Sufism in Eastern Europe
Based on the lived religion approach within religious studies, this research project explores how identity is expressed through visual and material religious media. It focuses on (the traces of) activities, practices and institutions of Sufism within Eastern European Islam. The geographical area covered is primarily the Balkans (especially Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Kosovo, and Serbia), but also includes Hungary, the Romanian Dobruja, and the Crimea. Fieldwork in the lands of the Crimean Tatars was carried out in 2013, only months before the Russian annexation of the peninsula.
The Albanian-speaking Bektashi Community
Ethnographic fieldwork in Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, 2011–2019 | Conducted within the framework of the research project ‘The Visual and Material Culture of Sufism in Central and Southeastern Europe’ | Outcome: 21 conference papers, 5 peer-reviewed book chapters, and 4 more forthcoming
Hasan Qaʾimi’s türbe, Zvornik
Ethnographic fieldwork in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2012 | Conducted within the framework of the research project ‘The Visual and Material Culture of Sufism in Central and Southeastern Europe’ | Outcome: 1 article
Gül Baba’s türbe, Buda
Ethnographic fieldwork in Hungary, November 2015, July 2020 | Conducted within the framework of the research project ‘The Visual and Material Culture of Sufism in Central and Southeastern Europe’ | Outcome: 2 peer-reviewed articles [submitted]
Gazi Mansur Tekiya, Bakhchisaray
Ethnographic fieldwork in the Crimea, Ukraine, October 2013 | Conducted within the framework of the research project ‘The Visual and Material Culture of Sufism in Central and Southeastern Europe’ | Outcome: 1 peer-reviewed article [forthcoming]
Mevlevi Dervish Tekiya, Yevpatoria
Ethnographic fieldwork in the Crimea, Ukraine, October 2013 | Conducted within the framework of the research project ‘The Visual and Material Culture of Sufism in Central and Southeastern Europe’ | Outcome: 1 peer-reviewed article [forthcoming]