Dancing On a Wider Stage

[From the French language press]:

Il en a connu des étoiles, de celles qui dansaient à celles qui le faisaient rêver dans les déserts d'Iran. Mais cette nuit du 21 novembre 2007, c'est un musulman, Maurice Béjart, qui est mort.

E Marrakech, Maroc - vendredi 23 novembre - par Youssef Chems

He knew many stars, the dancing stars and the stars who made him dream in the Iranian deserts. But on this 21st November's night is a muslim who died.

World famous dance choreographer Maurice Béjart died in Lausanne, Switzerland on November 21st, five minutes before midnight. Béjart was born in Marseille, France, on January 1st, 1927, the son of French philosopher Gaston Berger.

Maurice Béjart converted to Islam in 1971, after meeting the Sufi Shaykh Ostad Elahi during the 2500 year celebration of Iran's monarchy in Persepolis.

His life changes, as did change his artistic, moral and spiritual career. Dance becomes for him a connection to Allah.

Maurice Béjart always carried with him a small pocket book: Ibn Arabi's "Le Traité de l'Amour".

Farewell, Shaykh Béjart: may you dance for us and for Allah in Allah's Paradise.

Northampton Whirls with the Spiritual Dancers

Northampton Chronicle & Echo - Northampton, U.K.
Friday, November 23, 2007

Turkish performers whirl into town: more than 100 spectators turned out to see the Order of the Whirling Dervishes perform at the University of Northampton.

The spiritual dancers form a branch of Sufism, a moderate version of Islam, and appeared in Northampton as part of a cultural tour to promote the Turkish community.

The packed audience also enjoyed philosophical readings and Turkish music.

Selcuk Bassoy, a spokesperson for the event organiser, Spring Education Society, said: "The feedback was brilliant and many people saw the Whirling Dervishes for the first time".

"One of the guests said he could listen to the storyteller all night and another guest said they never knew a Turkish community existed in Northampton."

"The aim was the message that there are common points between us all and everyone got that message as well."

"Green Dot" Accounting Group Openly Welcomes Shariah Scholars

By Jennifer Hughes - Financial Times - London, U.K.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Deloitte has become the first of the Big Four accounting groups to appoint its own Shariah scholar in a bid to get a jump on its rivals in the rapidly developing Islamic finance market.

Islamic finance products account for about 2 per cent of the global financial services market, but with Muslims accounting for almost a quarter of the world's population, bankers expect the market to show double-digit growth for at least the next decade.

Deloitte's move is also a sign of a widening of the Islamic market. The UK government is considering raising funds in Islamic bonds and there is a growing market for Islamic retail financial products.

The Big Four groups - Deloitte, PwC, KPMG and Ernst & Young - all have Islamic teams. But, apart from Deloitte, none has a scholar, who is required to sign off that products are fully Shariah-compliant.

"We would hope by this to create a gap big enough to make it difficult [for the others] to compete," said Maghsoud Einollahi, head of De-loitte's Islamic finance team.

Scholars with the necessary training, financial expertise and - crucially - credibility, are in great demand but short supply.

The top five scholars in the field have more than 25 appointments each. Sheikh Nizam Yaqubi holds appointments on 55 Shariah boards, according to data from the Islamic Finance Information Service.

Deloitte has appointed Mufti Hassan Kaleem, a pupil of Sheikh Mohammed Taqi Usmani, who is eighth in the top-10 list by number of Shariah appointments.

Mr Kaleem will work in a consultative capacity for Deloitte. He also works for Al Baraka Bank in Pakistan, a big Islamic bank.

"I was looking for different work with different exposure," said Mr Kaleem. "Here, I will be having experience of work from tax problems, there will be structured finance problems, maybe government and institutional issues too."

But staff at other Big Four groups played down the need for a scholar.

"We have good relationships with a number of scholars and a sound understanding of major shariah issues," said Ken Eglinton, a director specialising in Islamic Financial Services at Ernst & Young, which advises on commercial and financial issues but does not give an opinion on the Shariah authenticity.

"There are variances of opinion among the scholars and accordingly the selection of scholars is particular to every organisation, sometimes based on regional factors," he added.

[More on this topic: http://tinyurl.com/ytxrfd].

An Islamic Bank in Spain for Millions of Muslims

[From the French/Spanish language press]:

Une banque islamique espagnole pour millions de musulmains

“Favoriser les produits bancaires et financiers halal et éthiques pour une économie plus humaines et une meilleure redistribution des richesses”, est un des dix accords adoptés dans le séminaire “Alliance des Civilisations, Alliance pour la Paix”, qui s’est tenu les 18 et 19 juin à Cordoue et organisé par l’Assemblée Islamique espagnole.

CFCM TV /retrieved from El Economista by Benabdellah Soufari

A Spanish Islamic Bank for millions of Muslims

"To encourage banks and other financial products and ethical halal economy for a more humane and a better redistribution of wealth ", is one of ten agreements in the seminar "Alliance of Civilizations, Alliance for Peace ", held on June 18th and 19th in Cordoba and organized by the Spanish Islamic Assembly.

Mr. Mansur Escudero, President of the Islamic Assembly, was backed by Mr. Mohammed Ahmed Sherif (Tripoli, Libya, 1937), General Secretary of WIPL, an organization linked to Sufism.

"Spanish muslims want a Bank, and our decision is made", Audalla Comget, commercial director of the Halal Institut of the Islamic assembly declared to the Spanish daily news El Economista.

"Nurul Bariah Jafar, executive director of the Muamalat Institute of Indonesia, is already working on the programme" he said.

The City of Love

By BS Weekend Team - Business Standard - New Delhi, India
Saturday, November 24, 2007

Rimi B. Chatterjee
THE CITY OF LOVE
Penguin Books India
Rs 295
320 pages


Set in the half-century after Vasco da Gama’s landfall in India, against the background of the spice trade, piracy, and the quest for enlightenment and bags of gold, this story traces the intertwined lives of Fernando Almenara, a Castilian merchant; Daud Suleiman al-Basri, a Moorish pirate; Chandu, a Shaiva Tantric initiate; and Bajja, a tribal girl who struggles for freedom and enlightenment until she masters the world and herself.

In it, Sufism encounters Tantra, Vaishnavism rises, Mughal armies clash with the Sultan of Bengal, Arakan pirates rule the eastern oceans, and the face of the world is forever changed.

As the story moves from Chittagong, foremost port of the east, to Gaur, the capital of Bengal at the time of Humayun’s contest with Sher Shah, the characters are caught up in the crosscurrents set free by the coming of Europeans to India, and by the advent of the mighty Mughal Empire.

