REL 342 | Mystical Islam: Saints and Sinners on the Way of God

Traces of mystical Islam, or Sufism, fill the poetry shelves of chain bookstores. Quotes attributed to the Sufi poets Rumi and Hafiz grace tea bags, calendars, and any number of tchotchkes available at big box stores around the country. The US government has identified Sufism as the "tolerant" face of Islam and funneled millions into its promotion. But how much does any of this really say about the complex set of people, practices, and ideas called Sufism? Students in this course encounter Sufism from its earliest instantiation to today. They learn about how Sufis sought to understand and experience God. They meet Sufis who were put to death for ideas deemed to be heretical and others who led anti-colonial military struggles. They come to understand how Sufism has been central to Muslim history; and they see how it continues to be deeply resonant in the lives of devotees from India to West Africa to the contemporary United States.