Competing Visions of Humanity: Sufi Humanism and Militant Absolutism

Abstract

Islamic thought paradoxically addresses human dignity. Two competing moral anthropologies within Islamic intellectual discourse, Sufi mystical ethics and militant extremist absolutism, are examined in this article. It argues that these traditions approach human rights and dignity differently. This study draws upon classical Sufi metaphysics, modern political theory, and contemporary case studies of ISIS, Al-Qaida, Taliban and Pakistani TTP to understand the violence patterns. It demonstrates that Sufi ethics grounds human worth in an expansive ontology of divine mercy and unity. In this way, Sufi ethics generates an implicit universalism compatible with modern human rights frameworks. On the Contrary, militant extremism places a human value on ideological conformity and constructs a conditional and exclusionary anthropology. Such an extreme dispensation negates universal dignity. This study contributes to contemporary debates on human rights and religion, particularly Muslims, who have received many weird tags despite having the most convincing and logical faith today and ever. This paper seeks to reframe extremism not merely as political violence but as a radically different vision of what it means to be human.