They are all of them in search of the hidden world where nothing is what it seems, for only by understanding that world will they acquire mastery of the heights they desire. This story follows them into that unknown country, until at last it stands at the gates of the city itself.

With a Heavy Heart

The Times of India - India
Friday, November 23, 2007

Kolkata: They were all looking forward to this day. But they ended up feeling sorry.

A huge Turkish delegation was in the city on Wednesday to take part in an international event in the name of Rumi, the world famous Sufi saint.

But Wednesday’s violence badly affected participation in the programme. The event at Kala Mandir was expected to be attended by 11,000 people.

“Till the eleventh hour, we were getting requests from people wishing to take part in the programme. We could only accommodate 11,000. But thanks to Wednesday’s mayhem, only 300 people came,” said Imran Zaki, one of the organisers.

Simon Aygun, a Turkish journalist who had come to cover the event, said: “I came to cover this event on Rumi and now, I shall have to report about the riotous clashes that coincided with the programme. The 17 performers for the programme, Whirling Dervishes of Rumi, have left for Hyderabad, the next venue of the programme, albeit with a heavy heart. “

Ironically, the programme was meant to spread peace and secular harmony.

It would have been a hit like it is elsewhere in the world. But because of the clashes, only about 300 people could turn up in the evening.

We could not imagine that this sort of violence would mar such a great event,” said Hanifi Oguz, regional director of Indialogue Foundation, which co-organised the programme.

Magical Endpapers for Hand-Bound Books

Sufi News Report - SNSWR - U.S.A./Switzerland
Thursday, November 29, 2007

Bruxelles (Brussels): A demonstration of ebru art (painting on water) took place at the European Parliament in Brussels last Monday, November 26th.

Dr. Mehmet Refii Kileci's demonstration set the atmosphere for the panel discussion, "Re-Thinking Mavlana:What if Mavlana lived in today's Europe?"

Originally from Istanbul, Dr. Kileci is an associate professor who now lives in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

He turned an all-steel, minimalist designed room into an art studio similar to those one could find in Konya during the Ottoman Empire by patiently unpacking and arranging all his fascinating equipment: little bottles filled with colours; delicate, twisted sticks; fine sabre brushes; and hard-surfaced, alum-treated sheets of paper.

In fact, the traditional manner of marbling paper is often called "Turkish marbling" or "ebru" because it originated in the 15th century Ottoman Empire.

Since patterned papers don't show marks of wear so easily as plain paper does, marbled papers were (and are) used as endpapers of hand-bound books, to hide the lumps and bumps caused by leather turn-ins and cords, or as covers.

An amazed and continually growing group of observers watched with delight as Professor Kileci painted unique pieces of art in the water --actually water thickened with gum tragacanth or carragheenan moss (a seaweed).

With many graceful gestures, Dr. Mehmet drew the water-based inks, that contain ox gall (bile) as a dispersant, guiding the colours into shapes and transforming floating drops into leafs and tulips, dots and letters.

He then gently laid the paper on the surface of the solution, let it remain a few seconds, and then removed it with caring hands: lo. a beautiful piece of patterned paper, unique and unrepeatable, appeared!

[1st picture: Enchanted Panelist Marc Luyckx, Dean of Cotrugli Business Academy, observes Dr. Mehmet Kileci at work. All photos: Sufi News]

Visit Dr. Kileci's website 

" Be Drunk on Love, for Love Is All that Exists "

BBC Audio - Religion - BBC World Service
Wednesday, November 28, 2007

" Be drunk on love, for love is all that exists "

...These are words of love and longing from the 13th century Sufi poet and whirling dervish, Mevlana Jelalludin Rumi.

This year is the 800th anniversary of Rumi's birth, and this Sunni muslim who taught Sharia law in what is now Turkey continues to be phenomenally popular worldwide.

But he is also an elusive figure who has inspired an incredible range of spiritual experiences: in programme 1 of a two part series for Heart and Soul, Shusha Guppy looks at what Rumi means for Muslims today.

Listen to Heart and Soul focused on Rumi, from now until Sunday, by clicking on the title above, then on AUDIO

How to listen? Click Here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/faq/index.shtml

Mevlana Rumi’s First Visit to the European Parliament

By Selçuk Gültasli, Brüksel Temsilcisi (Brussels Representative) - Today's Zaman, Turkey
Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Brussels: Mevlana Muhammed Jelaluddin Rumi was commemorated at the European Parliament [on Monday 26th] with a panel discussion focusing on his message of tolerance.

Organized by the Brussels-based Intercultural Dialogue Platform (IDP) and members of the European Parliament Cem Özdemir, Emine Bozkurt and Sajjad Karim, the panel focused on the relevance of Mevlana’s message to today’s Europe.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has declared 2007 Year of Mevlana and the European Commission has already earmarked 2008 as Year of Intercultural Dialogue.

Despite lasting several hours, the panel discussion generated a lot of interest and whirling dervishes who came from Konya, the central Anatolian city where Mevlana taught, performed a sema (whirling ceremony) afterwards.

Dr. İhsan Yılmaz of the University of London, Georgia University’s Dr. Alan Godlas and Professor Marc Luyckx Ghisi, the director of the Vision 2020 think tank, spoke at the panel titled “Rethinking Mevlana: What if Mevlana Lived in Today’s Europe.”

Yılmaz emphasized that Mevlana’s teachings were represented today by a group of renowned Islamic scholars, among them Fethullah Gülen and Seyyid Hossein Nasr, both famous prolific writers whose works are read by millions.

Godlas read Persian lines from Mevlana’s masterpiece, the Mesnevi, attentively listened to by the audience.

Bozkurt, one of the hosts of the night, pointed out that Mevlana had begun his dialogue efforts centuries before the EU declared 2008 the Year of Intercultural Dialogue.

“Europe sorely needs Mevlana’s message, which comes from centuries before and never gets old, more than ever,” noted Bozkurt, adding that she was particularly happy to see the hall where the panel discussion was being held filled to capacity.

Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Ankara deputy Zeynep Dağı, Jerzy Montag, a federal MP from the German Green Party and Mahinur Özdemir, a member of the council in Schaerbeek Municipality also attended the Mevlana night at the European Parliament.

Dr. Mehmet Refii Kileci captivated the guests by showing his paper-marbling (ebru) skills during the four-hour-long program.

Aspects of Reality

About Town - Daily Times - Karachi, Pakistan
Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri in Karachi

“Whatever exists and is experienceable reflects an aspect of reality. Thus we call the normal wakened state the ‘real’ world. All worldly situations change; all so-called realties are transient and yet have some reference to the absolute unchanging truth.” - Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri.

