Interconnection Between Sufism and Political

¶ … interconnection between Sufism and political rulers during the period ranging from the Almoravid dynasty (year 1040) until the colonial period (1912-1956). To this end, this paper provides a review of the peer-reviewed and scholarly literature to develop an analysis concerning how Sufism became politicized in Morocco and an examination of the activist or rebellious Sufism who railed against the political state as well as acquiescent Sufists who cooperated and were used by the state. In addition, a discussion concerning the causes that lead Sufism to be co-opted by the state and how it was accomplished, and those that pushed the Sufis to be oppose the state is provided, together with an assessment of how these events transpired. A discussion concerning several specific Sufi orders in Morocco including the Tijani order, the Derqaoui order, the Kettani order, and the Qadiri order is followed by a discussion and a summary of the research and salient findings that are presented in the conclusion.

Review and Discussion

Background and Overview.

The past millennium has been an eventful and frequently violent period in the history of Morocco as first one and then another foreign power sought to rule the Moroccan people and exploit its resources. According to Combs-Shilling (1991), "At the height of its power, Morocco extended its dominion over much of the western Mediterranean; it ruled into Spain and Iberia in the north, Mauretania in the south, and the Libyan desert in the east" [see map at Appendix a] (661). In 788 CE, approximately 100 years following the conquest of North Africa by Arabs, successive Moorish dynasties ruled in Morocco (Morocoo 2009). Arab domination of Morocco persisted for the next eight centuries until the 16th century, when the Sa'adi monarchy, especially under Ahmad Al-Mansur (1578-1603), managed to expel the foreign invaders and the period the followed is regarded as a golden age in Moroccan history, but this period would only last two centuries or so before Morocco once again fell under the sway of foreign invaders (Morocco 2009). For example, Spain occupied northern Morocco in 1860 thereby introducing 50 years' of competitive trade with various European powers that resulted in a gradual but relentless erosion of Moroccan sovereignty; in 1912, France acquired Morocco and designated it a protectorate (Morocco 2009).

The next half century would witness the Moroccan people waging an on-again-off-again effort to regain their independence and by 1956, they managed to secure their sovereignty from France and achieve independence (Morocco 2009). These eventful episodes in Morocco's history contributed, perhaps, to a mindset that has combined mystical Islam with militant views when it comes to foreign occupiers. In this regard, Hammoudi notes that, "At the heart of Moroccan culture lies a paradigm of authority that juxtaposes absolute authority against absolute submission. Rooted in Islamic mysticism, this paradigm can be observed in the drama of mystic initiation, with its fundamental dialectic between Master and Disciple; in conflict with other cultural forms, and reelaborated in colonial and postcolonial circumstances" (1997, vi).

The Islamic mysticism referred to above relates to Sufism. In this regard, Ahmed advises that, "Most Western scholars define Sufism as the spirituality of Islam or the mystical version of Islam. It is thought to be the inward approach to Islam that emerged and flourished in the non-Arab parts of the Islamic world" (2008, 233). According to McManus (1999), "The ascetic Persian faith of Sufism, like other mystical religions, seeks union with God or the Divine. The first Sufis were followers of the prophet Mohammed. They would sit outside the mosque on a platform, or suffe, and listen to him. Following his example, the Sufis sought to lose all sense of self and become united with God" (p. 35). In their first step toward illumination, neophyte Sufis would first be cleansed in preparation to receive their teachings and then would be introduced to a spiritual master who served them a special meal and assigned a personal zekr, or chant (McManus 1999). The initiates were then taught the specific acts that formed the path to the Divine; these specific acts consisted of meditation, the invocation of God's name, and contemplation (McManus 1999). While Sufism was primarily descended from Islam, it also assimilated various teachings of other religions and beliefs, borrowing from such groups as the Pythagoreans, Hermetics, and Buddhists (McManus 1999). Although fundamentally devoted to the union with God, over time the various Sufi orders would become actively involved in the political events swirling around them in North Africa and beyond as various Sufi leaders sought to liberate Morocco from Western colonialists or by allying themselves with the ruling monarch at the time and acceding to the protectorate in ways that would be used by the powers-that-be to help maintain the status quo. As to the former, Schwartz (2003) asserts that, "There are pious and sober Sufis, and rebellious, ecstatic Sufis. Although most advocate for peace, they do not preach surrender to aggression" (37). As to the latter, Hammoudi notes that during the 1930s, some Sufis allied themselves with the ruling monarch and the protectorate in direct defiance of the nationalist groups railing for independence at the time.

