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Abstract

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After an historical introduction, the paper deals first with the "Traditionalist" school of Guénon and Schuon, for this trend has won a very strong impact on Western Sufism in general. Since the 1970's, the presence of Sufism has increased rapidly in Europe. But we should not forget that Sufi orders of Eastern Europe have been present in the region since the Middle Ages. Nowadays we can speak of "transnational" or "translocal" orders. Each Sufi milieu in Europe positions itself specifically in relation to Islamic orthodoxy, and between strict adherence to Islamic prescriptions and Islam-less Sufism, one can find a highly nuanced range of approaches. European Sufism already assumes or may assume different roles, as for instance living Islam otherwise than a catalog of prescriptions and prohibitions, developing the sense of alterity and universalism, and even a psycho-therapeutic function.