Join us at T2F on Thursday [November 29] for a talk and discussion on transience, space, time, and the Sufi way.

Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri is an author, teacher and Sufi Master. For almost three decades he has traveled extensively, teaching and sharing his insights with people from all backgrounds and spiritual traditions.

Date: Thursday, Nov 29 at 7:00 p.m. Minimum Donation: Anything you like. Please support the PeaceNiche platform for open dialogue and creative expression generously.

Venue: The Second Floor (t2f) 6-C, Prime Point Building, Phase 7, Khayaban-e-Ittehad, DHA, Phone: 538-9273, 0300-823-0276, info@t2f.biz Map: http://www.t2f.biz/location. Seats are limited and will be available on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. No reservations.

Hostile Environment

By Kimia Sanati - IPS Inter Press Service - Rome, Italy
Friday, November 23, 2007

Attack on Sufis Reveals Intolerance of Muslim Sects

Tehran: The destruction of a monastery belonging to the Gonabadi Sufi order in Boroujerd town of Luristan province, this month, has once again highlighted the hostile environment in which Iran’s many religious minorities and non-conformist sects exist.

According to Mohsen Yahyavi, the consevative representative for Boroujerd in parliament, the trouble began with the Sufis kidnapping several youths affiliated to a nearby mosque and beating them up.

Yahyavi told the Aftab news agency that others who had rushed to their help were roughed up, forcing security men to intervene. The Sufis, however, have a different story to tell.

Harassment of this sect has been going on in Boroujerd, where there they form a sizeable community, for some years now, a young female follower of the order in Tehran, who has her relatives in Boroujerd, told IPS.

"Religious vigilantes had once before tried to bulldoze the hosseinieh (Gonabadi Sufis’ monastery or place of worship) and succeeded in destroying parts of its walls.

This time on the night before the hosseinieh was completely destroyed (Nov. 10), the Basij militia and the vigilantes staged a bogus attack on a nearby mosque where there was a gathering to criticise Sufi beliefs.

The attack was then blamed on the Sufis to justify the attack on the hosseinieh," she said.

"The Sufis refused to evacuate the building, as demanded by the assailants, and called law enforcement for help. But after midnight the law enforcement forces abandoned the scene and there was a blackout. More clashes followed in and outside the hosseinieh.

The Sufis trapped inside the hosseinieh were left at the mercy of the vigilantes who were armed with tear gas and colour sprays," she added.

"They bulldozed the building which was already burning because fire from a neighbouring building torched by the vigilantes had spread to it. Then the law enforcement forces returned and arrested the Sufis.

The next day, the remains of the building were razed to the ground by the authorities themselves and no trace left of the hosseinieh," she said.

More than 180 followers of the order in Boroujerd were arrested by the police and 80 people were wounded during the incident that happened on Nov. 10, the Fars news agency reported the deputy governor of Luristan province as saying.

The Shiite religious establishment generally views Sufism with hostility and, in spite of their adherence to the rules of Shariah, considers them a danger to Islam because of their unorthodox traditions such as ‘sama’ which involves dance, music and 'dhikr' (recitation of Allah’s divine names).

The 1979 Islamic Revolution, which brought Iran's conservative Shiite clerics to power, deemed that Shariah would be the basis for all laws in the country. They denied sects within Islam such as the Sunnis, Ismailis and the Sufis any rights in the new constitution.

Sufism is a mystic tradition within Islam in which adherents seek mystic or divine revelations through ‘whirling dervish’ dances and mystical poetry, especially that of 13th century Persian poet Jalalad-Din Rumi.

The tradition extends from Turkey to India, but is viewed with suspicion by both Shiite and Sunni establishments.

In Iran, traditionalist clerics such as Grand Ayatollahs Safi Golpaigani, Makarem Shirazi, Fazel Lankarani and Nouri Hamadani have issued fatwas against Sufis, calling them heretical. All of them also view President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government as a saviour of religious values.

The Sufis claim the fatwas have provided security bodies like the intelligence ministry with a reason to suppress the order and religious vigilantes an excuse to attack the Sufis and their places of worship.

The Sufis have been defended by other clerics who uphold their right to free worship. Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, a very influential cleric with a huge following throughout Iran, issued a statement following the attack on the hosseinieh of the dervishes in Qom in February 2006 declaring that attacks on their place of worship had no religious justification.

Former parliament speaker and leader of the Etemad Melli reformist party Mehdi Karrubi, a Shiite cleric himself, has on several occasions written letters to grand ayatollahs and state officials in defence of the Sufis’ right to free worship.

Following the recent incident in Boroujerd, Karrubi wrote an open letter to interior minister Mostafa Pour Mohammadi admonishing him on citizens’ fundamental rights and respect for their security and belongings which he said is the primary duty of all governments.

But after the letter was published in his own ‘Etemad Melli’ newspaper and some others, Karrubi has come under fire from the traditionalist and hard line clerical establishment.

The violence against the Sufis and destruction of their place of worship has also been condemned by reformist Islamic Iranian Participation Front (also known as Mosharekat).

The party’s political deputy chairwoman called on authorities to put an end to their harassment, the party’s news portal ‘Norouz’ reported. The history of Gonabadi Sufi order goes back to the 15th century. The tenets of the order are much closer to Shiism than any other Sufi order.

The Gonabadi Sufis, whose numbers are estimated at anywhere from tens of thousands to several hundred thousand, profess to be Shiite.

Adherent of the Gonabadi Sufi order call themselves dervish and their places of worship are called hosseinieh which means a place dedicated to Hossein, the third Imam of Shiites.

Sufis follow the guidance of spiritual leaders and believe in enlightenment of the heart through tarighat (mystic path).

At present, the Gonabadi order is led by Nour Ali Tabandeh (also known as Majzoub Ali Shah), a retired judge and university professor.

He was forced by the local governor’s office to leave his hometown of Bidokht Gonabad in October 2006 where he used, every year, to spend the month of Ramadan and give audiences to his followers from around the country.
He was then escorted by security agents to Tehran.

Although Tabandeh has so far shown no political aspirations for himself, he is known to favour the Iranian National Front and the Freedom Movement of Iran.
Both parties are banned in the Islamic Republic.

An attack on a Gonabadi dervishes’ place of worship, similar to the one in Boroujerd, took place in Qom in February 2006.

According to official reports 1,200 followers of the order were arrested during the incident and hundreds were wounded in clashes between the Sufis and vigilantes.

The hosseinieh as well as the private residence of the leader of the Gonabadi community in Qom, Ahmad Shariat, were bulldozed by the authorities the next day on the grounds that the building had been illegally built.
The place has been converted into a parking lot.

