The Transnational Theory and Global Sufi Networks

Abstract

No communal or religious grouping can be said to exist independent of the effects of migration. Over the years individuals have made attempts to seclude themselves by putting up both virtual and physical walls to lock out outside influences, but to no avail. Even with the most stringent of measures being taken to ensure exclusivity, it has been proven impossible to curb migration. The most pronounced effect of migration is the spreading of both cultural and sociopolitical identities of particular social groups to regions other than their areas of origin. The Sufi is one of the religious identities that have made radical attempts to maintain their originality while battling with the effects of migration which in essence end up entrenching new and more liberal concepts into the group as a result of cultural incorporation.

This paper seeks to look into the aspect of the establishment of Sufi networks around the world. To this end, a critical analysis of the transnational theory shall be delved into before a shift is made to identify the key players, the cultural aspects, and discourses that play a role in the establishment of global Sufi networks. The paper shall make attempts to identify and put into use a multi-sited ethnography by not only putting together different nations in the various continents across the globe but also taking into consideration the various social and cultural settings.

This paper shall in essence lay focus on how the key players, cultural aspects, and technology coupled with discourses have created new networks amongst the Sufis as well as global relations with other cultural groupings. The essay shall make extensive references to cross and transnational comparisons. The migration regime approach shall be utilized as opposed to systems theories. This is because the migration regime approach will make it easy to relate to different players with similar cultural aspects.

This approach will also be utilized because it puts into use the concept consented negotiations between the social-cultural groupings referred to as opposed to the systems theories which mostly try to use rationality concepts.

Together with the aforementioned methodological structuring, the essay will try to refer to the discourses associated with boundary control. Consequently, the paper will try to abandon the ideology that borders are solid lines separating nations. Secondly, the metaphorical representation of borders as virtual walls shall also be minimally used.

This paper will also serve as an analysis of the theoretical propositions implied by transnationalism and present them in conversation with religion as a global manifestation of the phenomenon. This project shall also serve as an illustration of the theory of multidimensional transnational involvement of Sufi traditions in their historic and contemporary manifestations as well as present the argument that current analysis as has been presented by various scholars and analysts of transnational religious trends does not account for the multiple ways, levels, intensities and dimensions that Sufi Islam demonstrates.

The locus of analysis will include several elements of fluidity or flows, multi-dimensional transnational participation, and a variety of densities inherent in global relations as implied by transnationalism. To this end, the evaluator shall seek to answer several questions, including:

1. What has been the motivating factor behind the recent resurgence of Sufism in the Middle East and other parts of the world?
2. How has Sufi Islam influenced the political scenarios in the Middle East and in other regions of the world where it has recently been presented?
3. Does Sufism as a religious faction have the strengths to see it survive the challenges it is currently experiencing and does it have the oomph to live past the next few decades?

This study will in conclusion combine comparative and multidisciplinary research to illustrate how individuals involved in the practice of Sufism have taken to the aspects of modernization and globalization. The interaction between Sufism and modernity in Islamic religious practice shall also form part of the concluding review. In an actual sense, the paper will be looking into the unwavering influence that Sufism has on modern Islamic conventions as well as the critical role it plays in both the political and socio-economic aspects of practitioners.

Transnational theory

The transnational theory is a field of study that presents the argument that nations are not the only important players that bear influence on the socio-political space across national boundaries (Robinson 331). This field of study downplays the importance of borders as they are traditionally known as boundaries of state sovereignty. The theory makes direct connections between different groups of people with common interests irrespective of the international boundaries between them (Hewson, and Sinclairs 48). According to the guiding concepts of this theory, at least one of the actors should not be related to the state.

Changes in state roles

Over the years transformations have been happening between nations, social organizations, and other cultural groupings. This has essentially called for the gradual decline of theories traditionally used to explain phenomena in the field of international relations. The said transformations have come about as a result of the rise in the interaction between nations by individuals who do not in any anyway represent the government. This gradual rise in levels of interaction has been a factor of increased communication and transportation across national borders all occasioned by rapid technological developments.

The cross and international relations have come along with many effects both to the actors and the nations involved. Social and cultural groups have come together in transnational establishments (Kokot, Tölölyan, and Alfonso 56). Such organizations have time and again had profound effects on the policies of involved nations essentially calling for the development of new policies to address issues brought about by transnational relations.

