Al-Futuwwa

Futuwwa (Arabic: فتوة, "young-manliness" or "chivalry") is a Sufi term that has some similarities to chivalry and virtue. It was also a name of ethical urban organizations or "guilds" in medieval Muslim realms that emphasised honesty, peacefulness, gentleness, generosity, avoidance of complaint and hospitality in life. According to Ibn Battuta, a member was called fata (youth, pl. fityan) and group leaders were called akhi.

In modern-day Egypt, the term is used for youths who try to do quasi-chivalrous acts such as helping others resist intimidation by rival group.

Through membership of a futuwwa order, artisans and craftsmen were linked in a social connection that stabilized local communities and balanced the power of the aristocracy. Some were the equivalent of trades-guilds, constituted with a Sufi ideology along with preference for self-government. Their precise historical origins are obscure.

Futuwwa groups often influenced the course of political events. Different futuwwa leaders could have serious rivalries. Members were united through the practices of Sufi worship and a form of common property. Patched robes of Sufi were called libas al-futuwa.

The leader of the group would furnish a hospice where, at the end of the workday, members would bring money to buy food and drink. They entertained travelers with elaborate banquets or, if no traveler came that day, enjoyed the feast themselves with song and dance. They also supported charities (vakif).

Warriors of the Faith were warbands or warrior guilds. Some were just glorified bands of brigands. In the 12th century in Damascus, Ibn Jubayr wrote of an organization called the Nubuya that fought Shi'a Muslims in Syria. The Abbasid Caliph an-Nasir (1158–1225) approved of and supported futuwwa. In 1182 he organized a warrior futuwwa order that was for all practical purposes a knightly order with mounted warriors. He became the head of this order and gathered ruling princes and other notables to its membership. It continued for some time after the death of its founder.

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