Following the incident 52 members of the order and some of their lawyers were sentenced to jail terms and lashes by a court in Qom. Ahmad Shariat was sentenced to a year in prison and a cash fine in lieu of lashes for disturbing public order. He was also banned from living in Qom for ten years.

The prison sentence was later changed into a cash fine and his exile from Qom reduced to nine years by the court of appeals.

Gholamreza Harsini, a lawyer who had represented the members of the order in Qom, was himself sentenced to five years’ suspension from practicing law, a year in prison and a cash fine. The court of appeals later cleared him of all charges because his presence at the time of the incident in Qom could not be proved.

"The attacks on the Sufis have intensified since Ahmadinejad took office. In December last year he ordered the Islamic guidance (culture) ministry’s Public Guidance Council to review policies to prevent the emergence of ‘deviant’ persons and societies working under the cover of mysticism and spiritualism in the society," an analyst in Tehran speaking on condition of anonymity told IPS.

"The crackdown on the Sufis must therefore be seen as part of a greater plan to suppress alternative reference groups in the society by the hard line government of Ahmadinejad. The hard line and traditionalist clerical establishment that has brought the man to power is increasingly in danger of loss of influence among the masses because of its intolerance," he said.

"Adherence to secularism is growing. More and more young people are being attracted to Sufism.

As proponents of secularism and due to their new appeal among the people who find their tolerance a good alternative to the official ideology the Sufis are rightly seen as a huge danger by the establishment," he added.

"In guidelines recently provided to their political instructors, the military arm of the clergy, i.e., the Revolutionary Guards, has grouped the Sufis with feminists, Bahais, advocates of religious pluralism and non-governmental organisations as threats to the state.

All these groups are capable of providing leadership and organisation, political or religious, and hence of mobilising the people against the regime," the analyst said.

An Evening of Sufi Music and Qawwalis

By Ranjani Govind - The Hindu - Karnataka, India
Thursday, November 22, 2007

Bangalore: This weekend, get set to witness mystical Sufi music and robust qawwalis by Aslam Sabri and Parveen Saba on the sprawling lawns of the open-air entertainment area at Shankara on Kanakapura Road.

According to Pravin Godkhindi, “Aslam Sabri and Parveen Saba will engage in a spontaneous jugalbandi after their individual performances to bring in the excitement of melody repartee.”

The qawwali is a vibrant musical tradition that dates back more than 700 years. Originally performed at Sufi shrines throughout the subcontinent, it received international exposure through the performances of the late Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

Aslam Sabri, known for his impromptu renditions, is one amongst the few Sufi qawwals of India and is the recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award from the Government of Uttar Pradesh.

He is a well-known artiste of Akashvani and Doordarshan and has been featured in almost all major music conferences across India.

He has the unique distinction of performing for the Indian Army in the border areas of north India as well as in several other countries.

Parveen Saba is one of the few woman qawwals of our country, and is known for her spontaneity in presenting traditional verses, jugalbandi being her forte.

Sham-e-Sufiana will be held on Saturday, 7 p.m. onwards, at Shankara, Kanakapura Road.
For details call 99800 91913

[Picture: Mr. Aslam Sabri].

The Sufi Revival

By Tom Parfitt - The Guardian - London, U.K.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

The battle for the soul of Chechnya: with separatist rebels embracing radical Islam, the republic's Moscow-backed president is busy promoting a Sufi revival

Khadzhi Aul: High on a hillside in eastern Chechnya, a new mosque rises serenely in a grove of pear trees, its freshly painted walls dappled with sunlight.

In a cemetery nearby, workmen have just finished repairing the white cupola that stands over a simple tomb draped in green cloth.

"With Allah's help and the support of our president, we are putting this sacred place in order," said Magomed Daskayev, a stout man in a green tunic who is imam of the local village, Khadzhi Aul.

This ziyarat* on the Ertan ridge, an hour's drive from Grozny, is one of the most hallowed spots of traditional Chechen Islam: the final resting place of the mother of Kunta Khadzhi Kishiev, a shepherd who became a Sufi sheikh.

The new mosque will provide accommodation for a stream of visiting pilgrims. And its construction is a potent symbol of the Sufi revival that is sweeping Chechnya under its impulsive, 31-year-old president, Ramzan Kadyrov.

The renaissance comes as the last 700-odd rebels fighting Mr Kadyrov's pro-Moscow administration have lurched toward radical Islam.

(...)

Today, it is not independence fighters who are leading the Sufi revival but rather the supporters of Mr Kadyrov, who has strong backing from the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.

Mr Kadyrov, a murid of the Qadiri order, holds a zikr at his home every Thursday evening in honour of his father, who was assassinated in 2004.

Vakhit Akayev, an expert on Sufism at Grozny State University, said it was not so strange that the pro-Moscow administration was now championing Sufism.

Sufism has been the dominant form of Islam in Chechnya for almost two centuries but was forced underground in Soviet times.

During the 19th century, its followers, called murids, drew strength from their belief as they battled the soldiers of the invading Russian empire.

Imam Shamil, the legendary leader of the resistance, who fended off tsarist advances from his mountain stronghold for over 20 years, was a member of the Naqshabandi Sufi order.

But these Sufi forces were later slowly replaced by radical militants who despised their devotion to saints and dervishes.

(...)

"Only positive energy flows from a mosque," said Magomed Abdurakhmanov, 32, an official from the mufti's administration, as he gave the Guardian a tour of the construction site. "This building will radiate goodness across Chechnya."

[Picture: Mr. Ramzan Kadyrov, the president of Chechnya. Photo by Oleg Nikishin/Getty]

* Ziyarat: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziyarat

By Means of Intelligence and Love

Staff Reporter - The Hindu - Chennai, India

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Hyderabad: Revolving, the fundamental principle of existence evident in every manifestation of life whether it is electron or Mother Earth, will receive a special tribute on November 22 in the live performance of ‘Whirling Dervishes of Rumi’ to be organised at Taramati Baradari Cultural Complex at Ibrahimbagh.

Known as Sema, the Turkish ritual will have artistes rendering a whirling performance to represent man’s ascent to perfection by means of intelligence and love.

The present event is being organised by Indialogue Foundation to mark the 800th birth anniversary of eminent scholar and poet Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi, in association with Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation and Metropolitan Municipality of Konya city, Turkey.

Also part of the event will be a Sufi music concert.

Sharing the details at a press meet, M.A.Vural from Indialogue Foundation informed that Dervishes from Konya were being brought especially for the events to be held also at New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.

