Weberian Sociology and Portrait of Contemporary Sufism Studies

Abstract

There is always a sense of desperation and pride when one speaks of Weberians sociology in the study of Islam. This paper is composed of that feeling dominating all along. Weber has been the major architect in modern sociology. But in his major works, Islam and only Islam among major world religions, has been left out. If he did pay attention to it, he did so with a sense of pessimism and apathy. But his little interest in Islam has nonetheless stimulated a lot of interest and sparked long debate. His so-called intellectual heirs continued his project and did a great deal of research in Islam. Unbalanced and unsympathetic this study might be, they have nonetheless contributed to the sociological study of Islam and certainly of Sufism. On the other side of the coin, his critiques are no less enthusiastic in their refutation of his major theses and their defense of the more objective study of Islam and Sufism. Hence, the academic debate between the Weberians and their opponents on the nature of Sufism is not yet ceasing and is even developing. This paper is aimed at looking at that debate. It is a kind of contribution to the Weberians sociological study of Sufism. It tries to display the richness of the sociological study in the spiritual dimension of Islam both by the Weberians and their adversaries.