Professor of Religion, Wesleyan University
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Who Are Egypt's Sufis, and Why Does ISIS See Them as Threatening?
11-27-2017
A devotee prays at the tomb of Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Pakistan. Akhtar Soomro/Reuters
Many Muslims and non-Muslims around the globe celebrate Sufi saints and gather together for worship in their shrines. Such practices, however, do not conform to the Islamic ideologies of intolerant revivalist groups such as Islamic State. On the contrary, IS finds these practices threatening. Here’s why.