The inaugural ceremony on November 21 at Madina Educational Centre and an international seminar at Maulana Abul Kalam Azad National University the next day will be part of the birth anniversary celebrations.

The year 2007 has been declared as ‘Year of Rumi’ by UNESCO.

Addressing the press meet, former Minister Basheeruddin Babukhan said that Sufi poets had spread the message of Islam by propagating goodness, harmony and peace.

[Picture: Dance tribute: A poster showing the ‘Whirling Dervishes’ in action. Photo by P.V. Sivakumar].

The Human Capacity to Evolve and Give Love

DNA - Daily News and Analysis - Mumbai
Wednesday, November 21, 2007

The Whirling Derveshis from Konya, Turkey, will perform in the two-day Sufi and Mystic Music Festival, Ruhaniyat, at Horniman Circle on November 24-25 in the seventh Banyan Tree Events, the most prestigious and much-awaited annual event for the connoisseurs across the country.

Ruhaniyat is a confluence of ecstatic performers as each one is a master of his or her own art. Sufi and mystic music festival, will also be held in Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune and Kolkata.

Ruhaniyat is the brainchild of Mahesh Babu, director of Banyan Tree Events — premiere cultural organisation that works to preserve and nurture the heritage of traditional and rare Indian performing arts through festivals of international standards over a decade.

Sufi saints and mystics works, abounding in wisdom not only act as a soothing balm but also are a timely reminder of the human capacity to evolve and give love.

They knew the secret of blissful existence amidst turmoil, making Ruhaniyat a soughtafter event.

The Jagatram group from Punjab will present Sufiana Songs, The Udavant group from Maharashtra will present Warkari Songs, The Arash Asady group from Iran and Vitthal Rao from Hyderabad will present Sufiana Kalam.

Parvathy Baul from West Bengal will present Baul Songs while Kamla Devi Bheel and group from Madhya Pradesh will present Kabirpanthi Nirguni.

Derveshis will present Sema while the Kachra Khan group from Rajasthan will present mystic songs. The Chhote Iqbal Afzal Sabri group from Muzaffarnagar and Sarfaraz Chisty and group from Muradabad will present Sufi Qawwali.

Iranian Lawyer Representing Dervishes Is Detained

RFE/RL - Radio Free Europe - Prague, Czech Republic
Wednesday, November 21, 2007

One of the lawyers representing a Sufi order targeted by a recent crackdown has been detained in Iran, Radio Farda reported.

Mostafa Daneshju was detained in Karaj on November 20, but the reason for his arrest has not been made clear, nor is it known where Daneshju is being held.

A fellow lawyer, Farshid Yadollahi, told Radio Farda that Daneshju had previously been sentenced to a prison term and lashes on charges of spreading lies and insulting officials. He reportedly appealed against the sentence.

Yadollahi also said Daneshju has been active in defending the rights of the Gonabadi order of dervishes. "Following the destruction of the Gonabadi worship house in Ghom, [Daneshju] launched a complaint about the legal and religious violations that happened there," Yadollahi said.

"He also represented the case of a Sufi who had been attacked in Loristan Province."
Daneshju's arrest comes about 10 days after clashes broke out between dervishes and Shi'ite hard-liners in the Western city of Borujerd.

Dozens of people were injured and arrested during the skirmishes, and the Sufis' prayer house was partly destroyed.

Human rights groups have expressed concern over what appears to be increased state pressure on the Sufi order in Iran.

"Celebrating Our Books"

Washington University in Saint Louis - Saint Louis, MO, U.S.A.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Famed novelist Joyce Carol Oates to speak for "Celebrating Our Books" colloquium Dec. 3 Sixth annual event sponsored by Center for the Humanities and Washington University Libraries

Joyce Carol Oates, one of America's most important and distinguished authors, three times nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature, will deliver the keynote address, titled "The Writer's (Secret) Life: Woundedness, Rejection, and Inspiration," for "Celebrating Our Books, Recognizing Our Authors," Washington University's sixth annual faculty book colloquium.

"Celebrating Our Books" honors the work of scholars from across the arts and sciences disciplines.

Featured faculty presenters, who will present their works, are Ahmet T. Karamustafa, professor of history and religious studies in Arts & Sciences, who will speak on his book, Sufism: The Formative Period (2007); and Marina MacKay, assistant professor of English in Arts & Sciences, who will speak on her book, Modernism and World War II (2007).

(...)

Karamustafa's Sufism: The Formative Period is a comprehensive historical overview of the formative period of Sufism, the major mystical tradition in Islam, from the ninth to the twelfth century.

Based on a fresh reading of the primary sources and the integration of the findings of recent scholarship on the subject, Karamustafa presents a unified narrative of Sufism's historical development within an innovative analytical framework.

The event — sponsored by the Center for the Humanities in Arts & Sciences and University Libraries — is free and open to the public and begins at 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 3, in Holmes Lounge. For more information, call (314) 935-5576 or email cenhum@artsci.wustl.edu.

The Merchant and His Clever Parrot

TT Art Desk - Tehran Times - Tehran, Iran
Tuesday, November 20, 2007

The Children of Iran band is to perform a musical version of “The Merchant and his Clever Parrot”, a story from Molana Jalal ad-Din Rumi’s Masnavi, at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall from November 21 to 23.

“Thirty-six children are slated to participate in the musical, which will be performed using regional Iranian instruments,” band leader Sudabeh Salem told the Mehr News Agency on Sunday.

“I think the project will help the children to become familiarized to some extent with the origins of Iranian music,” she added.

“The Merchant and his Clever Parrot” was one of the topics that used to be part of the fourth grade syllabus in Iran’s primary schools, but it has been excluded.

Salem is to conduct the band and pieces composed by master of Iranian music Abolhassan Saba (1902-1957). “Master Saba has played an important role in the development of contemporary Iranian music. His works contain many useful points, which should be taught to children,” Salem said.

[Picture: Terpsiphone paradisi. Image from: http://www.bird-stamps.org/species/140017.htm].

The Hidden Angles of Life

By Sara Kwasnick - The Daily Californian - Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.
Monday, November 19, 2007

Guests of numerous religious and ethnic backgrounds converged on Wheeler Auditorium Saturday to listen to music, meditate and learn lessons about Sufism, a movement that preaches a path to self-knowledge.

UC Berkeley’s MTO Sufi Association held the campus’s third annual Sufi Celebration­—called “The Hidden Angles of Life,” to educate students and community members about the philosophy, first taught 1,400 years ago.

Sufism preaches that a harmonious society can only be achieved when all of its members attain self-cognition.

