Sainthood and Social Boundary Crossing in Medieval Islamic North Africa

This article considers how the spread of new modes of religiosity in the twelfth-century Maghrib, namely pietistic mysticism or Sufism, enabled groups previously excluded from the ranks of religious 'professionals'. It did this by placing a premium on charismatic rather than solely book-based approaches to religion. As a result, men and some women of rural and non-Arabic literate backgrounds were able to cross boundaries that had been difficult to breach.