Sufis and Women: The Study of Women's Sufis in The Western World

The lack of records about the involvement and contribution of women
in Sufism texts cannot be used as an excuse that women have a small
role and position in the development and dissemination of Sufism
teachings, doctrines and practices. So far, the well-known female Sufis,
namely Rabi’ah al-Adawiyah (717-801) and Aishah al-Ba’uniyyah
(c. 1456-1517), are two big names who prove that women have equal
opportunities in spiritual attainment. Many researchers discuss female
Sufis but focus on the eastern world and parts of India, only a few
researchers have written about female Sufis in the West, therefore
the authors are interested in discussing female Sufis in the West. This
research is a library research. The author uses a literature review with
the data sources used in this paper are secondary data originating from
the literature such as books, journals, articles, and various sources that
are relevant to the theme of the discussion in this paper.. The results of
the study describe female Sufisin the contemporary era such as Hajjah
Amina Adil and Hajjah Naziha Adil with their organizations engaged in
philanthropy. Then another female Sufi is Nahid Angha who is known
as one of the founders of the International Sufi Woman Organization,
a world Sufi women’s organization. This organization is concerned
with peace programs and women’s empowerment.The next female Sufi,
namely Eva de Vitray in the path of Sufism, Eva de Vitray-Meyerovitch
or Hawwa Hanim, took allegiance to the murshid of the Qadiriyah order
from Morocco, Sheikh Hamzah al-Qadiri al-Boutchichi. Eva is also
connected with Sheikh Khaled Bentounes, a murshid of the SyadziliyahAlawiyah tarekat who lives in France