As a result, the teachings appeal to people from a wide array of religious and ethnic backgrounds, said senior Negar Dadgari, an architecture major and president of the association.

“Our goal is to raise spiritual awareness on campus and to just really expand love and unity,” Dadgari said.

After opening remarks about the movement, musicians played modern instruments and sang in harmony with the traditional santur, setar and daf.

“Teachers of Sufism have always taught to a broad and diverse group of students,” Dadgari said in opening remarks.

The celebration concluded with a speech on tamarkoz, the ability to achieve bodily self-awareness, followed by a demonstration of movazeneh, or meditation. The audience was then led in guided meditation.

“Sufism is essentially a path to self-knowledge,” said Sahar Yousef, freshman cognitive science and philosophy major. “Once you’re on this path it’s like you’re wooing the god within you.”

The current master of the School of Islamic Sufism is Nader Angha, who lives in Germany and broadcasts weekly, live webcasts for Sufis to study, Dadgari said.

The Berkeley and UCLA MTO Sufi Associations trade off hosting celebrations every six months, she said.

A Time Will Come...

By Matt Brown - Lodi News Sentinel - Lodi, CA, U.S.A.
Saturday, November 17, 2007

New Lodi imam ready to heal Muslim community
Ahmad Hashimi rests on a couch in a comfortable, cream-colored robe. His feet are bare, and a black cylindrical hat sits atop his head hiding his straight dark hair that is flecked with gray.

His bushy, black beard ends in tiny, kinky curls, accentuating his round face.But Hashimi's most striking features are his eyes. There is a certain peacefulness and wisdom in his half-opened hazel eyes that betrays this spiritual leader's age of 34 years.

These are the eyes of a much older mystic. Perhaps they are the eyes of his father, a Sufi scholar.

There is hope in these eyes and a sense of purpose. As the new imam of the Lodi Muslim Mosque, Hashimi represents a chance to heal a community still reeling from two deported imams and a terrorism investigation.

"I came here to preach Islam and paint a very lovely and tolerant picture of Islam," Hashimi says in a slow, soothing tone with a thick south Asian accent.

"A time will come when this mosque will be a model mosque in America."He peppers his speech with scholarly words and cites Goethe and the Sufi poet, Rumi.

(...)

Hashimi is the mosque's first imam since then and the first Lodi imam from the Sufi tradition of Islam. Sufism is the mystical branch of Islam with a philosophy rooted in peace, love and tolerance of other religions.

"My true nature is love toward God and humanity," Hashimi says. "Sufism accepts every person whether they are Muslim or non-Muslim."

Hashimi was born in Mansehra, a rugged frontier town in the mountains of northern Pakistan.

In the tradition of his father, the head of a post-graduate college, Hashimi began studying philosophy, eventually earning a master's degree from Peshwar University.

When Lodi Muslim Mosque president Mohammed Shoaib visited Pakistan last year, he found Hashimi teaching at a post-graduate university."When I first met him, I knew he could help us here in Lodi," Shoaib says. "I am very impressed with him".

Seated in an ornate, gold-painted chair, Hashimi delivers his oration in a commanding, yet measured voice. During the 30-minute lecture in Urdu, Pakistan's native language, many in the audience nod and mumble in agreement.

Afterward, he summarizes his lecture in English."The best of you are those that are well mannered," he says. "We should understand that the Islamic code of ethics is very firm and we should adopt this ethical code."

In his first two weeks in America, Hashimi says he can see the differences between preaching Islam in Pakistan and this country, where Muslims comprise the minority.

"This is a different community from Pakistan," he says. "I think we are having difficulty (in America) presenting the true picture of Islam. I think we should get back to the spiritual message of Islam."

[Photo: Mr. Ahmad Hashimi. Photo: Brian Feulner/News-Sentinel].

Let the Sufi Saints Rest in Peace...

By Jaya Ramanathan - New Ind Press on Sunday - Chennai, India
Saturday, November 17, 2007

Tirupati, Velankanni, Ajmer Sharif, the Golden Temple... These are some of the pilgrimage centers in India that transcend religious barriers.

One has to travel to these holy nuclei to see secularism and religious harmony really in practice.

It was three years ago that we drove down to Jaipur with a couple of friends; from there we took a day trip to Pushkar and to nearby Ajmer Sharif, the dargah of Moinuddin Chishti.

A pilgrimage to Ajmer Sharif is regarded as second only to the ultimate trip to Mecca for practitioners of the Islamic faith.

The dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, the 12th century Sufi saint who founded the Chishtiyya order of Sufism in India is as holy and as crowded as any major religious center in the country. Yet there was no soliciting from any quarter.

A guide understood we were of a different faith and attached himself to us, but it was more to lead us to the shrine, and find us places close to the sanctum sanctorum.

With great pride he explained to us the life of the Gareeb Nawaz- Chishti who lived by the dictum: “Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth stands out clear from error; whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things.” [Qur'an 2:256]

He led us out and when we offered him money he insisted we give it in at the collection office. We were most impressed.

My friend decided that she would finance her driver’s trip to Ajmer. The following year Ramzan made his pilgrimage, he took with him, his wife, mother, mother-in-law and sister. He is convinced God had made it possible for him to visit the Ajmer dargah since Mecca was out of his reach!

A bureaucrat friend, Anu, a few months ago asked me to accompany her to Ajmer Sharif, I was not able to do so, but it was interesting to learn her reason for visiting the place.

Knowing how desperate she was for a posting in Delhi, her colleague (also a Hindu) had asked for a mannat (boon) on her behalf. Once her wish had been granted she had to visit the shrine for thanksgiving.

She is now positive that if you make a wish for someone else at the dargah, it always works, but not necessarily if you make one for yourself.

“We visited all temples, churches and mosques…any place recommended by any well wisher… we were so keen to have a child,” recalls Maneka, now a mother of a 16- year-old. “When we went to the Ajmer shrine, I told myself this is the last place…no more of this pleading with different Gods….”

She soon found herself pregnant and believes it was the Sufi saint who finally granted her, her desire.”

“I am normally not a temple-goer and certainly no mosques or churches fall within my radar. But while on a road trip, a few months ago I was persuaded by friends to visit the dargah in Ajmer, I had to admit I had this tremendous sense of calm when I came out,” recounts iconoclast Rajesh.

The calm was shattered on 11th October, on the eve of Ramzan Eid, the holiest period for Muslims. Yet again a holy place was used for target practice by faceless terrorists. This time it was the abode of India’s most revered Sufi saint.

Abd dal-Malik Isami, the 14th century Bahamani court poet had observed : “In every country there is a man of piety who keeps it going and well. Although there might be a monarch in every country, yet it is actually under the protection of a fakir (sufi saint).”

