Definition:
The Qadiriya are thought to be the oldest of the Sufi brotherhoods, a Muslim mystic order, founded in Baghdad in the eleventh century CE. The sons of the founder 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (1078–1166) expanded the community into North Africa, Central Asia, and India - it is now very common in northern Africa. A sub-group in the Maghreb, known as the Jilaliyah, worship al-Jilani as a supernatural entity and have combined Muslim mysticism with traditional African beliefs.
