Western Sufism is sometimes dismissed as a relatively recent "new age" phenomenon, but in this book Mark Sedgwick argues that it has deep roots, both in the Muslim world and in the West. In fact, although the first significant Western Sufi organization was not established until 1915, the first Western discussion of Sufism was printed in 1480, and Western interest in Sufi thought goes back to the thirteenth century. Sedgwick starts with the earliest origins of Western Sufism in late antique Neoplatonism and early Arab philosophy, and traces later origins in repeated intercultural transfers from the Muslim world to the West, in the thought of the European Renaissance and Enlightenment, and in the intellectual and religious ferment of the nineteenth century. He then follows the development of organized Sufism in the West from 1915 until 1968, the year in which the first Western Sufi order based on purely Islamic models was founded. Western Sufism shows the influence of these origins, of thought both familiar and less familiar: Neoplatonic emanationism, perennialism, pantheism, universalism, and esotericism. Western Sufism is the product not of the new age but of Islam, the ancient world, and centuries of Western religious and intellectual history. Using sources from antiquity to the internet, Sedgwick demonstrates that the phenomenon of Western Sufism draws on centuries of intercultural transfers and is part of a long-established relationship between Western thought and Islam.

When Rachman Mitchell was twenty-three years old, something happened that changed him forever and set him on a path of inner and outer adventure. He received an experience called the latihan, which gave a contact with his soul. Around the latihan grew an organization called Subud, which is spread across the world. Bapak was the bringer of the latihan. Rachman, Rohana, and their children went to live near him in Indonesia, and Rachman became his doctor. This book relates stories along the way to getting to Indonesia, being there with Bapak and facing challenges of adapting to the world again after returning to the West. Rachman provides an inside view of what life was like in the early days in Jakarta when very personal contact with Bapak was possible. His work as a doctor in Indonesia and elsewhere is an important theme and illustrates the development of a talent and a vocation over a long lifetime. These are stories about a man learning how to live, the mistakes he makes, and the joys and calamities that are visited upon him and how he learns to become more tolerant, more understanding, and more compassionate, less inclined to judgement. They are a blend of intimate reminiscence and fireside chat, being told with humility and humor.

This text explores the major new or unconventional religions and spiritual movements in America that exist outside the Judeo-Christian tradition.

First published between 1913 and 1994, this 6 volume set examines the history of Islam in a variety of regions across the world. Spanning continents from Africa, to Asia, North America and Europe, and ranging from 19th century ethnographical studies to modern day historical research, these titles not only demonstrate the diversity within this global religion, but also how the study of Islam has changed over time. The titles in this set will be of interest to those studying the history of Islam as well as those fascinated by the study of religion and international communities itself.