Beshara and Ibn 'Arabi: A Movement of Sufi Spirituality in the Modern World
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Beshara and Ibn 'Arabi: A Movement of Sufi Spirituality in the Modern World Reprint Edition
by Suha Taji-Farouki (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars 3 ratings
ISBN-13: 978-1905937264
ISBN-10: 1905937261
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Investigating Sufi-inspired spirituality in the modern world, this interdisciplinary text combines cultural study with solid data to provide a comprehensive look at how the teachings of Ibn ‘Arabi have been adopted and adapted by Muslims and non-Muslims. At the heart of this movement is the Beshara School in Scotland, founded in the 1960s, and now a center of international scholarship. Using the school as a case study, the discussion describes its emergence and evolution, its approach to spiritual education, the origins of its spiritual teacher, its major teachings and practices, and its projection of Ibn ‘Arabi. Both rigorous and very timely, this effort points to areas of cultural exchange between East and West and highlights commonalities in the various historical changes both societies have undergone.
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About the Author
Suha Taji-Farouki is a senior lecturer in modern Islam at the Institute of Arab and Islamic studies at the University of Exeter and research associate at the Institute of Ismaili Studies–London. She is the editor of Islamic Thought in the Twentieth Century and Modern Muslim Intellectuals and the Qur’an.
Product details
Publisher : Anqa Publishing; Reprint edition (November 18, 2010)
Language : English
Paperback : 490 pages
ISBN-10 : 1905937261
ISBN-13 : 978-1905937264
Item Weight : 1.75 pounds
Dimensions : 6.25 x 1.4 x 9.25 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #4,882,684 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
#1,353 in Islam (Books)
#2,159 in Sufism (Books)
#2,886 in Islamic Social Studies
Customer Reviews: 4.6 out of 5 stars 3 ratings
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Top reviews from the United States
Stephen J. Triesch
4.0 out of 5 stars Well-written account of the origins and development of a modern esoteric school.
Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2014
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The Beshara ("Good News") School owes its origins to the influence of Bulent Rauf, a Turkish aristocrat who - after experiencing some major personal crises - emigrated to England in the 1960's in response to an inner impulse to bring a spiritual Way to a generation that was actively seeking approaches to the Divine apart from traditional Christian or Jewish formulations. While in England, Rauf came into contact with Reshad Feild, a former pop-singer turned spiritual-seeker, for whom he became an informal, on-again, off-again spiritual guide. (This is a sensitive point, for Rauf expressly denied the role of guru, sheikh, or even "teacher.") The story of the relationship between Rauf and Feild is told in Feild's slightly fictionalized books "The Last Barrier" and "The Invisible way," both highly recommended. In these books, a clumsy, slow-to-learn Feild is introduced to the ways of Turkish Sufism, an esoteric expression of Islam, under the direction of Rauf (as represented by the character named "Hamid").
Having read Feild's books, in which Rauf comes across as "a man who speaks with authority", I was surprised to learn that the real-life Rauf - although exposed to Sufism as a youth - had apparently never formally belonged to a Sufi order or studied under a Sufi master. Rauf's knowledge rather came through a series of visionary or "imaginal" experiences emanating from a higher plane, a kind of "direct transmission" of spiritual truth, known in Sufi circles as the Uwaysi "school".
Inspired by Rauf, Feild eventually acquired property on the English-Scottish border for a "center" as a base of operations, and this center/school was initially affiliated with Hazrat Inayat Khan's Sufi Order International. Over time, Feild's and Rauf's visions for the school began to diverge. Feild eventually departed, and Rauf assumed control over the school's curriculum and overall direction. Under Rauf, the school minimized its specifically Sufi and Islamic ties and began to emphasize the ideas of the Islamic thinker, Ibn Arabi, whose monistic philosophy was often summarized under the phrase the Unity of Being or the Oneness of Being, in which all of reality is viewed as being a manifestation of the Divine. As is typical with mystical experience, the Unity of Being cannot easily be expressed in human language, and exposition of the initially simple idea of Oneness involves an enormous degree of intellectual effort (see below). The school initiated a series of intense educational programs combining academic study, monastic-like restrictions on personal behavior, meditation, and practical-oriented work or "service," intended to apply the academic teachings to everyday situations. A high emphasis was placed on "quality" or "taste," and this was applied to everything from cooking to house cleaning to gardening.
