Sufism in the Contemporary Arabic Novel

Although Sufi Characters - Saints, Dervishes, Wanderers - Occur Regularly In Modern Arabic Literature, A Select Group Of Novelists Seeks To Interrogate Sufism As A System Of Thought And Language. In The Work Of Writers Like Naguib Mahfouz, Gamal Al-ghitany, Tahar Ouettar, Ibrahim Al-koni, Mahmud Al-mas'adi And Tayeb Salih We See A Strong Intertextual Relationship With The Sufi Masters Of The Past, Including Al-hallaj, Ibn Arabi, Al-niffari And Al-suhrawardi. This Relationship Becomes A Means Of Interrogating The Limits Of The Creative Self, Individuality, Rationality And The Manifold Possibilities Offered By Literature, Seeking In A Dialogue With The Mystical Heritage A Way Of Preserving A Self Under Siege From The Overwhelming Forces Of Oppression And Reaction That Have Characterized The Late Twentieth And Early Twenty-first Centuries.