Die Qadiriya-Bruderschaft im geopolitischen Kontext der maghrebinischen Länder : Algerien, Marokko und Tunesien
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Abstract
This thesis focuses on the study of the Qadiriya brotherhood in the geopolitical frame of the three Maghreb-states: Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. The mechanisms at the origin of the doctrinal and practical evolution of Sufism in general, and Qadiriya in particular are numerous and still poorly known. On the one hand, there is the presence of a very old literature in theory from the spiritual master of the brotherhood, Abdelqader al-Gilānī, or his followers that covers a wide spatial-temporal spectrum ranging from a few years to several centuries and from Mesopotamia to North African borders. On the other hand, the researcher is faced with countless writings on the brotherhood, especially from the colonial period, which do not necessarily reflect the reality of its religious orders that were present on the Maghreb political scene.
Conducting comparative studies and reviews on the life and works of al-Gilānī allow us to show a series of incoherencies found in some of these literary sources, particularly in the precepts of the brotherhood. Although limited, the temporal and esoteric evolution of the Qadiriya doctrine was briefly highlighted and commented in the light of the modern science. As for the colonial period, the main figure of this part of history is undoubtedly the Qadiri Emir Abdelqader, who with the followers of Qadiriya and other components of Algerian and Moroccan societies at that time, were able to cope temporarily with the scorched earth policy conducted by colonial France. Recent conferences organized in Algeria (Tlemcen 2011, 2012, etc.) explain those circumstances as well as the life and work of the Emir.
The analysis of the activities of the Qadiriya brotherhood today, in some of the most active North African Zawāyā, allows us to identify some decentralization in the management of social, cultural and spiritual issues these places. Next to this, the Qadiriya in this region is faced with a double challenge: charlatanism and remaining obscure practices inside and outside religious extremism maintained by certain trends claiming Islam. At the level of state affairs, the results reveal an interference of some of these Zawāyā in the political field which is not without consequences on possible misuse of these religious orders in favor of illegal and undemocratic political maneuvers.