Being Sufi in Central Asia
a lecture by Benjamin Gatling
Event Details
Date
Thursday, February 27, 2025
Time
4 p.m.
Location
1418 Van Hise Hall
Description
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Sufi groups in Tajikistan have faced significant changes, from growth and public celebration to repression by governing elites. In this talk, Benjamin Gatling draws on ethnographic fieldwork to examine how Tajikistan’s Sufis have adapted since 2010. It discusses how murids cope with missing pirs, closed teaching circles, and limited ritual opportunities, while highlighting resilient expressions of Sufi piety, such as pilgrimage practices and narratives.
Cost
Free
Accessibility
We value inclusion and access for all participants and are pleased to provide reasonable accommodations for this event. Please email ckilgore@wisc.edu to make a disability-related accommodation request. Reasonable effort will be made to support your request.