The Popularisation of Sufism in Ayyubid and Mamluk Egypt, 1173-1325

After The Fall Of The Fatimid Empire In 1171 And The Emergence Of A New Sunni Polity Under The Ayyubids, Sufism Came To Extraordinary Prominence In Egypt. The State Founded And Funded Hospices To Attract Foreign Sufis, And Local Charismatic Sufi Masters Appeared Throughout Upper And Lower Egypt. Organised Sufi Brotherhoods Emerged In The Urban Centres Of Cairo And Alexandria And Even Jews Took Up The Doctrines And Practices Of The Sufis. By The Middle Of The Mamluk Period In The Fourteenth Century, Sufism Had Become Massively Popular. How And Why Did This Popularisation Happen? This Book Is The First To Address The Issue Directly, Surveying The Social Formation And Histories Of Several Different Sufi Collectivities From The Period. Nathan Hofer Argues That The Popularisation Of Sufism During This Time Was The Direct Result Of Deliberate And Variegated Sufi Programmes Of Outreach, Strategies Of Legitimation And Performances Of Authority Across Egypt. He Shows That These Programmes, Strategies And Performances Are Situated Within The Social And Political Contexts Of The Institutionalisation Of Sufism, Audience Participation And Ayyubid And Mamluk State Policies. Key Features Offers A Wide Ranging Description Of The Variegated Social Landscape Of Sufism In Ayyubid And Early-mamluk Egypt, Presents A New Theoretical Model To Describe The Institutionalization And Populations Of Suffism, Case Studies Of Three Different Groups Of Sufis In Medieval Egypt Track This Institutionalization And Popularization, A Heuristic Framework Connects Sufism To Larger Social And Political Trends In Medieval Egypt. State-sponsored Sufism: The Sufis Of The Khanqah Sa'id Al-su'ada' -- The Khanqah -- The Sufis Of The Khanqah -- What Is Popular About The Khdnqdh? -- State-sanctioned Sufism: The Nascent Shadhillya -- The Emergence Of The Shadhillya In Egypt -- Al-iskandari's Image Of The Shadhilt Tariqa -- The Popularisation Of Shadhili Sufism -- Unruly Sufism: The Sufis Of Upper Egypt -- The Regional Context Of Upper-egyptian Sufism -- Sufi Activists And Enforcers -- Wonder-working Sufis. Nathan Hofer. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 258-294) And Index.