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Running Head: SUFISM IN UAE

SUFISM IN UAE

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Literature review

Introduction

Sufism is a form of Islam religion that was adopted by many Muslims many years ago. In the 21st century, Sufism was losing its popularity which had made the Islamic mysticism to have nothing to do about it. The Sufism started regaining the movement after the terrorist attacks that happened in New York in London (Saif 295). The movements of the Sufism were much against the extreme violence that was demonstrated in the middle, to make and promote peace and love. This literature review aims to explain more about the Sufism movement in the Middle East, particularly in the United Emirates. The review will keep an eye on the relevant representation of Sufi in the United Emirates Arabs and Dubai. Al-Jumairi has an idea of the tracking of history and the roots of Sufism in the United Emirates Arabs. The roots of Sufism are trace to the 17th century which is about 300 years ago (Knysh and Alexander 530). The structure of this literature review will include the key definitions, history of the Sufi in the middle east outlining where did they come from and how they came and why they always move around, Sufi community development, culture, and tradition of the Sufi (Hopkyns and Sarah 11). This review aims to analyze and critique the existing literature on this topic and how they are relevant to the research. The review of this literature will also provide areas for further research and how it can contribute to the Sufi’s movements in the Middle East.

Definitions

Several words are needed to be defined and explained to provide an overview of how they provide crucial meaning to this writing. These are the words that require to be defined: Sufism, UEA, Migration, Critique, and research. These definitions have a broader meaning and therefore in this review, we must give a clear and precise definition regarding this context. Sufism is simply the inward dimension of Islam which is considered to have the values, doctrines, institutions, and the ritual practices of Islam. It was initiated during the onset of Islamic history where the representation of mystical practices is mostly practiced and centralized. Sufis are the individuals who had practiced Sufism. UAE is the abbreviation of the United Emirates of Arabs as the sovereign state in western Asia which is situated in the northern parts of the Arabic peninsula. This is where the history of Sufism can be traced 300 years back. Migration is the movement of human beings from one geographical area to another. In this literature review, we shall look at how the Sufis migrated into the United Emirates Arabs. Critique is to give a detailed analysis of the research in this review we shall provide a deeper analysis of the Sufi community, their history, and migration and provide areas that can further be looked into. Research is a series of investigations about a particular topic to provide an understanding of the findings. Generally, research is meant to explore the field that has not been fully exploited to provide a wider knowledge about the topic. We shall explore Sufism in the UEA in this review to provide a deeper understanding of how they have existed in the Middle East.

The Sufi community in the UAE in the 21st century

Muslim communities have formed and dominated in Asia, Africa, Europe, north and south America, and Oceania. Today maturity of people lives outside the Middle East. From the former days of Islam, the migrations of people have impacted the political power institutions in the countless areas which are now the modern states. These changes that have occurred in the political and religious arena have been impacted by the help migration of communities like Sufi and the religious conversion that had occurred. Many people had predicted the death of Sufism during the great attack that occurred in the new york and London. After the terrorist attack, the Sufism has been gaining movement with the extreme aim of spreading peace and love, have extreme hatred against violence. In the 1990s people started quitting Sufism with its rituals. Many people now moved on just as Muslim societies that have become civilized and modernized. Sufi can be described as the Islamic mysticism as a complement to sharia with its focus on the self-improvements and the urge to have direct contact with divinity. The ritual of visiting the holy shrine is part of the Sufi’s community. Sufism did not vanish but it becomes reckoned. In the fight against terrorism, after the attack that happened on the world trade center, many countries including the USA, Europe, and Central Asia allied with the Sufi’s Muslim. The west tends to idealize on Sufism. This included them having to focus on how they can free themselves and forgot the strict rules. Sufism is not as democratic and loving as other groups of Muslims.

Origin of Sufism in UAE

The origin of Sufi in the united emirates (Oman's coast) is traced from Seer, currently known as Al-khaima. Some Sufis are said to have come from Handramount, Yemen. Their origin is said to been traced 300 years back in the seventeenth century. A manual script locally written talks about the Sufism history in the eastern southern of Arabia at around eighteen century. The writer of the manuscript, Alawi Bin Ahmad Bin Hassan Al-Hadad who was from Yemen said about his grandfather’s virtues and memories in UAE at around eighteen century. This shows that have a strong foothold in the Ras Al-Khaima and in particular the family of rulers. Saudi forces engulfed the seer and makes the inhabitants which destroys their shrines. The hadadi order has disappeared in the regions of the oman’s coast but the decendants of its found had remained in the UAE. This resulted in the reoccurrence of the Sufis in the UAE in the late nineteenth centuary. The reappearance of the Sufis in this century have been emitted from the Afghani immigrants.

There are different opinions on the origin of Islamic mysticism but Persia was one of the earliest in history the explains the origin of Islam. During the onset of Islam near East, Mesopotamia, and Khurasan was the opening door for where ideas could penetrate. According to lbn Khaldun Sufism has already been practiced by Sahaba, but the spreading of materials around made the Sufis be referred to the individuals who do emphasize the practice of spiritual Islam. Towards the end of the first millennium, amazing doctrines about the Sufi community was being talked about and how they performed their spiritual practices. Abu Hashem who was the first person to be called a Sufi died in the C.716 (Can and Lâle 401). all Sufi has claimed the origin from the leadership of Muhammed though Ali except Naqshbandis who has claimed to have a direct connection to Muhammed through Abu Bakr. In the eleventh century, Sufi started spreading Sufism in the regions. In the 12th and 13th century Sufism started spreading in Spain which was an influence of scholars. Between the 13th and 16th centuries, Sufism had developed a strong culture in the Islamic world. Sufism is one of the major factors that led to the spread of Islam and the creation of Islamic cultures in Asia and Africa. Muslims in South Asia spread their influence to India in 1192 AD. Some Sufism were supporting the idea of absorbing ideas from Hinduism.

