Sufi romanticism is dervishes' gateway to Italy

Sufism succeeded in captivating millions of people in the European continent. These adherents found in the mystic Sufi style a respite from years of European despotism and the chaos left behind by industrial revolutions.

Sufis started to take root and grow in Europe as soon as it entered the continent. Those immersing themselves in the Sufi life found in this life a comfortable space away from the complexities of their existence.
Italy was the scene of the highest public support to Sufism. Around 2.2 million Muslims live in Italy, according to the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. It said this is the highest number of Muslims in a single European state.
Extended history
Sufi theories proved to be popular among a large number of people in Europe, thanks to the different way they introduced religion. This way was most manifest in the teachings of the Universal Sufi Movement which was founded by Indian Inayat Khan (1882 – 1927) in the West in 1910. The movement insisted that Sufism is a spiritual way of life that is not directly linked to religion. This way of thinking was most popular among Italian Muslims.
Sufism thrived, particularly thanks to its tolerance. This tolerance encouraged Sufism to be acceptable to a large number of people in Italy.
Abd al-Wahid Pallavicini (1926 – 2017) one of the icons of Sufism in Italy and in the whole of Europe was instrumental in the spread of Sufi teachings and thought in the European country.
Pallavicini converted to Islam in 1951 after paying a visit to Singapore. During his visit, Pallavicini was influenced by the Idrissia Shazlia Sufi order.

The same man lobbied for tolerance. He attended a large number of the forums and dialogues organized by the Vatican to find a common ground between religions. He did not show disrespect to Christianity after converting to Islam. However, Sufism made him more tolerant.
Renouncing violence was the most outstanding thing that marked Gabriele Mandel (1924 – 2010), another very important Italian Sufi scholar. He was born in Bologna for an Afghan father who was tortured for years at the hands of the Nazis.
He renounced conflicts and wars and worked to promote this outlook to the world.

Orders and centers
Sufi icons decided to a great extent the number of Sufi followers in Italy. Here is a list of the most outstanding Sufi orders in the country:
· Halveti Jerrahi
Mandel had a great influence on a large number of Italian Muslims. He studied music and especially liked Jerahi music which is associated with the Turkish sheikh Mohamed Nour Eddin Jerahi (1678 – 1720)
Paving the road for the emergence of the Jerahi order together with Mandel was Turkish Muzaffar Ouzak (1916 – 1985). Ouzak opened a center of the Jerahi order, almost the oldest in the European continent.
· Ahmadia Idrissia Shazlia
This is one of the most important Sufi orders in the whole of Italy. It is mainly sponsored by Italy's Islamic Religious Community, which is known by the acronym (COREIS). The order has been headquartered in Milan since the early 1990s. It was founded by Abd al-Wahid Pallavicini with the aim of protecting the spiritual heritage of Islam in the West. Pallavicini's son Yahiya runs the order now.
· Naqshabandi Order
This is one of the most widespread Sufi orders in Europe, in general, and in Italy, in particular. The order is especially popular in Italy's Umbria region. The order is headed by Sheikh Burhanuddin Hermann. The order sponsors a large number of mystic activities. It also organizes a gathering of its adherents in mid-December every year.

Banned notes
Surprisingly enough, the Sufi orders that thrive in Italy, including Burhaniya, Desoukiya and Shazlia, are banned in Egypt, considered to be heretic in the country. Burhaniya was founded by Ibrahim al-Desouki. It is no headed by Sudanese Mohamed Osman Abdo Burhani.
A branch of the order was founded at the heart of Italian capital Rome in the 1980s. Other branches appeared in other Italian cities then.
The presence of a common history between Italy, on one hand, and most Arab states, on the other, could not have its influence on Sufi orders in Italy.
Italy, for example, occupied Libya between 1911 and 1943. Omar al-Mukhtar who resisted the Italian occupation of the North African state was a follower of the Senoussi Sufi order. Nevertheless, this order has no presence on the map of Sufi orders in Italy.