This article explores the influence of local concepts of matrilineal kinship and descent through women in the construction of a modern Sufi silsila (an authorized ‘chain’ of spiritual and genealogical ancestry) in Sri Lanka. Makkattar Vappa, a popular Sufi shaykh in the Tamil-speaking eastern region of the island, asserts hereditary maulana (sayyid) status as a member of the Prophet’s household...

In the Tanzanian country town of Rwangwa, a bitter confrontation has developed between Sufi Muslims and Islamist reformers. The Islamists draw on Middle Eastern inspiration, but the conflict arises equally from local, regional and national context, and is cultural as well as religious and political. Situated in an economically and educationally disadvantaged region, access to land and trade for...

Co-translational folding (CTF) facilitates correct folding in vivo, but its precise mechanism remains elusive. For the CTF of a three-domain protein SufI, it was reported that the translational attenuation is obligatory to acquire the functional state. Here, to gain structural insights on the underlying mechanisms, we performed comparative molecular simulations of SufI that mimic CTF as well as...

Pathogenic Yersinia cause a manifold of diseases in humans ranging from mild gastroenteritis (Y. pseudotuberculosis and Y. enterocolitica) to pneumonic and bubonic plague (Y. pestis), while all three have a common virulence strategy that relies on a well-studied type III secretion system and its effector proteins to colonize the host and evade immune responses. However, the role of other protei...

Abstract Men founded and have ruled over Sufi orders since their inception, thus the position of Khalifa or shaykh has been traditionally held by men. However, this study argues that in some Islamic mystical traditions women assumed a senior leadership role with all power such prominent entails. More research is needed to understand challenges faced legitimizing power, experiences patriarchal s...

In her article "Geomancing Dib's Transcultural Expression in Translation Campbell analyses Mohammed Dib Islamic traditions. Campbell contextualizes lexical, syntactic with reference to Oriental schemas by Farīd ud-Dīn Attār and elements of Sufi symbolism elements serve to develop a liminal yet multilingual French language. Dib's poetic aesthetic enquiry and appears to go beyond Sufism in its de...

Doris Lessing, the Persian-born, African-raised and London-residing novelist enjoys a writing career which has spanned more than 50 years. Critics have labeled her as Marxist, feminist, Sufist and even psycho-analyst. It is my contention to prove that latent Sufi characteristics are inherent in her works, and this premise marks a difference between my study and other research on Lessing. To pro...