The Story of Sufism: An Anti-Colonial Movement

Untold Histories & Stories : The Story of Sufism as an Anti-Colonial Movement

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About this Event

In this themed talk, we will examine the role of Sufism (and Sufi leaders) as they relate to anti-colonial political and military resistance movements. Sufism is often viewed as a non-violent and non-political branch of Islam. However, there are many historical examples to illustrate the presence of anti-colonialist Sufi military movements throughout the Muslim World.

When Islam was under threat, the Sufis were the trained soldiers, and their close-knit brotherhoods allowed them to form devastatingly effective resistance movements. Sufi orders led anti-colonial movements from Morocco to Indonesia. Many have heard of the stubborn Chechen guerrillas, but few realize how absolutely this movement is rooted in Sufism. When the Russians pushed south into Muslim lands in the 19th century, the heroic Sufi Sheikh Imam Shamil launched a decades-long guerrilla war.…