Saida Manoubia, Tunisia’s only female Sufi saint, attracts followers

Tunis - A few kilometres from the old city of Tunis, the shrine of Saida Man­oubia rests on a hill overlooking the west­ern part of the Tunisian capital. The shrine is the home of Tunisia’s only female Sufi saint, Saida Man­oubia or Lella Manoubia. 
The Shrine of Saida Manoubia has special significance for Tuni­sian women, who constitute the majority of the hundreds of visitors seeking blessings and the soothing peace of the shrine. 
In 2012, the shrine was burned by radical Salafists sparking outrage among the many Tunisians who venerate the place. The shrine, which dates to the 13th century, is open again to visitors. 
“The shrine is of a unique impor­tance for many Tunisians who con­sider Saida Manoubia, a mother figure to her followers, to be one of the four saints believed to be overseeing and guarding the city of Tunis,” said Lotfi Aissa, a Tunisian historian. 
Many women go to the shrine to participate in religious chant­ing circles and to write their names on the walls asking for Saida Man­oubia’s blessing. Poor and home­less women find refuge in the chambers of the shrine, which are always open to the public. Sufi dance and rituals are performed there by the shrine’s female Sufi order on Mondays. 
“Lella Manoubia was a saint who paid special attention to women in her community. She was known for being generous by lending them a helping hand. She would provide poor women with jobs, help wid­ows financially,” said Saida Belray­en, a member of the quranic asso­ciation of Saida Manoubia. 
A number of Tunisians consider Saida Manoubia a revolutionary woman who defied tradition to be­come a leading religious figure of her community in the 12th century. 
Born in 1180 to a conservative ru­ral family, Saida Manoubia, whose real name was Aisha Manoubia, was given a religious education by her father. She showed exceptional competence in learning and an unusual interest in spirituality for which she was treated with suspi­cion among villagers. 
She attended the circles of Abul Hassan al-Chadli, an influential Sufi who became her spiritual mentor. 
“The father of Saida Manoubia is an important character as he ad­heres to the profile of a religious man steeped in theology. Was he conservative or not? We are not to judge. We can say his relationship with his daughter is quite interest­ing as he encouraged her to pursue education at the time when patri­archy prohibited women from get­ting such an education,” Aissa ex­plained. 
Saida Manoubia’s education was controversial, especially that it in­volved a field of study — religion and Sufism — restricted to men. She left her hometown seeking a sanctuary to devote her time to meditation and settled in Tunis. 
Saida Manoubia taught Islamic studies and Sufism in the circles of her mentor Abul Hassan al-Chadli. She was the first woman to have access to such religious circles and she brought in women from urban and rural areas. She died in 1267. 
After her death, her house in the western suburbs of Tunis became a mausoleum displaying unique architecture of the Andalusian era. The Shrine of Saida Manoubia was venerated by influential families of Tunis. The Beys of Tunis visited it on religious occasions.