Over time, both trans- and international establishments have evolved to develop some autonomy from the nations that led to their emergence. These organizations have even experienced changes that can only be described as radical by the developing strengths that can help them oppose the policies of the governments that created them. Jeffrey Haynes has described these relations that take place between individuals of different nations where one player is not a representative of the state as transnational relations (109). This is as opposed to international relations which demand that both players be state agents. Various cultural and socio-economic identities benefit immensely from the increase in relations happening across state borders. Transnational relations also end up presenting circumstances in which persons either individually or in groups end up impacting the state and inter-state policies.

In general, there has been a rise in the symbiotic dependence between nations and non-state players. These non-state players are individuals who have over time learned to be more aware of the influence that decisions and activities in other parts of the world can either directly or indirectly influence the events surrounding them in their mother nations (Batliwala, and Brown 68). Markets have also acquired some distinct importance among nations to the extent that the relevance of state players has been tremendously downplayed (Chernaik 47, 140, 178). It has now become common-placed for states to experience some strain as a result of the impact of their actions on both domestic and international players.

Politics has been fundamentally based on power struggles between the players involved. However, as a result of changing times and trends, the distribution of authority has been radically morphed up to include the relevance of non-state players and interstate establishments. Della Porta and Tarrow describe politics as a relationship between two players where one party uses resources (where resources include threats of physical or material punishment) to cause the other actor(s) to act in ways that they would not have were the circumstances different (193).

Coleman and Collins also add to the above definition of politics by explaining that compliance is not achieved by nations as a guarantee of established constitutions but rather comes about depending on the requirements of the key players (52). This however should not be received as a decline in state authority and power. In contrast, it should be seen as dispersal of authority to the more relevant trans- and supranational entities. In these definitions, power has also been relocated to social movements and sub-national parties. This is what can ordinarily be described as fragmentation and integration.

As a consequence of the new definitions of politics and the functions of the state, both the traditional realist paradigms and the state-centered approaches to international relations have been called to question. Ebaugh and Saltzman have suggested that the global politics paradigm replaces the realist paradigm (1, 32). Governance has also received attention and has been proposed as a concept for handling interactions between new players in this field.

Governance requires the development of social establishments comprising both state and non-state players as a foundation for the growth of cooperation. In the governance paradigm, international regimes are used for the management of states and this is as opposed to the realist paradigm which requires some form of material existence in the acting states. A regime is defined as a set of already-established processes for making decisions.

It can also be described as a set of rules and regulations that guide the relationship between players in a particular social/cultural organization (Eickelman, and James 50). Callaghy, Kassimir and Latham argue that perceiving nations as the only player confines and lays barriers to the understanding of the roles of regimes (45, 198). He also sees it as a limiting factor to the appreciation of the many players that are assigned roles in functions of global governance.

More often than not the members of particular regimes are essentially not acting on behalf of the state (Young 279). According to Young regimes need to take care of state interests alongside social-cultural demands (283-298). International civil society interests also need to be addressed by the regime. Young tries to make a distinction between the interests of the government that are referenced to international regimes and the societal demands that are taken care of by transnational regimes. However, it is worth noting that most regimes employ an inter-linking of the two concepts. Young also tries to draw parallels between the process involved in the change of regime and the roles that the regime is expected to play in the eyes of the society and to further illustrate this ideology, he proposes two possibilities.

First is that most institutional frameworks are established by those members of the society whose interests are perceived as dominant to control fellow but less influential state members. This in essence leads to them advancing individual interests. The second possibility detailed by Young describes regimes as social-change agents. This basically means that individuals who are not directly linked to the state can establish and run regimes that can bring about change in society. This also means that the international civil society will keep on growing and acting in ways that set it apart from the states.

Even with the increased appreciation of new players, states are regarded as the most recognized actors in global dealings (Keohane, and Nye XXIV, 380). Aside from playing key roles in the development of national policies, states are also important players in transnational events. Most of the scholars in the political field agree that non-state players are immensely involved in inter-and transnational actions, and most of these scholars would rather the dominance of either the state or the non-state actors be downplayed. It is therefore of vital importance that an understanding is made of the basics of the interaction between state and society as well as the mutual influence held between these two actors. This demands that a proper definition of state and non-state players/actors be established.

Defining new actors

Civil society has over time grown to acquire extensive importance in society. With its development, however, has been a marked rise in the controversies surrounding this global social watchdog (Kaiser 5, 14). Civil society actors are extensively involved in the practice of politics by ensuring that the state agencies do not trample upon the civic rights of citizens. It should however be noted that not all non-state players have the interest of the average individual as a foundation.

