Sufi Institutions in Mamluk Jerusalem and Their Social and Cultural Functions

This article examines the formation and expansion of three main institutions of Sufism including Khānqah, ribāṭ, and zāwīyah in Jerusalem during the Mamluk period and raises the question of what was the function of those institutions in the social and cultural life of the city. According to the findings of this study, thirty Sufi institutions including seven khānqahs, six ribāṭs and 17 zāwīyahs were founded in Jerusalem during this period. The founders of the khānqahs and Ribāṭs were mainly Mamluk Sultans and Amirs, but the Zāwīyahs were instituted by the Sufi sheikhs. In addition to their educational and pedagogic functions, those institutions also had a large social and cultural function of accommodation and hospitality. By that they legitimize the Mamluk rulers, as the main founders and financiers of the institutions and so they used them to strengthen the religious foundations of their monarchy. The formation and expansion of Sufi institutions during this period was also one of the important factors in restoring the Islamic identity of Jerusalem and the Islamization of the city.