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book: Sufism and Power in the Ottoman Empire
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Sufism and Power in the Ottoman Empire

The Writings of Ismail Hakki Bursevi (1653–1725)
  • Kameliya N. Atanasova
Language: English
Published/Copyright: 2025
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About this book

Delves into the writings of a prolific mystic to argue that Ottoman Sufism was political

  • Introduces one of the most prolific Ottoman authors of all time to Western audiences
  • Highlights the important connections between Sufism (Islamic mysticism) and political power
  • Sheds light on the contested nature of religious authority in the early-modern Ottoman state
  • Examines previously unpublished and untranslated Arabic and Ottoman Turkish manuscripts
  • Uses methods and theories from the fields of Religious Studies, Ottoman History, and Islamic Studies
This book contributes to the growing scholarship on the political dimensions of Ottoman Sufi thought and practice by examining the intersections of self-representation and religious authority in the writings of Ismail Hakki Bursevi (1653-1725), a prolific Sufi master, well-known Qur’an exegete, and advisor to Ottoman officials. The book highlights the political aspirations of this prominent early-modern Sufi through a focus on Bursevi’s self-portraits as one of the most important religious figures of his age. By paying attention to the individual, communal, and institutional aspects of his authority construction, the book sheds light on how intellectuals like Bursevi navigated an increasingly competitive market of religious ideas in the Ottoman late seventeenth and early eighteenth century. More broadly, Sufism and Power challenges the notion that Sufi authority is necessarily charismatic and argues that the social context in which Bursevi lived points to alternative theorizations of religious authority as a discourse.

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    Frontmatter

    i
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    Contents

    v
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    List of Figures

    vi
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    Note on Transliteration and Abbreviations

    vii
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    Acknowledgements

    viii
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    Introduction: İsmail Hakkı Bursevi and Religious Authority

    1
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    1. Beyond Charisma: Sufi Authority in a Historical Context

    25
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    2. Authority through the Sufi Master

    47
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    3. A Link in the Chain: Authority through the Sufi Order

    79
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    4. The Sufi as the Axis of the World: Advising Officials

    106
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    5. A Sufi Qurʾan? Bursevi and the Rūḥ al-bayān

    130
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    Conclusion: Bursevi and Future Directions in Ottoman Intellectual History

    157
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    Bibliography

    161
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    Index

    177

Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
May 22, 2025
eBook ISBN:
9781399526401
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
Main content:
192
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781399526401
eBook ISBN: 9781399526401
Keywords for this book
Ottoman history; Islamic history; Sufism; Islamic mysticism; religious authority; early modernity
Audience(s) for this book
For universities and colleges of further and higher education
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