Over time there have different interpretations of the Qur’an in Islamic religion and the Islamic religion known as-Sunnah. The interpretations took different approaches of interpretation involving exotic or literal of translating Muslim sacred text. This tendency of translation mostly belongs to the Sunni branch of Islam found in Wahhabism. This doctrine rejected all other forms of religious knowledge that came their way. Sufism is also referred to as the branch of Islam, which is said to be one of the oldest trends in the Islam world. It has been said that it is one of the most interesting and dynamic Islamic cultures. It is said to be a general term under which other philosophical, social, and literal phenomena are placed in the Islamic world. Sufism is said to be several Islamic schools of philosophy and mystical theology in the narrowest sense of view. Sufism is not just a religion but also a way of life where specific rituals like dancing, songs, incantation, and meditation are practiced. In this religion, only a few had a clear vision of Allah. Over time the followers of Sufism saw their relationship with Allah, Islam, and involvement in politics.

Culture changes in the UAE

The United Arab Emirates has a diverse society where individuals have different values and personalities. In this country, there exists a small tribal community which co-existed independently according to the cultures and beliefs (Jabnoun 20). These cultures have been changing just as a result of the entry of other people from other nationals which came with different cultures. In the past 20 years, Sufism has been witnessed in the Gulf States. Sufi scholars who came from other Muslim countries have been spreading the Sufism culture in the UAE country through educating, publishing, and also through media. Some platforms have granted the Muslim cultures to be presented for example the television that presents the culture of Sufis (Roberts and David B 562). Al-Jumairi has begun to change the historical records about the Sufi. He has researched the historical presence of Sufism in the United Arab Emirates. He has studied the three figures of the Sufi Community. Sheikh Abderrahim Al-Marid who had lived in Dubai died in 2007. He also shared the history of his father who was a Sufi clerk. The Emirati culture is more of the Arabian culture with other cultures from East Africa and the Indian Subcontinent. The Islamic religion has impacted so much on the local architecture, the way of dressing, the music, and the general lifestyle of people in the UAE. This culture change was accelerated by the Muslim practices such as conducting prayers in the mosques that were scattered around the country (Yuting 72). These practices influenced the inhabitants of the land to start engaging in the practices which altered the way they lived.

There is a more cultural movement that is still going on in the country. The new cultural insight by Dubai makes it have an interest in moving it to the Emirates since Dubai has been a country with many cultural assets hence a destination for culture. The modern cultural movement in the UAE was to pay attention to improving culture in the country, literary and artistic. It was to fight idleness, fighting, and cultural frustrations and promote intellectualism. The aim to increase the number of university students was also evidence (Burkett and Theodore 24).

The gaps evident in the culture of the UAE

Cultural movement in the UAE has been clear, having its institutions that are the development part of the culture. Even though they have majored in the enhancing cultural practices in the country they lack an integrated and realistic strategy. There should a new cultural movement which should cover the following gaps:

- A clear vision that should be covered in the cultural strategy whereby cultural policy should include domestic and official institutions

- The freedom of intellectualism should be addressed

- Intellectuals should not be frustrated but work for a mature cultural environment

Further studies on the relationship between the culture and the educated people in the UAE country should be explored. There is no strong research that provides clear information on the relationship between educated people and culture. Also, there is a need for the study that should provide clear information on the intellectual, literary, and artistic addressing how they are changing due to changes in the culture. Cultural issues have been neglected and not documented therefore the writing for cultural issues is also very important (Burkett 24). These issues include cultural changes, cultural environments, and cultural institutions. Cultural environments are supposed to be deeply researched due to the changing of cultures in the country and also different cultures that come from outside the country influence the existing culture (Burkett and Theodore 24). The new emerging cultures from countries like Dubai should be kept into consideration and documented. This helps in having a good strategy for the existing cultures in the country. A study on how intellectualism should be addressed is also needed

References

Saif, Liana. "Global Sufism: Boundaries, Structures, and Politics, by Francesco Piraino and Mark Sedgwick (eds.)." Aries 20, no. 2 (2020): 295-298.

Knysh, Alexander. "Contextualizing the Salafi–Sufi conflict (from the northern Caucasus to Hadramawt)." Middle Eastern Studies 43, no. 4 (2007): 503-530.

Can, Lâle. "Connecting People: A Central Asian Sufi network in turn-of-the-century Istanbul." Modern Asian Studies (2012): 373-401.

Hopkyns, Sarah. "The effect of global English on culture and identity in the UAE: a double-edged sword." Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives 11, no. 2 (2014).

Jabnoun, Naceur, and Khalefa Sedrani. "TQM, culture, and performance in UAE manufacturing firms." Quality management journal 12, no. 4 (2005): 8-20.

Roberts, David B. "Qatar and the UAE: Exploring divergent responses to the Arab Spring." The Middle East Journal 71, no. 4 (2017): 544-562.

Yuting, Wang. "Chinese or Muslim or both? Modes of adaptation among Chinese Muslims in the United Arab Emirates." Connecting China and the Muslim World, edited by Ma Haiyun, Chai Shaojin, and Ngeow Chow Bing (2016): 55-72.

Hofer, Nathan. "Sufism in Fatimid Egypt and the problem of historiographical inertia." Journal of Islamic Studies 28, no. 1 (2017): 28-67.

Jabnoun, Naceur, and Khalefa Sedrani. "TQM, culture, and performance in UAE manufacturing firms." Quality management journal 12, no. 4 (2005): 8-20.

Burkett, Theodore. "Emirati Students' Cultural Norms and University Teachers' Awareness: A SocioCultural Gap?." Perspectives (TESOL Arabia) 24, no. 1 (2016).