My admittedly limited readings regarding Sufism have led me to think of this mystical branch of Islam as peaceful, but during a Sunday-afternoon conversation with Jeff Hodges, Jeff pointed out that Sufism has a militant subculture. I'd never heard such a thing before, so I knew it was time to read up on militant Sufism, which I looked up on Google.
Here are some references:
Wikipedia: Militant Sufi Organizations
Sufism, the Army, and Holy War
Political Ambitions Turn Sufis into MilitantsThat final link argues that militant Sufism is a fairly recent convention, whereas the article before it speaks of "proto-Sufis" who appeared "during the first centuries of Islam."
So I've learned something new, and I guess militant Sufis do exist. Does that change my overall characterization of Sufism? No. I think there's a mountain of literature out there that will affirm Sufism to be, generally speaking, a radically peaceful branch of Islam. This article, titled "Are Sufis Always Peaceful?", argues that Sufis are generally peaceful, although it acknowledges the existence of militant Sufis.
I was ignorant about the militant aspect of Sufism as well.
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