Handbook of Sufi Studies

Reviewed by: Hafza Iqbal, Markfield Institute of Higher Education, UK

Published by: Leiden: Brill, 2023, 411pp. ISBN: 978-9004389830.

Edited by: Marcia K. Hermansen and Saeed Zarrabi-Zadeh

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Sufism in Western Contexts provides readers with a broad overview of Sufism in the West, from a variety of scholars and experts in Sufism. The volume is divided into two main sections with the addition of an introduction from the volume editors, Marcia Hermansen and Saeed Zarrabi-Zadeh, which generally works to preface and contextualise the need for this volume about the subject of Sufism in the West. The volume is divided into two main parts, the first of which consists of five chapters relating to the theoretical underpinnings of Sufism in Western contexts, including history, esotericism and cyber-Sufism. The second, and much larger part, is centred around nine chapters concentrating on Sufism in specific Western countries and broader regional areas (these include Sufism in Britain, North America and Scandinavia). The introduction gives a detail broad overview of the main issues pertaining to Sufism in Western contexts and serves to broadly discuss previous works of significance and current themes pertaining to Sufi theory and practice in the contemporary West. These includes the subjects of universalism, ‘traditional Islam’, post-Ṭarīqah Sufism and globalisation and the concept of the global West. This is then followed by a synopsis and introduction to each forthcoming chapter in the volume. The introduction serves as a very useful preamble to the subject and clarifies terms necessary for the reader, such as how the global West is being conceptualised in this particular work. The introduction also successfully provides an overview of Sufism in the West and organises a sprawling and complex subject matter in an accessible yet detailed way.