Civil society can therefore comprise human rights activists alongside terrorist organizations. This is one of the areas that have made the concept of civil society be received with a lot of criticism as it is not clear how the various categories of players encompassed in the definition can be set apart. According to Della Porta and Tarrow, the ideology of collective action happening over national boundaries can be regarded as a form of the worldwide justice movement. This basically requires the input of synchronized international campaigns by individuals considered members of the activist network (48, 66). There are three main ways in which civic movements can be made transnational. These are:

1. Diffusion
2. Domestication
3. Externalization.

Diffusion basically entails the establishment of activism campaigns from one nation and imposing them on the inhabitants of another country. Diffusion basically helps individuals from a particular country borrow problem-solving tactics from another part of the world and use them to address issues facing them. Externalization means that some issues can be viewed from a global angle and solutions can be structured in such a way that they appeal to a majority of the actors in various nations. According to Della Porta and Tarrow, this structuring allows for individuals to adequately personally isolate issues based on their positive or negative attributes (66).

For externalization to effectively take place links must be established between transnational establishments. This generally implies that local players can easily respond to issues happening all around the world and local issues can elicit responses globally. This also gives individuals the ability to respond to events happening around the world even if they would naturally have no say in the specific part of the globe where the issue has arisen (Jamal, and Hinnels 50, 153). The latter provides for ways of addressing local issues even when domestic opportunities are not forthcoming. This essentially ends up creating multi-level chances for change to be impacted.

Transnational actions have received different categorization based on studies by different schools of thought. However, emphasis has been laid on three major categories. These are:

1. Transnational social movements
2. International non-governmental organizations
3. Transnational activist networks

Transnational social movements

These are social groupings which though founded in the states in which they intend to have an impact upon are also required to have some socio-political bases in other countries (Bruinessen, and Howell 13). These movements should also involve the participation of the state and other international institutions.

International non-governmental organizations

These are citizens of two or more nations and whose operations are exclusive of the influences of the governments of their mother countries and whose sphere operations are targeted at fronting the ideas of their members (Boli, and Thomas 29). They are also expected to serve the residents of other nations through negotiations and maintenance of relations with governments of particular countries, private players, and global establishments. The international non-governmental organizations are involved in routine practices as compared to transnational social movements which only come out when an issue of contention has arisen (Rugendyke 71). They also tend to be more professional in terms of how they carry out their activities.

Transnational activist networks

These are networks of international non-governmental organizations and transnational social movements which join forces with domestic and transnational players (Cooke, and Lawrence 210, 232, 275). These networks are mainly established to encourage various local establishments to come up with their regulations based on the influences of international politics. This has the compounding effect of ensuring that social movements from various nations are made aware of the existence of each other, in essence teaming up to form even larger movements whose impact cuts across the globe.

Models of change

Two primary models have been established to support the notion of political change. These are the norm lifestyle norm which has been extensively detailed by Finnemore and Sikkink (887-917), and the spiral model whose components have been elaborated on by Robert Jervis (84-86). The two have been detailed below.

Norm lifestyle model

According to Finnemore and Sikkink, norms are the basic frameworks that guide the standardization of appropriate behavior for players within a given social grouping (887-917). These three scholars address the issue of the emergence of norms and how change takes place regarding moral issues. A normal lifestyle goes through three primary stages in its development. These are emergence, cascading, and internalization.

Norms generally emerge as a result of the influences of the creators/developers of the norms. These individuals come up with issues by pointing them out in society and then framing them in such a way that they can be easily understood by other social players. For the framing to be seen to be effective, the strategic approach utilized must be in tandem with the belief patterns of the individuals targeted aside from challenging the way the issue is viewed in society. The most common creators of norms are non-governmental organizations, transnational activist networks, and international organizations (Csordas 75, 135, 157).

In the emergence stage, the norms are entrenched into society by particular states mainly as a result of pressure from their citizens. This goes on until a particular number of governments have adopted these norms. A threshold is seen to have been attained once a particular level of norm acceptance referred to as the tipping point has been arrived at. At the tipping point, a substantially large number of nations have adopted the norms and the established norms can be regarded as globally appropriate. The norm cascade stage starts immediately after the tipping point. This is the period around which countries adopt norms willingly and without the influence of domestic or international pressure. The internalization phase begins when individuals of involved states and other actors integrate the norm as acceptable behavior.

