Wednesday, February 28, 2007

I will meet you there

by Derek Beres - Pop - Chicago, IL, U.S.A.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about. Ideas, language, even the phrase each other doesn’t make any sense.
—Rumi, from The Essential Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks

The Sufi poet formerly known as Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi is celebrating 800 years, and the entire spectrum of Persian culture is throwing a party.
Thanks to a former University of Georgia poetry/creative writing professor with a penchant for Sufism, the name Rumi went from an esoteric otherworldly moniker to common parlance in America.

Coleman Barks began studying this small sect of Islam in 1977 and has since translated thousands of the famous poet’s works into English. And considering the man formerly known as Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi is celebrating a rather special anniversary—800 years young—the entire spectrum of Persian culture is throwing a party.

Born in what is now a region in Afghanistan and passing on in Turkey, Rumi’s name alone has become synonymous with a region often looked upon with misunderstanding and scorn.
Considering that major media outlets look at this area as an addendum to and co-conspirators with a country Americans are at war with, the propagation of a poet whose entire career was about the bonding forces of humanity is a timely, and important, occurrence.
(...)
The lasting power of Rumi’s legacy has been through his words used as lyrics for qawwali and ghazal song forms.

Setar player and vocalist Haale, on her two latest EP releases, Paratrooper and Morning (both self-released), works the words of Rumi and Hafiz into a panoramic blend of luscious rock, heady bass, and brilliantly produced rhythms.

She began feeding her lifelong love of Persian poetry by translating them from Farsi into English for magazines like Rattapallax, and continues to spread this song form to American ears.

“He’s been a sort of towering, mythical figure in my mind since I was a kid,” she says. “In the ‘90s I got to witness the Rumi explosion in America, when he really got into the mainstream via Coleman Barks’s translations and the Bill Moyers show. Suddenly he was everywhere.
I started translating him myself, singing his lyrics in Persian. Traditional Sufi music is a tool to put listeners and players into a trance state, to usher them into higher states of consciousness. This is a deep, powerful way to conceive of music.”

Since his remarkable life began, Rumi’s influence has spread widely. The ceremony of the Whirling Dervishes, one of the main vocations of Sufis worldwide, owes its credit to a young scribe in love with life, wine, and his teacher Shams.

Eight-hundred years later, he continues to remind us that between perception and reality is a great distance, and if we can find it within ourselves to close that gap, an entire new world can appear.

Churches and Sufis in Defence of Human Rights

From the Latin American Press
Iglesias en defensa de los Derechos Humanos
By Octavio Velez Ascencio
Noticias: Voz y Imagan de Oaxaca
Friday, 9th February, 2007
The Mennonite, Baptist, Presbyterian, and Catholic churches have initiated a campaign to collect funds to pay for the legal defence of political prisoners of conscience detained by the Federal Preventative Police (PFP). Maria de Lourdes Villagomez Diaz, director of the Center of Ecumenical Studies, says that the collection is in response to the urgent situation in the organization and the need to generate support for the work of several human rights organizations, national and international, on behalf of those imprisoned in maximum security units and state prisons. To this end the churches have joined with the Cuáqueros community in Mexico and the Sufi-Islam congregation of Mexico who themselves proposed the strengthening of such actions with expressions of solidarity such as the collection of funds.

Sufi Islam as a means against extremism

From the German press: Sufi-Islam als Mittel gegen Extremismus
by Beat Stauffer, NZZ Online Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 12th February, 2007

North Africa reflects on the role of its Sufi brotherhoods
Sufi orders have played a big role in the history of the Maghrib. Whereas in recent times they have been seen as a limitation to development in Tunisia and Algeria, Moroccan politics gives them an ever greater importance. Politicians are discovering Sufism as a means against religious extremism.
The career of the young Régis who grew up in the suburbs of Paris and Strasbourg and who is the best known rapper in France today is anything but typical. Dealing in drugs as a youth he converted to Islam at the age of 16 and changed his name to ‘Abd al-Malik. Later he felt more drawn to Sufism. He explains that reading the works of Al-Ghazali was pivotal in his decision and today the 31 year old musician, who also has a degree in philosophy, lives in Morocco and belongs to the Boutchichiya Order, the most significant order in the country and led by the spiritual head, Sidi Hamza.
Politicians on both sides of the Mediterranean must have noticed Regis’ career with interest. Could it be that traditional Sufism offers a way for the young, marginalized young men of European suburbs to find a positive direction in their lives and might it be possible that the Sufi Orders could successfully prevent frustrated young Muslims - in the Maghrib as well as in Europe – from joining radical Islamist groups?

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Sama: an Angels' trick

[From the French language press:]

Le Sama dans le soufisme se réfère à l'audition spirituelle. Le Sama est pratiqué lors des soirées des confréries soufies, selon les cas, accompagné ou non d'instruments musicaux.

Al Bayane - Casablanca, Maroc - Vendredi, Février 9, 2007

Sama in Sufism refers to spiritual hearing. Sama is practised at the time of the evening's meetings of the Sufis brotherhoods, according to the cases, accompanied or not by musical instruments.

Ethnomusicologist Jean During, in his book on mystical hearing, says: “First musical Sama is ascribed to the Angels who managed by this stratagem to capture the ecstatic soul of Adam and to lock it up in the body. The inversion of this myth is that the music can also make it possible for the soul of the mystic to escape from the body and to free itself from the contingencies of time and space".

Sufis, Saints and Poets connect Pakistan and Turkey

By Pub - Associated Press of Pakistan - Islamabad, Pakistan
Monday, February 26, 2007

Pakistan Muslim League Secretary General Mushahid Hussain Sayed Monday said Maulana Rumi still serves as an intellectual connection between Islam and the West.

Addressing a ceremony held in connection with the 800th birth anniversary of Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi, he said writings of Maulana Rumi are considered one of the most popular intellectual pieces even in the Western countries.

Mushahid said sufis, saints and poets in Pakistan and Turkey created an intellectual and historical connection between the peoples of both the countries.

He said there is a symbolic grave of Allama Muhammad Iqbal adjacent to the tomb of Maulana Rumi, which was a symbol of great love.

The PML secretary general said the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organisation has declared 2007 as a year of Rumi, adding that Pakistan Sufi Council and Sufi Forum will organize mega events and conferences to pay homage to this great sufi poet.

Mushahid said songs based on the poetry of Allama Iqbal will be available on CDs to promote the true message of love, brotherhood, tolerance and peaceful co-existence.
He said an international conference will also be organised on April 21 this year to hold a dialogue on civilizations in the light of the teachings of Allama Iqbal.

A Pakistan delegation will attend an international conference to be held on May 3-7 in Istanbul to show love and affection Pakistani people have for great sufi poet Maulana Rumi, he said.

Mushahid said Pakistan and Turkey shared common social, cultural and religious values, adding, word ‘Urdu is itself a Turkish word and one of the main roads was named after the name of Kamal Attaturk.

Director General, Ministry of Culture, Turkey, Erjan Uslo said Pakistan and Turkey has an effective people-to-people contact based on love and affection for each other.

Mayor of Konia Usman Gurbaz said the bilateral relations between Pakistan and Turkey is one of the rare examples ever seen in the history of world.

Director, Institute of History and Culture, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Prof. Dr. Riaz Ahmad said Pakistan is a land of sufis and so is Turkey where message of love and tolerance was spread by great sufi poets.

Chairman of Rumi Forum Haroon Arkan said Pakistan is a country which is close to the heart of Turkish people and both countries enjoy wide-ranging bilateral relations.

Dr. Ghazanfar Mehdi said sufi saints projected true image of Islam all over the world and disseminated a message of love, togetherness and brotherhood among all the people irrespective of race and religion.

Dr. Inan Muhammad, an educationist, said Pakistan and Turkey always extended support to each other at any point of critical time and sufi saints and poets brought the people of both the countries closer to each other.
[picture: Allama Muhammad Iqbal http://www.allamaiqbal.com/]

A 16th century Sufi poet

By Swati A. Piramal - Business Standard - New Delhi, India
Tuesday, February 27, 2007

I am an avid reader and have been inspired by many books. But of the multitude, two books in particular stand out: the Padumawati of Malik Muhammad Jaisi , a 16th century Sufi poet, and the Bhagawad Gita.

Padumawati is a historical romance between Ratnasen and Padumawati, who are identified as the symbol of union between the soul and God. In the book, Jaisi defines the perfect woman.

While most writers of his time spoke of ethics for the perfect man, he painted the picture of the perfect woman, her beauty, her strength and wisdom, all of which is inspiring.

Most Persian writers of the time looked at a way of life removed from dogma, promoting the concept of a universal religion, which I find very interesting.

THE PADUMAWATI OF MALIK MUHAMMAD JAISIEdited by: G. A. Grierson and Mahamahopadhyaya Sudhakara DvivediPublisher: CosmoPrice: Rs 1,200ISBN: 8130701073

Monday, February 26, 2007

Hacivat and Karagöz

By Kathy Hamilton - Today's Zaman - Istanbul, Turkey
Monday, February 26, 2007

Turkey is a country rich with legends of saints and heroes. One of my favorite stories is the origin of the shadow puppets Hacivat and Karagöz.

These figures, famous throughout the country, represent the common man, with all his fallibilities, in a comical yet educational way. However, many people do not know that they were real people with an interesting history.

When Bursa was still the capital of the Ottoman Empire, Sultan Orhan Gazi (1323-59) decided to have a new mosque built. Traditionally, before a mosque is erected a hamam (bathhouse) is built first so the workers can bathe every day before beginning work. However, for some reason the hamam was omitted from the plans of this new mosque.

This worried local Sufi Sheikh Kusteri, who did not want to directly confront the Sultan to tell him of the oversight. Instead, the Sheikh sent two of his pupils, Hacivat and Karagöz, to the construction site with orders to disrupt the work. He promised them that by following his orders their names would live forever.

The two men began going to the site every day and entertained the other workers with jokes and pranks. As a result, work fell far behind schedule.

The Sultan heard of the delays and came to find out what was causing the problem. When he saw the two workers playing around rather than working he became enraged and had them executed immediately. But the other workers missed the entertaining pair so much that work still did not progress as planned.

Several nights after the execution of Hacivat and Karagöz, Sheikh Kusteri was invited to dinner with the Sultan, who was unaware of the connection between the pranksters and the Sheikh.

After dinner, the Sheikh asked if he could give a little puppet show to entertain the Sultan. He then pulled out two puppets made from camel skin in the likeness of the two jokesters. Using the puppets, he proceeded to tell the entire story.

The Sultan was embarrassed and ashamed of his oversight and overreaction and ordered that the hamam be built before any other work took place. Moreover, the Sheikh was indeed right that the names of Hacivat and Karagöz would live on.

"Verse is the Soul of Sufi music"

By Sanjeev Chopra - Express India - Chandigarh, India
Sunday, February 25, 2007

From Patiala: With sufi singer Barkat Sidhu and a captivating light and sound show on the martyrdom of Guru Arjun Dev, the penultimate evening of the Patiala Heritage Festival at the Old Moti Bagh Palace was an evening with a difference.

A custodian of precious Sufi compositions, which have been handed down to him by his music teachers, Sidhu brought out the best in the genre. Although trained in classical music, his concert was a light classical one and was easy to follow.

It was made enjoyable by the fact that Sidhu chose his songs with care. His concert was more about richness of lyrics than about the richness of music. He said, “Verse is the soul of Sufi music. A melody that is inspired by lyrics always has a deeper impact than a melody composed simply to fill in time".

"Sufi masters have spoken of the mundane issues of life with such philosophical edge that they start to sound deep and significant. We can never think of how the Sufi poets thought .”

During his one hour concert, Sidhu presented three captivating songs, which underlined the worth of basic human values like love, trust and dependence on God.

Sunday, February 25, 2007

They should stick to what they are singing

The Hindu - Ludhiana, India
Saturday, February 24, 2007

Zila Khan, a sufi singer and daughter of legendary sitar maestro Vilayat Khan, today asked the upcoming pop singers not to sell their music albums by labeling them as 'sufi-pop' since 'sufiana' is altogether different type of music from others.

"The new singers just use one line of 'sufiana' music in their pop songs and try to sell them by giving them a tag of sufi-pop which is not a right thing to do. They should stick to what they are singing rather than mixing their songs with 'sufiana' style," Khan said while addressing the media persons in Ludhiana today.

Khan, who is the 7th generation of an unbroken line in 'Gharana' style, likes to sing authentic and oldest forms of 'sufiana' music during her performances in order to protect the age-old tradition from fading away.

Zila will also soon start a scholarship for encouraging young generation to learn classical music. "I do not really have the time to start an institution for classical music but I will surely start a scholarship for young people to learn 'Sitar'," she said.

[picture: Sitar, new, on sale at ebay-de]

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Under the shade of a Sufi: Shaykh Yacouba Sylla

[From the French language press]:

" A l'ombre d'un Soufi " est un livre-témoignage qui retrace le parcours spirituel du Cheikh Yacouba Sylla.

Son auteur, Ahmadou Yacouba Sylla, à travers cet ouvrage met en exergue la foi musulmane, voire soufiste de son père.

Reseau Ivoire, Côte d'Ivoire - Mercredi 10 Janvier, 2007
“Under the shade of a Sufi” is a book-testimony which recalls the spiritual journey of the Shaykh Yacouba Sylla. Its author Ahmadou Yacouba Sylla through this work highlights the Moslem, Sufi faith of his father.

It is a biography of the great Shaykh Yacouba Sylla, follower of Hamallisme Sufism, and is, at the same time, an autobiography of the author himself and a book of history -colonial, post colonial and contemporary- of Ivory Coast and Africa.

From page 51: "One day of the year 1974, Yacouba Sylla was questioned by researchers and historians. He answered them: I am not a muqaddam… I do not have any other rank but that of a slave devoted and submitted to Shaykh Hamahoullah…"

"You want to know my life, my capacity? You will have them in the community of men and women of more than eleven nationality who live disciplined in an order which generated the Total Islamic Man".

Ahmadou Yacouba SyllaA l'ombre d'un SoufiEditions Valesse

In memory of Shaykh Mohammad Masoum

By Rauf Naqishbendi - Kurdish Media - UK
Thursday, February 22, 2007

Naqshbandiyah which has been the most influential and wide-spread order in Sufism’s (Tasawwof) long history is named after Khawjah Baha al-Din Muhammad Naqshband. Naqshbandiyah’s spirtual leadership rendered a significant transition from Shah “Abd Allah” Dehlawi to one of his splendid foreign disciples, Shaykh Mawlana Khalid Kurdi, and subsequently to the great Shaykh Otman Serajaddin and later to his son Shaykh Omar Zia’addin, in Kurdistan of Iraq.

It was Shaykh Omar Zia’addin who founded the famous Madrassa (school) of Biara. This in turn transformed Biara into a gigantic fountain of spiritual wisdom flowing to the neighboring region. Since then, three generations of descendants with their utmost discipline have granted miraculous growth within Kurdistan and beyond, leaving no corner of the Moslem World untouched.

Millions of faithful followers have found spiritual comfort in this order not for the inducement to perform Karamat( extraordinary feat similar to miracle), but for the elation of the soul through the adherence to the true essence of teachings of Quran and close following of true Islamic principles (Sharia and Sunnah). The success and world-wide endorsement of the Naqshbandi order were engendered by their revival of the essence of Islam with an emphasis on the rules of Sharia.

Naqshbandi leaders have been spiritual guides to many, providing much needed hope to the hopeless, comfort to the troubled and kindness to the desolate. They fed the hungry, sheltered the homeless and gave medicine to the sick; they were emphatic about inclusion, implying that no one should be forsaken. They possessed nothing of their own. When these elders were redeemed, there was very little wealth to be bequeathed to their descendants, yet they left great respectability and the admiration of their followers to perpetuate and enshrine their names thereafter.

Shaykh Mohammad Masoum, the grandson of Shaykh Omar Zia’addin and the last of this spiritual lineage, was born in Biara. He studied the Islamic sciences under the supervision of the most distinguished scholars of his time. Upon the completion of his studies, he was granted a “Certificate of Muddarres of Islamic Sciences” in 1942.

Shaykh Masoum Naqshbandi left this world a short time ago at the age of ninety two, leaving his loved ones and his followers with a vacant seat that cannot be filled. He was living in Iran, in the small town of Mahabad in the western part of the country. He was not a politician but a spiritual figure, as his forefathers were, and he trod in their path faithfully.

In 1991, Shaykh Masoum migrated to the United States where as an esteemed spiritual guide he continued to inspire, educate, and inform people about the universal message of Islam. Advanced in age, he continued in the path of his sainted life, very frustrated by what his country, Kurdistan, and his people had become.

Although illness had limited his public appearances during his final years in the United States, it did not prevent him from continuing his mission. Serving as a genuine source of guidance to many renowned Islamic scholars, he continued to comment with great insight on projected scholarly issues, reflecting his depth of spiritual wisdom.

When I last saw him, he expressed his profound desire to be buried amongst his forefathers upon his redemption. Thanks are due to his children, as they accommodated for his final resting place in the serenity of the crowd of his beloved ones.

Barrett seeks Islam’s ‘Soul’

By Jessica A. Berger - The Harvard Crimson - Cambridge, MA, U.S.A.
Thursday, February 22, 2007

I wouldn’t call myself an avid reader of non-fiction, and judging by the title, I wasn’t expecting Paul M. Barrett’s “American Islam: The Struggle for the Soul of a Religion” to be a page turner. Not wanting to be a clichéd judger of book covers, I opened Barrett’s book—but with less than a healthy dose of enthusiasm. I’m not afraid to admit when I’m wrong.

