Shifting Fieldsites: an Alternative Approach to Fieldwork in Transnational Sufism
Journal
Fieldwork in Religion
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2012-01-20
Author(s)
Abstract
There has not been much open discussion concerning the challenges faced by scholars who undertake fieldwork among members of Sufi Orders.4 The present article examines several issues that appeared whilst trying to negotiate the delicate balance between detachment and involvement in the course of ethnographic research among devotees of the Būdshīshiyya. It engages with the dynamics of the ethnographic experience with the intention of uncovering the mechanisms by which knowledge is produced. It argues that the knowledge derived from ethnographic work is subjective and partial by nature, and that being able to engage with its resulting ambiguities and contradictions lends it a more nuanced, real, and less representational perspective. The article aims to shed light on a number of areas of the ethnographical encounter by drawing attention to certain themes: first, it examines how gender determined the scope of the research and circumscribed the possibilities of data collection. Second, it analyses some of the peculiarities involved in conducting multi-sited fieldwork in a transnational religious organisation. Third, it raises specific methodological concerns with regard to the often transitory nature of membership of the ṭarīqa. Finally, it discusses how the present author coped with religious proselytization and its potential effects on the relationship between devotees and researcher. Overall, the article seeks to address certain aspects of the ethnographic experience that appeared when conducting fieldwork with the Būdshīshiyya. Some of these are specific to work with this ṭarīqa, whilst others may also arise in the course of research among other Sufi Orders, Islamic groups, and even non-Muslim religious organisations that operate within the context of modernity and at a transnational level. Although the article reflects on personal ethnographic accounts, it addresses aspects of experience-based research that may also be encountered by those engaged in conducting research among other contemporary religious groups.
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Equinox
Publisher place
London
Volume
6
Number
1
Pages
13
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
251857
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