The Qadiriyya Sufi Order by Philippon, Alix;

Short description:

The Qadiriyya Sufi Order: Saints, Shrines and Politics in 21st Century Iraq offers the first comprehensive, field-based examination of contemporary Iraqi Sufism through the lens of one of Islam's most influential mystical brotherhoods.

Long description:

The Qadiriyya Sufi Order: Saints, Shrines and Politics in 21st Century Iraq offers the first comprehensive, field-based examination of contemporary Iraqi Sufism through the lens of one of Islam's most influential mystical brotherhoods.

Based on extensive ethnographic research conducted between 2021 and 2023, this groundbreaking study illuminates the resilience and adaptation of Sufi traditions across Iraq's turbulent post-2003 landscape, revealing complex intersections of religion, identity, and political power. Through immersive case studies centered on the shrine of Abd al-Qadir al-Gilani and associated Qadiriyya networks, Philippon meticulously documents how Sufi communities reinvent their religious identity through public rituals, pilgrimages, and saint veneration practices. The book explores how sacred spaces function as dynamic sites where personal belief systems encounter broader power relations, examining how religious festivals serve as tools of territorial identity formation and how transnational flows - particularly from South Asia - reshape the meanings and functions of spiritual centers. By analyzing these processes against Iraq's shifting political terrain, the work reveals how Sufi networks and practices remain central to Sunni religious life despite decades of sectarian conflict and social upheaval.

A vital contribution to Islamic studies, religious anthropology, and Middle Eastern politics. By providing unprecedented insights into how religious traditions navigate uncertainty and change, Philippon's work will prove essential reading for scholars of Sufism, sacred space, religious adaptation, and post-conflict spirituality in the modern Middle East.

"This book, based on extensive field research among Shiites, Sunnis and Sufis of Iraq and Pakistan since the end of Saddam Hussein's regime, offers unique material and analysis on the intersection of Muslim mysticism and politics, as well as on the renewal of meditative practices and the functioning of dance and ecstasy rituals. It is an unparalleled guide to understanding the new mystical currents in the contemporary Middle East."

Thierry Zarcone, Research professor, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Université Paris Sciences et Lettres.

"Philippon brings Sufi practice to life against the backdrop of Iraq’s tumultuous political scene, where Sunnis are no longer in power.  Much like her previous work on Sufis in Pakistan, she offers finely textured accounts of the complex politics of religious leadership, based on recent and extensive ethnographic fieldwork at the shrine of Abdul Qadir Gilani and among the sheikhs and followers of the Qadiri and Kasnazani Sufi orders. Her detailed accounts of the shrine of Abdul Qadir Gilani—including stories of pilgrims from Pakistan--are an especially fascinating read for anyone familiar with Sufi practice in Pakistan, where Abdul Qadir Gilani is a beloved saint, close in spirit but geographically remote. She is at her best when unpacking events like a scandal that momentarily transformed the grounds of the famous shrine into a political forum. The book is also especially engaging when presenting the life stories of Shias who have been drawn to join the dynamic, ecumenical Kasnazani Sufi order. Philippon captures important aspects of contemporary Sufi experience in its local and transnational dimensions!"

Katherine Pratt Ewing, Professor Emerita of Religion, Columbia University. Professor Emerita of Cultural Anthropology and Religion, Duke University.

Table of Contents:

Table of contents

Note on Transliteration

Introduction

PART ONE. Sufism and politics in Iraq: A fragmentation of identity?

Chapter 1. The politicization of Sufis, from the founding of the modern Iraqi state to the American invasion

Chapter 2. After 2003, (dis)connections with the institutional political field: Sufism caught between the democratic option and jihadism

Chapter 3. The competition between Sunnis and Shiites after 2003

PART TWO. The saint Abd al-Qadir al-Gilani and his shrine in Baghdad: Symbols of Iraqi Sufism, from the local to the global

Chapter 4. A material and symbolic patrimony under pressure

Chapter 5. The yearly pilgrimage to the shrine of the Sufi saint Abd al-Qadir al-Gilani in Baghdad, between communitas and contestation

Chapter 6. A Sufi scandal in Baghdad: The mobilizations in defense of the saint Abd al-Qadir al-Gilani

PART THREE. The Kasnazaniyya, Iraq’s largest Sufi order: Defending and celebrating a pluralist and ecumenical Sufi identity at a time of sectarianism and Jihadi violence

Chapter 7. An emotional community and an ecumenical grouping

Chapter 8. Festivals, identity-building and territorialization: The celebration of Imam Ali and the Prophet’s birthday in Sulaymaniyah with Shaykh Nehro

Chapter 9. Miracles: Central to Sufi identity and politics? A study of their uses and controversial interpretations in Iraq

Conclusion

Glossary of Arabic and Urdu Terms