From the Sufi theodicy of ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jazāʾirī (1808–1883), a figure whose life and thought intertwine with anti-colonial resistance to the writings of Indian theologian Ubaidullah Sindhi (d. 1944) and Iranian Sociologist Ali Shariati (d. 1977) to the theological and spiritual nuances in the music of Umm Kulthum and modern rituals of dhikr in Egypt and in the diaspora the papers in this panel consider political, philosophical, and theological currents in 18th and 20th century India, Iran, Algeria, and Egypt and beyond. These papers raise many critical issues, especially of how polemics and agentic responses in politically tense moments across space and time can contribute to conversations of Sufism, politics, and decoloniality.
The paper analyses ‘Abd al-ʿAlī al-Lakhnawī’s (d.1810) defence of waḥdat al- wujūd (oneness of being) in his Risāla-i-wahdat al-wujūd wa shuhūd al- ḥaqq fī kull mawjūd (Treatise on the Oneness of Being and the Witness of the Truth in Everything That Exists). The fault line between the doctrines of waḥdat al- wujūd (oneness of being) and waḥdat al-shuhūd (oneness of witnessing) has often been described as the most pressing theological and philosophical debate among Indian Sufi intellectuals after the sixteenth century. My paper challenges this long-standing narrative by making three interventions: a) demonstrates that Lakhnawī’s primary interlocutors were not partisans of waḥdat al-shuhūd, but Ashari theologians; b) argues that Lakhnawī defense of waḥdat al- wujūd is in close conversation with the criticisms advanced of the doctrine by al-Taftāzānī (d. 793/1390); c) reconstructs philosophical and theological currents in 18th-century South Asia that cannot be explained by the wujūd-shūhūd polemic.
This paper documents how non-dualist ontologies within Islamic mysticism were mobilized by twentieth century political critics of capitalism and empire in the Muslim world. The project centers the mystical doctrine of wahdat ul-wajud, the Unity of Being, which troubles the metaphysical separations between the human, natural, and cosmic and sees all creation as separate appearances of a divine unity. I explore how this cosmology of oneness was politicized in the writings of Indian theologian Ubaidullah Sindhi (d. 1944) and Iranian sociologist Ali Shariati (d. 1977). By offering English translations of Sindhi’s Urdu work, I put his political re-imagining of wahdat ul-wajud in pre-Partition India in conversation with Shariati’s translated writings on tawhid (the declaration of God’s Oneness) in pre-revolutionary Iran. I argue that both authors use the doctrine of metaphysical unity as a basis to render the political domination of the other ontologically incoherent.
This paper takes up the decolonial and spiritual potential in the music of the iconic Umm Kulthum (d. 1975), the most popular Arab singer of the 20th century. I consider how a reorientation toward Umm Kalthum’s music, when put in creative dialogue with Sufi discourses on the torment of love, can offer fresh horizons of understanding regarding the painful struggles of faith and seeking God. The first half of the paper begins by framing the relevance of Umm Kalthum to Islamic political theology and spirituality, particularly in a context of diasporic exile in the 21st century. To illustrate this potential, the remainder of the paper draws out the connections between Umm Kalthum’s love songs and the tradition of Sufi love poetry, with their extensive focus on the torment and perplexity of the lover. I consider the relevance of this to the modern experience of religious doubt and disillusionment.
This paper examines the Sufi theodicy of ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jazāʾirī (1808–1883), figure whose life and thought intertwine anti-colonial resistance, theological inquiry, and mystical philosophy. Focusing on his magnum opus, Kitāb al-Mawāqif ("The Book of Mystical Halting Stations"), this paper explores ʿAbd al-Qādir’s mystical theodicy – the the problem of evil and divine benevolence. I frame his reflections on this topic within the context of Emmanuel Levinas’ critiques of its metaphysical assumptions. The arguments of ʿAbd al-Qādir will be examined in light of his commentary on Abū Hāmid al-Ghazālī’s (d. 1111) assertion that "there is nothing in existence more perfect than what already is." Following al-Ghazālī’s lead, ʿAbd al-Qādir defends the view according to which God creates the most optimal world. This perspective is embedded in his Sufi ontology of inherent predisposition (istiʿdād) . What defines his perspective is the view that an optimal world is an order of existence where the predispositions of all beings are providentially actualized.
This paper explores the transformation of dhikr in modern Egypt, moving beyond its traditional spiritual and communal significance to examine how it has been contested, reformed, and digitally mediated. Using Talal Asad’s concept of agency and Kathryn Gin Lum’s framework of heathenization, a process of racialized delegitimization, the study analyzes reformist critiques of Sufi dhikr during Egypt’s modernization in the 19th and 20th centuries. Reformists condemned certain dhikr rituals as backward, reinforcing colonial narratives that framed indigenous practices as primitive. Despite these challenges, Sufi orders adapted dhikr to maintain their relevance, asserting agency amid reformist and colonial pressures. In the digital age, dhikr is further reshaped as social media and online discourse redefine religious authority, making devotional practices more public and contested. This paper situates dhikr at the intersection of modernity, religious reform, racialized critique, and digital mediation, offering a fresh perspective on its evolving role in contemporary Islam.