Panel: ISLAM ENCOUNTERED: BETWEEN CONTEXTUALISING TRADITION AND THEOLOGICAL ENDEAVOURS.



197.2 - SPIRITUAL HYBRIDITY: EXPLORING THE SUFIS OF BRITAIN.

AUTHORS:
Iqbal H. (Coventry University ~ Coventry ~ United Kingdom)
Text:
Sufis communities in Britain have gained a great deal of attention in the post-migration settlement of large numbers of Muslims to the UK in the latter part of the 20th century particularly from South Asia (Geaves 1996). Literature has been produced in relation to Sufi brotherhoods (turuq) (Geaves 2014), authority (murshid-murid relationships) (Iqbal 2024), and identity formation (Hamid 2014) since the mid-1990's in relation to Sufism in Britain. This paper, however, will discuss the way in which Sufi communities in Britain have, and continue to, navigate the landscape of British Islam, and contextualise their spiritual teachings, in the ever-changing and complexifying context of contemporary Britain. Through the epistemological lens of practical theology, the presenter will discuss ideas pertaining to contextualisation, hybridisation, and the varying expressions of Sufism in contemporary Britain, based on qualitative research interviews and the empirical data collated therein. The presentation seeks to add nuance and complexify notions of Sufism in Britain and how, as the presenter will argue, Sufism in Britain continues to evolve and hybridise and express itself as a unique but evolving part of the Muslim community experience. Withstanding intra-religious polemic and depoliticization, the presenter will discuss the mechanisms employed by Sufi communities and individuals to express and preserve the spiritual tradition in an ever-changing Britain.