Soufism and Tradition. The Influence of Rene Guenon on European Islam

• Published in: Archives de sciences sociales des religions Vol. 52; no. 140; pp. 29 - 47
• Main Author: Bisson, David
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: French
• Published: 01-10-2007
• Subjects: Europe; Islam; Traditions
• ISSN: 0335-5985

If Rene Guenon hasn't left any sizeable texts about Sufism, it has always been a reference as a possible extension of his doctrinal work. According to him, Sufism first & then Islam can only be understood from the primordial Tradition viewpoint, the origin of all the religions traditions. Some of his followers, like Michel Valsan, a Rumanian man will pave the same way to give Sufism a certain tone. Enriched by mystic Ibn Arabi, closely examined by the traditional doctrine, guenonian sufism is presented as the last initiatory possibility in the West. As for Shaykh Pallavicini, he develops a similar conception to impose his brotherhood in the Italian religious scene. He then favors the emergence of a western Sufism, which is Christian for its culture, European for its geographical place & Guenonian for its metapolitical projections. References. Adapted from the source document.