The making of an order: An ethnography of Romani sufis in Uskudar

This thesis traces the formation and transformation process of the Gulsheni-Sezai Sufi order in Selami Ali neighborhood in Uskudar, known for its Romani inhabitants. Three components of a representative Sufi group have been determined to be a charismatic leader, a sacred space and a set of beliefs reified with rituals. Throughout this study the establishment of these three components are examined within the Selami Ali context; and the reconciliation of the heterodox Sufi identity with Romani identity is analyzed with a conclusion that contrary to stereotypical view that the Romani people are discordant with religion, the Sufi Muslim identity and Romani identity have more parallelism than difference and this is why the neighborhood could easily embrace the newly founded Gulsheni order. The fieldwork was carried out in a period of 18 moths between 2018-2019 with intervals not longer than a month, during which the data for this study was collected via in-depth oral interviews and participant observation. Keywords: Sufism, Romani Identity, Sacred Space, Charisma, Ritual