CONTEMPORARY SUFISM: TARIQA ‘ALAWIYYA IN ZANZIBAR, TANZANIA

Abstract

This paper explores the survival strategy of the Tariqa 'Alawiyya, a Sufi order in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Some scholars believe that Sufis played a major role in the Islamisation of East Africa, and the Tariqa 'Alawiyya was the earliest Sufi order introduced to the region. Originally led by Sharifs, descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, the order was established in the Hadhramaut region of Yemen, which is on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Today, many Zanzibaris participate in the activities of the Tariqa 'Alawiyya and other Sufi orders. Meanwhile, many Muslims around the world are pursuing a more disciplined form of Islam, and some who practice this trend have criticised the tariqa activities as deviating from the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. Such criticism has also been raised in East Africa. International Sufi orders, such as the Qadiriyya and the Shadhiliyya, are attempting to overcome this crisis by strengthening their organisations through the promotion of centralisation, a strategy that has been taken up in their Zanzibari branches. These orders have structures that separate their members and non-members through strict membership management and have established a command system that includes a headquarters and multiple branches with leaders and ordinary members forming a pyramidal hierarchy at each branch. However, rather than strengthen organisational power, the Tariqa 'Alawiyya is parrying this global trend in the opposite direction. Their approach to Sufism blurs organisational boundaries via the flexible operation of their membership and neatly merges their activities into the daily lives of common Zanzibaris. Yet, this approach is incompatible with the traditional view of tariqas as religious brotherhoods. The approach to tariqas they embody goes beyond the simple understanding that a tariqa is simply a Sufi order.