Sufism in Canada: Weaving Islamic Practice and Contemporary Spirituality

Whirling dervishes. Ecstatic experience. Historical and contemporary expressions of Sufism are suffused with spirituality, asceticism, and mysticism. Sufism in Canada asks how we can understand this fascinating religious practice in a specifically Canadian context and, by extension, how Sufism informs Islam and popular spirituality not only in Canada but across the globe.

Using case studies rooted in Canadian concerns and communities, scholars of Islamic studies, sociology, ethnomusicology, and history analyze the meaning and practice of Sufism in this country. They investigate the institutional and transnational histories of the Inayati, Halveti-Jerrahi, and Naqshbandi orders; they explore tensions between gendered Muslim spaces and Sufism as a universal spirituality; and they revisit old Sufi stories in a new landscape.

Sufism in Canada not only adds to a growing body of literature on Islam and Muslim identities in Canada but also helps define new paths of exploration for this important field of study.