Spiritualism in defense of Islam

Mattias Gori Olesen recently covered the debate between René Guénon and the Egyptian intelelctual Muḥammad Farīd Wajdī (1875-1954) over modern spirituality in Al-Maʿrifa (see post here). A new article, “Taming the Animal within in Cairo: Muḥammad Farīd Wajdī and ‘Temperate Vegetarianism’” by Mariam Elashmawy (Alif 45, 2025), here, open access) revisits this debate and adds more to our understanding of Wajdī. “It is important to understand that he [Wajdī] sees spiritualism through an Islamic lens,” argues Elashmawy. Spiritualism was not an import from the modern West, as Guénon thought, but a long-standing part of Islam. “As for us Muslims,” wrote Wajdī, “the matter of the appearance of spirits is one of the most common occurrences for those close to Allah” [ie. saints/awliyāʾ]. Spiritualism, as a scientific endorsement of one aspect of Islam, could serve as a defense against the growing threat of materialism and atheism. Wajdī agreed with Guénon regarding the threat, then, but not regarding the remedy.