Encyclopedia of Islam

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unity based on reason to argue against traditional
ways of thought and demonstrate the compat-
ibility of what he thought of as true Islam with
modern science. sayyid qUtb (d. 1966) of Egypt
and the modern Indo-Pakistani reformist abU al-
ala maWdUdi (d. 1979) both conceived of tawhid
as a process that unified society in complete sub-
mission to God, against modern forms of idolatry
and disbelief, including the secular nation-state.
Their ideologies inspired many Islamic reform
and radical movements in the late 20th and early
21st centuries. The ideology of tawhid as the
principle that should unite all human endeavors
into an ideal social order has also been espoused
by leading revolutionary thinkers in Iran, such
as ali shariati (d. 1977) and Ayatollah Mahmud
Taleqani (d. 1979).
See also adhan; anthropomorphism; baqa and
fana; mUtazili school; shirk.


Further reading: Natana J. DeLong-Bas, Wahhabi Islam:
From Revival to Reform in Global Jihad (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2004); Madeleine Fletcher, “Almohad
Tawhid: Theology Which Relies on Logic,” Numen 38
(June 1991): 110–127; Toshihiko Izutsu, God and Man
in the Koran: Semantics of the Koranic Weltanschauung
(Tokyo: Keio Institute of Cultural and Linguistic Stud-
ies, 1964); Fazlur Rahman, Major Themes of the Quran
(Minneapolis: Bibliotheca Islamica, 1980); Michael
Sells, Early Islamic Mysticism: Sufi, Quran, Miraj, Poetic
and Theological Writings (Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press,
1996); W. Montgomery Watt, The Formative Period of
Islamic Thought (Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh
Press, 1973).


taxation See almsgiving; jizya; kharaj.


tekke (Turkish rendering of Arabic takiyya
“place of support,” “place of rest”)
Many terms are used to refer to the meeting places
of dervishes—tekke, dargah, zawiya, asitane, khan-
qah, ribat—often interchangeably, but sometimes
with distinctions as to size, type, or function. The


term tekke (Turkish rendering of the Arabic taki-
yya) is most often used for lodges in the Ottoman
or Turkish context, and especially for those of Sufi
orders that were strongly influenced by Turkish
culture, such as the Mevlevis and the Bektashis.
Dervish lodges can be linked historically to
the frontier outposts set up during periods of
Islamic expansion, when dervishes were involved
in conquests. Many were located strategically on
important roads or mountain passes or in recently
conquered towns and cities. Once non-Muslim
lands were conquered, dervish life was organized
into stable orders and the structure of the lodges
came to reflect this.
In general, the dervish lodge consisted of a
communal residence for dervishes and/or a meet-
ing place for dervishes who live elsewhere. Some
lodges also served other functions such as provid-
ing lodging for travelers and feeding the poor. Most
tekkes were linked to a particular Sufi order and
were designed for the particular practices of that
order. While the lodges varied widely in size and
facilities, many included the tomb of the founding
saint and later shaykhs, a mosqUe, space for ritu-
als such as the dhikr and samaa, cells for solitary
prayer, rooms for dervishes and for the shaykh,
guest rooms, bathrooms, a kitchen, and storage
rooms. Many lodges were supported by agricultural
production and included stables for animals. Most
lodges were administered by pious endowments
known as waqfs. In addition to activities related to
the day-to-day maintenance of the lodge and to Sufi
rituals, some tekkes also served as centers for the
study and production of arts, especially mUsic and
calligraphy. Their primary purpose, however, was
the spiritual edUcation and training of dervishes.
See also sUFism; tariqa.
Mark Soileau

Further reading: Raymond Lifchez, ed., The Dervish
Lodge: Architecture, Art, and Sufism in Ottoman Turkey
(Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California
Press, 1992); Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical Dimen-
sions of Islam (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina

K 666 taxation

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