Sufism in Morocco's Religious Politics

John C. Thibdeau is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies in the Department of Religion and Classics at the University of Rochester. He completed his PhD at the University of California, Santa Barbara in Religious Studies in 2021.

• 1. Introduction: Iḥsān and Practical Sufism 2. Three Histories of Sufism and Politics in Morocco 3. A Visionary Order: Shaykh Fawzi and the Karkariyya 4. Pilgrimage and Politics in the Karkariyya 5. Sufism and the Neoliberal Ethic in the IACSAS 6. Bringing the Zawiya into the World with the 'Alāwiyya 7. Lenses of Refraction: Conclusion

"In the growing reflection about the complex relationships between Islamic mysticism and politics, or between Sufism and worldly powers, Thibdeau’s brilliant book not only highlights the emblematic case of contemporary Morocco but, more critically, brings out an often overlooked phenomenon: interacting with a state which constantly tries to reshape religious life, Sufis have to reform themselves to maintain their spiritual experience."Alexandre Papas, National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), Paris"John C. Thibdeau’s Sufism in Morocco’s Religious Politics is an invaluable reference, for it highlights how Sufism has been constructed and deployed as part of ongoing contentions of religious and political authority in Morocco and globally . . . In a nutshell, Thibdeau tackles Sufism in certain thought-provoking ways: Sufism as an ethical tradition, as public piety, as a transnational ethical grammar, and as a political tool."Lahoucine Aammari, Sidi Mohamed ben Abdellah University, Morocco, writing in Hespéris-Tamuda LVIII (2) (2023)