Though not without its share of flaws, “American Islam” is a masterfully written and insightful examination of an increasingly important and growing group about which most Americans are not particularly well informed. Rather than scripting a manifesto proposing a way to cure the titular “struggle,” which would have been dull and ineffective, Barrett takes the approach of introducing his audience to genuine American Muslims.

Each of the seven chapters describes a person who epitomizes a facet of Muslim life in America. Barrett introduces each one masterfully: his publisher, scholar, imam, feminist, mystic, webmaster, and activist are lifted off the page. Each chapter’s title is a generalized description of one of the characters (such as “The Publisher”), which risks presenting them as archetypes instead of real people.

How could a chapter entitled “The Scholar” capture the life of a man by reducing him to one label and all of its connotations? But after reading the chapter, the wisdom of Barrett’s minimalist chapter headings becomes clear.

By introducing Khaled Abou El Fadl to the world as “The Scholar,” Barrett strives to illuminate the role of the scholarly Muslim in American society. The chapter does not even begin with Abou El Fadl’s own name. It starts with an anecdote about an Asian American convert to Islam named Grace Song. Disillusioned with her new religion, she listens to some of Abou El Fadl’s writings on tape while driving in her car and feels her faith restored on an intellectual level.

A connection is made and they eventually meet and marry. Rather than opening the chapter with a laundry list of “The Scholar’s” academic accomplishments, Barrett showcases the emotional impact of a scholarly approach to Islam and its potential to broaden the religion’s appeal. Abou El Fadl instantly becomes a character far more complex than his title suggests.

(...)

While reading about each character individually is enjoyable, and while the information about mystic Sufism is especially intriguing, Barrett’s message would have been stronger if the characters were more in dialogue with one another.

Outside the realm of Barrett’s book, in the life of real American Muslims, West Virginia feminists can also be interested in national politics and California mystics in Islamic intellect. The American Muslim collective is diverse, as demonstrated by Barrett’s seven categories, but some elements of each category can surely be found in each American Muslim, and this reality does not come across.

Still, Barrett’s reflections on the fissures that exist between American Muslims—important issues of Shiite versus Sunni, blame for Sept. 11, degrees of orthodoxy, gender, and race—even as they fight for unity are both necessary and insightful.

Despite its shortcomings, “American Islam” provides a much-needed look into the lives of a burgeoning but too often overlooked sector of the American population.

[See also: http://sufinews.blogspot.com/search?q=Barrett]

Sufi or not Sufi?

By Walter Tunis - Kentucky Com - Lexington, KY, U.S.A.
Friday, February 23, 2007

The Whirling Dervishes of Rumi at the Singletary Center: Sufi or not Sufi? That was the question facing an unexpectedly packed Singletary concert hall as a two-hour program devoted to the Sema Ritual, or the Whirling Dervishes, was put into motion.

More a spiritual ceremony than an actual performance, the program was divided into sections of live Turkish Sufi music performed by a vocalist and instrumental trio (playing wooden flute, the lute-like oud and a hand-held qanun, which was akin to an autoharp but with far greater range) and a half-hour segment in which the Dervishes -- adorned in skirt-like robes and cylindrical hats -- revolved with almost eerie, incantatory calm.

Attempting to explain the depth of the Sufi inspirations in this ceremony would certainly do its history and faith injustice. But viewed from the perspective of a curious outsider unacquainted with the teachings of the 13th-century poet Rumi, who remains a defining spiritual influence for the Whirling Dervishes, the program was a generous glimpse into another culture.

A brief film provided some insight, such as that much Sufi music takes its cue from flute improvisations. But to these very Western ears, it sounded very composed and just as reliant on the percussive textures of the oud.

Fascinating as this sort of minimalist ceremony was, the trance-like state of the four spinning Dervishes (a fifth quietly collapsed early into the dance, a move that seemed altogether unplanned) probably held a greater meditative sway for those onstage than for those watching.

Friday, February 23, 2007

“A Saint in the City: Sufi Arts of Urban Senegal”

Lawrence Journal World - Lawrence, KS, U.S.A.
Thursday, February 22, 2007

The image of Amadou Bamba is a constant reminder to residents of Dakar, the capital of Senegal.

The mystic sheik lived from 1853 to 1927 but remains the center for the Sufi movement of Islam known as the Mouride Way. Now, artwork of Bamba is found nearly everywhere in Dakar — on doors, buses, trinkets, T-shirts and murals.

Starting tonight [Thu. 22], that artwork also can be found at the Spencer Museum of Art at Kansas University. The museum opens “A Saint in the City: Sufi Arts of Urban Senegal,” a large, traveling exhibit of artwork from Dakar that was curated by the Fowler Museum of Cultural History at the University of California-Los Angeles.
The exhibit, which includes murals and signs, glass paintings, healing verses written in calligraphy, textiles and paintings, runs through May 20.

Bamba was an advocate for peace and hard work, and he was exiled because of views against French colonialism. He later returned from exile, which was extremely rare in Senegal.

“A Saint in the City” is the focus of this week’s Pulse Podcast, as well as an accompanying video version, both available Friday at www.ljworld.com . Gitti Salami, an assistant professor of art history and of African and African-American studies, explains the significance behind the artwork of Bamba.

For more information about events tied to the exhibit, visit www.spencerart.ku.edu.

Association Ahla El Kalam

[From the French language press]:

L’objectif du club, qui comprend plusieurs adhérents, se veut un pont indissociable entre les compositeurs poètes et les interprètes de chaâbi, de jeunes talents désireux de porter en musique le verbe ourlé et raffiné en prose ou en vers.

El Watan, Algeria - Jeudi, Février 8, 2007 - par Madjid Tchoubane

The association Ahla El Kalam, which includes several members, wants to be an indissociable bridge between the poets and the interpreters of chaâbi [traditional Arab-Andalusian music], young talents eager to translate in music the hemmed and refined verb -be it in prose or verse.

The association, which organized three conferences during the year 2006 around Sufism, literature and popular poetry, intends to multiply the altogether edifying meetings, and this, through poetry recitals, with like major objective: to build a writing whose concern is to raise the level of the texts carried in music by voices of chaâbi.

Young people from Tehran

[From the Italian language press]:
Chador e tagli Punk, feste clandestine e preghiere del venerdì, musica rock e misticismo religioso, poesia Sufi e blog su Internet, disoccupazione e voglia di fuggire all'estero.
Roma One, Rome (Italy) -Lunedì 5 febbraio 2007 - redazione

Chador and Punk haircuts, clandestine parties and Friday prayers, rock music and religious misticism, Sufi poetry and blogs on Internet, unemployment and want to escape abroad.

This is the portrait of the young people of Tehran in the book of Antonello Sacchetti who aims to describe a country, Iran, about which “too often nonsense is spoken ”.

“Iran is a more modern and lay country than can be thought - the author tells - 70% of the population have less than 30 years, the computer science schooling and the quality of the internet connection are incredible. We know little of them, but they know a lot about us”.

Antonello Sacchetti
Ragazzi di Teheran
edizioni Infinito, €10.00

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Trees are sacred: message of Sufi shrine miracle

By IANS/RxPG News - CA, U.S.A.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007

When woodcutters began felling a tree inside the compound of a Sufi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir last week, they were surprised to find 'impressions of Quranic verses' on the wood.

It was divine intervention against cutting of trees!

Or so many Kashmiris are beginning to believe after visiting Sufi saint Syed Shah Farid-ud-Din's shrine in Achu Gudool village in Kokernag, 72 km from Srinagar.

Hundreds of people are flocking to the south Kashmir site where the saint, originally from the Kishtwar sub-district of the Jammu region, is buried.

Besides the Quranic verses, the pieces of wood from the age-old willow tree felled were also said to carry impressions of a skull cap, a lamp and a prayer mat.

Last week the managing committee of the Sufi shrine decided to fell some willow trees inside the shrine compound. But when woodcutters felled the first willow, they were stunned by what appeared inside.'As the woodcutter chopped the wood into four pieces he was stunned.

On one piece of wood were written verses of the holy Quran. On the second piece there was the impression of a prayer mat used by devout Muslims to offer the namaz,' said Muhammad Amin, the contractor entrusted with the duty of felling the trees.'The third piece bore the impressions of a skull cap worn at the time of the namaz and the fourth piece bore the impressions of an oil lamp which visitors light at the shrine.'

Immediately after the discovery of the miracle impressions, the shrine committee members stopped the tree felling work.As penance for ordering the tree felling, they removed the pieces of the felled willow tree to a compound in the shrine. And visitors have been thronging to see the miracle impressions.'

Hundreds of believers are now visiting the shrine daily to see for themselves the miracle impressions. It is clearly a message for all of us. The saint does not approve of any tree felling,' said Ali Muhammad, 49, a resident of the village.

Kashmir has seen the indiscriminate felling of trees in the last two decades.

A path towards peace: seminar by Pak Sufi Council

by Pub - APP Associated Press of Pakistan - Islamabad, Pakistan
Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Addressing a seminar on Sufism organised by Pakistan Sufi Council in collaboration with the National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research in Islamabad, Pakistan Muslim League Secretary General Mushahid Hussain Syed said there are no boundaries for love and learning that provide a path towards peace and harmony in the world.

Mushahid said key to change is what is in one's heart for other human beings because "without purifying ourselves we cannot come up as a good human being."

Arrogance is the core of all evils and one of the basic reasons for war and confrontation across the world, Mushahid said, adding that concerted efforts are needed to promote justice and generosity globally. Mushahid said there are 800 million Muslims in South Asia and message of Islam was spread in this region by saints who came here from other regions.

He said there are also a large number of non-Muslim followers of Khwaja Ajmair Sharif who contributed a lot to promote love and harmony in the region.

Shaikh Abdullah Nooruddin Durkee, an eminent US-based scholar, said peace, justice, mercy, love and freedom form the basis a peaceful society where everyone can live in harmony.
He said lack of justice in unipolar world led to confrontation and disappointment; so such actions are needed that are helpful and beneficial to all human beings.

Love is "a free gift" of God and it must be promoted at every level that can also enhance inter-faith harmony all over the world, he said.

He said, "There is no peace without justice; and there is no justice without mercy; and there is no mercy without love."

Noora Durkee, wife of Shaikh Nooruddin Durkee, said every one is equal in the eyes of God, so every one has equal rights and status. She said all efforts should aim at spreading message of love for the overall benefit of the mankind.
Others who spoke on the occasion included Amar Rashid, Dr. Riaz Ahmad and Dr. Ghazanfar Mehdi.
They said Sufis saints who arrived in this region greatly influenced the minds of the people and spread the message of Islam in every nook and corner.

It can’t happen here

By William B. Milam - Daily Times - Lahore, Pakistan
Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Governments which aim for a high degree of political organisation without real democracy, sometimes discredit and/or marginalise the civilian parties because these parties are the opposition they fear. This leaves only the Islamist parties as the legitimate opposition.

Sinclair Lewis, the great American novelist of the 1920s and 30s, is almost forgotten today, despite winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1930. He was the first American novelist to win that great honour, which was based on his series of novels which took a very dark view of American society.
Over those years, his most famous books—Main Street, Babbit, Elmer Gantry, Kingsblood Royal, and Cass Timberlane—were banned in various US cities, states or regions for their unsympathetic portrayal of aspects of American capitalist and/or social values. Lewis’s writings were perhaps best epitomised by the quotation, “I love America, but I don’t like it,” a sentiment that many seem to share these days.

Lewis’s last great novel, It Can’t Happen Here, published in 1935, was a political satire about the election of a fascist as US President. A man of his time (the 20s and 30s), Lewis wrote it as satire but meant it as a warning that fascist political movements, such as Nazism, could come to power in the US if the American people blindly support their leaders.

That this book has inspired some variants in the last six years is not surprising. Blind support of any government anywhere is less and less likely these days, I suspect. Nonetheless, I think of the Lewis book occasionally because it still says something about the willingness of people everywhere to ignore facts and stick to national myths long after they should have been abandoned.

This is certainly true in the two countries of South Asia that I write about. Lewis’s book comes to mind when I consider the almost unseen growth of Islamism in Bangladesh. This first became apparent to the naked eye in August 2005, when an extremist Islamist group which called itself the Jamat ul Mujihadeen Bangladesh (JMB) announced its presence in Bangladesh by setting off about 400 bombs simultaneously.

After this introductory episode which served to attract attention to itself, the JMB announced that it would target the Bangladeshi judiciary for applying secular law instead of Shariat. It killed at least one judge in the subsequent campaign against the courts.

The reaction of the Bangladesh government and much of the Bangladeshi political class to the 400 bombings in August echoed Lewis’s title, It can’t happen here. There was much fumbling and name-calling, as each party tried to blame the bombings on the other, while the establishment denied that an ‘Islamist’ problem couldn’t possibly exist in a Bangladesh celebrated for its tolerance and Sufi tradition.

This state of denial was interrupted, however, by the subsequent bombing campaign against the judiciary. The coalition BNP/JI government of the time went from denial of the problem to an all-out campaign against the JMB. It succeeded in running many JMB leaders to ground and trying them for terrorism. Several are now on death row awaiting execution.

Yet it is naïve to believe that the JMB is finished, or that there are no other similar organisations just lying low until the government’s attention shifts elsewhere.

Islamist influence has grown almost geometrically in Bangladesh in the past decade.
The primacy that mystic, syncretic Sufism had in the religious discourse of the country has disappeared over this time.

Instead a harder-line discourse has appeared, one which is manifest in growing discrimination of minorities, especially Hindus and perceived apostates such as Ahmedis, and a steady rise in violence against secular elements and against individuals, especially women, who are perceived to have violated the strict Islamist social codes.

This growth is the result of a number of things. It began about 30 years ago when ZiaurRahman reached out to the Islamists to build the BNP. In his campaign to make Bangladesh a two-party state, he created an alternate vision of the nation to the primordial one, based on language and culture, which the Awami League had incorporated into the constitution.

Zia based his coherent, conservative national vision on territory and religion. Muhammed Ershad, during his eight years as military ruler continued to open up the political process to the Islamist political parties. The zero-sum-game political culture of Bangladesh has greatly added to this growth. The two major parties have not only been open to, but have aggressively pursued, political alliances with Islamist parties for a few extra votes.

It comes also from the dysfunctional governance of both parties when they have been in power, the rapid growth of madrassas of a hard-line nature, and the millions of economic migrants back from the gulf imbued with a more conservative mindset.

Islamist parties have gone from being reviled just after separation from Pakistan (for supporting the Pakistani cause) to almost-equal partners in the most recent government. They have become an accepted part of the governing structure—almost a preferred part given their reputation for competence and incorruptibility—despite their clear aim to restructure society to reflect their scripturalist agenda, which is certainly in conflict with the tolerant, mystic Sufi tradition of the Bangladesh past.

In Pakistan, Islamists have also forged ahead in the past 30 years. Faustian bargains between the military governments and the Islamists remain a staple of political life. Nor have civilian political parties been immune to this, whether in power in their own right or as part of a military/civilian hybrid government.

Since Zia ul Haq’s time, with the increased influence of the Wahhabi/Salafist and Deobandi schools of thought, Islamism has seeped into the very bones of the society. As in Bangladesh (perhaps to a greater degree), the religious discourse is now controlled by the Islamist vocabulary. In both countries, Islamism and Islamist political parties appear on the rise.

Is this a permanent feature of political life in the two countries, or will civilian political parties recapture their former primacy? In my view the answer depends on the civilian political parties themselves and on the present governments in Bangladesh and Pakistan. The parties must open themselves up to democratisation and the give-and-take of real democratic discourse in which compromise is a first principle.

The governments, which have something in common right now, should be working with the major parties toward these ends, not marginalising them. The civilian political parties also need to have agendas—political, economic, or development programs they intend to implement — but they need to differentiate themselves from the Islamist parties which intend to bring about changes in the fundamental character of the state or the society.

The Islamist parties begin as fringe parties, but sometimes they are turned into the real opposition when the civilian parties make common cause with them.

Governments which aim for a high degree of political organisation without real democracy, sometimes discredit and/or marginalise the civilian parties because these parties are the opposition they fear.

This leaves only the Islamist parties as the legitimate opposition. This has been the scenario in the Middle East. Can it happen Here—In Muslim South Asia?

William Milam is a former US ambassador to Pakistan and Bangladesh. He is currently at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Islamic scholar calls GW home

By Nadia Sheikh - GW Hatchet - Washington D.C., U.S.A.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Since 1984, one of the world's foremost Islamic scholars has been teaching here at GW. University Professor of Islamic Studies Seyyed Hossein Nasr specializes in Sufism, Islamic philosophy and metaphysics.

Nasr teaches "Islamic Philosophy and Theology" at the undergraduate level as well as a graduate course, "Man and Natural Environment" through GW's Department of Religion.

In 1933, Nasr was born in Tehran, Iran. As a 12-year-old, Nasr came to the United States to study at the Peddie School, a New Jersey boarding school where he graduated in 1950 as valedictorian. Afterward, he went on to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as its first Iranian student and obtained a master's degree in geology and geophysics.

Nasr pursued a doctorate degree in the history of science and philosophy at Harvard, and in 1958, Nasr returned to teach at Tehran University as an associate professor of philosophy.

Though Nasr initially studied sciences, he said he became "very dissatisfied with the modern view of science," which led him to study Islamic science and philosophy.

In 1972, Nasr was appointed president of Sharif University of Technology, formerly known as Aryamehr University or Technology. A year later, Nasr established the Imperial Iranian Academy of Philosophy, which at the time was Iran's premier philosophical institution.

