Between “Public” Islam and “Private” Sufism:

مرکز و کتابخانه مطالعات اسلامی به زبان های اروپایی

منو

" Between “Public” Islam and “Private” Sufism: "
Hatsuki Aishima

Document Type	:	AL
Record Number	:	1085681
Doc. No	:	LA129310
Call No	:	‭10.1163/15700607-00561p04‬
Language of Document	:	English
Main Entry	:	Hatsuki Aishima
Title & Author	:	Between “Public” Islam and “Private” Sufism: [Article] : Producing a National Icon through Mass Mediated Hagiography\ Hatsuki Aishima
Publication Statement	:	Leiden: Brill
Title of Periodical	:	Die Welt des Islams
Date	:	2016
Volume/ Issue Number	:	56/1
Page No	:	34–54
Abstract	:	To what extent can a national hero be a Sufi? This article examines the much contested yet still underexplored relationship between the public discourse of modernity and Sufism by looking at how television producers dealt with Sufi elements in ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm Maḥmūd’s (1910–78) biography. The Egyptian public remembers ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm Maḥmūd as a Shaykh al-Azhar and a distinguished scholar of Sufism of the 1970s. His biopic series broadcast on national television during the Ramadan of 2008 showed the delicate nature of exposing Sufi practices in public Islam. ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm’s career path leading up to the level of a high-ranking scholar of al-Azhar was celebrated as the result of strong faith in God. However, his Sufi practices were modified to correspond to the television producers’ understanding of correct Sufism and to show how “private” spiritual pursuits would not hinder one from being an economically productive individual in the public sphere.  To what extent can a national hero be a Sufi? This article examines the much contested yet still underexplored relationship between the public discourse of modernity and Sufism by looking at how television producers dealt with Sufi elements in ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm Maḥmūd’s (1910–78) biography. The Egyptian public remembers ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm Maḥmūd as a Shaykh al-Azhar and a distinguished scholar of Sufism of the 1970s. His biopic series broadcast on national television during the Ramadan of 2008 showed the delicate nature of exposing Sufi practices in public Islam. ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm’s career path leading up to the level of a high-ranking scholar of al-Azhar was celebrated as the result of strong faith in God. However, his Sufi practices were modified to correspond to the television producers’ understanding of correct Sufism and to show how “private” spiritual pursuits would not hinder one from being an economically productive individual in the public sphere.
Descriptor	:	contemporary Egypt
Descriptor	:	contemporary Egypt
Descriptor	:	mass media
Descriptor	:	mass media
Descriptor	:	middle class
Descriptor	:	middle class
Descriptor	:	modernity
Descriptor	:	modernity
Descriptor	:	public Islam
Descriptor	:	public Islam
Descriptor	:	Ramadan
Descriptor	:	Ramadan
Descriptor	:	Sufism
Descriptor	:	Sufism
Descriptor	:	television series
Descriptor	:	television series
Location & Call number	:	‭10.1163/15700607-00561p04‬