ABSTRACT
Another largely overlooked factor in the regime’s support of Sufi Islam was its importance as an ecumenical bridge to transgress sectarian boundaries between Sunna and Shīʿa in Iraq—particularly after the southern uprising in 1991 that had left sectarian relations between both communities severely damaged. Based on their common veneration of the Prophet’s offspring, the ahl al-bayt, Sunnī orders such as the Rifāʿiyya and Kasnazāniyya show a remarkable closeness to the Shīʿa in their traditions and practices, and this enables them to successfully attract Shīʿa members. The regime aimed to take advantage of this ecumenical basis through its heavy promotion of traditions such as saint veneration, a prominent and common feature of Sufism and Shīʿism, and its revival of the old Syndicate of Prophetic Descendants in order to assign the latter a new missionary role in society. These policies clearly resemble the former Ottoman state patronage for Sufism a century earlier.