In 1979, Nasr left Iran just before the start of the Iranian Revolution. "I knew there was going to be upheaval," he said. "After my house and property were plundered, I decided it was not possible for me to go back."

Although he has not been to Iran since, Nasr added, "I hope to make a trip (to my home in Iran) soon."

As for his foray into teaching, Nasr explained, "I always have been interested in scholarship and teaching and the question of knowledge.""I try to resuscitate the Islamic traditions (of) ... philosophy, science, Sufism, and I think I've been quite successful in doing that," he remarked.

Associate Professorial Lecturer in Religion Mohammad Faghfoory first met Nasr in 1965, as a student at Tehran University. At that time, Nasr taught an Islamic culture and civilization class, and since then, Nasr has continued to mentor Faghfoory.

Faghfoory described Nasr as "a first-rank teacher, supportive of students, and a trainer of mind and soul ... He is an extremely gifted author and poet, both in English and in Persian, his mother tongue."

He added that Nasr, "has introduced many Islamic intellectuals to the Western world that were totally unknown (here) a generation ago." Nasr said when studying Islam one cannot count out the influences of the Western world. "The Islamic world is going through a period of very great tension and very often contradictory forces. Its destiny is ultimately tied up with the West."

Faghfoory added that Nasr has always been his teacher and a source of his inspiration.
"(Nasr) offers the best kind of education that one can get ... in my view, he is second to none. His books are a constant source of reference for scholars and students alike. His macro-perspective offers many windows before one's eyes in regards to religion, spirituality, tolerance, understanding, patience and love," Faghfoory said.

Faghfoory also said that in all Nasr's writing and lectures he constantly tries to show "the universality of truth, that all men are children of one God."

By doing, Faghfoory said, Nasr "has narrowed the gap that separates East and West."

While previously teaching at the University of Edinburgh, Temple University and now GW, Nasr has also helped shape the Islamic studies programs at Princeton University, the University of Utah and the University of Southern California to reflect what he calls "the point of view of Islam and not just the Western (view of Islam)."

New Sufi Group Joins the Iraqi Insurgency

By Lydia Khalil - The Jamestown Foundation - Washington D.C., U.S.A.
Volume 4, Issue 2 (February 20, 2007)

Late last year, The Jamestown Foundation reported on a new insurgent group comprised of Qadiri Sufi insurgents calling themselves the Battalions of Sheikh 'Abd al-Qadir al-Gilani (Terrorism Focus, September 19, 2006). In September 2006, it was somewhat of an anomaly.

In the early years of the Iraq conflict, Sufi orders refused to participate in the violence, causing militant Salafi groups to attack them in retaliation for not participating or as a means to spark greater sectarian violence. Adherents of Sufi orders were perceived as victims, not perpetrators of violence in Iraq. Many cooperated with coalition troops.

The ranks of Sufi insurgents, however, now appear to be growing. Early this month, another Sufi insurgent group "The Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order" declared itself by posting a video on January 17 of what it claimed to be operations against coalition troops.

(...)

Sufi fighters have similar motivations for joining the insurgency as other components of Iraq's conflict—discrimination, loss of power, status and unemployment, as well as revenge and the suffering of various indecencies such as detentions. In fact, the imam of the Naqshbandi al-Rabat Mosque in Samarra, Sheikh Abaas Fadil, was detained by U.S. forces in March of last year. He was later released, but it was a humiliation for their leader.

Nevertheless, while Sufis may share similar political motivations for joining the insurgency, they do not have the same ideological or religious opposition to the presence of foreign troops and rule by a Shiite majority as do Sunnis. They oppose such circumstances only in so far as they lead to political troubles for their followers. They do not share the same ideological and religious aversion to Shiite rule in Iraq as more religiously motivated Sunnis.

Many Salafi-Jihadis who make up the global Islamist resistance have the same aversion to Sufi strains in Islam as they do Shiism.

The precursor to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's group, Ansar al-Islam, had attacked Sufi shrines and tombs of Naqshbandi orders in Kurdistan. It seems, however, that this may be changing.

This is certainly the case in Iraq where accomplishing military and political victory over the struggling Iraqi government trumps all else. Abu Musab al-Suri, a top al-Qaeda strategist now in custody, has Sufi family origins and has displayed no anti-Sufi sentiments. Other militant Islamic thinkers, such as Abu Azzam al-Ansari, in his work "Al-Qaeda is Moving Towards Africa," published in the no. 7 issue of Sada al-Jihad, writes that "working with Sufis is easier than working with any other trend, such as Shiite or communist."

There could also be circumstantial reasons for why Sufis have joined in with Sunni and Salafi groups in insurgent cooperation. Former Iraqi Vice President Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, widely regarded as one of the principal organizers behind the insurgency, is himself a practicing member of a Sufi order.

A militant branch of the Kasnazani order was involved with al-Duri. It is possible that these connections had something to do with bringing certain Sufi orders into the fold. Even without this personal factor, members of Sufi orders are participating in the Iraq insurgency in increasing numbers.

This is problematic for the country, but it does not mean that Sufis are participating on a significant scale in the worldwide militant Islamic movement, despite the current thinking of some al-Qaeda members on the subject. Even in Iraq, members of Sufi orders have not signed up wholesale. The very group that was associated with al-Duri, the Kasnazani order, is mostly pro-Iraqi government.

The mainstream of the Kasnazani order (which is itself part of the larger Qadiri order) and its leadership is involved in legitimate political activity, such as running a political party and a national newspaper.

The Iraqi government and coalition troops must take steps to ensure that more Sufi orders participate politically rather than violently, since the latter increasingly seems to be the case.

Turkish youth to inform European youth on Mevlana

ANA/ Today's Zaman - Istanbul, Turkey
Wednesday, February 21, 2006

A project on introducing Mevlana -- the founder of a Sufi school of spiritual thought -- and his book "Masnavi" to European youth will be funded by the EU.

The project has been prepared by Group Tolerance, founded by the youth of the Central Anatolian province of Konya.

Speaking to Anatolia news agency, Group Tolerance's founder, Muhsin Çınar, said the group consisting of youth aged 18 to 30, was founded July 2006 and now has 15 members. Emphasizing they are making efforts to promote Turkey better abroad, Çınar said they chose Mevlana and his "Masnavi" as a starting point.

Çınar said they prepared a project for European youth after having their inspiration from the theme of tolerance, the most important value of Mevlana's philosophy.

"Our aim is to promote the Turks to the European youth with Mevlana and his 'Masnavi.'
Therefore, we prepared a project titled 'Come, come whatever you are' to introduce Mevlana and 'Masnavi' to European youth.
The $36,000 project will be funded by the EU, which will give us a financial support of 30,000 euros."

"Come, come whatever you are" will be held in Konya June 22-29.

Çınar said youth coming from Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Spain to the city will be informed on Mevlana and "Masnavi" and the youth will have a chance to get to know the Turks better.

Çınar emphasized the guests will pay visits to the Mevlana Museum as well as to the tourist and historical sites including Çatalhöyük and Klistra: "Thanks to the project, the youth will almost become voluntary messengers of culture for us. They will tell about Mevlana, Konya and Turkey as they return to their country. The administrators of the future will thus get to know us better."

Stressing they aimed to promote different cultures and introducing the Mevlana culture to common groups from different countries, Çınar added: "We believe that when youth are separated, this is an obstacle of culture. This will be overcome by an exchange of culture between them.
We hope prejudices stemming from Islamophobia today will be eradicated by tolerance, which has an important place in Mevlana's teachings."

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Sufism: a "ferryman" across religions and cultures

[From the French language press]: Les 4-èmes rencontres "Printemps de la poésie de Marrakech" auront lieu du 19 au 24 mars prochain dans la cité ocre.
Menara - Marrakech, Maroc - Mardi, 6 Février 2007

The 4th meeting “Spring of the poetry of Marrakech” will take place March 19th through March 24th in the ochre city.

“The Sufism, heart of Islam” is the traveling exhibition which will be held in Marrakech from March 2 to March 22, on the initiative of the Institute of the Arab World. Touring several Moroccan cities (Agadir, Casablanca, Reduction, Kenitra, Fès, Oujda) in the French Centers, this exhibition wants to be an occasion for the presentation of Sufism and the great Masters who marked out its history.

This exhibition draws its importance owing to the fact that Sufism, which "plays the part of a ferryman" across religions and cultures, does not cease attracting a growing number of Westerners.

All about love: a Sufi musical première in Istanbul

Anatolia NA /TZ Staff - Today's Zaman - Istanbul, Turkey
Tuesday, February 20, 2007

"Leyla & Mecnun," from Sufi poet Fuzuli's renowned masnavi (a poetic spiritual work) is due to debut on Feb. 21 with İskender Pala's modern theatrical interpretation, featuring selections from both classical and modern music.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is due to attend the premiere in Istanbul.
The première of the musical tragedy, directed by Ali Taygun, will be staged at the Muhsin Ertuğrul Sahnesi with music composed by Yalçın Tura. Taygun told the Anatolia news agency that they had produced a new form of music by combining Turkish folk dances, Turkish Sufi music, classical music and ballet.

Taygun said they started to prepare for the play in November and that it will feature the biggest cast ever to perform at the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Theaters.
"This musical play features professionals and instruments from traditional and modern styles. This play has a significant characteristic: We met and worked with people of different institutions and worldviews in order to present the language, poetry and philosophy of Fuzuli. This cooperation increased our love and respect for each other because this work is all about love, and it increased love in our hearts. This play combines the old with the modern."

‘Semah and Dhikr both exist in the play’

"The musical aspect is distinct. It has motifs from classical Turkish music and Western classical music, too. They are played as polyphonic but they were all composed in the modes of classical Turkish music. This work is the first of its kind in Turkey and is a big innovation."
Taygun said that more than 40 musicals were going to be performed in the play.

"Instrumental and choral songs will be performed. We created a new form by combining Turkish folk dances, Turkish Sufi music, classical music and ballet. We produced something completely new with their inspiration. We tried to reflect everything in our culture."

"We are presenting a classical text, a work by a Turkish poet who lived shortly before Shakespeare and who is almost totally unknown except for a few quatrains," Taygun said, explaining they were aiming to reintroduce Fuzuli through the play.

Taygun said that the play may be performed abroad: "We cooked the dish and we can't predict who will want to eat it."

"We are going to play it at state theaters for six weeks, until May 1. We have not determined any further program after that. In the summer, we might possibly play in an open-air theater. In addition, we have received many invitations from abroad, but these will be evaluated after the debut".

Taygun's priority is to succeed first in Turkey. "Our main target population is Turkish viewers, but another priority to perform it abroad."

Musical play
The musical tragedy was derived from Fuzuli's Masnavi, written in 1535*.
Its debut is due on Feb. 21 on Muhsin Ertuğrul Sahnesi in Harbiye.
Décor and costumes were designed by Ali Cem Köroğlu, lighting by Önder Baykul, choreography by Pınar Ataer and dramaturgy by Tarık Günersel.

The chorus leader is Gökçen Koray and the orchestra conductor is Erdem Çöloğlu.

A team of 80 professionals includes singers, dancers, theater and ballet professionals and masters of traditional Ottoman theater (meddah).

*[for more about Fuzuli, the Ottoman Poet (d. 1556 A.D.), and his rendering in Azeri Turkish of the classical tale of Lajla and Majnoon, see: http://www.poetry-portal.com/poets22.html]

Monday, February 19, 2007

Kashmiri sings "We Shall Overcome" to heal wounds

By Sheikh Mushtaq - Reuters Alert Net - London, U.K.
Sunday, February 18, 2007

Srinagar, India: Many Kashmiris, weary of separatist violence, remain glued to their television sets when the region's leading singer bursts into the Kashmiri adaptation of the popular U.S. civil rights hymn, "We Shall Overcome."

Shameema Azad, also known as the "nightingale of Kashmir", urges people to unshackle themselves from the region's cycle of violence with the help of music in her music video, "We Shall Overcome".

The Kashmiri language video, regularly telecast on local cable networks, is a hit in the scenic Himalayan region, where tens of thousands of people have been killed since an armed revolt broke out against New Delhi's rule in 1989.

"Vultures have gathered overhead. People have been crushed by oppression. Come, let us resolve this question. We Shall Overcome," croons Shameema in a clear, melodious voice against a backdrop of towering snow-capped peaks and ancient Sufi shrines.

Years of violence between Muslim militants and Indian forces has brought untold misery to India's only Muslim-majority state of Jammu and Kashmir and its people, once part of an easy going society and the heart of Sufi Islam in South Asia.

Shameema, a household name in Kashmir and wife of Jammu and Kashmir state Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, has produced at least three music videos in the past two years, focusing on peace and rebuilding Kashmir.

"Get up fast, panic yet not. We will build the new Kashmir," 52-year-old Shameema sings.
Her fans say her music is a relief from daily gunbattles, killings and security checks by armed soldiers on the streets.

"Shameema has the gift on making you forget everything -- at least for some moments -- and making you sing along with her," said 60-year-old Jana Bibi, a widow whose husband was a retired police officer killed by guerrillas in 2005.

Shameema told Reuters she selected the tune of the U.S. civil rights hymn in the 1960s for her latest video because of its powerful composition and popularity.

Disputed Kashmir, once known as the Switzerland of the East, was one of Asia's main tourist draws before the revolt broke out.
The strife has left nothing untouched in Kashmir, not even Shameema who writes her own lyrics. Her younger brother, Tasaduq Dev, was held hostage for over four months by a Muslim militant group in 1990 before being released and her parents' house has been attacked at least a half-dozen times with rockets and grenades since then.

"Music has power to heal wounds. I am sure it (her albums) will bring a little comfort to my miserable people," Shameema said.

Authorities say the 18-year insurrection in Kashmir has begun to subside since India and Pakistan began a peace process in 2004. Both countries claim divided Kashmir in its entirety.

"Spring will come again. We will be happy once again. We will forget the miserable past. We Shall Overcome," Shameema sings.

Between the Secular State and the Sufi Orders

By Alfred Stepan - Daily Times - Lahore, Pakistan
Monday, February 19, 2007

Whereas the US is willing to spend $147 billion next year in the name of an implausible democracy in Iraq, it refuses to spend any imagination or money to shore up one of the most creative models of peace and democracy in the Islamic world.

That is terrible for Senegal and Africa, as well as for America’s credibility. Senegal, a country whose population is 90 percent Muslim, is one of the Islamic world’s most peaceful and democratic countries.

This tranquillity has been helped by the elaborate ‘rituals of respect’ that have developed between the secular state and the Sufi orders, and the excellent relations between the country’s Muslim majority and the Catholic minority at all levels of society.

The secular state and religious groups have cooperated on AIDS prevention — to the extent AIDS affects only about 1 percent of the population, compared to more than 20 percent in some African countries. The secular state, supported by feminist groups and some trans-national non-governmental organisations, banned female genital mutilation in 1999, without triggering massive Muslim protests.

Mistakenly viewed by some as an example of French laicité, which might be characterised as ‘freedom of the state from religion’, Senegal, although once a French colony, has crafted a very different model of “equal respect and equal support for all religions”. In fact, secularism in Senegal resembles that in India more than anywhere else.

In Senegal, fundamentalist schools, as well as Iranian and Saudi Arabian aid in the education sector, find little space or demand. The Senegalese government spends about 40 percent of the state budget on education and provides free public schooling to almost 85 percent of all primary school age children. By contrast, Pakistan spends just 8 percent and six million primary age children have no public schooling.

Furthermore, since 2003 state schools offer religious instruction (using authorised textbooks that are never Wahhabi in spirit), with the informal approval of secular and Sufi teachers alike. Parents are increasingly sending their sons, and now their daughters, to these tolerant, accredited, and democracy-compatible schools.

Some parents still elect to send their children to private, often Franco-Arabic, schools. However, the Senegalese pattern of state-religious relations allows the government to provide partial funding to such private religious schools. In return, the state inspects such schools regularly.

The only schools the state does not supervise are Quran-based schools, which some parents use as a complement — but seldom a full substitute — for state education. But most of the traditional religious teachers in such schools practice Senegalese rituals of respect, and, in any case, view Saudi Arabian-style schools as alien competitors.

Yet, despite all these positive developments, Senegal’s unusual democracy is imperilled. The reasons have nothing to do with the rise of political Islam, but everything to with poor electoral practices by elected incumbents and international indifference.

The current president, Abdoulaye Wade, who is over 80 years old, is running for re-election on February 25. Wade has substantial international prestige, because he led the final phase of the country’s long democratic transition in 2000. But Wade postponed legislative elections, originally scheduled for June 2006, first to February 2007, and later, by presidential decree, to June 2007.

Two weeks ago there were almost daily discussions about the possibility of the presidential elections being postponed indefinitely. It now appears that there will be a presidential election, but will it be fair? A month before the election, only 64 percent of citizens who had registered had received their voting cards. On January 28, a peaceful but ‘unauthorised’ demonstration by opposition parties was brutally repressed by the police and three presidential candidates were arrested for the day. None of this was shown on television.

In a country with little tradition of political violence, too many mysterious things are happening. An early strong critic of Wade, Talla Sylla, had his face beaten with a hammer. Abdou Latif Coulibaly, the author of two books critical of Wade, received a death threat, as did Alioune Tine, the leader of a main human rights organization, Raddho. So Senegal’s ‘rituals of respect’ may not be holding.

The Bush administration, in bad need of a democratic Muslim ally, wants Wade to fill that bill, and seems to have decided, in the words of one high, but disappointed, US official, to give Wade a ‘pass’. Whereas the US is willing to spend $147 billion next year in the name of an implausible democracy in Iraq, it refuses to spend any imagination or money to shore up one of the most creative models of peace and democracy in the Islamic world.

