Sufism and the Challenge of Modernity in the Twenty-First Century

Amongst social anthropologists, Michael Gilsenan has demonstrated that Sufi orders are not disappearing, but changing as a result of "functional differentiation as a core aspect of modernity" (Bruinessen, 2009: 140). In other words, specialized modern institutions are now fulfilling the variety of social, economic, and educational functions that Sufi orders had previously served. Other studies (Gilsenan, 1982:229-50; Hoffman, 1995; Johansen, 1996; Chih, 2000) have argued for the case of Sufism's redefining itself as an alternative to political Islam, while being represented as the in-between of theistic and secular expressions of Islam. The role of the khaniqah or Sufi center remains vital to a better understanding of Sufism within the landscape of contemporary Western society.