Stereotypes Of Sufis

The general stereotype of the Sufis have been that of a sect of peace minus the rigidity of traditional Islam, but as the fifth chapter will note that this notion is a lot more complicated than thought. While it may be true that the Sufi have preached peace, it should be known that they also preached war as what will be noted in that chapter, by focusing on the writings of three most famous Sufi philosophers-al-Qushayri, al-Ghazali, and Rumi-it would be detailed in their thoughts on the concept of Jihad. When most think of Jihad, they think in general of war and war-making, but in reading the three Sufi philosophers, one can note another aspect of Jihad theology that of the spiritual struggle. Jihad comes from the Arabic verb jahada which roughly …show more content…
Why does this matter to their concept of Jihad? It is because by focusing on the purging of the carnal desires from their own souls, the Sufis would become not only one with the world around them, but also better able to offer themselves in battle as it will be known that the Sufis were among the fiercest warriors in Islamic history. This would also matter the most as to because the Sufi version of prayer has little in the way of guidance, meaning that worshipers are not bound to the service of an Imam or sultan meaning that declaration of Jihad is essentially democratized allowing anyone to declare so long as they are pure in their thoughts, a concept that has animated the thinking of many Jihadists even if they did not follow the Sufi …show more content…
The chapters that make up this section of the book serve as case studies in the application of hegemonic ideals and resistance to them by describing how they fared when implemented in the so-called “real world.” Chapter seven serves as an account of the development of the oil economy of Saudi Arabia and the build-up of institutions related to its industry, alluding to the themes noted in chapter one, the architecture of its rentier system will be discussed given that it was developed in tandem with the growth of its oil export industry. For it is known that the Saudi monarchy uses the proceeds from this industry to fund a vast clientele no different than what is found in Syria or any other bureaucratic-authoritarian state, as it would build the image of the king as a fatherly figure interested in the well-being of his people, despite that it is fairly limited to his immediate clients. However not everyone would be happy and would even challenge the sacred role of the monarchy which brings us to chapter 8, “Up against the King,” which details the Islamic opposition against the Saudi monarchy. The themes explored in this essay notes the development of anti-state actors and their bouts of insurgency that placed the world on edge, it will be explored the development of militant ideology using the thesis of the cycle of contention formulated by