Like Saladin before him, one Sufi leader in the former tradition was "Abd al-Qadir al-Jazairi, the leader of the Algerian Muslim struggle against the French during the mid-19th century. According to Schwartz, "Abd al-Qadir al-Jazairi was a Sufi who made protection of Christians and Jews his outstanding mission in times of war. The greatest Arab jihad fighter of his time, he wrote that Sufis found participation in jihad the most difficult duty they incurred as Muslims. Yet war is not the only means by which activist Sufism contributes to struggles for freedom" (37). Indeed, the Sufi leadership was keenly aware of the powers that were arrayed against them as well as their own limitations in combating them and some sought alternatives to outright warfare to oust their foreign occupiers. In this regard, Azra (2006) advises, "Sayyid Uthman's opposition to Sufism may in one way or another have been influenced by Snouck Hurgronje's fear of activist or rebellious Sufi brotherhoods. Snouck Hurgronje makes no secret of his fear of political repercussions for European rule created by such tariqahs [Sufi brotherhoods or oders] as Sanusiyyah in North Africa" (p. 269).

The activist of rebellious aspect of some Sufi orders was used by various leaders over time, though, to mobilize forces against European colonizers throughout the Moslem world (Azra 2006). Nevertheless, the historical record contains scholarly accounts of these activist and acquiescent Sufis as well as narratives of the saints of their various orders. According to Green, "Competition narratives have long existed in the Islamic world. In such narratives the Muslim holy man (generally though not exclusively cast as a Sufi) variously competes in the performance of miracles with the figure of a Hindu, Buddhist, shamanic, or Christian holy man" (2004, 221).

An early Western observer of Sufism in Morocco emphasizes the importance and mystical practices of saints in the Sufi religion: "The cult of these saints has given rise to two of those unpleasant fraternities, under which are united almost all the low classes of Morocco -- taifas -- madmen and neurotic persons, who work themselves into a frenzy by a succession of songs, dances, and religious cries, ending in a paroxysm of religious ardor, which enables the Aissaoua to eat all sorts of horrible things, the Hamadsha to receive the heaviest weights on their heads, and Droughiyin to slash their skulls with hatchets" (Aubin (1906, 346). Notwithstanding the Sufi practices that appeared bizarre to Westerners, the "religious ardor" that the Sufi religion inculcated was successful in mobilizing the faithful to overthrow one powerful foreign occupier after another. Moreover, the Sufis in Morocco were faced with a Moroccan king who was analogous to the Pope for Roman Catholics and who claimed to be a direct descendant from the Muslim Prophet Mohammed and bore the distinguished title of Amir al Mouminine ("Commander of the Faithful"); the king was and is both the spiritual and temporal leader of Morocco (Howe 2005). There were some distinct differences, though, in the approaches used to deal with the leadership that was in place at Morocco at any given point in its history from the Sufi's perspective, with some orders believing that a direct confrontation with foreign invaders was appropriate while others appear to have been used by the state to maintain their power and these various orders are discussed further below.

The Tijani Order.

The Tinaji order was an early incarnation of Sufism that emerged about 700 years ago. According to Morgan, "In the seventh century (thirteenth century a.D.) Timbuktu was the center of Islamic culture. Five centuries later Muslim expansion received a new impetus with the founding of Sokoto State and the subjugation of the major portion of Western Sudan with the help of the Moroccan Sufi brotherhood, the Tijani order" (1958, 80-81). As Esposito (1999) notes, Ahmad al-Tijani (1737-1815) was another North African scholar who established an important tradition of activist Sufism. The litanies of the order are believed to have been taught to al-Tijani directly by the Prophet Mohammed. In these visions, al-Tijani was instructed to break ties with other orders, and followers of the Tijaniyyah path were restricted to affiliation with only the Tijaniyyah" (531-532). The Tijani order provides a good example of how different Sufis practiced different rites and held different beliefs, although there were some commonalities among the orders. For instance, Morgan notes that, "The Tijani order was founded in Fez in Morocco and spread chiefly into the Sudan. The Sufi orders resembled each other in their extreme love of the Prophet, their strictness in observing their religious duties, their application of the shari'a in as far as possible, their respect for their leaders, and their guidance of followers of the order until they could be promoted to the highest ranks" (1958, 248). Despite their similarities, the Sufi orders were also different in several ways. For example, Morgan advises, "Each order had its own invocation; some of them made their prayer beads of a hundred beads, others used only twelve. And while the Senussis were tolerant and would perform their recitations and prayers with others, the Tijanis preferred isolation for their devotions" (Morgan 1958, 248). The influence of the Tijani order was manifest in several ways. For instance, Abun-Nasr notes, "Sufi "The Tijaniyya, an Algerian order founded in the 1780s, also moved quickly into the missionary field, and by the end of the century its peculiarly exclusive doctrines were being preached along the Lower Senegal. The founder of the Tijaniyya, Ahmad al-Tijani, claimed for himself a unique place in the hierarchy of the Muslim sainthood and forbade members of his order to join other brotherhoods" (1965, 37).

