Sufi Shrines and Identity-Construction in Pakistan

ISBN-13: 9783845426839 / Angielski / Miękka / 2011 / 292 str.

Uzma Rehman

Opis

This book deals with the topic of Sufi shrines and identity-construction in Pakistan. The author argues that a multitude of sectarian, religious and social identities are expressed and practised within these shrines. In fact, Sufi saints literary traditions reflect an imagined reality in which multiple, overlapping religious identities are constructed. Religious practice at the shrines and the devotees perceptions challenge the conventional understanding of religious followers as individuals that can be neatly fitted into categories as Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, etc. Instead it would appear that the religious practices at the shrines are centred around the devotees belief in a common spiritual power i.e. a Sufi saint whose blessings they believe can be accessed in various ways: through shared beliefs in the sanctity of the saints and their shrines and through various ways of accessing the saints spiritual baraka such as physical proximity to the tomb and performance of a variety of rituals.

O autorze

Uzma Rehman received her Ph.D. in History of Religions from Copenhagen University in 2008. She has taught several courses and has published articles/book chapters on Muslim Identity and Sufi Shrines in Pakistan. Her current research focuses on the role that Sufi institutions play in providing social support to disciples and visitors in Pakistan.