. Elles ont subi la fascination de l’Orient musulman et elles ont adopté la foi islamique selon des parcours originaux, où la lutte contre le colonialisme européen, pour la liberté des femmes et de tout être humain, a coïncidé avec leur propre liberté de choisir comment vivre et croire.
L'article propose quelques éléments de réflexion au sujet de la conversion à la spiritualité musulmane à partir de la biographie de ces deux femmes exceptionnelles : malgré le manque d’informations spécifiques dont nous disposons au sujet de leur itinéraire de conversion, le lexique soufi – employé dans certains de leurs écrits – peut nous aider à lire leurs vies et leur engagement, en une époque cruciale pour les relations entre Orient et Occident, en raison du colonialisme européen en terre d’Afrique.

As considering themselves as those who are able to refute the radical speaches of the salafis and the wahhabis, some Sufi leaders and preachers invest different areas of political and social expression to enforce the ethical and universal Muslim spirituality. At this conference, I present the different modes and the different places that those Sufis choose to spread their ideas. At least, this introduction aims to examine the Sufi speach in the European public sphere and to observe the political issues behind.


Se présentant le plus souvent comme les pourfendeurs d’un islam radical prôné par les mouvements salafistes, les mystiques musulmans investissent différents espaces d’expression politique, sociale, économique ou culturelle, pour faire valoir la dimension éthique et universelle de la spiritualité musulmane. Il s’agira de présenter ici ces lieux d’expression et les critères à partir desquels les acteurs soufis les choisissent. Cette présentation vise in fine à interroger l’adaptation des formes du discours islamique soufi à l’espace et aux publics européens et à en analyser les enjeux particulièrement politiques.