The spiral model

This model is slightly different from the norm lifestyle model but is not contradictory. The spiral model is grounded on the boomerang effect concept which proposes that when communication channels between players within a given nation and representatives of the said state are halted, the individual actors will reach out for inter-and transnational agencies to pressurize the government albeit from the external environment (Jervis 85). According to the spiral model, there are three stages that a norm has to go through in its cycle.

These are:

1. State repression
2. Tactical concessions
3. Prescriptive status.

According to Jervis the stage of state repression involves the activism networks ensuring that the ideas they are striving for are acceptable and entrenched in the international agenda (84-86). Generally, most of the culprit states involved in the violation of human rights will react by denying the validity of the norms. They will also predictably struggle to invoke calls of sovereignty to keep out pressure from outside. As long as the human rights activist groups stick to their cause, the state will eventually agree to concede to the demands though with a lot of tactfulness. The most important aspect of this phase is that it gradually ends up setting up the environment ready for opposition from within the nation.

As long as the state has been pushed to make some concessions, the interest groups will have the basis for making criticisms should the state fail to keep its word. In some instances, however, this stage may end up leading to even more repression as the government tries to maintain supremacy. The last phase is usually an adoption of norms and this mainly happens under pressure both from within and outside the nation.

Sufism and the transnational theory

In the past days, the Sufis were virtually inaccessible by their low profile take towards religion. In the wake of modernity, Sufism has come to receive some new revival, particularly in western society. Coupled with globalization trends and transnationalism, Sufism is slowly growing to be one of the most widespread factions of the religion of Islam (Heck 9, 112).

After the 9/11terror attacks in the United States, political scientists have been trying to show the distinction between Some Islamic groups that openly profess their political allegiance and traditional Islamic communities that lay their foundations in religion (Küntzel 76). The argument has been rife that while the former essentially threaten the Western Values the latter are basically against the political systems and are generally harmless to the Western nations.

Critics against this kind of evaluation have concluded that it is problematic because it mainly relies on the analysis of Islamic political amalgamations at the same time not appreciating the diversity in the social-political practices of the individuals. To understand the political workings of Muslim groups in the Middle East it is necessary to have an understanding of how the Islamic groups are related to the authoritarian states of the region.

Most of the studies on this issue have been generally focused on the groups that create and provide leadership to Islamic followers within a social setup that encourages change in political systems. This is particularly guided by the tenets of the Islamic religion. Sufi communities are usually pushed aside on the premise that they do not hold a direct political interest. However, they still hold some control serving as the main center of balance between the state and the citizens (Mandaville 12-13).

It is the general view of the world that most of the Muslim groups with a political leaning mainly employ the usage of violence and terrorism to front their ideologies. A particular example is the Hijra wa Takfir in Egypt (Purkitt 147). However, some Islamic groups have been committed to the liberalization of political systems. A notable example is a Jordanian group calling itself the “Muslim Brothers” (Mitchell 27). Other than this it is also necessary to study the dynamics of the Muslim political factions in the light of historical trends. In this sense, the focus will be laid on the socio-political requirements necessary for either radicalization or normalization.

Sufi communities are usually non-vocal in their efforts to stay away from politics (Gellner 106). As a result, the state finds it easy to exercise its domination on the practitioners of Sufism (Salvatore 33). However, from historical studies, it has been revealed that the Sufis played a critical role in revolting against the Ottoman State. They also played a part in the fights against colonial powers as well as in revolts against the Asian authoritarian states.

The Sufi communities particularly in the Middle East have in some instances collaborated with the state and several times led resistance attempts against the same states. The collaboration is seen for example in Syria where Naqshbandiyya Kuftariyya proposed the idea of official Islam. The resistance attempts include the struggle against the Ba’th regime by some factions of the Shadhiliyya (Van Dam 135, 149). This potentially illustrates that Sufism is neither submissive nor rebellious to the state.

The Structure of Sufi Communities

Sufism is the most spiritual of all interpretations of Islam and it manifests in the Sunni and Shi’i groups. It is mainly founded on the search for a direct relationship with the creator and the main goal of the followers is to follow a mystical path called the Tariqa under the leadership of a Sufi Shaykh. The major distinctions among the Sufis are grounded in the individual identities brought about by ritualistic manifestations. As much as Sufism is mainly based on individual experiences it has been an issue of contention whether religion can exist free of external influences such as politics.

