Countering the Hegemony of Capitalism and the Nation-State: The Role of Sufi Tariqas in the Production of Moral Capital and Civic Virtues in the Muslim World

In light of ever-increasing social inequalities and the looming environmental crisis, among other predicaments, various critiques of the modern colonial capitalist world system have been brought forth. While these efforts have been essential in carving the way forward for a different political and economic worldview, what remains missing is a systematic approach that targets the value-base, in other words the “central domain”, that produced these systems in the first place.This research aims to address this gap by centering morality and ethics - as interrelated categories - in the context of social change. Drawing on the rich tradition of Islamic moral philosophy, this study will explore the role of Sufi tariqas (orders) as an example of alternative institutions that produce moral capital and civic virtues, providing a counterbalance to modern economy being centered on material and financial gain. Grounded in Taha Abderrahmane’s philosophy of I’timaniyyah, “entrustment ethics”, the research shall deploy a mixed-methods approach combining comparative historical analysis of Sufi thought and an ethnography of Sufi institutions in Morocco, Egypt, and Turkey. In bridging the field of political economy with decolonial studies and Islamic moral philosophy, the aim is to contribute to the discourse on alternative economic and environmental thought beyond the modern West through a redefinition of human agency and socio-political institutions illustrated in a revised understanding of Sufi tariqas as key agents in the promotion of social responsibility and the production of public value.