Naqshbandi Mujaddidi Mysticism in the West: The Case of Azad Rasool and His Heirs

The transfer of Sufism to the Euro-American sphere, beginning in the early twentieth century, has often been studied for what changes during the process, with emphasis on context over mysticism. Examining the lineage of Indian shaykh Azad Rasool (d. 2006), who from 1976 taught Western seekers in India, reveals substantial continuity with early and pre-modern Sufi doctrines and practices. Textual analysis of primary sources and multi-sited ethnography (participant observation and interviews) among lineage members in Germany, the US, and India between 2015 and 2020 show that shifting focus from context to mysticism itself can reveal much continuity despite changing contextual factors.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The transfer of Sufism as a lived tradition to the Euro-American sphere, which first began in the early twentieth century, is a notable modern development that has been the subject of increasing academic interest in recent decades. Yet much of the literature on this topic to date has focused more on what has changed during the process of transfer, rather than on what has remained the same. It has also tended to prioritize context over mysticism. However, examining the main mystical doctrines and practices of the case study lineage of the Indian shaykh Azad Rasool (d. 2006), who from 1976 sought to introduce his teachings to Westerners arriving in India in search of spiritual fulfillment, in fact reveals substantial continuity with the early and pre-modern past. Such examination involved textual analysis of the primary sources of this lineage combined with multi-sited ethnography, comprised of participant observation as well as interviews, conducted primarily in Germany and the US, along with an excursion to India, among members of the two branches of this lineage between 2015 and 2020. It thus seems that shifting focus from context to mysticism itself, at least in some traditions, has the potential to also reveal much continuity in spite of changing contextual factors.