Charismatic Leadership in Islam: The Powerful Position of Sufi Shaikhs in Bosnia

By Dejan Aždajić

To understand Islam, one must understand the people who practice their faith. Consequently, this book is a detailed ethnographic study of two contemporary Sufi communities. It explores the perplexing range of theological and ritual variation, arguing for a direct correlation between Sufi multiformity and the agency of the spiritual leader, the Shaikh. He is principally responsible for shaping the community under his leadership

• Language: English
• Publisher: Regnum Books International
• Release date: Dec 9, 2019
• ISBN: 9781913363208

Book preview

Introduction

My friend Imran and I were sitting in an uncomfortably cramped and smoky downtown café. I did not know, at the time, how much cigarette smoke was going to become a constant and unwelcomed companion during my fieldwork among contemporary Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina. After lighting yet another cigarette, he became frustrated with me and said,

You are only going to describe the external form in your thesis. You will stop with the allegory. I am alive. I am not a book. If you really want to write down the truth, you have to feel yourself what I am trying to explain.

I had to admit that he was partially right. To truly understand him, I needed to see the world from his point of view. This was not possible through abstract literature alone. I realised that an understanding of the complexity of Islam as a lived religion would require familiarity with the actual people who practice their faith in their natural environment. I knew that I needed to go to them, immerse myself into their communities and participate in their practices. With this in mind, I decided to explore the world of Sufis (Muslim mystics) in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia. I essentially wanted to answer the question of how Sufis adapt to contemporary challenges and develop practical strategies to make sense out of their everyday lives.

Due to my desire to go deep, I intentionally limited my focus to two communities led by different Shaikhs (spiritual leader of a Sufi community). Since most Sufis in Bosnia are Naqshbandi (one of the major Sufi groups in the world), I chose to study them. Although each Shaikh claimed a shared Naqshbandi origin, to my surprise, there were significant differences between the two communities. For example, each Shaikh received legitimacy as the authoritative spiritual guide of the community in a different way. Each Shaikh offered varying, sometimes even contradictory theological interpretations on important topics. Although ritual practices looked similar on the surface, a deeper look revealed significant differences. Finally, the social involvement of each community and their visibility in the public sphere disclosed a fundamental contrast. Among the possible explanations for this diversity, the central factor seemed to revolve around the active and intentional involvement of the Shaikh himself. He appeared to be the main reason that shaped all aspects of the life of the community. His authority was absolute. Doctrine, tradition, legal requirements, Islamic norms and a variety of other possible factors were all subservient to the powerful role of the Shaikh. Once I realised the significance of this dynamic, I decided to focus the main aim of my research endeavour on this charismatic Sufi leader.

This study is important, because it accomplishes two things. First, it underlines the cardinal position of the Shaikh in the lives of his followers and his ability to mould Sufism through his leadership role and the authority endowed upon him. Often there is an inadequate understanding regarding the remarkable degree of the Shaikh’s ability to implement change and influence the lives of the people under his command. His power and divinely endorsed authority has been established over centuries within the formation of Sufism. He, more than any other factor, determines the direction each group that submits to his rule will take. Ultimately, it is he who shapes and moulds the lives of every one of his followers. This insight helps to explain the flexibility and wide range of Sufi expressions, even within a relatively uniform context.

Secondly, this work is one of the few original, in-depth empirical investigations of the lives of Bosnian Sufi Muslims. Since I firmly believe that the study of any religion must fundamentally aspire to engage with human beings, it is their perspective and their voices that need to be heard. In this way, this book advances a better understanding of lived Islam by inviting the reader to encounter Islam not from the top-down, but from the bottom-up.

A Brief Overview of Sufism in Bosnia

Islam is a diverse mosaic of interpretations and applications. Although scholars have attempted to provide answers about what shapes Islam, the responses often lack specificity, and this book contributes an additional perspective by looking at two groups of people who practice Bosnian Sufi religion, whose spiritual message is that intimacy with God can be experienced as a real possibility. Historically Sufism has played an important historic, cultural and theological role in both the advancement and development of Islam in Bosnia. It is one of the major spiritual voices contributing to the renewal of Islam and is at the heart of Bosnian Muslim identity. Today Sufism is thriving, vibrant and permeating most Muslim societies around the world, and has been able to renew the inner religious meaning of Islam and adapt its teaching to a variety of contexts. Rooted in the Qur’an and Islamic tradition, Sufis assert that their origin goes back to the Prophet Muhammad, the first Sufi. Thus, Sufism enjoys both prophetic and Qur’anic endorsement, endowing it with legitimacy in the eyes of other Muslims.

In 1463 Bosnia came under the dominion of the Ottoman Empire. Muslim rulers, and even missionaries, permitted the native inhabitants to keep their language and certain religious customs, which were often reinterpreted and given an Islamised form. Like any other religious tradition, Islam adopted a number of elements from other religions, and by appropriating new meanings to these traditions, made them its own. This approach helped the creation of a new Islamic identity in Bosnia, blending Islam to Bosnian conditions and assured its successful longevity.

From the arrival of Islam in Bosnia in the fifteenth century, Sufis participated in both the Ottoman military conquest and peaceful Islamisation of the local population. Their presence was one of the key factors for the spread of Islam and Islamic culture, and enjoyed a privileged place in Ottoman society. Sufis were often put in important judicial, governmental and educational positions, and even the Ottoman sultans and governors in the provinces had to take account of their activities and influence.

As a result, Sufis actively defended and spread their faith in the newly conquered border provinces, contributing to the way Islam was practised in the