Recognizing Sufism : contemplation in the Islamic tradition / Arthur F. Buehler.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 216-235) and index.

Introduction: Sufism, Sufis and Transformation. Qur'an, Transformative Practices and the Discipline of Sufism: 700-1000 -- Institutionalization of Sufi Practice -- Sufi Shrines: Down-to-earth, Day-to-day, Devotional Sufism for the Masses -- Sufi Authority and Politics -- The Relationship between the Shaykh and the Seeker -- Sufi Varieties of Transformative Practice: Transformation of the Ego-Self -- Two Contemporary Women Sufi Teachers -- Afterword: Future Scenarios for Sufi Practice: Guesses for the Twenty-first Century.

Shows that the vast majority of Sufi practice, both historically and in the contemporary world, has little or nothing to do with a esoteric transcendence but is rather focused on contemplative activity. Such practice might involve art, music, devotional shrine visitation--even politics and psychology. Discussing the origins of Sufism; the development of Sufi lineages (via three founder figures); Sufi lodges and the role of Sufism in colonial resistance; Sufi poetry; Sufi shrines, and Sufism in the West, Buehler rescues his topic from the idea that it means only union with the divine. --From publisher description.