Historical Connections between Sufism and the State

The Sufi orders have over the years developed very strong links with state machinery particularly since the beginning of the 12^th century. In the beginning, they got most of their backing from the Sunni dynasties of Syria when they were involved in different struggles with the Ismaili Shi’ism (Daftary 190). The networks of lodges (ziwas) and monasteries (ribats) that formed the most influential groups of the Sufis also played the important function of converting most of the Middle Eastern residents to Sunni Islam. However, the two aforementioned groups were not centralized under an institutional section of the state until the nineteenth century.

By the turn of the 19^th century, the Sufi orders were planned according to relational frameworks by the Ottomans and were used as frameworks for administration in a majority of the town centers (Trimingham 239-240). However, the major factor that was overlooked by this arrangement was that a majority of the rural lodges were not directly affected by the authority of the supreme leader of each Sufi faction. This Sufi leader, Arabically known as the Shaykh Al-Mashaykh could not effectively rule over his subjects in the rural areas and they essentially worked as independent departments not directly dependent on the state.

Following the trends proposed in the transnational theory, this centralized authority in individual Sufi orders was propagated in Egypt. This system has been maintained to date in both Khedival and Egypt where the Supreme council lays the law that controls all activities about religion. It is therefore worth noting that Egypt because it sustains such systems appears to be a political exception since no other country has been able to create either legal or administrative rules that recognize and regulate the operations of the Sufi orders (Johansen 11).

When nationalization concepts were established in regions that were inherently under the control of Sufis, it became difficult to strike a balance between autonomy and dependence on state regulation. Nationalization brought about the economic autonomy of religious groupings in Arab nations such as Syria (Perthes 251). This was established by the political class to curtail the powers of the Sufi and Sunni Islam by giving the state supreme authority. The state in this particular instance wanted to do away with Sufism and after establishing this bureaucratic system, the Sufi leaders were completely looked down upon.

This led to activism and calls for recognition by the Sufi order. However, these calls were mainly presented by anti-state actions in individual nations. In Syria for example it was easy for members of minority groups such as the Sufi orders to carry protests against the state without the bureaucratic apparatus becoming aware (Wedeen 152). This was mainly because the state operated under the assumption that Sufism had been eliminated. Various states particularly in the Middle East had chosen not to recognize practices by the Sufis as religious activities under the Islamic doctrines. To date, most Islamic countries don’t recognize Sufism and it is the followers of the religion who pay for their activities as compared to other Islamic factions that are taken care of by the state.

Confrontation Dynamics: Sufi Opposition to the Syrian State

The great extent that Sufis have gone to maintain autonomy from the state has made them centers of opposition to authoritarian systems of government. For instance, in Syria, the Sufi order was mainly involved in rebellions against the Ba’th party in the mid-twentieth century. The Sufis in this particular instance were opposed to direct control by the state, with direct control in this instance referring to the active involvement of the State bureaucracy in Sufi activities. The government in the various nations where Sufism tried to crop up installed secret service agents during ritual gatherings by the Sufis and this sparked rebellion from the Sufi leadership.

The Sufi communities were particularly aggravated by the economic sanctions that were imposed upon them by the various states. This went on to form the basis for political resistance against the governments in Syria, Egypt, and most of the Islamic states (Heydemann 30,101). The agrarian elites had already created strong ties with some members of the Sunni Islam establishments as well as the Sufi communities. This helped them get some massive support in their rebellion against the states’ economic measures that negatively affected their commercial and political involvements (Kabbani 533).

The Sufi leaders played a key role in the rebellion by recruiting their followers to join the fight against what was essentially regarded as a threat to the Islamic religion. This involvement by the top leaders of the Sufi orders could not be overlooked by the various states in which the simultaneous rebellions were carried out and the state tried to retaliate by disbanding the Sufi communities and carrying out attacks directed at the Shaykhs.

For instance in Syria Shaykh al-mashaykh was murdered and this sparked even more protests from the Sufis in the nation. This politically instigated violence happened in most Islamic states during the rebellion and massacres were reported in various regions. In Hama10 over twenty thousand civilians were murdered over the period and even though the Islamic front went down, there was an appreciable decline in political Islam.

