Perceiving the self, performing knowledge
February 25, 2026 Maike Neufend
In Sufism, the pursuit of Truth requires embodied, reciprocal engagement with the world, not just cognition. Perception is a social practice shaped by interactions and heightened awareness, with aesthetic perception central to Sufi practices. Using phenomenological and constructivist approaches, the study investigates how subjective experiences gain meaning through communicative actions, focusing on materiality and corporeality. It highlights challenges of verbalizing experiences and emphasizes bodily performativity and sensory experiences in constructing reality and social relationships. Examining emotion and action within the Sufi milieu underscores aesthetic perception's importance in Islamic cultural contexts. The chapter concludes with reflections on how research methods influence understanding of perception as a cultural practice within Islamic subjectivity.