Fascinating Thoughts of an American Sufi
Dappled Things' Father Tucker links to this article today:

An Islamic Opus Dei?

It's author, Stephen Schwartz, is an American convert to Sufi Islam. Sufism has long attracted many Traditionalists in the West, and Mr. Schwartz, noting "the new alliance of radical Islamists and the radical left," sees in Traditional Islam the answer to the problems of the Middle East and beyond. He looks to Saint Josemaría Escrivá for inspiration:

Opus Dei is well known for its positive role in reforming the economy of Spain, late in the Franco era, when it acted to energize entrepreneurs as well as to promote transparency and accountability in the Iberian business environment. This modernization was predicated on defense, rather than destruction, of traditional and conservative Spanish Catholic religious culture. Escrivá incited his acolytes to ridicule leftists and secularists for their attachment to 19th century ideas, comparing belief in them to insistence on traveling by stagecoach. Similarly, Opus Dei has become associated with the improvement of Catholic university education, especially schooling in management, in Latin America as well as in Spain....

I do not believe the transformation of the Muslim world in a democratic direction can be achieved through compulsory secularization. Opus Dei showed in Spain that a modern and prosperous society, which would become the seedbed of legitimacy and stability, could be constructed without surrendering the essential values of traditional and conservative religiosity. I believe that is what moderate Muslims seek today; it is perhaps no paradox that a useful example for participants in this effort should come from Spain, the West European country with the most authentic and resilient Muslim heritage. The rest of Europe learning from Spain is old news; but for those with influence in London, no less than Washington, Spanish spirituality, in its Islamic, Jewish, and Christian forms, as well as the cries of pain from Madrid last year, offer significant lessons.