That is terrible for Senegal and Africa, as well as for America’s credibility. The European Union says that it has been caught unawares by the situation and has not budgeted any funds for election observers to go to Senegal. France, the former colonial ruler — and still a influential force in the country — has been silent. But Senegal’s democracy hangs in the balance.

In the coming weeks, attention by the international press, by international election observers, and by supporters of tolerance around the world could make a critical difference.

Alfred Stepan is the Director of the Centre for Democracy, Tolerance, and Religion at Columbia University
[picture: www.fao.org]

On Sufi music: something behind, and beyond.

By Vidya Shah - Delhi Newsline - ExpressIndia, India
Sunday, February 18, 2007

How much of a gharana is the Dilli Gharana? Vidya Shah -a musician and a rights activist- finds the answers in Mausiqi Manzil in Daryaganj

Central to khayal gayaki, the art music of northern India is the guiding principle of the gharana, a school of music possessing certain stylistic characteristics. The one question that has been raised by many scholars and ethnomusicologists is how much of a gharana is the Dilli Gharana! The reason behind the question: because it did not have a distinct style; because it is associated with tabla and sarangi players as well; “a gharana in familial terms, without a coherent and recognised style of performing khayal.’’

Perhaps the Mausiqi Manzil tucked away in the winding lanes of Daryaganj in old Delhi could put in perspective some of these questions. This is the mansion where music has lived and continues to do so for over 200 years now. The names attached to this institution are many and overwhelming. Mamman Khan (great-grandfather of the current Ustad) taught his many disciples who included legends like Mian Ali Bux Khan (veteran sarangi maestro whose son was the legend Bade Ghulam Ali Khan), and Mohammad Hussain Khan (who was the first Ustad of Begum Akhtar).

It is in this historical space that the current khalifa, or leader, of the Delhi gharana Ustad Iqbal Ahmed Khan was adopted by his maternal grandfather Chand Khan as a child and brought up to head this family of hereditary musicians. Mausiqui Manzil, has thus been his home and classroom for more than four decades.

“Humare yahaan aadmiyon ke naam ghar nahin kiya jaata tha—kahin us chakkar mein gaana bajana band na ho jaaye, ladkiyon ke naam kiya jaata tha, mausiqi ke liye aisi lagan thi!” (In our family tradition, properties were named after the daughters, lest the lure of it takes us away from our music; such was the dedication to music).

Khan Saheb claims that the foundation of his gharana was laid by Hazrat Amir Khusro (1251-1326). ‘‘Hazrat Amir Khusro ne iski buniyad rakhi’’, he says, explaining that his Ustad Chand Khan was related to Mian Saamti Qawwal, a contemporary of Hazrat Amir Khusro. Tracing his ancestry he recalls the names of Mian Hassan Sawant and Mian Buda Kalawant, two brothers among his ancestors who were the court musicians, or darbaaree gavaiyaas, of the emperor Shamsuddin Iltutmish.

While Buda Kalawant continued to serve in the royal courts, Mian Hassan Sawant, whose temperament was inclined towards Sufism, became a disciple of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti (1142-1236 AD) and began singing qawwali, a genre of Indian Muslim religious culture. Khan Saheb says that this has given both creative and spiritual inputs to his own music.

But times have changed now. The grandeur is gone. There are no daawats. The Manzil itself has been split into three properties, and he gets a small one third of it. The focus now, says Khan Saheb , is to see how the gharana can be furthered. The two traditional ways of doing so —one through the family lineage and the other through a battery of students are very much a reality. His sons and nephews, he says, don’t know of any other way to live but through their music. He says he has recorded over 200 rare bandishes of the Gharana for the ITC Sangeet Research Academy and the Sangeet Natak Akademi.

Delhi has historically played an important role in the evolution of khayal gayaki. It was in a sense a nodal place from where several other centres developed their repertoire. It is said Haddu and Hassu Khan who went on to develop the Gwalior Gharana, learnt ‘‘secretly’’ from the Qavval Bacchas; Tanras Khan returned to Delhi where he taught Aliya-Fattu who taught Bade Ghulam Ali Khan.

It is ironic then that this seat of art music and cultural revival through the rise and fall of kingdoms and emperors, today seeks to consolidate its identity and position in this tradition.

Sufism and Saudi Arabia

The path ahead: The push for religious reform is allowing Sufis to step into the open [in Saudi Arabia]

ADNAN R. KHAN | Mar 03, 2005 Published in macleans.ca [Even though this is old news, we are republishing it because of its relevance.]

God wants to see
More love and playfulness in your eyes
For that is your greatest witness to him.
-- Hafiz, 14th-century Persian poet and Sufi saint

There's not much love in the eyes of the low-level Saudi official clapping me into leg irons. And in the dank jail of the police station on the outskirts of Mecca, the mood is anything but playful. My accuser stands rigid at the open doorway leading out onto the midnight streets of the city's suburbs. "So you're a Sufi," he'd barked at me minutes earlier, labelling me a member of the mystical Islamic sect that values a personal relationship with God over blind obedience to the Koran. I'm not, but that didn't seem to matter much to my gaoler. I'd been picked up at the funeral of 60-year-old Sheik Mohammed Alawi al-Malki, Saudi Arabia's leading Sufi, whose sudden death from complications arising from diabetes had sent shock waves through his community. A foreigner with a camera, mingling with members of a sect considered heathens by more rigid Islamists, was enough to arouse suspicion.

My four hours in detention was only a small taste of what Saudi Arabia's Sufis have endured over the past two centuries. Brutally persecuted by the puritanical Wahhabis, Sufis were, until recently, barely considered citizens. It's still illegal to possess Sufi literature -- a crime punishable by death -- or practise the meditation rituals at the heart of Sufism's spiritual belief system. But as Saudi Arabia faces increasing pressure to reform, things are loosening up. Moderates are now edging forward, and the Sufis, forced underground for so many decades, are raising a bit of a ruckus.

"A couple of years ago, you couldn't even say the word Sufi in Saudi Arabia," Sheik Abbas Alawi al Malki, Sheik Mohammed's 56-year-old brother and potential successor, told me. The funeral was a benchmark for the future, he explained from one of the libraries at his home, adjacent to the family's majlis, or assembly hall, in Mecca. Driven by grief, his brother's admirers -- Sunnis, Shias and Sufis alike -- came together to embrace and weep. Most astonishingly, Crown Prince Abdullah, the de facto ruler of the kingdom, paid his respects, and even referred to Sheik Mohammed as the scholar of Mecca.

Sheik Mohammed, a professor of sharia law and hadith (a collection of the sayings of the prophet) at Mecca's Sharia College, was, of course, well-respected in some circles. But what made the crown prince's presence striking is that the sheik, as an avowed Sufi, had been banned by Saudi Arabia's conservative religious establishment from teaching in the holy sanctuary in Mecca, and branded an infidel by many of the conservative scholars in the country and abroad. "Prince Abdullah's visit was like a green light for the moderate line of religious practice in Saudi Arabia," Sheik Abbas proclaimed.

Today, Sufis are meeting and discussing their future in Saudi Arabia in growing numbers. A June 2004 assembly on religious reforms in the kingdom, organized by the monarchy, was attended by Sheik Mohammed, openly representing the Sufi movement. "It was amazing," his brother remembered. "He sat between the Sunni and Shia representatives, like a mediator."

If any Muslim sect can help bridge the burgeoning divide not only within Islam but also with the West, it may be Sufism. Like other Muslims, Sufis believe prayer and fasting are important practices that bring a person closer to God. But they accept that a long series of prophets and saints, including Jesus and Buddha, also hold keys to divine knowledge. The Sufi world view blurs the distinction between Muslim and Christian, Jew and Hindu. "The majority of people in the world are Sufis, even if they don't call themselves that," Ameen Rayes, Sheik Mohammed's 42-year-old nephew, told me. "The path of peace and moderation, the path of love, that is the Sufi path."

Repaving that path with a modern finish is the challenge facing Saudi Arabia's Sufi community. "Mecca and Medina represent the heart of Islam," says Sami Angawi, an architect and unrepentant Sufi. "Diversity needs to be brought back to these cities for Islam to begin its process of rehabilitation." He's the founder of the Amar Center, a Jeddah-based organization dedicated to preserving Saudi Arabia's Islamic heritage. To Angawi, historical sites are important, although his vision is at odds with that of the clerics. They have no use for anything they believe distracts a Muslim from his duties to God's divine law, especially religious monuments. The clerical establishment is pouring money into building religious schools around the world to spread their version of Islam and limiting their restoration efforts to expanding the pilgrimage sites at Mecca and Medina. But as for others? "Ninety per cent of the country's significant religious sites are gone," Angawi laments.

The list includes some startlingly relevant structures, including the house of the Prophet Mohammed in Medina, which Angawi tried unsuccessfully to save. "Imagine," he says, "if someone uncovered the house where Jesus held the last supper, only to rip it out. Would the Christian world stand for it?" What has been lost cuts to the core of his Sufi soul. Sufis around the world flock to religious sites, from the graves of saints to places considered sacred for the role they played in the spiritual awakenings of various sheiks. While he is careful not to link these sites with acts of worship, as Islam is adamant that worship be reserved for Allah alone, Angawi insists they are important sources of spiritual strength and renewal. But Muslims in Saudi Arabia face being branded polytheists, another crime punishable by death, if they argue for their preservation.

In fact, Saudi Arabia's hardline clerics have adopted a familiar tack: appropriate all knowledge by eradicating any vestiges of past perspectives. The tactic has been used before. As renowned Muslim philosopher Ziauddin Sardar elegantly argues in his 1992 essay, "The Making and Unmaking of Islamic Culture," "It was the inner urge to know that transformed Islam from its desert origins into a world civilization." At its height, Islamic culture led the world in the pursuit of knowledge. The decline, argues Sardar, began when the concept of knowledge was hijacked by a select few religious scholars eager to assert their authority, and narrowly redefined to be religious knowledge.

But now, Sufi reformers such as Angawi and Sheik Abbas are trying to broaden the concept once again. "Knowledge comes first," says Sheik Abbas. "All spirituality derives from knowledge." And it's all knowledge, including modern science and technology, which many contend has been hijacked by a Western secular capitalism hell-bent on commodifying human achievement.

But can the reformers break the stranglehold Saudi Arabia's clerics have had on those whose thinking may differ from theirs? There are promising signs. In Mecca, shackled and shuttled from police station to police station, I finally arrive at the city's elegant police headquarters. To my surprise, a high-level official reprimands the guard assigned to me and orders him to remove the chains. "I apologize for this treatment," he says in perfect English. We talk briefly about Sheik Mohammed's death, a "sad loss," according to the official, before I'm told I'm free to leave. It's quite a change in attitude, and emblematic of the shifts in Saudi society. "Changing course is an integral part of the Sufi way," Angawi had told me earlier. "Our path is the path of water." A good thing, now that the repressive dams of the clerics are starting to leak.

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Bakhshi Javed to perform at Haveli Asif Jah

By Mansab Dogar - Daily Times - Lahore, Pakistan
Sunday, February 18, 2007

Lahore: The Manchester-based qawwals’ Group, Bakhshi Javed Salamat (BJS) and companions, will perform at Haveli Asif Jah at the Basant musical night on February 25.

The group, also known as the Seven Jewels in a Crown, consist of seven brothers and a cousin.

The qawwali presented by the group is a fusion of Asian and Brazilian music.
Ayub Aafi, the manager of the group, told Daily Times people belonging to various faiths, colours and nations enjoyed the group’s performance.

“Javed Salamat, a pupil of the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, has been promoting the soft image of Islam across the world through Sufi music,” he added.
He said the group would establish the Sufi Musical Academy for the promotion of Sufi music, Sufi poetry and traditional classical instruments.

He said the group had introduced new trends in qawwali by incorporating popular Western styles. “The group has performed in Spain, France, the Scandinavian countries, the United Kingdom and Japan,” he added.

Sufiana delicacy served in Patiala

By Sanjeev Chopra - Chandigarh Newsline - ExpressIndia, India
Saturday, February 17, 2007

Patiala's famous [Fort, founded in 1764 by Maharaja Ala Singh] Qila Mubarak came alive with captivating strains of Sufism yesterday. In concert at the impressively decked-up royal stage of the Qila was lesser-known Manjari Chaturvedi, who made her place in the hearts of Patialvis by presenting a Sufiana delicacy.

Trained in what she calls ‘Sufi kathak’, Manjari brought the magic of legendary Sufi poets alive during her performance, which lasted for over two hours. The presentation came out in sparkling colours, as the danseuse improvised Punjabi and Rajasthani music to the advantage of her recital.
The performance was dominated by elegant kathak movements that were presented with a blend of Rajasthani, Punjabi and Kashmiri Sufi music. The dancer made extensive use of musicians to bring home the theme of Sufi kathak, which she explains as an expression of love through music and dance.

Her performance last night was considered as new in kathak idiom, as she danced with both qawwals and Rajasthani musicians in attendance, singing Punjabi Sufiana qalam.
Ending her captivating presentation with a dance item on the legendary Sufi composition ‘Dama Dam Mast Kalandar’, Manjari Chaturvedi transported the audience into another world, where love and tranquility reigned supreme.

In her well-etched out performance, she managed to introduce the Patialvis to the rich world of Sufi poets, who preached the message of communal harmony through music.
Later during the evening, she was presented with a phulkari, the token of royal city’s appreciation for her art form.

Earlier today, the famous Sheesh Mahal [pictured*] came alive to the folk songs, as the 14-day crafts mela took off on a colourful note.

As many as 2,50,250 craftspersons from all over the country have descended to town for participating in the event. Punjab Human Rights Commission member Justice RL Anand (retd) inaugurated the event.

[*from: Punjabi Gov website: http://punjabgovt.nic.in/TOURISM/Tour1.htm]

Documentary on Sufism in progress

By Uma Da Cunha - Screen Weekly - India
Friday, February 16, 2007

In a year of promising new Indian films, the 57th Berlinale that was held from February 8 to 18 featured just one, Farhan Akhtar’s Don serving as Berlin Forum’s annual Bollywood film. There is no new Indian film in the Panorama, Forum or Competition. However, the Berlin’s ‘New Generation, 14-plus’ section is screening Rajnesh Domalpalli’s Vanaja, on a feisty 14-year-old girl’sstruggle to realize her gift as a Kuchipudi dancer. It is this section last year that discovered Delhi-based Joel Palombo’s Milk and Opium.

The Berlinale Talent Campus (headed by Dorothee Wenner, who knows India well) is an exciting incentive to collect emerging young film talent from the world over to gather at the Berlinale, where they can learn from their peers and like-minded colleagues. The Talent Campus’s theme this year was Home Affairs. The following six were selected this year from India.

(...)

Mumbai-based Taran Khan has been selected as a press candidate on a profile she had written in Kabul of Siddiq Barmak. Khan has worked in Kabul as a communications consultant for UNESCO and her writing has appeared in the Hindu and DNA newspapers. Khan has a BA in journalism from Delhi’s Lady Sriram College, and an MA in Mass Communication from Jamia Millia. She is currently working on a documentary on Sufism.

Peer Kho, Jammu witnesses rare all faith prayer congregation

Staff Report - Greater Kashmir - Srinagar, India
Friday, February 16, 2007

Jammu: Amidst thousands, the unique secular and Sufi character of people of Jammu and Kashmir received all applause when personalities from different walks of life and a galaxy of intellectuals, writers and renowned social workers joined the all faith prayer congregation organised by renowned Ghandian, S. P. Verma and Sadhbhavan movement.

It was a look of festivity and jubilation when thousands of people, old, young and children assembled at Peer Kho* to celebrate holy Shivratri.

Muslim, Sikh, Jain, Christian and other brethren came forward and joined their Hindu brethren to felicitate them on the holy occasion.

The free langer was organized in which thousands of people queued to have their breakfast and lunch.

The speakers on the occasion, besides S. P. Verma and Khawaja Farooq Renzu, included Father Kuriakose, S. Gurcharan Singh, Pandit Repoo Dhaman Sharma, Sanaullah, Narinder Singh, Haji Noor Muhammad, Dr. Taran, Vikram Gujral, Sanjiv Luthra, Brij Mohan Dutta, M. Farooq Ahmad, Ghulam Muhammad Shan, Rajiv Luthra, Vishal Gujral, R. L. Tickoo and Jaswinder Singh Kuckoo.

Renzu, on the occasion, said that Kashmir since centuries has remained abode of great saints and Sufis and it was from the great Valley of Kashmir Sufism, with its sacred message of peace and brotherhood emerged through the great voice of Hazrat Bul Bul Shah which was responded by millions of people to strengthen the brotherhood and relationship between Buddhism, Islam and Hinduism.

He said the vivid example of this fact is present in mutual ties between people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh where all three schools of thought merge under the umbrella of mutual love and brotherhood.

Father of Catholic Church, Dr. Kuriakose, also endorsed the view that love and brotherhood is the sine qua non [essential condition] of all religions, and propagation of love and brotherhood will help strengthen the pillars of peace and affluence for all.

*[In Ramayan, the ancient Sanskrit epic attributed to the poet Valmik, the character Jamvant (the bear god) was a bear very intelligent and a scholar, and also an advisor to Prince Ram. It is believed that he meditated/lived in a cave located on the bank of river Tawi. The name Jammu is derived from his name. A Temple, the Peer Kho Cave, is built on the site.]

