The Popularisation of Sufism in Ayyubid and Mamluk Egypt, 1173-1325

In the 12th - 14th centuries, Sufism ('Islamic mysticism') became extraordinarily popular across Egypt. Elites and non-elites, rulers and ruled, the wealthy and the poor, even Jews, all embraced a variety of Sufi ideas and practices. This book is the first systematic investigation of how and why this popularisation occurred. It surveys several Sufi groups, from different regions of Egypt, and details how each of them promulgated, performed, and popularised their specific Sufi doctrines and practices. This popularisation would have a profound impact on the Egyptian religious landscape and on the subsequent history of Islam more broadly.

Author: Nathan Hofer
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Published: 07/07/2015
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.45lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.00w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9780748694211

About the Author

Nathan Hofer received his Ph.D. from the Graduate Division of Religion at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He is currently Assistant Professor of Islam in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. His research is broadly concerned with the social history of Sufism in the central Islamic lands, with a particular emphasis on exploring the relationship between social formation and textual production.