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December 21, 2005
Theme-park Sufism?
You have to read a good ways into the story to find out that the picturesque whirling dervishes are government employees. I recommend it, though - it's interesting on lots of levels -- and has very nice photographs.
We hear a fair amount about the officially secular nature of the Turkish state, but here they are not only no longer suppressing dervish lodges but paying the performers. Or worshippers. Or whatever. The article makes the ambiguity clear -- I'm not criticizing that -- I'm only interested in the ambiguity myself, which I first heard about from a colleague who wrote her dissertation on Turkish modernization. She was back in Turkey summer before last (I think) and saw her first performance.
Posted by CrankyProfessor at December 21, 2005 8:07 AM