Sufism in Ottoman Egypt: circulation, renewal and authority in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries - 22

Examining the cultural, socio-economic and political backdrop against which Sufism gained prominence, this work looks at its influence in both the institutions for religious learning and popular piety.

It seeks to broaden the observed space of Sufism in Ottoman Egypt by placing it within its imperial and international context, highlighting the specificities of Egyptian Sufism, and the links that it maintained with other spiritual traditions that influenced it.

Studying Sufism as a global phenomenon, taking into account its religious, cultural, social and political dimensions, the book also focuses on the education of the increasing number of aspirants on the Sufi path, as well as on the social and political role of the Sufi masters in a period of constant and often violent political upheaval.