During my early school stage, specifically during my last year at Dr. Benzerdjeb high school in Tlemcen, our institution was very enthusiastic to receive a doctor in Islamic studies who had his degree in Saudi Arabia. His courses were not compulsory, therefore we were chosen to attend two hours per week. I wanted to pursue these courses to have some knowledge of my religion Islam. After one or two months, I have noticed that his main objective was to see ladies veiled with hijab and boys with a beard. His main concern was appearance rather than the reality of the soul. His dream was about to come true. He was proud and exclaimed: “Almost all the heads are covered with scarves.” I remained almost alone and my case was quite embarrassing. I have …show more content…
Eureka again for me. Ralph Waldo Emerson is almost certainly the pioneer of the Transcendentalist movement in the United States. He was followed by two brilliant authors such as Henry David Thoreau and Walt Whitman. We have to note that some scholars did not include Whitman within the Transcendentalist circle, but so many do incorporate him within Transcendentalism while always adding some other qualities because of his very cosmic nature. Charles Eliot Norton identified Whitman as a combination of a “Yankee Transcendentalist and a New York fireman.” Whitman was born in New York and spent his last years in Camden, but he was very close to this movement. He recognised himself that he always go back to Emerson . He shaped his poetry according to Emerson and Transcendentalism. Such poets and philosophers of the 19th century were strongly opposing rigid nationalism, empiricism, social conformity and materialism. In this movement self-realization and self-reliance are important tools to seek the Truth. It is important to note that Transcendentalism discarded Christianity by replacing the belief in God by the belief in the divinity of humanity. Human beings could experience divinity directly through nature. Transcendentalists believed that there are universal truths governing the world. Sufism on the other hand is the vocation and discipline of the followers of God. These people are concerned with ‘the kingdom of heaven’ they must not lose sight of truth. Sufism in short is Islamic mysticism. Any person who comes close to these two philosophies notices that there is something in common. What is it? What is this shadow that overcomes both philosophies? The Sufi mystic poetry expresses a great tenderness of those who are lost in the love of God. The thesis presents the poetry of the three Algerian Sufis: Emir Abd-el-Kader, Sidi Kaddour Benachour and Sheikh El Alawi, all of them