A new logic in the Sufi organization: the continuation and the disintegration of the Tariqas in Modern Egypt (The Tariqa's cohesional power and the Shaykhhood succession question)

Abstract

The present article examines the logic behind "succession" to the leadership (mashyakha) within the tarīqas, and some factors involved in their disintegration in early 20th century Egypt. Throughout the history, the question of succession to mashyakha has been a frequent cause of confl ict among the members of tarīqas, which at times led to their divisions. Until the beginning of the 19th century, however, the word "tarīqa" did not necessarily refer to an organization but literally to the "Sufi Way, " which is a specific method of devotion. Actually, each tarīqa consisted of a number of small groups or families headed by their own leaders (shaykhs); this implied that a tarīqa did not have to be a single unifi ed organization. Through the institutionalization of the Egyptian tarīqas initiated by the state in the 19th century, a new logic in the Sufi organization was introduced, whereby each tarīqa had to be an organization headed by a single shaykh. This logic created a situation which encouraged leaders of those subgroups/families within a given tarīqa, who were now ranked as deputies (khalīfas), to claim that they were shaykhs of the independent tarīqas. In 1905, this new logic was stipulated in the regulations, which must have aimed at the stability and the continuity of the existing tarīqas. However, this could not stop the recurrence of the divisions. Rather, a number of khalīfas started to claim independence from their shaykhs. By analysing a case of how al-Habībiyya gained independence from al-Rifā'iyya, one factor responsible for the increase in the disintegration of the tarīqas can be pointed out: the new logic in the Sufi organization itself provided grounds for justifying the claims of those khalīfas who wanted to be shaykhs of their own tarīqas. In other words, the state's very endeavor to stabilize the tarīqas served on the contrary to create instability.