Sufism in Ottoman and Post-Ottoman Europe

Entanglements in Past and Present
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-041-03126-0
Verlag: Routledge

Buch, Englisch, 298 Seiten, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 617 g

Reihe: Routledge Sufi Series

Sufism in Ottoman and Post-Ottoman Europe: Entanglements in Past and Present offers the first in-depth, regionally nuanced study of Sufi networks, legacies, and transformations across Southeastern Europe from the Ottoman period through the contemporary post-socialist era.

Spanning multiple centuries and cultural contexts, this volume explores the intricate interactions between Sufi communities and broader religious, political, and social landscapes. From the conceptual merging of Alevi-Bektashism and the visual culture of 'Alid piety, to the impact of Western esotericism, Turkish soft power, and digital revivalism, contributors examine the dynamic and often contested role of Sufism in shaping memory, authority, and identity across diverse geographies. Through richly detailed case studies – from Bosnia and Macedonia to Germany and Turkey – the chapters interrogate how Sufi actors respond to shifting nationalist narratives, contested memory cultures, and local-global entanglements. This book also traces how sacred spaces, pilgrimage practices, and charismatic leadership adapt over time, illuminating the multi-layered negotiations between tradition, modernity, and political power.

A vital contribution to the study of Sufism, Islamic history, and Balkan and Ottoman legacies, this book is essential reading for scholars of religious studies, anthropology, Middle East and Islamic studies, and European cultural history.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate and Undergraduate Advanced

Autoren/Hrsg.

Kara, Cem

Reuter, Evelyn

Turóczy, Zsófia

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionsgeschichte
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften Interdisziplinär Regionalwissenschaften, Regionalstudien
• Geisteswissenschaften Islam & Islamische Studien Islamische Gruppen: Sufis
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Stadt- und Regionalsoziologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Islam & Islamische Studien Geschichte des Islam

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1 Entangled Sufism in Ottoman and Post-Ottoman Europe: An Introduction Part I: Crossing Boundaries 2 The Amalgamation of Two Religious Cultures: The Conceptual and Cultural History of Alevi-Bektashism 3 Body of the Shah: Entangled Portraits in Bektashi and Alevi Religious Space 4 Turkish Sufism as Seen by Western Esotericists in the 20th Century 5 Post-Ottoman Idealisation and Transspatial Entanglements within German Sufism Part II: Places of Remembrance 6 Places of Remembrance or Remembrance of Places? Social Memory and the Transformation of the Sufi Lodges in Republican Turkey 7 Modifications of a Sacred Place: Gül Baba’s Tomb from the 17th Century to Post-Communist Times 8 Entangled Ambiguities: Sari Saltuk, St George, and the Dragon in Eastern Europe Part III: Continuation and Disruption of Tradition 9 The Revival of the Mesnevihan in Sarajevo: Entanglements of "Urban Sufism" 10 Building Sufi Authority: The Pilgrimage of Sheh Ali Çoban in Çaja as a Multi-Layered and Entangled Practice 11 Communicating the Mystical?: An Exploratory Case Study on the Imagined Sufi Communities through the Use of Social Media Part IV: Conflicting Loyalties 12 From Entanglement to Disentanglement and to Re-Entanglement?: Competitive Interconnections among the Albanian and the Turkish Bektashis in Macedonia 13 Subjective Sacralising: Contradictory Naqshbandi Perspectives on Neo-Ottoman Involvement in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Über Autor(innen)

Cem Kara is a professor of Alevi Theology at the University of Hamburg, Germany. In his award-winning dissertation (Grenzen überschreitende Derwische, 2019), he examined the transcultural history of the Bektashi order in the long 19th century. His current research focuses on ambiguities and emotions in Alevi textual sources.

Evelyn Reuter is a research fellow in Religious Studies at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich, Germany. She explores religious diversity and governance in Southeast Europe, focusing on Sufis and interreligious contacts. Her monography, Die Mehrdeutigkeit geteilter religiöser Orte (2021), examines shared religious spaces in Macedonia.

Zsófia Turóczy is a university assistant (postdoc) at the University of Graz. She defended her doctoral thesis, “Freemason Networks in Southeast Europe (1886–1920)”, at Leipzig University in 2023. Her fields of interest include literature and cultural history of Southeast Europe, focusing on Albania, Kosovo, Turkey, and Hungary.