Following the patterns established in the transnational theory, the states could not propagate the oppression for long especially after the rebellious activities began, and eventually, they had to cut down their repressive measures. The Sufis and other Islamic groups continue to be a major guiding factor in the operations of states in the Middle East (Morin, and Guelke 80). Though the state still maintains dominion over communication channels in a majority of the Islamic states, the Sunni Islam practitioners and the Sufis have found a way to circumvent this repression, and this is mostly by resorting to radical and violent actions against the State machinery (Abd-Allah 211-218).

The end of the conflicts against the state in Islamic nations led to a change in how religion was used to provide the basis for social action. Religion came to be regarded as an individual practice and the states could not directly dictate how Muslims expressed their faith. This became a social movement in itself (Wiktorowicz 151-152, 252). This movement was modeled around the concept of moral reform on the part of the individual as a contribution to the cumulative well structuring of an Islamic community. This can in essence be regarded as the downfall of the state in regards to its importance in the maintenance of Islamic fundamentalism. Sufism was and is still being given particular reference in the Islamic states based on its emphasis on personal responsibility and the upholding of a strong moral sense in the development of genuine Islamic societies.

Transnational Sufism

Most of the studies on the influence of Islam across the globe have mainly been directed at the political impact of the religion in the various regions (Tweed 44, 87, 131). Even though the Sufi religious group is mainly based in the middle, it is important to understand the Sufi order has maintained some level of importance among the Muslim faithful. The Sufi spiritual leader also known as the Shaykh is the supreme head of the religious grouping and below are the leaders of various orders. This hierarchical linking has been very fundamental in connecting the various Islamic communities in the world.

Some of the Sufi ideologies have received appreciation even from individuals who do not subscribe to the Islamic fundamentals. As much as Sufism may be considered traditionalistic, it has continued to attract the following of young educated Muslims. Communications have continued to play a key function in the establishment and maintenance of the transnational network among social activist groups such as Sufis (Nowicka 37). Most notable has been the modern utilization of the Internet in the propagation of Sufi ideologies aside from keeping Sunni Islamists around the world connected (Ernst, and Lawrence 144).

The Sufi orders of the Islamic religion have been very important in terms of social expression in various regions around the world (Kabbani 531). In recent times the Sufi orders have begun to stamp their authority in various regions of the world and most have started manifesting even in regions that are not traditionally Islamic such as Northern America and Western Europe. The Sufi orders are beginning to adapt to state frameworks that came into being in the last few years and this in some ways makes them transnational.

Over time they have come to be redefined particularly in how they are related to the community members and the new followers of the Sufi traditions are essentially building structures that can be seen as radically different from the traditional frameworks established by the founders of the orders. In some regions, the followers of Sufism have been able to utilize modern communication tools which have a definite impact on the spread of religious ideologies.

One order (Tariqa) that has attained an unassailable spread is the one under the leadership of Shaykh Nazim al-Qubrusi al-Haqqani (Westerlund 148-155). This Tariqa has received some exceptional following in America and Britain. In Britain, Sufism mainly presents in the cities of London and Birmingham though it shows some presence in other smaller cities. in London, the orders have received following from individuals ethnically not associated with Islam.

Conclusion

This paper had set out to accomplish several goals and it has effectively achieved them. A well-detailed analysis of the transnational theory has been presented and focus has been particularly made around the aspects of the multi-dimensional manifestations of Sufi traditions to the trends of transnationalism. The analysis has revolved around the elements of fluidity and flows especially by focusing on the multidimensional participation of densities inherent in global relations as implied by the transnational theory. The paper has also provided explanations to the reasons behind the recent revival of Sufism in various parts of the world. An illustration of how Sufi Islam influences the politics of the Middle East and Islamic nations elsewhere have also been made.

In the light of the discussions above, it can be concluded that the Sufi society has had a crucial role to play in both the social and political developments of contemporary Islamic states. They are among the main social institutions that have maintained some appreciable level of independence from the state and this has given the leaders of the order some credibility in terms of speaking on behalf of the public. Even though the Sufi Shaykhs received some degree of relevance in the view of the state and even received some constitutional backing in various nations, these leaders are supposed to guide their faithful in rebellion against oppressive actions by the state.

They, therefore, collaborate with the state when they see that the interest of the common Islamic citizen are being upheld and speak out in conjunction with other interest groups from outside their nations of operation when human rights are being trampled upon by the state. This summarized analysis of the relations between the state and the Sufi society has illustrated how some principles from the transnational theory can effectively be applied in explaining this relationship.

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