The other important Western Sufi order is the
Sudanese Burhàniyya, a branch of the Shadhiliyya
founded by Shaykh ≠Uthmàn (d. 1983). His son, the
present Shaykh Ibràhìm, resides in Khartoum and
visits Germany annually. At first the Western non-
Muslim Burhànìs were spiritually oriented seekers
who only practiced Sufi dhikr, but today they claim
to be orthodox Muslims. Sudanese advisers have
been acting as teachers of the Western converts.
The order does not differ from traditional Islamic
Sufi orders. Only the trans-ethnic spread in
Western Europe and the central role of Western
women in the Western branches are unusual.
In general it can be said that female Western
murids (pupils) are in the majority in Westernized
and Western Sufi orders in Europe. The separation
of the sexes is not as strict as is usual in Sufi groups
in Islamic countries. Nevertheless, khalìfas are
almost always men. One exception is Irina
Tweedie, who has followed the Indian Naqshbandì
way and today has many murids in the West. All the
Westernized and Western Sufi groups focus on rit-
ual, mostly with music and dance. Members prac-
tice no silent dhikrin the Westernized Naqshbandì
tradition and only a minority of them perform the
five Islamic ritual prayers. Western shaykhs seldom
practice spiritual healing.774 sufi orders and movements
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