It is shown that Bedouins, settled Bedouins, and non-Bedouins each have their own tales about this saint.

In this paper, three different hagiographic traditions of a Muslim saint in the Western Desert of Egypt are introduced. Therefore, we should treat Sufism and saint veneration as distinct phenomena and should ask ourselves what conditions determine the form of combination. However, the forms of Sufism and saint veneration vary, and the manner in which they are combined is even more diverse. It is true that most of the Muslim saints are so-called Sufi saints, although some anthropologists showed cases of non-Sufi Muslim saints. Until recently, many scholars have presupposed inseparable unity between Sufism and saint veneration. With the consolidation of modern state authority, the interpretation and transmission of Islamic law has, like many other aspects of As a result, the role of Islamic religious scholars in the spheres of education, social welfare and religious activities have come under new regimes of official regulation. Keywords Islam – authority – politics – Malaysia – Tok Guru In Malaysia, the independence and autonomy of the ulama has been challenged by the establishment of a modern nation-state and its structures of governance. In the wake of this compromised socio-political and religious position alternative sources of authoritative Islamic teachings have emerged in recent years such as the Tablighi Jamaʿat discussed in this article. However as the state consolidated their control over these religious leaders whom were co-opted into the state apparatus, by employment and education at state universities, their social significance has been destabilized. Traditional religious authority in Malaysia finds its underpinnings largely in the institutions of Islamic learning locally known as pondoks, which are a community of students of Islam under the directions of a religious leader, ulama (also often known as a Tok Guru). It is within this context that this article considers the independence and autonomy of Malaysian Muslim religious leaders. During this period as the Malaysian state constructed its national identity and plotted its policy course, the role of Islam and religious leaders became an important point of debate. The role and status of religious authority needs to be read into Malaysian political history over the past fifty years.

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