Living Sufism – Sufi Rituals in the Middle East and the Balkans

Author: Nicolas Biegman
Publisher: he American University in Cairo Press; 1 edition (June 1, 2009)
Language: English
Pages: 208
ISBN: 978-9774162633
Binding: Soft Cover
Book Condition: New
Weight: 825gr.
Description from the Publisher: Sufism, the mystical tradition of Islam, is as far from the strident and often violent fundamentalist strain of the religion that has so captured world attention as it is possible to be. Sufis in all parts of the Islamic world are broad-minded, tolerant, and non-violent, their quest only to find and approach God through all means, including poetry, music, and dance. Historian Nicolaas Biegman has been observing and photographing Sufi practice and ritual in different Muslim lands for many years, and here in this collection of extraordinary photographs he feels the pulse of the Sufi experience, with its enormous variety in discipline and exuberance, intellectualism and spontaneity, in Egypt, Syria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Macedonia. In accompanying texts he explores what lies behind the rituals, and explains aspects of Sufi life and practice such as the position of women.