[About the holy Shivatri, see: http://tinyurl.com/2nqkna]

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

I will meet you there
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by Derek Beres - Pop - Chicago, IL, U.S.A.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I will meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about. Ideas, language, even the phrase each other doesn’t make any sense.
—Rumi, from The Essential Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks

The Sufi poet formerly known as Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi is celebrating 800 years, and the entire spectrum of Persian culture is throwing a party.
Thanks to a former University of Georgia poetry/creative writing professor with a penchant for Sufism, the name Rumi went from an esoteric otherworldly moniker to common parlance in America.

Coleman Barks began studying this small sect of Islam in 1977 and has since translated thousands of the famous poet’s works into English. And considering the man formerly known as Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi is celebrating a rather special anniversary—800 years young—the entire spectrum of Persian culture is throwing a party.

Born in what is now a region in Afghanistan and passing on in Turkey, Rumi’s name alone has become synonymous with a region often looked upon with misunderstanding and scorn.
Considering that major media outlets look at this area as an addendum to and co-conspirators with a country Americans are at war with, the propagation of a poet whose entire career was about the bonding forces of humanity is a timely, and important, occurrence.
(...)
The lasting power of Rumi’s legacy has been through his words used as lyrics for qawwali and ghazal song forms.

Setar player and vocalist Haale, on her two latest EP releases, Paratrooper and Morning (both self-released), works the words of Rumi and Hafiz into a panoramic blend of luscious rock, heady bass, and brilliantly produced rhythms.

She began feeding her lifelong love of Persian poetry by translating them from Farsi into English for magazines like Rattapallax, and continues to spread this song form to American ears.

“He’s been a sort of towering, mythical figure in my mind since I was a kid,” she says. “In the ‘90s I got to witness the Rumi explosion in America, when he really got into the mainstream via Coleman Barks’s translations and the Bill Moyers show. Suddenly he was everywhere.
I started translating him myself, singing his lyrics in Persian. Traditional Sufi music is a tool to put listeners and players into a trance state, to usher them into higher states of consciousness. This is a deep, powerful way to conceive of music.”

Since his remarkable life began, Rumi’s influence has spread widely. The ceremony of the Whirling Dervishes, one of the main vocations of Sufis worldwide, owes its credit to a young scribe in love with life, wine, and his teacher Shams.

Eight-hundred years later, he continues to remind us that between perception and reality is a great distance, and if we can find it within ourselves to close that gap, an entire new world can appear.
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Churches and Sufis in Defence of Human Rights
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From the Latin American Press
Iglesias en defensa de los Derechos Humanos
By Octavio Velez Ascencio
Noticias: Voz y Imagan de Oaxaca
Friday, 9th February, 2007
The Mennonite, Baptist, Presbyterian, and Catholic churches have initiated a campaign to collect funds to pay for the legal defence of political prisoners of conscience detained by the Federal Preventative Police (PFP). Maria de Lourdes Villagomez Diaz, director of the Center of Ecumenical Studies, says that the collection is in response to the urgent situation in the organization and the need to generate support for the work of several human rights organizations, national and international, on behalf of those imprisoned in maximum security units and state prisons. To this end the churches have joined with the Cuáqueros community in Mexico and the Sufi-Islam congregation of Mexico who themselves proposed the strengthening of such actions with expressions of solidarity such as the collection of funds.
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Sufi Islam as a means against extremism
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From the German press: Sufi-Islam als Mittel gegen Extremismus
by Beat Stauffer, NZZ Online Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 12th February, 2007

North Africa reflects on the role of its Sufi brotherhoods
Sufi orders have played a big role in the history of the Maghrib. Whereas in recent times they have been seen as a limitation to development in Tunisia and Algeria, Moroccan politics gives them an ever greater importance. Politicians are discovering Sufism as a means against religious extremism.
The career of the young Régis who grew up in the suburbs of Paris and Strasbourg and who is the best known rapper in France today is anything but typical. Dealing in drugs as a youth he converted to Islam at the age of 16 and changed his name to ‘Abd al-Malik. Later he felt more drawn to Sufism. He explains that reading the works of Al-Ghazali was pivotal in his decision and today the 31 year old musician, who also has a degree in philosophy, lives in Morocco and belongs to the Boutchichiya Order, the most significant order in the country and led by the spiritual head, Sidi Hamza.
Politicians on both sides of the Mediterranean must have noticed Regis’ career with interest. Could it be that traditional Sufism offers a way for the young, marginalized young men of European suburbs to find a positive direction in their lives and might it be possible that the Sufi Orders could successfully prevent frustrated young Muslims - in the Maghrib as well as in Europe – from joining radical Islamist groups?
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Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Sama: an Angels' trick
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[From the French language press:]

Le Sama dans le soufisme se réfère à l'audition spirituelle. Le Sama est pratiqué lors des soirées des confréries soufies, selon les cas, accompagné ou non d'instruments musicaux.

Al Bayane - Casablanca, Maroc - Vendredi, Février 9, 2007

Sama in Sufism refers to spiritual hearing. Sama is practised at the time of the evening's meetings of the Sufis brotherhoods, according to the cases, accompanied or not by musical instruments.

Ethnomusicologist Jean During, in his book on mystical hearing, says: “First musical Sama is ascribed to the Angels who managed by this stratagem to capture the ecstatic soul of Adam and to lock it up in the body. The inversion of this myth is that the music can also make it possible for the soul of the mystic to escape from the body and to free itself from the contingencies of time and space".
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Sufis, Saints and Poets connect Pakistan and Turkey
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By Pub - Associated Press of Pakistan - Islamabad, Pakistan
Monday, February 26, 2007

Pakistan Muslim League Secretary General Mushahid Hussain Sayed Monday said Maulana Rumi still serves as an intellectual connection between Islam and the West.

Addressing a ceremony held in connection with the 800th birth anniversary of Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi, he said writings of Maulana Rumi are considered one of the most popular intellectual pieces even in the Western countries.

Mushahid said sufis, saints and poets in Pakistan and Turkey created an intellectual and historical connection between the peoples of both the countries.

He said there is a symbolic grave of Allama Muhammad Iqbal adjacent to the tomb of Maulana Rumi, which was a symbol of great love.

The PML secretary general said the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organisation has declared 2007 as a year of Rumi, adding that Pakistan Sufi Council and Sufi Forum will organize mega events and conferences to pay homage to this great sufi poet.

Mushahid said songs based on the poetry of Allama Iqbal will be available on CDs to promote the true message of love, brotherhood, tolerance and peaceful co-existence.
He said an international conference will also be organised on April 21 this year to hold a dialogue on civilizations in the light of the teachings of Allama Iqbal.

A Pakistan delegation will attend an international conference to be held on May 3-7 in Istanbul to show love and affection Pakistani people have for great sufi poet Maulana Rumi, he said.

Mushahid said Pakistan and Turkey shared common social, cultural and religious values, adding, word ‘Urdu is itself a Turkish word and one of the main roads was named after the name of Kamal Attaturk.

Director General, Ministry of Culture, Turkey, Erjan Uslo said Pakistan and Turkey has an effective people-to-people contact based on love and affection for each other.

Mayor of Konia Usman Gurbaz said the bilateral relations between Pakistan and Turkey is one of the rare examples ever seen in the history of world.

Director, Institute of History and Culture, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Prof. Dr. Riaz Ahmad said Pakistan is a land of sufis and so is Turkey where message of love and tolerance was spread by great sufi poets.

Chairman of Rumi Forum Haroon Arkan said Pakistan is a country which is close to the heart of Turkish people and both countries enjoy wide-ranging bilateral relations.

Dr. Ghazanfar Mehdi said sufi saints projected true image of Islam all over the world and disseminated a message of love, togetherness and brotherhood among all the people irrespective of race and religion.

Dr. Inan Muhammad, an educationist, said Pakistan and Turkey always extended support to each other at any point of critical time and sufi saints and poets brought the people of both the countries closer to each other.
[picture: Allama Muhammad Iqbal http://www.allamaiqbal.com/]
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A 16th century Sufi poet
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By Swati A. Piramal - Business Standard - New Delhi, India
Tuesday, February 27, 2007

I am an avid reader and have been inspired by many books. But of the multitude, two books in particular stand out: the Padumawati of Malik Muhammad Jaisi , a 16th century Sufi poet, and the Bhagawad Gita.

Padumawati is a historical romance between Ratnasen and Padumawati, who are identified as the symbol of union between the soul and God. In the book, Jaisi defines the perfect woman.

While most writers of his time spoke of ethics for the perfect man, he painted the picture of the perfect woman, her beauty, her strength and wisdom, all of which is inspiring.

Most Persian writers of the time looked at a way of life removed from dogma, promoting the concept of a universal religion, which I find very interesting.

THE PADUMAWATI OF MALIK MUHAMMAD JAISIEdited by: G. A. Grierson and Mahamahopadhyaya Sudhakara DvivediPublisher: CosmoPrice: Rs 1,200ISBN: 8130701073
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Monday, February 26, 2007

Hacivat and Karagöz
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By Kathy Hamilton - Today's Zaman - Istanbul, Turkey
Monday, February 26, 2007

Turkey is a country rich with legends of saints and heroes. One of my favorite stories is the origin of the shadow puppets Hacivat and Karagöz.

These figures, famous throughout the country, represent the common man, with all his fallibilities, in a comical yet educational way. However, many people do not know that they were real people with an interesting history.

When Bursa was still the capital of the Ottoman Empire, Sultan Orhan Gazi (1323-59) decided to have a new mosque built. Traditionally, before a mosque is erected a hamam (bathhouse) is built first so the workers can bathe every day before beginning work. However, for some reason the hamam was omitted from the plans of this new mosque.

This worried local Sufi Sheikh Kusteri, who did not want to directly confront the Sultan to tell him of the oversight. Instead, the Sheikh sent two of his pupils, Hacivat and Karagöz, to the construction site with orders to disrupt the work. He promised them that by following his orders their names would live forever.

The two men began going to the site every day and entertained the other workers with jokes and pranks. As a result, work fell far behind schedule.

The Sultan heard of the delays and came to find out what was causing the problem. When he saw the two workers playing around rather than working he became enraged and had them executed immediately. But the other workers missed the entertaining pair so much that work still did not progress as planned.

Several nights after the execution of Hacivat and Karagöz, Sheikh Kusteri was invited to dinner with the Sultan, who was unaware of the connection between the pranksters and the Sheikh.

After dinner, the Sheikh asked if he could give a little puppet show to entertain the Sultan. He then pulled out two puppets made from camel skin in the likeness of the two jokesters. Using the puppets, he proceeded to tell the entire story.

The Sultan was embarrassed and ashamed of his oversight and overreaction and ordered that the hamam be built before any other work took place. Moreover, the Sheikh was indeed right that the names of Hacivat and Karagöz would live on.
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"Verse is the Soul of Sufi music"
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By Sanjeev Chopra - Express India - Chandigarh, India
Sunday, February 25, 2007

From Patiala: With sufi singer Barkat Sidhu and a captivating light and sound show on the martyrdom of Guru Arjun Dev, the penultimate evening of the Patiala Heritage Festival at the Old Moti Bagh Palace was an evening with a difference.

A custodian of precious Sufi compositions, which have been handed down to him by his music teachers, Sidhu brought out the best in the genre. Although trained in classical music, his concert was a light classical one and was easy to follow.

It was made enjoyable by the fact that Sidhu chose his songs with care. His concert was more about richness of lyrics than about the richness of music. He said, “Verse is the soul of Sufi music. A melody that is inspired by lyrics always has a deeper impact than a melody composed simply to fill in time".

"Sufi masters have spoken of the mundane issues of life with such philosophical edge that they start to sound deep and significant. We can never think of how the Sufi poets thought .”

During his one hour concert, Sidhu presented three captivating songs, which underlined the worth of basic human values like love, trust and dependence on God.
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Sunday, February 25, 2007

They should stick to what they are singing
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The Hindu - Ludhiana, India
Saturday, February 24, 2007

Zila Khan, a sufi singer and daughter of legendary sitar maestro Vilayat Khan, today asked the upcoming pop singers not to sell their music albums by labeling them as 'sufi-pop' since 'sufiana' is altogether different type of music from others.

"The new singers just use one line of 'sufiana' music in their pop songs and try to sell them by giving them a tag of sufi-pop which is not a right thing to do. They should stick to what they are singing rather than mixing their songs with 'sufiana' style," Khan said while addressing the media persons in Ludhiana today.

Khan, who is the 7th generation of an unbroken line in 'Gharana' style, likes to sing authentic and oldest forms of 'sufiana' music during her performances in order to protect the age-old tradition from fading away.

Zila will also soon start a scholarship for encouraging young generation to learn classical music. "I do not really have the time to start an institution for classical music but I will surely start a scholarship for young people to learn 'Sitar'," she said.

[picture: Sitar, new, on sale at ebay-de]
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Saturday, February 24, 2007

Under the shade of a Sufi: Shaykh Yacouba Sylla
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[From the French language press]:

" A l'ombre d'un Soufi " est un livre-témoignage qui retrace le parcours spirituel du Cheikh Yacouba Sylla.

Son auteur, Ahmadou Yacouba Sylla, à travers cet ouvrage met en exergue la foi musulmane, voire soufiste de son père.

Reseau Ivoire, Côte d'Ivoire - Mercredi 10 Janvier, 2007
“Under the shade of a Sufi” is a book-testimony which recalls the spiritual journey of the Shaykh Yacouba Sylla. Its author Ahmadou Yacouba Sylla through this work highlights the Moslem, Sufi faith of his father.

It is a biography of the great Shaykh Yacouba Sylla, follower of Hamallisme Sufism, and is, at the same time, an autobiography of the author himself and a book of history -colonial, post colonial and contemporary- of Ivory Coast and Africa.

From page 51: "One day of the year 1974, Yacouba Sylla was questioned by researchers and historians. He answered them: I am not a muqaddam… I do not have any other rank but that of a slave devoted and submitted to Shaykh Hamahoullah…"

"You want to know my life, my capacity? You will have them in the community of men and women of more than eleven nationality who live disciplined in an order which generated the Total Islamic Man".

Ahmadou Yacouba SyllaA l'ombre d'un SoufiEditions Valesse
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In memory of Shaykh Mohammad Masoum
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By Rauf Naqishbendi - Kurdish Media - UK
Thursday, February 22, 2007

Naqshbandiyah which has been the most influential and wide-spread order in Sufism’s (Tasawwof) long history is named after Khawjah Baha al-Din Muhammad Naqshband. Naqshbandiyah’s spirtual leadership rendered a significant transition from Shah “Abd Allah” Dehlawi to one of his splendid foreign disciples, Shaykh Mawlana Khalid Kurdi, and subsequently to the great Shaykh Otman Serajaddin and later to his son Shaykh Omar Zia’addin, in Kurdistan of Iraq.

It was Shaykh Omar Zia’addin who founded the famous Madrassa (school) of Biara. This in turn transformed Biara into a gigantic fountain of spiritual wisdom flowing to the neighboring region. Since then, three generations of descendants with their utmost discipline have granted miraculous growth within Kurdistan and beyond, leaving no corner of the Moslem World untouched.

Millions of faithful followers have found spiritual comfort in this order not for the inducement to perform Karamat( extraordinary feat similar to miracle), but for the elation of the soul through the adherence to the true essence of teachings of Quran and close following of true Islamic principles (Sharia and Sunnah). The success and world-wide endorsement of the Naqshbandi order were engendered by their revival of the essence of Islam with an emphasis on the rules of Sharia.

Naqshbandi leaders have been spiritual guides to many, providing much needed hope to the hopeless, comfort to the troubled and kindness to the desolate. They fed the hungry, sheltered the homeless and gave medicine to the sick; they were emphatic about inclusion, implying that no one should be forsaken. They possessed nothing of their own. When these elders were redeemed, there was very little wealth to be bequeathed to their descendants, yet they left great respectability and the admiration of their followers to perpetuate and enshrine their names thereafter.

Shaykh Mohammad Masoum, the grandson of Shaykh Omar Zia’addin and the last of this spiritual lineage, was born in Biara. He studied the Islamic sciences under the supervision of the most distinguished scholars of his time. Upon the completion of his studies, he was granted a “Certificate of Muddarres of Islamic Sciences” in 1942.

Shaykh Masoum Naqshbandi left this world a short time ago at the age of ninety two, leaving his loved ones and his followers with a vacant seat that cannot be filled. He was living in Iran, in the small town of Mahabad in the western part of the country. He was not a politician but a spiritual figure, as his forefathers were, and he trod in their path faithfully.

In 1991, Shaykh Masoum migrated to the United States where as an esteemed spiritual guide he continued to inspire, educate, and inform people about the universal message of Islam. Advanced in age, he continued in the path of his sainted life, very frustrated by what his country, Kurdistan, and his people had become.

Although illness had limited his public appearances during his final years in the United States, it did not prevent him from continuing his mission. Serving as a genuine source of guidance to many renowned Islamic scholars, he continued to comment with great insight on projected scholarly issues, reflecting his depth of spiritual wisdom.

When I last saw him, he expressed his profound desire to be buried amongst his forefathers upon his redemption. Thanks are due to his children, as they accommodated for his final resting place in the serenity of the crowd of his beloved ones.
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Barrett seeks Islam’s ‘Soul’
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By Jessica A. Berger - The Harvard Crimson - Cambridge, MA, U.S.A.
Thursday, February 22, 2007

I wouldn’t call myself an avid reader of non-fiction, and judging by the title, I wasn’t expecting Paul M. Barrett’s “American Islam: The Struggle for the Soul of a Religion” to be a page turner. Not wanting to be a clichéd judger of book covers, I opened Barrett’s book—but with less than a healthy dose of enthusiasm. I’m not afraid to admit when I’m wrong.