The Derqaoui Order.

Another Sufi order that would play an influential role in Moroccan history was the Derqaoui order. According to Nasr (1997), "At the end of the twelfth / eighteenth century, a powerful spiritual rebirth took place under yet another branch of the Sh-dhil-s, the Darq-w?, founded by the Shar-f Mawlay al-'Arab? al-Darq-w? (d. 1239 / 1823). This new branch sought to restore the purity of early Sh-dhilism through a return to an equilibrated view of the Law (Shar?'ah) and the Path (t-ar-qah), which was what characterized the first teachers" (45). Numerous branches would in turn emerge out of the Darq-w? And have a profound influence not only in North Africa but also in the Hijaz, Turkey, and in the Levant. These were the B-z-diyyah, the Kattaniyyah, the H-arr-qiyyah, and the Madaniyyah, and some of these would in turn give rise to still other branches. Thus, the Madaniyyah, founded by Muh-ammad H-asan ibn H-amzah al-Madan? (d. 1363 / 1846) of Medina, spread out from Libya, but it created the Rah-m-niyyah in the Hijaz and the Yashrut-iyyah in the Levant. In addition, other Sh-dhil-s would move southward into Africa (Nasr 1997, 45). According to Webber, "After the Moroccan uprisings of 1907-8, 1911, and 1912 against colonialist rule, the Derqaoui [Darqawi] brotherhood, for example, was organized solely to group together all elements of resistance to foreign penetration" (1991, 199-200).

In this regard, Westerlund (2004) notes that, "For the development of Sufism among European converts, the Darqawi branch of the Shadhili tree, which was founded by Ahmad al-Darqawi (d. 1823), has been important" (19). Moreover, Westerlund cites the rise of other Sufi orders as playing a fundamental role in the eventual liberation of Morocco. In this regard, Westerlund writes, "A further ramification, which has been of even greater significance for this development, is the Shadhili-Darqawi-Alawi or Alawiyya, which was initiated by Abu al-Abbas al-Alawi (d. 1934). Like Shadhiliyya, both Darqawiyya and Alawiyya have a North African origin" (19). The Tijani and Derqaoui Orders played a significant role in development of Sufism in Morocco, so too did the Kettani Order which is discussed further below.

The Kettani Order.

During the 1930s, the charismatic Mohammed V was able to mobilize Sufi groups in cooperating with the colonial powers. As Hammoudi emphasizes, "Mohammed V was able to active the charisma he inherited at the very moment when the nationalist movement was stripping his opponents of their legitimacy. In the early stages of the protectorate some religious leaders -- particularly the heads of Sufi brotherhoods -- stopped resisting and allied themselves with the colonial administration" (17). In response, Moroccan nationalist groups organized demonstrations to counter this Sufi movement during the 1930s and accused them of complicity with the colonialists. According to Hammoudi, "The fate of the Kettani zawiya (religious brotherhood) and its head are exemplary in this regard. During the troubled years in which the occupation of Oujda (1907) was followed by the French troops' landing in Casablanca, Mohammed ben Abdelkebir Kettani established himself as the champion of domestic reforms and of the struggle against the invaders" (17). In addition, in 1907, the ruling sultan was overthrown in Marrakech, to the benefit of the brother who was brought to the throne precisely on the basis of such a program (Hammoudi 17). These events led Kettani to initiative a movement in Fez which combined brotherhood Sufism and a reformist Islam of salafi inspiration; the objective of this movement was to impose a representative constitutional regime while reactivating resistance against the Christian invaders" (Hammoudi 17). The new sultan was offered conditional allegiance and the spokesman for the demands listed in the text of the bay'a was Kettani, who until his death never stopped confronting the sultan on these issues (Hammoudi 17).

