[Bilimsel Haber] PUBL.- Two Publications in French on Sufism in Central Asia

[Sule Tarakcioglu]

PUBL.- Two Publications in French on Sufism in Central Asia

Two Publications in French on Sufism in Central Asia:



Journal d'histoire du Soufisme, vol. 4/2005, Sufi Dance/La Danse soufie.
Ed. by Th. Zarcone.
Dedicated to Tahsin Yazici (1922-2002). Paris, 2005.
48 Euros
(Mainly in French, some English).

This book offers a vast panorama of the 'Sufi dance', such as it was
practised and is still practised nowadays, by the Moslem mystical
brotherhoods (tariqa, turuq) in a region which extends from Morocco to
Chinese Central Asia and in the Indian sub-continent (including part of
Africa, the Balkans, Turkey and Iran). The approach of the articles of
this book is varied, historical for the majority, but also ethnological
and anthropological. The authors emphasize various aspects of the Sufi
"dance", starting from study of Arabic, Persian and Ottoman texts, but
also including field investigations (in Morocco, Turkey, Central Asia
and India). Several studies analyze the sharp and impassioned arguments
which still divide the doctors of Islam around this exercise denounced
like heretic by theologists.

The case of the famous dancing dervishes of Turkey and their whirling
ecstasy is presented with a precise analysis of the choreography and
direction given to the exercise. A place is also reserved for the
collective dance in pair, rare in Islam, of the Bektachi and Alevis
orders of Turkey, and with the shamanic influences on some animalist
Sufi dances (dance of the crane). A free section in this volume gathers
articles which approach the doctrinal and political aspects of Sufism of
the Naqshbandi Order: ambiguous relations between the freemasonry and
the Sufism in Iran, the Sufi devotion in an Indian sanctuary and a new
text of mystical invocation of Uzbek origin, presented and translated by
the author.

For details, see: http://www.maisonneuve-adrien.com/description/jhs/jhs4.htm




Soufisme et politique entre Chine, Tibet et Turkestan. Etude sur les
Khwajas Naqshbandis du Turkestan Oriental [Sufism and Politics between
China, Tibet and Turkestan: A Study of the Naqshbandi Khojas of Eastern
Turkestan].
By: A. Papas
Paris, 2005. 48 euros
In French.

Sprung from the depths of Inner Asia to confront Lamas, Shamans and
whoever they regarded as idolatrous, Muslim missionaries leapt to the
Silk Road in the hope to expand their Islamic faith and mysticism. While
the Jesuits were only meeting with little success in the region, these
Samarqandi Sufis succeeded in rooting their beliefs, spirituality and
power in society. When, in 1680, Afaq Khwaja, a prominent figure among
them, ascended the throne of Yarkand and established a regime based on
the practical and spiritual principles of Sufism, a new ruling order,
yet unheard of in the history of Asian Islam, was founded. At the
outermost borders of China, Tibet and Central Asia, Sufi masters
(ishans) were setting up a saintly dynasty and seizing temporal power.
Braving both the Qing Empire and Lamaist Tibet, the Naqshbandi Khwajas
of Eastern Turkestan implemented a political and religious utopia in
which the subjects were required to become companions and the saints to
become kings. The Khwajas' ideal was primarily aimed at securing
morality and orthodoxy, yet it revealed a speculative questioning about
the world and its sufferings. Based on unpublished manuscript sources,
the present book relates the history of these mystical rulers from their
arrival in the Tarim Basin in the 16th century up to their definitive
ousting by the Manchu armies by the 19th century. Through the concept of
the Ishanate, the book raises the issues of political Sufism, utopia,
power and sanctity.

For details, see:
http://www.maisonneuve-adrien.com/description/monde_caucasien/papas_soufisme
.htm

C. Maisonneuve
Librairie d'Amerique et d'Orient - Ed. Adrien Maisonneuve siege:
11, rue Saint-Sulpice
75006 Paris
France

Vente:

3, bis pl. de la Sorbonne
75005 Paris
France

Tel: 00(33) 01 43 26 19 50
Fax: 00(33) 01 43 54 59 54
E-mail: maisonneuve at maisonneuve-adrien.com
Web: www.maisonneuve-adrien.com



Distrib. by: Central-Eurasia-L - Announcement List for Central Eurasian
Studies