Though not without its share of flaws, “American Islam” is a masterfully written and insightful examination of an increasingly important and growing group about which most Americans are not particularly well informed. Rather than scripting a manifesto proposing a way to cure the titular “struggle,” which would have been dull and ineffective, Barrett takes the approach of introducing his audience to genuine American Muslims.

Each of the seven chapters describes a person who epitomizes a facet of Muslim life in America. Barrett introduces each one masterfully: his publisher, scholar, imam, feminist, mystic, webmaster, and activist are lifted off the page. Each chapter’s title is a generalized description of one of the characters (such as “The Publisher”), which risks presenting them as archetypes instead of real people.

How could a chapter entitled “The Scholar” capture the life of a man by reducing him to one label and all of its connotations? But after reading the chapter, the wisdom of Barrett’s minimalist chapter headings becomes clear.

By introducing Khaled Abou El Fadl to the world as “The Scholar,” Barrett strives to illuminate the role of the scholarly Muslim in American society. The chapter does not even begin with Abou El Fadl’s own name. It starts with an anecdote about an Asian American convert to Islam named Grace Song. Disillusioned with her new religion, she listens to some of Abou El Fadl’s writings on tape while driving in her car and feels her faith restored on an intellectual level.

A connection is made and they eventually meet and marry. Rather than opening the chapter with a laundry list of “The Scholar’s” academic accomplishments, Barrett showcases the emotional impact of a scholarly approach to Islam and its potential to broaden the religion’s appeal. Abou El Fadl instantly becomes a character far more complex than his title suggests.

(...)

While reading about each character individually is enjoyable, and while the information about mystic Sufism is especially intriguing, Barrett’s message would have been stronger if the characters were more in dialogue with one another.

Outside the realm of Barrett’s book, in the life of real American Muslims, West Virginia feminists can also be interested in national politics and California mystics in Islamic intellect. The American Muslim collective is diverse, as demonstrated by Barrett’s seven categories, but some elements of each category can surely be found in each American Muslim, and this reality does not come across.

Still, Barrett’s reflections on the fissures that exist between American Muslims—important issues of Shiite versus Sunni, blame for Sept. 11, degrees of orthodoxy, gender, and race—even as they fight for unity are both necessary and insightful.

Despite its shortcomings, “American Islam” provides a much-needed look into the lives of a burgeoning but too often overlooked sector of the American population.

[See also: http://sufinews.blogspot.com/search?q=Barrett]
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Sufi or not Sufi?
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By Walter Tunis - Kentucky Com - Lexington, KY, U.S.A.
Friday, February 23, 2007

The Whirling Dervishes of Rumi at the Singletary Center: Sufi or not Sufi? That was the question facing an unexpectedly packed Singletary concert hall as a two-hour program devoted to the Sema Ritual, or the Whirling Dervishes, was put into motion.

More a spiritual ceremony than an actual performance, the program was divided into sections of live Turkish Sufi music performed by a vocalist and instrumental trio (playing wooden flute, the lute-like oud and a hand-held qanun, which was akin to an autoharp but with far greater range) and a half-hour segment in which the Dervishes -- adorned in skirt-like robes and cylindrical hats -- revolved with almost eerie, incantatory calm.

Attempting to explain the depth of the Sufi inspirations in this ceremony would certainly do its history and faith injustice. But viewed from the perspective of a curious outsider unacquainted with the teachings of the 13th-century poet Rumi, who remains a defining spiritual influence for the Whirling Dervishes, the program was a generous glimpse into another culture.

A brief film provided some insight, such as that much Sufi music takes its cue from flute improvisations. But to these very Western ears, it sounded very composed and just as reliant on the percussive textures of the oud.

Fascinating as this sort of minimalist ceremony was, the trance-like state of the four spinning Dervishes (a fifth quietly collapsed early into the dance, a move that seemed altogether unplanned) probably held a greater meditative sway for those onstage than for those watching.
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Friday, February 23, 2007

“A Saint in the City: Sufi Arts of Urban Senegal”
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Lawrence Journal World - Lawrence, KS, U.S.A.
Thursday, February 22, 2007

The image of Amadou Bamba is a constant reminder to residents of Dakar, the capital of Senegal.

The mystic sheik lived from 1853 to 1927 but remains the center for the Sufi movement of Islam known as the Mouride Way. Now, artwork of Bamba is found nearly everywhere in Dakar — on doors, buses, trinkets, T-shirts and murals.

Starting tonight [Thu. 22], that artwork also can be found at the Spencer Museum of Art at Kansas University. The museum opens “A Saint in the City: Sufi Arts of Urban Senegal,” a large, traveling exhibit of artwork from Dakar that was curated by the Fowler Museum of Cultural History at the University of California-Los Angeles.
The exhibit, which includes murals and signs, glass paintings, healing verses written in calligraphy, textiles and paintings, runs through May 20.

Bamba was an advocate for peace and hard work, and he was exiled because of views against French colonialism. He later returned from exile, which was extremely rare in Senegal.

“A Saint in the City” is the focus of this week’s Pulse Podcast, as well as an accompanying video version, both available Friday at www.ljworld.com . Gitti Salami, an assistant professor of art history and of African and African-American studies, explains the significance behind the artwork of Bamba.

For more information about events tied to the exhibit, visit www.spencerart.ku.edu.
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Association Ahla El Kalam
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[From the French language press]:

L’objectif du club, qui comprend plusieurs adhérents, se veut un pont indissociable entre les compositeurs poètes et les interprètes de chaâbi, de jeunes talents désireux de porter en musique le verbe ourlé et raffiné en prose ou en vers.

El Watan, Algeria - Jeudi, Février 8, 2007 - par Madjid Tchoubane

The association Ahla El Kalam, which includes several members, wants to be an indissociable bridge between the poets and the interpreters of chaâbi [traditional Arab-Andalusian music], young talents eager to translate in music the hemmed and refined verb -be it in prose or verse.

The association, which organized three conferences during the year 2006 around Sufism, literature and popular poetry, intends to multiply the altogether edifying meetings, and this, through poetry recitals, with like major objective: to build a writing whose concern is to raise the level of the texts carried in music by voices of chaâbi.
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Young people from Tehran
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[From the Italian language press]:
Chador e tagli Punk, feste clandestine e preghiere del venerdì, musica rock e misticismo religioso, poesia Sufi e blog su Internet, disoccupazione e voglia di fuggire all'estero.
Roma One, Rome (Italy) -Lunedì 5 febbraio 2007 - redazione

Chador and Punk haircuts, clandestine parties and Friday prayers, rock music and religious misticism, Sufi poetry and blogs on Internet, unemployment and want to escape abroad.

This is the portrait of the young people of Tehran in the book of Antonello Sacchetti who aims to describe a country, Iran, about which “too often nonsense is spoken ”.

“Iran is a more modern and lay country than can be thought - the author tells - 70% of the population have less than 30 years, the computer science schooling and the quality of the internet connection are incredible. We know little of them, but they know a lot about us”.

Antonello Sacchetti
Ragazzi di Teheran
edizioni Infinito, €10.00
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Thursday, February 22, 2007

Trees are sacred: message of Sufi shrine miracle
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By IANS/RxPG News - CA, U.S.A.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007

When woodcutters began felling a tree inside the compound of a Sufi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir last week, they were surprised to find 'impressions of Quranic verses' on the wood.

It was divine intervention against cutting of trees!

Or so many Kashmiris are beginning to believe after visiting Sufi saint Syed Shah Farid-ud-Din's shrine in Achu Gudool village in Kokernag, 72 km from Srinagar.

Hundreds of people are flocking to the south Kashmir site where the saint, originally from the Kishtwar sub-district of the Jammu region, is buried.

Besides the Quranic verses, the pieces of wood from the age-old willow tree felled were also said to carry impressions of a skull cap, a lamp and a prayer mat.

Last week the managing committee of the Sufi shrine decided to fell some willow trees inside the shrine compound. But when woodcutters felled the first willow, they were stunned by what appeared inside.'As the woodcutter chopped the wood into four pieces he was stunned.

On one piece of wood were written verses of the holy Quran. On the second piece there was the impression of a prayer mat used by devout Muslims to offer the namaz,' said Muhammad Amin, the contractor entrusted with the duty of felling the trees.'The third piece bore the impressions of a skull cap worn at the time of the namaz and the fourth piece bore the impressions of an oil lamp which visitors light at the shrine.'

Immediately after the discovery of the miracle impressions, the shrine committee members stopped the tree felling work.As penance for ordering the tree felling, they removed the pieces of the felled willow tree to a compound in the shrine. And visitors have been thronging to see the miracle impressions.'

Hundreds of believers are now visiting the shrine daily to see for themselves the miracle impressions. It is clearly a message for all of us. The saint does not approve of any tree felling,' said Ali Muhammad, 49, a resident of the village.

Kashmir has seen the indiscriminate felling of trees in the last two decades.
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A path towards peace: seminar by Pak Sufi Council
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by Pub - APP Associated Press of Pakistan - Islamabad, Pakistan
Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Addressing a seminar on Sufism organised by Pakistan Sufi Council in collaboration with the National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research in Islamabad, Pakistan Muslim League Secretary General Mushahid Hussain Syed said there are no boundaries for love and learning that provide a path towards peace and harmony in the world.

Mushahid said key to change is what is in one's heart for other human beings because "without purifying ourselves we cannot come up as a good human being."

Arrogance is the core of all evils and one of the basic reasons for war and confrontation across the world, Mushahid said, adding that concerted efforts are needed to promote justice and generosity globally. Mushahid said there are 800 million Muslims in South Asia and message of Islam was spread in this region by saints who came here from other regions.

He said there are also a large number of non-Muslim followers of Khwaja Ajmair Sharif who contributed a lot to promote love and harmony in the region.

Shaikh Abdullah Nooruddin Durkee, an eminent US-based scholar, said peace, justice, mercy, love and freedom form the basis a peaceful society where everyone can live in harmony.
He said lack of justice in unipolar world led to confrontation and disappointment; so such actions are needed that are helpful and beneficial to all human beings.

Love is "a free gift" of God and it must be promoted at every level that can also enhance inter-faith harmony all over the world, he said.

He said, "There is no peace without justice; and there is no justice without mercy; and there is no mercy without love."

Noora Durkee, wife of Shaikh Nooruddin Durkee, said every one is equal in the eyes of God, so every one has equal rights and status. She said all efforts should aim at spreading message of love for the overall benefit of the mankind.
Others who spoke on the occasion included Amar Rashid, Dr. Riaz Ahmad and Dr. Ghazanfar Mehdi.
They said Sufis saints who arrived in this region greatly influenced the minds of the people and spread the message of Islam in every nook and corner.
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It can’t happen here
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By William B. Milam - Daily Times - Lahore, Pakistan
Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Governments which aim for a high degree of political organisation without real democracy, sometimes discredit and/or marginalise the civilian parties because these parties are the opposition they fear. This leaves only the Islamist parties as the legitimate opposition.

Sinclair Lewis, the great American novelist of the 1920s and 30s, is almost forgotten today, despite winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1930. He was the first American novelist to win that great honour, which was based on his series of novels which took a very dark view of American society.
Over those years, his most famous books—Main Street, Babbit, Elmer Gantry, Kingsblood Royal, and Cass Timberlane—were banned in various US cities, states or regions for their unsympathetic portrayal of aspects of American capitalist and/or social values. Lewis’s writings were perhaps best epitomised by the quotation, “I love America, but I don’t like it,” a sentiment that many seem to share these days.

Lewis’s last great novel, It Can’t Happen Here, published in 1935, was a political satire about the election of a fascist as US President. A man of his time (the 20s and 30s), Lewis wrote it as satire but meant it as a warning that fascist political movements, such as Nazism, could come to power in the US if the American people blindly support their leaders.

That this book has inspired some variants in the last six years is not surprising. Blind support of any government anywhere is less and less likely these days, I suspect. Nonetheless, I think of the Lewis book occasionally because it still says something about the willingness of people everywhere to ignore facts and stick to national myths long after they should have been abandoned.

This is certainly true in the two countries of South Asia that I write about. Lewis’s book comes to mind when I consider the almost unseen growth of Islamism in Bangladesh. This first became apparent to the naked eye in August 2005, when an extremist Islamist group which called itself the Jamat ul Mujihadeen Bangladesh (JMB) announced its presence in Bangladesh by setting off about 400 bombs simultaneously.

After this introductory episode which served to attract attention to itself, the JMB announced that it would target the Bangladeshi judiciary for applying secular law instead of Shariat. It killed at least one judge in the subsequent campaign against the courts.

The reaction of the Bangladesh government and much of the Bangladeshi political class to the 400 bombings in August echoed Lewis’s title, It can’t happen here. There was much fumbling and name-calling, as each party tried to blame the bombings on the other, while the establishment denied that an ‘Islamist’ problem couldn’t possibly exist in a Bangladesh celebrated for its tolerance and Sufi tradition.

This state of denial was interrupted, however, by the subsequent bombing campaign against the judiciary. The coalition BNP/JI government of the time went from denial of the problem to an all-out campaign against the JMB. It succeeded in running many JMB leaders to ground and trying them for terrorism. Several are now on death row awaiting execution.

Yet it is naïve to believe that the JMB is finished, or that there are no other similar organisations just lying low until the government’s attention shifts elsewhere.

Islamist influence has grown almost geometrically in Bangladesh in the past decade.
The primacy that mystic, syncretic Sufism had in the religious discourse of the country has disappeared over this time.

Instead a harder-line discourse has appeared, one which is manifest in growing discrimination of minorities, especially Hindus and perceived apostates such as Ahmedis, and a steady rise in violence against secular elements and against individuals, especially women, who are perceived to have violated the strict Islamist social codes.

This growth is the result of a number of things. It began about 30 years ago when ZiaurRahman reached out to the Islamists to build the BNP. In his campaign to make Bangladesh a two-party state, he created an alternate vision of the nation to the primordial one, based on language and culture, which the Awami League had incorporated into the constitution.

Zia based his coherent, conservative national vision on territory and religion. Muhammed Ershad, during his eight years as military ruler continued to open up the political process to the Islamist political parties. The zero-sum-game political culture of Bangladesh has greatly added to this growth. The two major parties have not only been open to, but have aggressively pursued, political alliances with Islamist parties for a few extra votes.

It comes also from the dysfunctional governance of both parties when they have been in power, the rapid growth of madrassas of a hard-line nature, and the millions of economic migrants back from the gulf imbued with a more conservative mindset.

Islamist parties have gone from being reviled just after separation from Pakistan (for supporting the Pakistani cause) to almost-equal partners in the most recent government. They have become an accepted part of the governing structure—almost a preferred part given their reputation for competence and incorruptibility—despite their clear aim to restructure society to reflect their scripturalist agenda, which is certainly in conflict with the tolerant, mystic Sufi tradition of the Bangladesh past.

In Pakistan, Islamists have also forged ahead in the past 30 years. Faustian bargains between the military governments and the Islamists remain a staple of political life. Nor have civilian political parties been immune to this, whether in power in their own right or as part of a military/civilian hybrid government.

Since Zia ul Haq’s time, with the increased influence of the Wahhabi/Salafist and Deobandi schools of thought, Islamism has seeped into the very bones of the society. As in Bangladesh (perhaps to a greater degree), the religious discourse is now controlled by the Islamist vocabulary. In both countries, Islamism and Islamist political parties appear on the rise.

Is this a permanent feature of political life in the two countries, or will civilian political parties recapture their former primacy? In my view the answer depends on the civilian political parties themselves and on the present governments in Bangladesh and Pakistan. The parties must open themselves up to democratisation and the give-and-take of real democratic discourse in which compromise is a first principle.

The governments, which have something in common right now, should be working with the major parties toward these ends, not marginalising them. The civilian political parties also need to have agendas—political, economic, or development programs they intend to implement — but they need to differentiate themselves from the Islamist parties which intend to bring about changes in the fundamental character of the state or the society.

The Islamist parties begin as fringe parties, but sometimes they are turned into the real opposition when the civilian parties make common cause with them.

Governments which aim for a high degree of political organisation without real democracy, sometimes discredit and/or marginalise the civilian parties because these parties are the opposition they fear.

This leaves only the Islamist parties as the legitimate opposition. This has been the scenario in the Middle East. Can it happen Here—In Muslim South Asia?

William Milam is a former US ambassador to Pakistan and Bangladesh. He is currently at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC
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Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Islamic scholar calls GW home
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By Nadia Sheikh - GW Hatchet - Washington D.C., U.S.A.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Since 1984, one of the world's foremost Islamic scholars has been teaching here at GW. University Professor of Islamic Studies Seyyed Hossein Nasr specializes in Sufism, Islamic philosophy and metaphysics.

Nasr teaches "Islamic Philosophy and Theology" at the undergraduate level as well as a graduate course, "Man and Natural Environment" through GW's Department of Religion.

In 1933, Nasr was born in Tehran, Iran. As a 12-year-old, Nasr came to the United States to study at the Peddie School, a New Jersey boarding school where he graduated in 1950 as valedictorian. Afterward, he went on to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as its first Iranian student and obtained a master's degree in geology and geophysics.

Nasr pursued a doctorate degree in the history of science and philosophy at Harvard, and in 1958, Nasr returned to teach at Tehran University as an associate professor of philosophy.

Though Nasr initially studied sciences, he said he became "very dissatisfied with the modern view of science," which led him to study Islamic science and philosophy.

In 1972, Nasr was appointed president of Sharif University of Technology, formerly known as Aryamehr University or Technology. A year later, Nasr established the Imperial Iranian Academy of Philosophy, which at the time was Iran's premier philosophical institution.