Observers have remarked that in addition to problems regarding reform and jihad, there was a rivalry between Kettani -- a man of non-Alawite (Idrissid) sharifian lineage and the head of a powerful brotherhood -- and the Alawite throne. Some contemporaries interpreted Kettani's actions as a bid to be elected as a replacement for the deposed sultan. Such a course would have meant standing in the way of Moulay Abdelhafid, who had already been nominated in Marrakech to succeed his brother; at any rate, Kettani did not give up his fight after the new sovereign had assume the throne" (Hammoudi 17).

The Qadiri Order.

The Sufi brotherhoods would play a decisive role in the revolutionary movements that transformed political life in North Africa and India during the period 1750 to 1850 (Abun-Nasr 1965). For example, this author notes that, "The Qadiriyya order, established in North Africa since the twelfth century, had long been active south of the Sahara, particularly among the Kunta Arabs of the Timbuktu region" (Abun-Nasr 1965, 37). According to Morgan, "The Qadiri order was the most enthusiastic of the orders in the propagation of Islam in Africa, using education and trade as its means. The followers were distinguished for their tolerance which they inherited from their founder, who in the sixth century (twelfth century a.D.) had been known for his genuine veneration of Jesus and was accustomed to say, 'We should pray not only for our own selves, but also for everyone who is created by God as we are'" (quoted at 247). In fact, one of the most influential religious leaders in Sind in 1956 was Pir Pagaro, head of a branch of the Qadiri order of Sufis (Morgan 1958, 329).

In later years, Pagaro, described by Shafqat (1997) as "one of the leading pirs (saints) and landlords from Sind," was selected to be the United Democratic Front party's president, with Mufti Mahmud assuming the position of secretary-general. According to Shafqat, "Most significantly, the coalition had the support of a segment of the powerful feudal class in the four provinces, the financial industrial groups, and the religious groups" (p. 103). In fact, the Pir Pagaro, came by his rank and honor the hard way through armed conflict with imperialists during the early 20th century (Ziring 1980). The self-sacrificing devotion that characterized the Qadiri order was not unique but it was a powerful force to be reckoned with. In this regard, Ziring emphasizes that, "The ties that bound the Hurs to the Pir Pagaro conjured up historic recollections of the relationship between the twelfth-century Iranian folk leader Hasan Sabbah and his coterie of self-sacrificers, the Hashishis (Assassins)" (1980, 148).

Discussion.

There are several reasons for the success of the Sufi orders in propagating Islam among the people of Africa. Islam is a religion of ease and simplicity which charges the Muslim with no more than proclaiming his profession of faith and performing its easy religious rites. Another reason is that Islam has a social character which strengthens the morale of the group, bringing men together as brothers without discrimination in a way which facilitates travel, trade, and the struggle for a livelihood. Also, the Sufi orders have some practices which resemble those of the tribes of Africa, such as the prescribed daily recitations, the gathering around the Shaikh, or head of the order, belief in spiritual powers, and communal living (Morgan 1958, 248).

In his book, a History of the Maghrib in the Islamic Period, historian Jamil Abun-Nasr reports that Sultan Ahmad defended Morocco against the Ottoman invaders by reorganizing his army on the Ottoman model, with Turks providing technical skills. With this professional force led by Christian mercenaries and Andalusians (Muslim exiles from Spain), Al Mansour preserved the stability of his reign. According to Howe (2005), following Al Mansour's death in 1603, the Saadian dynasty disintegrated over family quarrels and Morocco split up into several independent principalities. "During this period," Howe writes, "when the central authority was weakened, people turned to local sheikhs and marabouts, who had long played an important role in the education and moral life of the country. While the position of the sultan was not disputed, the tribes with their religious leaders and holy men retained considerable autonomy in the countryside" (61).

By the eighteenth century, however, Muslims everywhere were beginning to react against the religious decadence of the Islamic world and the appalling decline in its political and military power. Some tried to revitalise Islam by adapting its tenets to suit contemporary circumstances. Others altered circumstances to make them conform to the strict principles of orthodoxy originally proclaimed by the Prophet and his immediate successors. The Wahhabi movement in its attempt to re-create the conditions of primitive Islam in the Arabian desert was perhaps the purest example of this conservative revolution. In North Africa similar impulses tended to express themselves through Sufism, a mystical strain of Islam which had developed in reaction to the excessive rationalism of the original creed (Kanya-Forstner 1969, 16).