The sufi inclination of religious officials: A case study of Tokat province

Religious officials play a significant role in people's understanding and practice of religion. Indeed, imams and muezzins in mosques, which are present in almost every neighborhood, provide religious education to the public. They have the opportunity to address large audiences who attend the mosque for Friday prayers every week. In Qur'an courses affiliated with the Presidency of Religious Affairs, both men and women of all age groups are taught not only the proper recitation of the Qur'an throughout the year but also its meaning and practical implementation. Preachers and female preachers carry out guidance activities in public religious talks by answering questions posed by the audience and teaching essential subjects. While carrying out these duties, differences in the demographic backgrounds of religious officials naturally result in variations in their understanding and interpretation of religion. This study investigates the influences of Sufism in fulfilling religious obligations and explores the contemporary religious officials' attitudes towards Sufism. No detailed research has been found on this particular topic. The study aims to measure the perspectives of today's religious officials on Sufism. In the 23-item scale developed for this research, approaches to Sufism are examined through the sub-dimensions of epistemology (knowledge), ontology (belief-being), purpose, method, and social phenomenon. The concepts related to each sub-dimension are explained using classical Sufi literature as well as other relevant sources, to the extent they appear in the questionnaire. The study seeks to identify the degree to which religious officials align with or oppose these concepts and phenomena. The responses were analyzed, and the resulting data visualizations were interpreted with a focus on the case of Tokat province. The obtained data were compared with results from previous studies conducted on different segments of society. Additionally, earlier studies discussing the historical conflict between the exoteric scholars (ulama) and Sufis, as well as the scholars' perspectives on Sufism, were utilized to compare and evaluate the current perspectives of religious officials.