In 1979, Nasr left Iran just before the start of the Iranian Revolution. "I knew there was going to be upheaval," he said. "After my house and property were plundered, I decided it was not possible for me to go back."

Although he has not been to Iran since, Nasr added, "I hope to make a trip (to my home in Iran) soon."

As for his foray into teaching, Nasr explained, "I always have been interested in scholarship and teaching and the question of knowledge.""I try to resuscitate the Islamic traditions (of) ... philosophy, science, Sufism, and I think I've been quite successful in doing that," he remarked.

Associate Professorial Lecturer in Religion Mohammad Faghfoory first met Nasr in 1965, as a student at Tehran University. At that time, Nasr taught an Islamic culture and civilization class, and since then, Nasr has continued to mentor Faghfoory.

Faghfoory described Nasr as "a first-rank teacher, supportive of students, and a trainer of mind and soul ... He is an extremely gifted author and poet, both in English and in Persian, his mother tongue."

He added that Nasr, "has introduced many Islamic intellectuals to the Western world that were totally unknown (here) a generation ago." Nasr said when studying Islam one cannot count out the influences of the Western world. "The Islamic world is going through a period of very great tension and very often contradictory forces. Its destiny is ultimately tied up with the West."

Faghfoory added that Nasr has always been his teacher and a source of his inspiration.
"(Nasr) offers the best kind of education that one can get ... in my view, he is second to none. His books are a constant source of reference for scholars and students alike. His macro-perspective offers many windows before one's eyes in regards to religion, spirituality, tolerance, understanding, patience and love," Faghfoory said.

Faghfoory also said that in all Nasr's writing and lectures he constantly tries to show "the universality of truth, that all men are children of one God."

By doing, Faghfoory said, Nasr "has narrowed the gap that separates East and West."

While previously teaching at the University of Edinburgh, Temple University and now GW, Nasr has also helped shape the Islamic studies programs at Princeton University, the University of Utah and the University of Southern California to reflect what he calls "the point of view of Islam and not just the Western (view of Islam)."
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New Sufi Group Joins the Iraqi Insurgency
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By Lydia Khalil - The Jamestown Foundation - Washington D.C., U.S.A.
Volume 4, Issue 2 (February 20, 2007)

Late last year, The Jamestown Foundation reported on a new insurgent group comprised of Qadiri Sufi insurgents calling themselves the Battalions of Sheikh 'Abd al-Qadir al-Gilani (Terrorism Focus, September 19, 2006). In September 2006, it was somewhat of an anomaly.

In the early years of the Iraq conflict, Sufi orders refused to participate in the violence, causing militant Salafi groups to attack them in retaliation for not participating or as a means to spark greater sectarian violence. Adherents of Sufi orders were perceived as victims, not perpetrators of violence in Iraq. Many cooperated with coalition troops.

The ranks of Sufi insurgents, however, now appear to be growing. Early this month, another Sufi insurgent group "The Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order" declared itself by posting a video on January 17 of what it claimed to be operations against coalition troops.

(...)

Sufi fighters have similar motivations for joining the insurgency as other components of Iraq's conflict—discrimination, loss of power, status and unemployment, as well as revenge and the suffering of various indecencies such as detentions. In fact, the imam of the Naqshbandi al-Rabat Mosque in Samarra, Sheikh Abaas Fadil, was detained by U.S. forces in March of last year. He was later released, but it was a humiliation for their leader.

Nevertheless, while Sufis may share similar political motivations for joining the insurgency, they do not have the same ideological or religious opposition to the presence of foreign troops and rule by a Shiite majority as do Sunnis. They oppose such circumstances only in so far as they lead to political troubles for their followers. They do not share the same ideological and religious aversion to Shiite rule in Iraq as more religiously motivated Sunnis.

Many Salafi-Jihadis who make up the global Islamist resistance have the same aversion to Sufi strains in Islam as they do Shiism.

The precursor to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's group, Ansar al-Islam, had attacked Sufi shrines and tombs of Naqshbandi orders in Kurdistan. It seems, however, that this may be changing.

This is certainly the case in Iraq where accomplishing military and political victory over the struggling Iraqi government trumps all else. Abu Musab al-Suri, a top al-Qaeda strategist now in custody, has Sufi family origins and has displayed no anti-Sufi sentiments. Other militant Islamic thinkers, such as Abu Azzam al-Ansari, in his work "Al-Qaeda is Moving Towards Africa," published in the no. 7 issue of Sada al-Jihad, writes that "working with Sufis is easier than working with any other trend, such as Shiite or communist."

There could also be circumstantial reasons for why Sufis have joined in with Sunni and Salafi groups in insurgent cooperation. Former Iraqi Vice President Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, widely regarded as one of the principal organizers behind the insurgency, is himself a practicing member of a Sufi order.

A militant branch of the Kasnazani order was involved with al-Duri. It is possible that these connections had something to do with bringing certain Sufi orders into the fold. Even without this personal factor, members of Sufi orders are participating in the Iraq insurgency in increasing numbers.

This is problematic for the country, but it does not mean that Sufis are participating on a significant scale in the worldwide militant Islamic movement, despite the current thinking of some al-Qaeda members on the subject. Even in Iraq, members of Sufi orders have not signed up wholesale. The very group that was associated with al-Duri, the Kasnazani order, is mostly pro-Iraqi government.

The mainstream of the Kasnazani order (which is itself part of the larger Qadiri order) and its leadership is involved in legitimate political activity, such as running a political party and a national newspaper.

The Iraqi government and coalition troops must take steps to ensure that more Sufi orders participate politically rather than violently, since the latter increasingly seems to be the case.
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Turkish youth to inform European youth on Mevlana
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ANA/ Today's Zaman - Istanbul, Turkey
Wednesday, February 21, 2006

A project on introducing Mevlana -- the founder of a Sufi school of spiritual thought -- and his book "Masnavi" to European youth will be funded by the EU.

The project has been prepared by Group Tolerance, founded by the youth of the Central Anatolian province of Konya.

Speaking to Anatolia news agency, Group Tolerance's founder, Muhsin Çınar, said the group consisting of youth aged 18 to 30, was founded July 2006 and now has 15 members. Emphasizing they are making efforts to promote Turkey better abroad, Çınar said they chose Mevlana and his "Masnavi" as a starting point.

Çınar said they prepared a project for European youth after having their inspiration from the theme of tolerance, the most important value of Mevlana's philosophy.

"Our aim is to promote the Turks to the European youth with Mevlana and his 'Masnavi.'
Therefore, we prepared a project titled 'Come, come whatever you are' to introduce Mevlana and 'Masnavi' to European youth.
The $36,000 project will be funded by the EU, which will give us a financial support of 30,000 euros."

"Come, come whatever you are" will be held in Konya June 22-29.

Çınar said youth coming from Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Spain to the city will be informed on Mevlana and "Masnavi" and the youth will have a chance to get to know the Turks better.

Çınar emphasized the guests will pay visits to the Mevlana Museum as well as to the tourist and historical sites including Çatalhöyük and Klistra: "Thanks to the project, the youth will almost become voluntary messengers of culture for us. They will tell about Mevlana, Konya and Turkey as they return to their country. The administrators of the future will thus get to know us better."

Stressing they aimed to promote different cultures and introducing the Mevlana culture to common groups from different countries, Çınar added: "We believe that when youth are separated, this is an obstacle of culture. This will be overcome by an exchange of culture between them.
We hope prejudices stemming from Islamophobia today will be eradicated by tolerance, which has an important place in Mevlana's teachings."
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Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Sufism: a "ferryman" across religions and cultures
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[From the French language press]: Les 4-èmes rencontres "Printemps de la poésie de Marrakech" auront lieu du 19 au 24 mars prochain dans la cité ocre.
Menara - Marrakech, Maroc - Mardi, 6 Février 2007

The 4th meeting “Spring of the poetry of Marrakech” will take place March 19th through March 24th in the ochre city.

“The Sufism, heart of Islam” is the traveling exhibition which will be held in Marrakech from March 2 to March 22, on the initiative of the Institute of the Arab World. Touring several Moroccan cities (Agadir, Casablanca, Reduction, Kenitra, Fès, Oujda) in the French Centers, this exhibition wants to be an occasion for the presentation of Sufism and the great Masters who marked out its history.

This exhibition draws its importance owing to the fact that Sufism, which "plays the part of a ferryman" across religions and cultures, does not cease attracting a growing number of Westerners.
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All about love: a Sufi musical première in Istanbul
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Anatolia NA /TZ Staff - Today's Zaman - Istanbul, Turkey
Tuesday, February 20, 2007

"Leyla & Mecnun," from Sufi poet Fuzuli's renowned masnavi (a poetic spiritual work) is due to debut on Feb. 21 with İskender Pala's modern theatrical interpretation, featuring selections from both classical and modern music.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is due to attend the premiere in Istanbul.
The première of the musical tragedy, directed by Ali Taygun, will be staged at the Muhsin Ertuğrul Sahnesi with music composed by Yalçın Tura. Taygun told the Anatolia news agency that they had produced a new form of music by combining Turkish folk dances, Turkish Sufi music, classical music and ballet.

Taygun said they started to prepare for the play in November and that it will feature the biggest cast ever to perform at the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Theaters.
"This musical play features professionals and instruments from traditional and modern styles. This play has a significant characteristic: We met and worked with people of different institutions and worldviews in order to present the language, poetry and philosophy of Fuzuli. This cooperation increased our love and respect for each other because this work is all about love, and it increased love in our hearts. This play combines the old with the modern."

‘Semah and Dhikr both exist in the play’

"The musical aspect is distinct. It has motifs from classical Turkish music and Western classical music, too. They are played as polyphonic but they were all composed in the modes of classical Turkish music. This work is the first of its kind in Turkey and is a big innovation."
Taygun said that more than 40 musicals were going to be performed in the play.

"Instrumental and choral songs will be performed. We created a new form by combining Turkish folk dances, Turkish Sufi music, classical music and ballet. We produced something completely new with their inspiration. We tried to reflect everything in our culture."

"We are presenting a classical text, a work by a Turkish poet who lived shortly before Shakespeare and who is almost totally unknown except for a few quatrains," Taygun said, explaining they were aiming to reintroduce Fuzuli through the play.

Taygun said that the play may be performed abroad: "We cooked the dish and we can't predict who will want to eat it."

"We are going to play it at state theaters for six weeks, until May 1. We have not determined any further program after that. In the summer, we might possibly play in an open-air theater. In addition, we have received many invitations from abroad, but these will be evaluated after the debut".

Taygun's priority is to succeed first in Turkey. "Our main target population is Turkish viewers, but another priority to perform it abroad."

Musical play
The musical tragedy was derived from Fuzuli's Masnavi, written in 1535*.
Its debut is due on Feb. 21 on Muhsin Ertuğrul Sahnesi in Harbiye.
Décor and costumes were designed by Ali Cem Köroğlu, lighting by Önder Baykul, choreography by Pınar Ataer and dramaturgy by Tarık Günersel.

The chorus leader is Gökçen Koray and the orchestra conductor is Erdem Çöloğlu.

A team of 80 professionals includes singers, dancers, theater and ballet professionals and masters of traditional Ottoman theater (meddah).

*[for more about Fuzuli, the Ottoman Poet (d. 1556 A.D.), and his rendering in Azeri Turkish of the classical tale of Lajla and Majnoon, see: http://www.poetry-portal.com/poets22.html]
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Monday, February 19, 2007

Kashmiri sings "We Shall Overcome" to heal wounds
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By Sheikh Mushtaq - Reuters Alert Net - London, U.K.
Sunday, February 18, 2007

Srinagar, India: Many Kashmiris, weary of separatist violence, remain glued to their television sets when the region's leading singer bursts into the Kashmiri adaptation of the popular U.S. civil rights hymn, "We Shall Overcome."

Shameema Azad, also known as the "nightingale of Kashmir", urges people to unshackle themselves from the region's cycle of violence with the help of music in her music video, "We Shall Overcome".

The Kashmiri language video, regularly telecast on local cable networks, is a hit in the scenic Himalayan region, where tens of thousands of people have been killed since an armed revolt broke out against New Delhi's rule in 1989.

"Vultures have gathered overhead. People have been crushed by oppression. Come, let us resolve this question. We Shall Overcome," croons Shameema in a clear, melodious voice against a backdrop of towering snow-capped peaks and ancient Sufi shrines.

Years of violence between Muslim militants and Indian forces has brought untold misery to India's only Muslim-majority state of Jammu and Kashmir and its people, once part of an easy going society and the heart of Sufi Islam in South Asia.

Shameema, a household name in Kashmir and wife of Jammu and Kashmir state Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, has produced at least three music videos in the past two years, focusing on peace and rebuilding Kashmir.

"Get up fast, panic yet not. We will build the new Kashmir," 52-year-old Shameema sings.
Her fans say her music is a relief from daily gunbattles, killings and security checks by armed soldiers on the streets.

"Shameema has the gift on making you forget everything -- at least for some moments -- and making you sing along with her," said 60-year-old Jana Bibi, a widow whose husband was a retired police officer killed by guerrillas in 2005.

Shameema told Reuters she selected the tune of the U.S. civil rights hymn in the 1960s for her latest video because of its powerful composition and popularity.

Disputed Kashmir, once known as the Switzerland of the East, was one of Asia's main tourist draws before the revolt broke out.
The strife has left nothing untouched in Kashmir, not even Shameema who writes her own lyrics. Her younger brother, Tasaduq Dev, was held hostage for over four months by a Muslim militant group in 1990 before being released and her parents' house has been attacked at least a half-dozen times with rockets and grenades since then.

"Music has power to heal wounds. I am sure it (her albums) will bring a little comfort to my miserable people," Shameema said.

Authorities say the 18-year insurrection in Kashmir has begun to subside since India and Pakistan began a peace process in 2004. Both countries claim divided Kashmir in its entirety.

"Spring will come again. We will be happy once again. We will forget the miserable past. We Shall Overcome," Shameema sings.
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Between the Secular State and the Sufi Orders
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By Alfred Stepan - Daily Times - Lahore, Pakistan
Monday, February 19, 2007

Whereas the US is willing to spend $147 billion next year in the name of an implausible democracy in Iraq, it refuses to spend any imagination or money to shore up one of the most creative models of peace and democracy in the Islamic world.

That is terrible for Senegal and Africa, as well as for America’s credibility. Senegal, a country whose population is 90 percent Muslim, is one of the Islamic world’s most peaceful and democratic countries.

This tranquillity has been helped by the elaborate ‘rituals of respect’ that have developed between the secular state and the Sufi orders, and the excellent relations between the country’s Muslim majority and the Catholic minority at all levels of society.

The secular state and religious groups have cooperated on AIDS prevention — to the extent AIDS affects only about 1 percent of the population, compared to more than 20 percent in some African countries. The secular state, supported by feminist groups and some trans-national non-governmental organisations, banned female genital mutilation in 1999, without triggering massive Muslim protests.

Mistakenly viewed by some as an example of French laicité, which might be characterised as ‘freedom of the state from religion’, Senegal, although once a French colony, has crafted a very different model of “equal respect and equal support for all religions”. In fact, secularism in Senegal resembles that in India more than anywhere else.

In Senegal, fundamentalist schools, as well as Iranian and Saudi Arabian aid in the education sector, find little space or demand. The Senegalese government spends about 40 percent of the state budget on education and provides free public schooling to almost 85 percent of all primary school age children. By contrast, Pakistan spends just 8 percent and six million primary age children have no public schooling.

Furthermore, since 2003 state schools offer religious instruction (using authorised textbooks that are never Wahhabi in spirit), with the informal approval of secular and Sufi teachers alike. Parents are increasingly sending their sons, and now their daughters, to these tolerant, accredited, and democracy-compatible schools.

Some parents still elect to send their children to private, often Franco-Arabic, schools. However, the Senegalese pattern of state-religious relations allows the government to provide partial funding to such private religious schools. In return, the state inspects such schools regularly.

The only schools the state does not supervise are Quran-based schools, which some parents use as a complement — but seldom a full substitute — for state education. But most of the traditional religious teachers in such schools practice Senegalese rituals of respect, and, in any case, view Saudi Arabian-style schools as alien competitors.

Yet, despite all these positive developments, Senegal’s unusual democracy is imperilled. The reasons have nothing to do with the rise of political Islam, but everything to with poor electoral practices by elected incumbents and international indifference.

The current president, Abdoulaye Wade, who is over 80 years old, is running for re-election on February 25. Wade has substantial international prestige, because he led the final phase of the country’s long democratic transition in 2000. But Wade postponed legislative elections, originally scheduled for June 2006, first to February 2007, and later, by presidential decree, to June 2007.

Two weeks ago there were almost daily discussions about the possibility of the presidential elections being postponed indefinitely. It now appears that there will be a presidential election, but will it be fair? A month before the election, only 64 percent of citizens who had registered had received their voting cards. On January 28, a peaceful but ‘unauthorised’ demonstration by opposition parties was brutally repressed by the police and three presidential candidates were arrested for the day. None of this was shown on television.

In a country with little tradition of political violence, too many mysterious things are happening. An early strong critic of Wade, Talla Sylla, had his face beaten with a hammer. Abdou Latif Coulibaly, the author of two books critical of Wade, received a death threat, as did Alioune Tine, the leader of a main human rights organization, Raddho. So Senegal’s ‘rituals of respect’ may not be holding.

The Bush administration, in bad need of a democratic Muslim ally, wants Wade to fill that bill, and seems to have decided, in the words of one high, but disappointed, US official, to give Wade a ‘pass’. Whereas the US is willing to spend $147 billion next year in the name of an implausible democracy in Iraq, it refuses to spend any imagination or money to shore up one of the most creative models of peace and democracy in the Islamic world.

