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Religions/Belief Systems - Dervish
The Dervish, or Darwish, are a denomination of Muslim mystics, or Sufis. Since the early days of Islam they have established brotherhoods or orders, or tariqa. Since the twelfth century they have attracted many followers and organized large groups, mostly artisans in the cities. Groups of adepts (dervish in Persian, faqir in Arabic) are led by a khalifa, who is rather autonomous. The sheikh, the head and supreme leader of the order, has usually been a descendant of the founder of the order.
Ordinary members, laymen, usually form the lower classes. They visit the tomb of their order’s saint or patron and celebrate his anniversary with processions and dancing. The central practice of a Sufi ritual is the dhikr, the ever-repeated uttering of God’s name or some religious formula, until ecstasy is attained. Some orders, such as the Rifa’iyya also take narcotics. Sometimes they practice feats of discilpinc, such as walking in fire, eating glass, playing with serpents, etc. Those of the brethren who are believed to have performed miracles sometimes live in monasteries, but are often wanderers and beggars.
The official Islamic establishment and the state authorities disapprove of Dervish practices, aand they consider some of their beliefs superstitions. They are critical of the Dervish veneration of saints and of the importance they attach to certain holy places, which is sometimes called `the cult of their tombs.` Orthodox Islam stresses Muslim Law (Shari’a) as the central tenet of Islam, and has been at the very least suspicious of Sufism’s emphasis on religious feeling and gnostic experience. However, Sufism has been a respectable branch of Islam since medieval times. Sufism and Sufi orders have been very popular with some non-Arab Muslims, such as Turks and Berbers, and to a certain extent also represent a challenge to Arab dominance in the Islamic World.
Some Sufi Dervish orders were particularly strong in Turkey, such as the Bektashiyya, the Mevleviyya (called the Whirling Dervishes in Europe because of their ecstatic dances) and the Nakshabandiyya (popular among the Kurds). All Dervish orders were prohibited in 1925 by the Kemalist republic and their monasteries and mausoleums were closed down. The banned sects survived underground, and since the enforcement of secularization was relaxed, in the 1940’s and 1950’s, the three orders have been tolerated, but processions and ecstatic ceremonies have not. Orders considered to be extreme, such as the North-African Tijaniyya and the Nurju, are still suppressed.
In Egypt, the Dervish orders were, until the twentieth century, an important social force. The main Egyptian orders were the Ahmadiyya (no connection with the Ahmadiyya sect of Islam) or Badawiyya, named after Sidi Ahmad al-Badawi, and the Burhaniyya or Brahimiyya, named after Sidi Ibrahim of Dasuq. Also influential were the Qadiriyya (of Iraqi origin, and considered to be the earliest order still in existence, and close to orthodoxy), the Rifa’yya (also of Iraqi origin), and the Shadhiliyya (an order of North-Arican origin).
Early in the 19th century Viceroy Muhammad Ali established state control over the Dervish orders by creating a high council of the orders and nominating its head. Since then, a government permit has been required for the celebrations. Both the government and the Islamic establishment surrounding the al-Azhar university failed in their efforts to curb those Sufi practices they considered offensive. Despite the changes in social values, the expansion of education, modernist development and westernization, Dervish festivals are still popular and some of the customs considered objectionable are still maintained. There are now 60 orders in Egypt. Except for the new Hamidiyya-Shadhiliyya, which is centralized and cohesive, the orders are but loosely organized. Generally, membership is declining.
The Dervish have exerted an influence on other groups Libya, Sudan and North Africa in general. The Sanussiyya in Libya nad the Idrissiyya were founded in the 19th century and have adopted some methods of the Dervish, such as training propagandits in their monasteries. They practice the Sufi ritual of Dhikr, which is characteristically Dervish. Most importantly they oppose orthodox theology and its emphasis on doctrine. In Morrocco, the Dervishes are represented by the Shadhiliyya, the Tijaniyya, and the Darqawa orders. They are still very influential, but their numbers are declining.
The Mahdiyya called themselves Dervishes when they first formed, but they were not. They were fundamentalist revivalist movements, but in Europe they continued to be known as Dervishes.