“Communicating the Mystical”?

This chapter analyses how Halveti Sufi communities in Albania, Kosovo, and North Macedonia used Facebook to shape and sustain imagined communities during the pandemic. Focusing on both collective and individual accounts, it explores the roles of shaikhs and the discursive strategies employed in religious and non-religious content. The analysis reveals the communities’ self-understanding in historical and contemporary terms and identifies a discourse of the ideal shaikh, who appears as an intellectual, socialiser, or quietist. Based on online observations, the study offers insight into how local Sufi groups negotiate continuity, authority, and current religio-political dynamics online.