128 Islam and Modernity
There is a widespread belief that a Sufi master’s power of guidance continues
even after his death, and that the Sufi is thus connected through a chain of living
teacher spirits to the Prophet and ultimately to God.
One can in principle follow a tariqa individually, after having been instructed
and initiated by a shaykh of the order, but more commonly the tariqa is also a
particular type of association, with a hierarchical structure and a loyal member-
ship and a following that give it a considerable continuity over time. It is espe-
cially this aspect that made Sufi orders appear politically signifi cant to colonial
administrators and scholars, and, though other types of association have to some
extent replaced the orders, it continues to make them signifi cant actors in many
societies. A tariqa shaykh may appoint a number of deputies (khalifa), often in
strategically chosen localities, and one or more of them may ultimately succeed
to his position. (In some contexts, the succession may be from father to son but
that is not the norm.) Through these khalifa and khalifa of khalifa, a shaykh may
be at the centre of an extensive network of followers and disciples. There is a
core of disciples (murid) who have pledged their loyalty to the shaykh (initiation
into the tariqa takes the form of a baya or pledge of allegiance to the master) and
regularly carry out the devotions of the order under the shaykh’s or a khalifa’s
direction. Besides these disciples in the strict sense, there may be a much larger
number of followers who are affi liated with the shaykh in a more diffuse sense
and who look upon him as a patron and intercessor. Membership in a Sufi
order is in principle voluntary and open to people of all classes and ethnic back-
grounds – although there have been many cases where entire families, village
communities or urban craftsmen were for many generations affi liated with the
same tariqa without much room for individual choice, and there is often a notice-
able distinction among members on the basis not only of spiritual achievement
but of social status as well. Yet, in many societies, the turuq were until recently
the institutions that came closest to constituting a civil society, and they provide
modern urbanites with one of the few environments of trust beyond the family.
The degree of institutionalisation of the orders varies widely; some are highly
informal associations, with gatherings in private homes; others have permanent
lodges (zawiya, khanaqah, tekke) for retreats and the congregational devotions
which also function as free hostels for disciples from elsewhere, and a perma-
nent staff.^3 In the twentieth century, several orders adopted the trappings of a
modern organisation, with explicit rules and regulations for membership and
bureaucratic offi ces.
The nineteenth-century resurgence of Sufi orders
The debate on the roots of modernity in the Muslim world – was it due solely to
the impact of the West or also to indigenous developments? – has not yielded an
unambiguous conclusion. Sufi orders, as Snouck Hurgronje observed, appear