While the multitudes of this world are caught up in the senseless battle of “my God versus your God” at least let the Sufi saints rest in peace, they preached tolerance, acceptance and celebration of all religions at a time when secularism was not even a concept!

Sufism Is the Only Way (to Eliminate Terrorism)

APP - Associated Press of Pakistan - Pakistan
Sunday, November 18, 2007

Islamabad: Pakistan Muslim League (PML) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain Sunday said Sufism is the only way to eliminate sectarianism and terrorism in all their forms and manifestations.

Addressing a reception held in honour of world fame scholar Allama Fazlullah Hairi here, he said a National Sufi Council has already been established to promote interfaith harmony in the society.

PML Secretary General Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed lauded the role of Allama Fazlullah Hairi for propagation of Sufism across the world.

He said that Allama Hairi established a Sufi school in London 40 years ago and now campuses of the institution have been set up in Paris, Copenhagen, New York, Washington, Stockholm and other major cities of Europe and USA.

The Senator said Allama Hairi’s main contribution is that he struggled to promote soft image of Islam in the West and now he has established Institute of Sufism in Proria and South Africa.

Allama Hairi who authored more than 32 books highlighted various measures to shun sectarian differences in the Muslim Ummah.

Mushahid said that Muslims of the world consider Pakistan as their homeland and a fort of Islamic Ummah and any disturbance in it harms them mentally and physically.

He said that the international Institute of Sufism in Proria is organizing an International Interfaith Conference on 1st March in which prominent scholars belonging to nine religions would participate.

One of the Oldest Forms of Ritual

By Laura Bleiberg - The Orange County Register
Friday, November 16, 2007

The Whirling Dervishes take a spin through Orange County: Turkish troupe brings its country's 800-year-old ritualistic dance to the Irvine Barclay Theatre on Tuesday, November 20

If we could turn the clock back a millennium or two, we would find men and women dancing as part of their daily lives. Its purpose, though, might come as a surprise.

Dancing used to be a primary method of religious expression, one of the oldest forms of ritual. Today, however, you'd have to look long and hard to find a religion that incorporated dancing as a normal part of religious practices, at least in this country.

What was once viewed as an exemplary way to express spiritual devotion because it involved the body in motion, is viewed today with suspicion for the very same reason. We have done a 180-degree turnabout, from body "good," to body "bad."

The Whirling Dervishes of Turkey, however, have had no such turning away from their past, excuse the pun. The 800-year-old, ritual-as-performance is as popular as ever, both inside and outside Turkey.

A company of Whirling Dervishes from the Mevlana Cultural Center in Konya, Turkey, is touring the country and will be at the Irvine Barclay Theatre on Nov. 20 for a single show.

The first thing that company manager Cenk Erdem wanted to point out during a recent phone interview was that this is not a performance in the usual sense. It is a religious ceremony.

"We call this ritual Sema, and Sema follows holy Quran," Erdem said. "It starts with the reading of verses from the Quran and (continues with) traditional musicians and ritual dancers. But it's not a dance performance. We never tailor the ritual for any stage or for any show because it's a kind of belief."

The revered Sufi poet and philosopher Mevlâna Jalâluddîn Rumi (1207-1273) is credited with creating the dance of non-stop spinning. Some stories suggest that he began turning while walking through a marketplace, hearing the name of God in the musical sounds of hammers clanging against metal pots. But a 22 {+n}{+d}generation descendant of Rumi, who is traveling with the troupe, could not confirm this tale.

"It came out of the blue. He just discovered it as a natural trance," said Esin Celebi, 58, who learned the dance when she was 9. "As the world turns, the dervish turns."

Rumi was born into a family of theologians in present-day Afghanistan. The family traveled widely to escape the Mongol invasion, visiting Mecca and Medina. In 1228, the Sultan of the Seljuks invited the family to Konya, on the Anatolian steppes about 300 miles southeast of Istanbul.

Rumi became a prominent scholar, writing epic poems in Persian, and revered for his spiritual devotion. Groups of Mevlevi followers spread throughout Asia, and into Europe, and the dervishes continued their ceremonial dancing for centuries.

The schools were closed and suppressed for a 30-year period beginning in the 1920s, but the ritual was never entirely destroyed.

Nearly everything about the Sema ritual is symbolic, and is intended to express specific beliefs, such as the majesty of God and love of all creations. Escaping from one's own ego figures prominently in the dance.

The dervishes wear a stove-pipe shaped, camel-hair hat, which represents the ego's tombstone. The adherents' white skirts – which flair as the dancer turns – is meant to symbolize the ego's shroud.

After removing a long black coat, which, it is believed, allows the dancer to be reborn spiritually, the dancer starts the ritual with arms folded across the body. That position represents the number one, or God's unity.

The dancers eventually spread their arms wide, with the right hand raised toward the sky and the left directed toward the earth, a gesture to convey a readiness to receive God's beneficence.

"What is so crucial, is Mevlani (Rumi) talks about leaving our ego," Erdem said. "They use the left foot to crash the ego. Every movement of the hands, the feet, everything refers to something. It's also the spiritual training ."

The musical instruments, too, have been specially selected because of their symbolic power. A small double drum called a kudum begins the ceremony and is meant to suggest the beginning of the universe. An end-blown flute, known as a ney, also has a prominent musical part, as it is a representative of the "divine breath of God," Erdem said.

The performers from Konya have gone through a rigorous, multiyear training that encompasses both spiritual and physical schooling. Not everyone succeeds in becoming a dervish.

The company members on this tour range from 22 to 78 years old. The training is open to both women and men, but only men are in the ensemble that will be at the Barclay.

"In ancient times, when we talk about Sema, women and men used to do the ritual together, but after some necessities of Islamic culture, they started to do the ritual separately," Celebi said.

"And what is important, it's about our souls and we don't regard our souls discriminate like males or females. We come from the spiritual world and we are the same without gender."

Iran: Clashes Highlight 'Demonization' Of Sufi Muslims

Radio Free Europe with Radio Farda's Alireza Taheri
Friday, November 16, 2007

Clashes in Iran this week between security forces and followers of a mystic Sufi order have underlined what international human rights groups say is the increasing "demonization" of Sufi Muslims in Iran.

Dozens of people were injured and arrested during the November 11 clashes in the western city of Borujerd, and parts of the Sufis' monastery there were destroyed. Official media said the clashes came after Sufis attacked a Shi'a mosque in the city where clerics had been criticising Sufism.

Sufism is growing in popularity in predominantly Shi'ite Iran, though officials and conservative Shi'a clerics have said it is a deviation of Islam.