That is terrible for Senegal and Africa, as well as for America’s credibility. The European Union says that it has been caught unawares by the situation and has not budgeted any funds for election observers to go to Senegal. France, the former colonial ruler — and still a influential force in the country — has been silent. But Senegal’s democracy hangs in the balance.

In the coming weeks, attention by the international press, by international election observers, and by supporters of tolerance around the world could make a critical difference.

Alfred Stepan is the Director of the Centre for Democracy, Tolerance, and Religion at Columbia University
[picture: www.fao.org]
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On Sufi music: something behind, and beyond.
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By Vidya Shah - Delhi Newsline - ExpressIndia, India
Sunday, February 18, 2007

How much of a gharana is the Dilli Gharana? Vidya Shah -a musician and a rights activist- finds the answers in Mausiqi Manzil in Daryaganj

Central to khayal gayaki, the art music of northern India is the guiding principle of the gharana, a school of music possessing certain stylistic characteristics. The one question that has been raised by many scholars and ethnomusicologists is how much of a gharana is the Dilli Gharana! The reason behind the question: because it did not have a distinct style; because it is associated with tabla and sarangi players as well; “a gharana in familial terms, without a coherent and recognised style of performing khayal.’’

Perhaps the Mausiqi Manzil tucked away in the winding lanes of Daryaganj in old Delhi could put in perspective some of these questions. This is the mansion where music has lived and continues to do so for over 200 years now. The names attached to this institution are many and overwhelming. Mamman Khan (great-grandfather of the current Ustad) taught his many disciples who included legends like Mian Ali Bux Khan (veteran sarangi maestro whose son was the legend Bade Ghulam Ali Khan), and Mohammad Hussain Khan (who was the first Ustad of Begum Akhtar).

It is in this historical space that the current khalifa, or leader, of the Delhi gharana Ustad Iqbal Ahmed Khan was adopted by his maternal grandfather Chand Khan as a child and brought up to head this family of hereditary musicians. Mausiqui Manzil, has thus been his home and classroom for more than four decades.

“Humare yahaan aadmiyon ke naam ghar nahin kiya jaata tha—kahin us chakkar mein gaana bajana band na ho jaaye, ladkiyon ke naam kiya jaata tha, mausiqi ke liye aisi lagan thi!” (In our family tradition, properties were named after the daughters, lest the lure of it takes us away from our music; such was the dedication to music).

Khan Saheb claims that the foundation of his gharana was laid by Hazrat Amir Khusro (1251-1326). ‘‘Hazrat Amir Khusro ne iski buniyad rakhi’’, he says, explaining that his Ustad Chand Khan was related to Mian Saamti Qawwal, a contemporary of Hazrat Amir Khusro. Tracing his ancestry he recalls the names of Mian Hassan Sawant and Mian Buda Kalawant, two brothers among his ancestors who were the court musicians, or darbaaree gavaiyaas, of the emperor Shamsuddin Iltutmish.

While Buda Kalawant continued to serve in the royal courts, Mian Hassan Sawant, whose temperament was inclined towards Sufism, became a disciple of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti (1142-1236 AD) and began singing qawwali, a genre of Indian Muslim religious culture. Khan Saheb says that this has given both creative and spiritual inputs to his own music.

But times have changed now. The grandeur is gone. There are no daawats. The Manzil itself has been split into three properties, and he gets a small one third of it. The focus now, says Khan Saheb , is to see how the gharana can be furthered. The two traditional ways of doing so —one through the family lineage and the other through a battery of students are very much a reality. His sons and nephews, he says, don’t know of any other way to live but through their music. He says he has recorded over 200 rare bandishes of the Gharana for the ITC Sangeet Research Academy and the Sangeet Natak Akademi.

Delhi has historically played an important role in the evolution of khayal gayaki. It was in a sense a nodal place from where several other centres developed their repertoire. It is said Haddu and Hassu Khan who went on to develop the Gwalior Gharana, learnt ‘‘secretly’’ from the Qavval Bacchas; Tanras Khan returned to Delhi where he taught Aliya-Fattu who taught Bade Ghulam Ali Khan.

It is ironic then that this seat of art music and cultural revival through the rise and fall of kingdoms and emperors, today seeks to consolidate its identity and position in this tradition.
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Sufism and Saudi Arabia
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The path ahead: The push for religious reform is allowing Sufis to step into the open [in Saudi Arabia]

ADNAN R. KHAN | Mar 03, 2005 Published in macleans.ca [Even though this is old news, we are republishing it because of its relevance.]

God wants to see
More love and playfulness in your eyes
For that is your greatest witness to him.
-- Hafiz, 14th-century Persian poet and Sufi saint

There's not much love in the eyes of the low-level Saudi official clapping me into leg irons. And in the dank jail of the police station on the outskirts of Mecca, the mood is anything but playful. My accuser stands rigid at the open doorway leading out onto the midnight streets of the city's suburbs. "So you're a Sufi," he'd barked at me minutes earlier, labelling me a member of the mystical Islamic sect that values a personal relationship with God over blind obedience to the Koran. I'm not, but that didn't seem to matter much to my gaoler. I'd been picked up at the funeral of 60-year-old Sheik Mohammed Alawi al-Malki, Saudi Arabia's leading Sufi, whose sudden death from complications arising from diabetes had sent shock waves through his community. A foreigner with a camera, mingling with members of a sect considered heathens by more rigid Islamists, was enough to arouse suspicion.

My four hours in detention was only a small taste of what Saudi Arabia's Sufis have endured over the past two centuries. Brutally persecuted by the puritanical Wahhabis, Sufis were, until recently, barely considered citizens. It's still illegal to possess Sufi literature -- a crime punishable by death -- or practise the meditation rituals at the heart of Sufism's spiritual belief system. But as Saudi Arabia faces increasing pressure to reform, things are loosening up. Moderates are now edging forward, and the Sufis, forced underground for so many decades, are raising a bit of a ruckus.

"A couple of years ago, you couldn't even say the word Sufi in Saudi Arabia," Sheik Abbas Alawi al Malki, Sheik Mohammed's 56-year-old brother and potential successor, told me. The funeral was a benchmark for the future, he explained from one of the libraries at his home, adjacent to the family's majlis, or assembly hall, in Mecca. Driven by grief, his brother's admirers -- Sunnis, Shias and Sufis alike -- came together to embrace and weep. Most astonishingly, Crown Prince Abdullah, the de facto ruler of the kingdom, paid his respects, and even referred to Sheik Mohammed as the scholar of Mecca.

Sheik Mohammed, a professor of sharia law and hadith (a collection of the sayings of the prophet) at Mecca's Sharia College, was, of course, well-respected in some circles. But what made the crown prince's presence striking is that the sheik, as an avowed Sufi, had been banned by Saudi Arabia's conservative religious establishment from teaching in the holy sanctuary in Mecca, and branded an infidel by many of the conservative scholars in the country and abroad. "Prince Abdullah's visit was like a green light for the moderate line of religious practice in Saudi Arabia," Sheik Abbas proclaimed.

Today, Sufis are meeting and discussing their future in Saudi Arabia in growing numbers. A June 2004 assembly on religious reforms in the kingdom, organized by the monarchy, was attended by Sheik Mohammed, openly representing the Sufi movement. "It was amazing," his brother remembered. "He sat between the Sunni and Shia representatives, like a mediator."

If any Muslim sect can help bridge the burgeoning divide not only within Islam but also with the West, it may be Sufism. Like other Muslims, Sufis believe prayer and fasting are important practices that bring a person closer to God. But they accept that a long series of prophets and saints, including Jesus and Buddha, also hold keys to divine knowledge. The Sufi world view blurs the distinction between Muslim and Christian, Jew and Hindu. "The majority of people in the world are Sufis, even if they don't call themselves that," Ameen Rayes, Sheik Mohammed's 42-year-old nephew, told me. "The path of peace and moderation, the path of love, that is the Sufi path."

Repaving that path with a modern finish is the challenge facing Saudi Arabia's Sufi community. "Mecca and Medina represent the heart of Islam," says Sami Angawi, an architect and unrepentant Sufi. "Diversity needs to be brought back to these cities for Islam to begin its process of rehabilitation." He's the founder of the Amar Center, a Jeddah-based organization dedicated to preserving Saudi Arabia's Islamic heritage. To Angawi, historical sites are important, although his vision is at odds with that of the clerics. They have no use for anything they believe distracts a Muslim from his duties to God's divine law, especially religious monuments. The clerical establishment is pouring money into building religious schools around the world to spread their version of Islam and limiting their restoration efforts to expanding the pilgrimage sites at Mecca and Medina. But as for others? "Ninety per cent of the country's significant religious sites are gone," Angawi laments.

The list includes some startlingly relevant structures, including the house of the Prophet Mohammed in Medina, which Angawi tried unsuccessfully to save. "Imagine," he says, "if someone uncovered the house where Jesus held the last supper, only to rip it out. Would the Christian world stand for it?" What has been lost cuts to the core of his Sufi soul. Sufis around the world flock to religious sites, from the graves of saints to places considered sacred for the role they played in the spiritual awakenings of various sheiks. While he is careful not to link these sites with acts of worship, as Islam is adamant that worship be reserved for Allah alone, Angawi insists they are important sources of spiritual strength and renewal. But Muslims in Saudi Arabia face being branded polytheists, another crime punishable by death, if they argue for their preservation.

In fact, Saudi Arabia's hardline clerics have adopted a familiar tack: appropriate all knowledge by eradicating any vestiges of past perspectives. The tactic has been used before. As renowned Muslim philosopher Ziauddin Sardar elegantly argues in his 1992 essay, "The Making and Unmaking of Islamic Culture," "It was the inner urge to know that transformed Islam from its desert origins into a world civilization." At its height, Islamic culture led the world in the pursuit of knowledge. The decline, argues Sardar, began when the concept of knowledge was hijacked by a select few religious scholars eager to assert their authority, and narrowly redefined to be religious knowledge.

But now, Sufi reformers such as Angawi and Sheik Abbas are trying to broaden the concept once again. "Knowledge comes first," says Sheik Abbas. "All spirituality derives from knowledge." And it's all knowledge, including modern science and technology, which many contend has been hijacked by a Western secular capitalism hell-bent on commodifying human achievement.

But can the reformers break the stranglehold Saudi Arabia's clerics have had on those whose thinking may differ from theirs? There are promising signs. In Mecca, shackled and shuttled from police station to police station, I finally arrive at the city's elegant police headquarters. To my surprise, a high-level official reprimands the guard assigned to me and orders him to remove the chains. "I apologize for this treatment," he says in perfect English. We talk briefly about Sheik Mohammed's death, a "sad loss," according to the official, before I'm told I'm free to leave. It's quite a change in attitude, and emblematic of the shifts in Saudi society. "Changing course is an integral part of the Sufi way," Angawi had told me earlier. "Our path is the path of water." A good thing, now that the repressive dams of the clerics are starting to leak.
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Sunday, February 18, 2007

Bakhshi Javed to perform at Haveli Asif Jah
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By Mansab Dogar - Daily Times - Lahore, Pakistan
Sunday, February 18, 2007

Lahore: The Manchester-based qawwals’ Group, Bakhshi Javed Salamat (BJS) and companions, will perform at Haveli Asif Jah at the Basant musical night on February 25.

The group, also known as the Seven Jewels in a Crown, consist of seven brothers and a cousin.

The qawwali presented by the group is a fusion of Asian and Brazilian music.
Ayub Aafi, the manager of the group, told Daily Times people belonging to various faiths, colours and nations enjoyed the group’s performance.

“Javed Salamat, a pupil of the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, has been promoting the soft image of Islam across the world through Sufi music,” he added.
He said the group would establish the Sufi Musical Academy for the promotion of Sufi music, Sufi poetry and traditional classical instruments.

He said the group had introduced new trends in qawwali by incorporating popular Western styles. “The group has performed in Spain, France, the Scandinavian countries, the United Kingdom and Japan,” he added.
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Sufiana delicacy served in Patiala
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By Sanjeev Chopra - Chandigarh Newsline - ExpressIndia, India
Saturday, February 17, 2007

Patiala's famous [Fort, founded in 1764 by Maharaja Ala Singh] Qila Mubarak came alive with captivating strains of Sufism yesterday. In concert at the impressively decked-up royal stage of the Qila was lesser-known Manjari Chaturvedi, who made her place in the hearts of Patialvis by presenting a Sufiana delicacy.

Trained in what she calls ‘Sufi kathak’, Manjari brought the magic of legendary Sufi poets alive during her performance, which lasted for over two hours. The presentation came out in sparkling colours, as the danseuse improvised Punjabi and Rajasthani music to the advantage of her recital.
The performance was dominated by elegant kathak movements that were presented with a blend of Rajasthani, Punjabi and Kashmiri Sufi music. The dancer made extensive use of musicians to bring home the theme of Sufi kathak, which she explains as an expression of love through music and dance.

Her performance last night was considered as new in kathak idiom, as she danced with both qawwals and Rajasthani musicians in attendance, singing Punjabi Sufiana qalam.
Ending her captivating presentation with a dance item on the legendary Sufi composition ‘Dama Dam Mast Kalandar’, Manjari Chaturvedi transported the audience into another world, where love and tranquility reigned supreme.

In her well-etched out performance, she managed to introduce the Patialvis to the rich world of Sufi poets, who preached the message of communal harmony through music.
Later during the evening, she was presented with a phulkari, the token of royal city’s appreciation for her art form.

Earlier today, the famous Sheesh Mahal [pictured*] came alive to the folk songs, as the 14-day crafts mela took off on a colourful note.

As many as 2,50,250 craftspersons from all over the country have descended to town for participating in the event. Punjab Human Rights Commission member Justice RL Anand (retd) inaugurated the event.

[*from: Punjabi Gov website: http://punjabgovt.nic.in/TOURISM/Tour1.htm]
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Documentary on Sufism in progress
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By Uma Da Cunha - Screen Weekly - India
Friday, February 16, 2007

In a year of promising new Indian films, the 57th Berlinale that was held from February 8 to 18 featured just one, Farhan Akhtar’s Don serving as Berlin Forum’s annual Bollywood film. There is no new Indian film in the Panorama, Forum or Competition. However, the Berlin’s ‘New Generation, 14-plus’ section is screening Rajnesh Domalpalli’s Vanaja, on a feisty 14-year-old girl’sstruggle to realize her gift as a Kuchipudi dancer. It is this section last year that discovered Delhi-based Joel Palombo’s Milk and Opium.

The Berlinale Talent Campus (headed by Dorothee Wenner, who knows India well) is an exciting incentive to collect emerging young film talent from the world over to gather at the Berlinale, where they can learn from their peers and like-minded colleagues. The Talent Campus’s theme this year was Home Affairs. The following six were selected this year from India.

(...)

Mumbai-based Taran Khan has been selected as a press candidate on a profile she had written in Kabul of Siddiq Barmak. Khan has worked in Kabul as a communications consultant for UNESCO and her writing has appeared in the Hindu and DNA newspapers. Khan has a BA in journalism from Delhi’s Lady Sriram College, and an MA in Mass Communication from Jamia Millia. She is currently working on a documentary on Sufism.
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Peer Kho, Jammu witnesses rare all faith prayer congregation
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Staff Report - Greater Kashmir - Srinagar, India
Friday, February 16, 2007

Jammu: Amidst thousands, the unique secular and Sufi character of people of Jammu and Kashmir received all applause when personalities from different walks of life and a galaxy of intellectuals, writers and renowned social workers joined the all faith prayer congregation organised by renowned Ghandian, S. P. Verma and Sadhbhavan movement.

It was a look of festivity and jubilation when thousands of people, old, young and children assembled at Peer Kho* to celebrate holy Shivratri.

Muslim, Sikh, Jain, Christian and other brethren came forward and joined their Hindu brethren to felicitate them on the holy occasion.

The free langer was organized in which thousands of people queued to have their breakfast and lunch.

The speakers on the occasion, besides S. P. Verma and Khawaja Farooq Renzu, included Father Kuriakose, S. Gurcharan Singh, Pandit Repoo Dhaman Sharma, Sanaullah, Narinder Singh, Haji Noor Muhammad, Dr. Taran, Vikram Gujral, Sanjiv Luthra, Brij Mohan Dutta, M. Farooq Ahmad, Ghulam Muhammad Shan, Rajiv Luthra, Vishal Gujral, R. L. Tickoo and Jaswinder Singh Kuckoo.

Renzu, on the occasion, said that Kashmir since centuries has remained abode of great saints and Sufis and it was from the great Valley of Kashmir Sufism, with its sacred message of peace and brotherhood emerged through the great voice of Hazrat Bul Bul Shah which was responded by millions of people to strengthen the brotherhood and relationship between Buddhism, Islam and Hinduism.

He said the vivid example of this fact is present in mutual ties between people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh where all three schools of thought merge under the umbrella of mutual love and brotherhood.

Father of Catholic Church, Dr. Kuriakose, also endorsed the view that love and brotherhood is the sine qua non [essential condition] of all religions, and propagation of love and brotherhood will help strengthen the pillars of peace and affluence for all.

*[In Ramayan, the ancient Sanskrit epic attributed to the poet Valmik, the character Jamvant (the bear god) was a bear very intelligent and a scholar, and also an advisor to Prince Ram. It is believed that he meditated/lived in a cave located on the bank of river Tawi. The name Jammu is derived from his name. A Temple, the Peer Kho Cave, is built on the site.]

[About the holy Shivatri, see: http://tinyurl.com/2nqkna]
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