Subjective Stance, Embedded Ideological Clues and Social Representations in Schimmel’s Interpretations: A Critical Discourse Enquiry

The study was an enquiry into the subjective stance, ideological clues and social representations within Schimmel’s interpretive discourse on Sufi poetry. Evident discursive construction may well be witnessed through ideological clues embedded within analysis of Sufi poetry, diverse social representations and investigation of the level of adequacy in Schimmel’s reconstruction of local culture. Application of linguistic tools of Critical Discourse Analysis to Schimmel’s works may well be considered as a significant dimension within Sufi discourse as the CDA tools provide requisite insights into diverse discursive constructions at various fronts. Another significant dimension pertains to a Western scholar’s inclination towards Sufi poetry which makes it a study worth investigating. Fair clough’s three-dimensional model with textual, discursive and social dimensions was applied to a selected text from Schimmel’s Mystical Dimensions of Islam. The study witness edvarious linguistic clues pertaining to subjective stance on the part of Schimmel, evident ideological clues and marked social representations embedded within folk traditions, diverse Sufi practices and local cultural cues. Schimmel while maneuvering through various linguistic tools acquired prominence within her interpretive discourse which was indicative of a considerably adequate reconstruction of local culture within her linguistic investigation of Sufi poetry.