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Religious Humanitarianism and the Syrian Refugee Crisis: On Sufi International Aid Networks
Abstract
Religion in the Syrian Revolution of 2011 has often been analyzed through the prism of jihadism. The rise of ISIS in particular has helped reinforce a binary between the secular authoritarianism of the Assad regime and the religious authoritarianism of jihadi groups. This paper instead focuses on the role of religion in supporting the Revolution’s aims globally, through religious humanitarianism. More specifically, it explores the role of Syrian Sufi humanitarian organizations in offering critical relief in disasters and conflict zones around the world. Originally founded in the UK in the late twentieth century, these Sufi humanitarian aid groups now operate transnationally, offering relief for dispersed Palestinians, Uighurs, Afghans, and Syrians. This paper will explore the history and theological influences of these organizations, and their work in transcending nation-state lines to offer transnational relief to beleaguered communities. It will focus primarily on the role these Sufi aid organizations have played in servicing Syrian refugees near the Syrian-Turkish border, relying on fieldwork from participation in relief convoys both in 2015, and in 2023 following the earthquake that as of this writing has killed over 11,000 Turks and Syrians. This paper makes the case that Syrian Sufism can serve as an organic vocabulary for social justice, and for representing the aims of the Revolution in exile.
Discipline
Anthropology
History
Religious Studies/Theology
Geographic Area
Syria
Turkey
Sub Area
None