Theology in action: gaining interdisciplinary insights from a Sufi perspective

ABSTRACT

Although practical theology is by nature interdisciplinary, its primary focus has been to acquire insights regarding Christian concerns. Only recently has there been an attempt to include voices from other religious traditions, and even nonreligious worldviews and secular culture. The enriching potential of these new perspectives is promising. To further fill this gap, this paper introduces the world of two Islamic Sufi communities and examines the relationship between theology and practice from their point of view. The investigation reveals a remarkable divergence between these two groups regarding theological emphases and the resulting practical implementation. While Sufism is unique in the sense that it endows the spiritual leader with remarkable authority to determine theological truth and its appropriation on behalf of the community under his leadership, the example remains relevant, for it offers new awareness of the interplay between theory and action. Even though there is a reciprocal relationship between beliefs and their concrete embodiment that blurs any firm boundary lines, the cumulative evidence does point to the hierarchical preeminence of practices. For this reason, this exploration specifically aims to deepen the reflection on the importance of the body in relation to religious learning, identity formation, and personal transformation. The overall results confirm the importance of extending the field of practical theology to include considerations from multiple faiths.

KEYWORDS:

• Embodiment
• practices
• interdisciplinary
• practical theology
• Islam
• Sufism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributor

Dejan Aždajić holds two master degrees in Christian and Islamic theology and a Ph.D. in the anthropology of Islam (OCMS). He has been actively involved in Muslim–Christian dialogue for many years. He currently works as a research associate in the department of Practical Theology at the Giessen School of Theology, Germany.

Notes

1 The proper name of the country is Bosnia and Herzegovina, but the shortened form Bosnia is commonly used.

2 Paul Hiebert likewise highlights the significance of embodied ritual as a means to not only shape, but to transform entire worldviews (2008).

3 The particular Sufi Order that I investigated belongs to the Naqshbandi tradition, one of the most widespread and vibrant of all Sufi Orders in Islam (Le Gall 2003).