Taji-Farouki devotes the bulk of her book to an exposition of the basic ideas of Ibn Arabi, the details of the Beshara curriculum, and the relationship of Beshara to the New Age movement, to Islam, to Sufism, and to society at large. Beshara students/members/associates emphasize the universality of their approach and - despite its use of Arabic terms and Islamic concepts - its independence from any traditional religious institution or form. They deny that Beshara is a religion or even a formal "order" such as is found in Sufism, and believe that their lack of hierarchy and their "inclusiveness" makes them an ideal model for the future of spirituality. THAT is where I begin to disagree.
Ibn Arabi can be very difficult reading, and is definitely NOT for the masses. The book contains several appendices, one of which consists of a transcript of a Beshara study session, including excerpts from their teaching materials. One sentence in the excerpt consists of a sentence containing 161 words (by my count), which just might be the longest sentence I have ever seen. Moreover, the material is liberally sprinkled with transliterated Arabic words. An example: "When or if for Its own Being the Divine meshiya appertained to the Will (irada) of nourishment, in other words, by virtue of the degree of Divinity when the Being of the haqq which is actualized in the possibilities of the a'yan manifested the determinations of the Divine Names which are at the strength of that degree by manifesting in the places of manifestation of the a'yan of possibilities and through Its meshiya appertained to the Will (irada) of being nourished, then the totality of immanence becomes His nourishment . . . " The sentence goes on for dozens of more words. This material will never be comprehensible to large numbers of people in its current form, and it is thus hard to see this approach as a breakthrough to a "universal" or "inclusive" pedagogy or spirituality.
Towards the end of the book, the author speculates on the long-term prospects for Beshara, which has now survived for more than forty years, albeit as a small and - I daresay - an elitist group. (By "elitist" I do not imply an attitude of snobbery, merely that the study materials, along with the other requirements imposed on students - make it unlikely that the Beshara approach will ever be accessible to more than a very small percentage of society.) Nonetheless, citing various sociological criteria applicable to religious groups and cults, the author remains optimistic about Beshara's survival. But (say I) when fewer than half of the children of Beshara students show an interest in following in their parents' footsteps, have we in fact discovered the claimed "universal" approach to spirituality?
This raises a question about New Age spirituality in general. The original New Agers were reacting to perceived flaws in the Christian, Jewish, or secular heritage that they had inherited. But the new generation does not have much to slough off - their parents already did it. I have noticed the aging of attendees at New Age events. Maybe New Age spirituality will fare no better than Christianity and Judaism did with an earlier generation, and the millennial generation will perhaps abandon religion entirely, focusing on pop culture or politics for whatever meaning they can scratch from the soil of life. How many of the millennials - plugged into their I-phones and tablets and tweeting one another about the latest celebrity scandal - give more than a passing thought to spirituality, much less to the Unity of Being?
Several times throughout the book, the author contrasts the optimism of the Beshara school with the pessimism of the Traditionalist or Perennial Philosophy school. I'm afraid that my sympathies are with the pessimists.
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7 people found this helpful
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Marie L. Anderson
5.0 out of 5 stars The Good News
Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2013
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This is a very well researched book that gives an historical and critical account of a spiritual movement's evolution.
The title, however, is somewhat misleading for the people there would not regard themselves as Sufis, even though the Ibn 'Arabi's thought permeates a lot of the study about the Oneness of Being. For anyone who has taken courses at Beshara,
or for those contemplating it, or for those curious about esoteric education and the legacy of Ibn 'Arabi, this book may provide an interesting and invaluable insight into a modern spiritual movement dedicated to the good news for this era.
3 people found this helpful
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