ABSTRACT
The ‘conceptual space’ (Tschacher 2009: 58) of discussing Sufism is influenced by many discourses. These include orientalist stereotypes and knowledge, interlinked phenomena of religiosity in various parts of the world, nationalist arguments about the place of religion and religious groups, and of course media discourse. Interlinked with the scholarly and literary tradition that focuses on poetry and mystical-philosophical writings, as well as stereotypes about music and dance, Sufism came to be viewed as liberal and individualistic Islam, by Muslims looking for new – and even ‘secular’ – interpretations of Islam, or by non-Muslims joining in universal mysticism (Scholz and Stille 2014). This view is often juxtaposed with another, more ‘orthodox’ (reformist, salafist, wahhābī, etc.) Islam, to which connotations such as strict, belligerent, law abiding, political, etc. are ascribed. 1 Of course, these outward images are again taken up in the self-positioning of Sufi groups.
