Anti-Sufi Discourses in Late Safavid Iran: Three Case Studies

One of the major debates in the study of Safavid Iran, particularly of its final decades, is the nature of the relationship between the state and the non-Shi’ite minorities, as well as the relationship between the Shi’ite hierocracy and other seemingly heterodox Muslim groups. One important body of literature for the study of this phenomenon is that of anti-Sufi polemics written by the ʿulama’. So far, most studies on anti-Sufi trends in this period have focused on its sociological and political aspects, signaling the growing tensions in the frontier regions and the ʿulama’s changing attitudes vis-à-vis previously favored traditions, such as ʿirfan. These political and sociological explanations are important; however, without a solid analysis of anti-Sufi texts themselves, there is a risk of presenting a rather monolithic picture of anti-Sufi trends. Thus, what I propose is to compare three anti-Sufi texts by Muhammad Tahiri Qummi, ʿAli Quli Jadid al-Islam, and Niʿmatullah al-Jaza’iri to show the variety of ways in which late Safavid scholars articulated their suspicion of Sufi practices. This study aims to compare the rhetorical elements of each polemical text and to contextualize the particular preoccupations of each author. By contrasting the different contexts and the different preoccupations reflected on each text, I hope to present a complex picture of the evolution of the anti-Sufi discourse and of its political motivations.