DARQAWA

brotherhood of Sufis (Muslim mystics) founded at the end of the 18th century by Mawlay al-'Arbi ad-Darqawi (c. 17371823) in Morocco. An offshoot of the Shadhili Sufis, the order brought together individuals of varied social class. Its doctrine is orthodox, emphasizing devotion to, contemplation of, and union with God, attainable by frequent solitary prayer or in communal sessions where phrase repetition, poetry, song, and dance induce a state of ecstasy. Members of the Darqawa generally refuse to participate in public life, though they did agitate against the Ottoman Turks in the early 19th century in Morocco and in Algeria upheld the nationalist cause in opposition to the policies of Abdelkader. The order is found in Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, and Sri Lanka.