Naqshbandi Sufism in Southern Chile: A Case Study
Sebastián Pelayo Benavides Medina *
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Centro de Desarrollo Local UC, Chile.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The present article presents the motivations and perceptions of Chilean Naqshbandi Haqqani Sufis. The research sought a deeper understanding of the experience of these practices in contemporary Chile, studying a specific case and some of its effects on the social integration of the participants. Perceptions of the intercultural contact involved were recorded and analyzed, with phenomena such as prejudices and discrimination, considering the country’s mainly Christian context. The most important themes analyzed in the results were the centrality of the concept of “search” and the weight of the figure of the master as motivating factors
Keywords: Oriental, Chile, Naqshbandi Sufism, Islam, religious experience.