Papers by John Thibdeau
Routledge eBooks, May 31, 2023
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Routledge eBooks, May 31, 2023
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Routledge eBooks, May 31, 2023
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Routledge eBooks, May 31, 2023
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Routledge eBooks, May 31, 2023
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This book outlines the role of Sufism in Moroccan politics in the twenty-first century through a ... more This book outlines the role of Sufism in Moroccan politics in the twenty-first century through a comparative study of contemporary Sufi organizations. The author begins his analysis by highlighting the strategies employed by the Moroccan state over the past twenty years, aimed at regulating and producing an authorized 'Moroccan Islam' in the kingdom. Despite these policies of spiritual security and spiritual diplomacy, including the state sponsorship of Sufi organizations, the author argues that this has not decreased diversity nor produced a banal interpretation of Islam but rather given rise to diverse articulations and performances of this religiosity. Through a comparative analysis of three Sufi organizations based on eighteen months of fieldwork-two of which have never before been studied-the author brings into relief the spaces of creative enactment of Sufism as an ethical tradition. Ultimately, it is argued that each Sufi organization reflects a different refraction of iḥsān, a concept emphasizing the cultivation of public piety that underpins the Moroccan state's formulation of Islam. Focused on both theoretical contributions to Islamic studies and topical treatments of geopolitical issues like spiritual diplomacy, the Western Sahara, and Morocco-Algeria, the book spans multiple disciplines, including anthropology, religious studies, sociology, and political science.
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Sufism in Morocco's Religious Politics
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Routledge eBooks, Apr 4, 2023
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Journal of Sufi Studies, 2022
Founded in 2006 by Shaykh Muḥammad Fawzī al-Karkarī as a new branch of the Shādhiliyya, the Karka... more Founded in 2006 by Shaykh Muḥammad Fawzī al-Karkarī as a new branch of the Shādhiliyya, the Karkariyya have grown as an international Sufi order that is distinguished by their multi-colored patchwork robes called the muraqqaʿa and their publication of video testimonials describing experience during spiritual retreats (khalwa). This article examines these practices using ethnographic and textual sources to demonstrate how they are situated within a curriculum of ethical education (minhāj al-tarbiya) aimed at the cultivation of virtuous piety (iḥsān). I show that this ethical education is integral to a program of learning to see (tanwīr) that culminates in visionary experiences (mushāhadāt) and analyze the conceptual dimensions of those visions. In demonstrating the link between tarbiyya and tanwīr in the minhāj of the Karkariyya I aim to consider Sufism as a practical ethical tradition linked to philosophical ethics (akhlāq) and proper conduct and comportment (adab).
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Thesis Chapters by John Thibdeau
Dissertation, 2021
This dissertation unpacks the role of Sufism (taṣawwuf) in the Moroccan state's current efforts t... more This dissertation unpacks the role of Sufism (taṣawwuf) in the Moroccan state's current efforts to regulate religion not only to shed light on relationships of religion and power in Morocco, but also to bring into relief the embodied aspects of taṣawwuf as a practical tradition often elided in scholarship that conceives of Sufism as Islamic mysticism. I argue
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Books by John Thibdeau
Sufism in Morocco's Religious Politics, 2023
This book outlines the role of Sufism in Moroccan politics in the twenty-first century through a ... more This book outlines the role of Sufism in Moroccan politics in the twenty-first century through a comparative study of contemporary Sufi organizations. The author begins his analysis by highlighting the strategies employed by the Moroccan state over the past twenty years, aimed at regulating and producing an authorized 'Moroccan Islam' in the kingdom. Despite these policies of spiritual security and spiritual diplomacy, including the state sponsorship of Sufi organizations, the author argues that this has not decreased diversity nor produced a banal interpretation of Islam but rather given rise to diverse articulations and performances of this religiosity. Through a comparative analysis of three Sufi organizations based on eighteen months of fieldwork-two of which have never before been studied-the author brings into relief the spaces of creative enactment of Sufism as an ethical tradition. Ultimately, it is argued that each Sufi organization reflects a different refraction of iḥsān, a concept emphasizing the cultivation of public piety that underpins the Moroccan state's formulation of Islam. Focused on both theoretical contributions to Islamic studies and topical treatments of geopolitical issues like spiritual diplomacy, the Western Sahara, and Morocco-Algeria, the book spans multiple disciplines, including anthropology, religious studies, sociology, and political science.
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Papers by John Thibdeau
Thesis Chapters by John Thibdeau
Books by John Thibdeau