The dark side of Sufism

<p>The dominant modernist view on religion juxtaposes &lsquo;religion&rsquo; and &lsquo;mysticism&rsquo; as two opposing ways of dealing with spiritual realities. The former is seen as linked with dogma and moral regulations of external behavior, while the latter is seen as linked with a free and personal engagement with profound inner experiences. Yet, in many traditions, such a juxtaposition seems out of place. For example, as was explained in the first two parts of this series, the phenomenon of &ldquo;Sufism&rdquo; is, in fact,&nbsp;<a href="https://medium.com/re-visioning-religion/revisioning-sufism-part-1-the-central-place-of-mysticism-within-islam-ebc4fb5d42#.wc0y9iex4" rel="noopener">a rather &lsquo;normative&rsquo; form of Islam.</a>&nbsp;This norm only recently (and very gradually)&nbsp;<a href="https://medium.com/re-visioning-religion/revisioning-sufism-part-2-how-the-norm-shifted-6ed52aebdeda#.a1v3manki" rel="noopener">started shifting because of modernist influences and contemporary geopolitics</a>. As such, Islamic mysticism is, at its core, also undeniably religious &mdash; and vice versa.</p> <p><a href="https://medium.com/re-visioning-religion/the-dark-side-of-sufism-d2cd8d2e8fd4"><strong>Read More</strong></a></p>
Tags: Side Sufism