Visionaries of Silence

Founded in the sixteenth century, the Demirdashiya Sufi order in Cairo has played an influential role in Egypt's public life, and through a line of family sheikhs has channeled the impulses of its Sufi origins into different types of reform. Practicing a visionary form of piety, the Demirdashiya once legendary for its wealth and secrecy continues to influence a small but important segment of contemporary Cairo's inhabitants. In this fascinating study, scholar Earle Waugh highlights the Demirdash