Neo-traditionalism in Islam in the West: Orthodoxy, Spirituality and Politics

This book examines the salience of neo-traditionalism in Anglo-American Muslim communities. By tracing the scholarship and impact of the key public pedagogues (shaykhs) associated with this phenomenon – Hamza Yusuf, Abdal Hakim Murad, and Umar Faruq Abd-Allah, Quisay shows how their critiques of modernity is solidified as political ideals and strategies. The shaykhs guide their community of followers and students – known as ‘seekers of sacred knowledge’ – to paradigmatic critique of modernity that emphasises the importance of reconnecting with the tradition, self-purification, religious orthodoxy, and advocating for the notion of traditional metaphysical worldview and recognition and deference to spiritual (and political) authorities. In secluded, spiritual retreats – held by the shaykhs – the seekers hope to opt out of the disenchanted modern in search for a form of re-enchantment where neither the modern world nor the particularities of their modern subjectivities can intrude. The enticement of re-enchantment, however, proves problematic in the face of modern political power.