PRESENT AND POTENTIAL IMPACT OF THE SPIRITUAL TRADITION OF ISLAM ON CONTEMPORARY MUSLIMS: FROM GHAZALI TO GÜLEN

Abstract

Western analysts of trends in the contemporary Islamic world often overestimate the impact of contemporary Sufi orders and/or underestimate the impact of the spiritual tradition of Islam. Among the elements of the spiritual tradition conducive to religious pluralism is the ‘mirror’ concept: every human is seen as a mirror of God in three aspects: reflecting the at- tributes and names of God as His work of art, reflection through dependence on God, and reflection through actions God commands or commends. Since only the last aspect is vol- untary, every human, regardless of creed, is a mirror of God in at least the first two aspects. This is a potent argument for peaceful coexistence in religious diversity. The perspective of the spiritual tradition is emphatically inclusive and compassionate and naturally lends itself to non-violence, going beyond mere tolerance to hospitality and friendship. There are impor- tant impediments that prevent this perspective from having a greater impact: (1) the literalist opposition to flexible interpretation of concepts from the Qur’an and the Prophetic tradition, and the wide definition of innovation or heresy (‘bid`a’); (2) deviations of some Sufi orders and subsequent criticisms by orthodox Muslims; and (3) the impact of the politicisation of religion by some groups and political moves by certain Sufi orders. This paper argues that the only approach that has a chance of influencing the majority of contemporary Muslims in positive ways without being open to criticism is the ‘balanced’ spiritual tradition, after the style of the Companions, sometimes called tasawwuf, which strives to harmonise the outer dimensions of Islamic law and worship with the inner dimen- sion of spiritual disciplines firmly rooted in the Qur’an and Prophetic tradition. This paper will present an analysis of this ‘balanced’ spiritual tradition in Islam, from Ghazali, through Rumi, to Gülen.