Centuries-old Tensions
Sufism is a mystic tradition within Islam in which individuals pursue absolute truth and divine wisdom through mystic revelation.

It is best known around the world for its "whirling dervish" dances and for the mystical poetry of 13th-century Persian poet Molana Jalal ad-Din Rumi.

In fact, Sufi Muslims believe that rituals involving dance, music, and the recitation of Allah's divine names can give them direct perception of God.

But although many Sufi orders strictly observe Islamic practices and beliefs, some conservative Shi'a clerics in Iran say Sufism is a danger to Islam.

Indeed, there have long been tensions in Iran between Sufism and more orthodox traditions of Islam.

Abdol Karim Lahiji, a prominent Iranian lawyer who directs the Paris-based League for Defense of Human Rights in Iran, tells RFE/RL that the divisions between Sufis and Shi'a in Iran can be traced back more than 1,000 years.

In particular, Lahiji notes that the approach toward Islam of Sufi orders -- known as Tariqas -- differs markedly from that of Iran's conservative Shi'a clerics, who follow a strict interpretation of Islamic rules known as shari'a law.

"First it's the historical problem between two kinds of thinking about Islam," Lahiji says. "It's two schools -- the school of shari'a and the school of Tariqa. Tariqa means Sufis [orders] and all the mystic schools.

In all our history, it was always a fight between two kinds of interpretations of Islam. The Sufis were more tolerant of freedom of speech and freedom of religion. The [shari'a] people were more aggressive and less tolerant of the other interpretations of Islam."

Monastery Bulldozed
The November 11 clashes pitted police and Basij paramilitary troops against members of the largest Sufi order in Iran, Nematollahi Gonabadi.

Nematollahi Gonabadi is the Sufi order with teachings that most closely resemble Shi'a Islamic traditions. Nevertheless, Iranian security forces in the end used bulldozers to demolish parts of the Sufi monastery in Borujerd, known as Hossaini-ye Nematollahi Gonabadi.

There are conflicting reports about what led to the clashes, none of which could be independently confirmed. However, by all accounts, scores of people were injured and arrested during the confrontation.

Iran's official state-run news agencies says Sufis attacked a Shi'a mosque, the Masjid an-Nabi, that is next door to their Sufi monastery.

Those reports say the Sufis were angry about criticism from Shi'a clerics that were being broadcast from loudspeakers in the mosque's minarets.

Sufis in Borujerd describe events differently. They say Shi'a clerics feel threatened by the growing popularity of the Sufi movement in Iran, especially among young people.

One Sufi follower in Borujerd told Radio Farda that Iranian authorities had invented stories about the Sufi attack on the Shi'a mosque in order to justify the destruction of the monastery.

"[Authorities] spread a rumor that Sufi mystics had attacked Masjid an-Nabi and injured one of the clerics there," he said. "This very rumor gave an excuse for the [paramilitary Basij] to say that they must seek vengeance. By mobilizing forces around the city, they somehow gathered people together and attacked Hossaini-ye, [the Sufi's monastery.]

They attacked first with sticks and stones, demolishing the ceiling of Hossaini-ye. Then, when they entered Hossaini-ye, the Sufis and dervishes resisted and forced them back out of the building. Then, they attacked again -- this time using tear gas and colored gases. So they occupied the Hossaini-ye. They burned it and destroyed it. They are persecuting Sufis for their religious beliefs."

Leaders of other Sufi orders contacted by RFE/RL have declined to comment on the Borujerd dispute, saying they fear their followers will be persecuted in Iran if they issue political statements about Ahmadinejad's regime.

'Threatening Atmosphere'
Just a week before the violence in Borujerd, Iranian Deputy Culture Minister Mohsen Parviz issued a statement saying there is no place for the promotion of Sufism in Shi'a-dominated Iran.

Parviz's remarks followed complaints from Shi'a clerics about state television coverage of the Rumi International Congress, an event in Iran commemorating the 800th anniversary of the birth of the Persian poet and mystic Rumi.

Parviz, who also served as executive director of the committee for the Rumi Congress, said the clerics' complaints focused on news broadcasts about performances of Sama, the Sufi practice of gathering to listen to religious poetry that is sung and often accompanied by ecstatic dance or other rituals.

In February 2006, police closed a building in Qom that was being used as a house of worship by Sufis from the Nematollahi Gonabadi order. When Sufis responded by staging a protest in Qom, clashes broke out and Iranian authorities arrested more than 1,000 people.

Local officials in Qom said the Sufis had illegally created a center of worship and refused to leave it. They also said that some of the Sufis demonstrators had been armed.

But representatives of the Sufi order in Qom have denied the charges, saying they have been targeted for persecution because of the increasing popularity of Sufism.

[Picture: A sculpture of Islam's Holy Book at Tehran's annual Koran exhibition in September
(Photo AFP)].

Scores Hurt as Iran Militia Clashes with Sufis

AFP
Friday, November 16, 2007

Tehran, 6 days ago: Scores of people were injured and more than 100 arrested when security forces stormed a Sufi lodge in western Iran after clashes between the Muslim mystics and Shiite worshippers, the Jomhuri Eslami newspaper reported on Monday.

According to the report, the unrest broke out on Saturday in the city of Borujerd in Lorestan province following "the desecration of the al-Nabi mosque by Sufis of the deviant Gonabadi order".

"In the intensive clashes, about 80 people from the two sides were injured and 25 motorcycles belonging to the Sufis were burnt," it said.

The hardline daily said that Basij militiamen had later joined residents in destroying the Sufi lodge.

The major of Borujerd, Mohammad Ali Tohidi, told the Fars news agency: "All the wrongdoers have been arrested. Around 180 people have been handed to the judiciary," he said.

The news agency reported that the Sufis had thrown stones at the al-Nabi mosque, breaking windows while prayers were being held inside, drawing an angry reaction from worshippers.

It gave little explanation for the Sufis' action, saying only that they were "dissatisfied with cultural actions in the mosque".

"Five people taken hostage by these people (the Sufis) have been freed by the security forces and hospitalised due to deep injuries," the news agency quoted the mosque's Friday prayers leader, Abdolrahim Biranvand, as saying.

Sufi worship is not illegal in Iran but the practice is frowned upon by many conservative clerics who regard it as an affront to Islam.

The Islamic mysticism followed by an array of Sufi orders since the early centuries of the faith has always aroused suspicion among orthodox Muslims, whether Shiite or Sunni.

In Shiite Islam, some Sufi orders have been further tarnished by the accusation of heresy because of their association with the unorthodox Alevi faith practised in parts of Syria and Turkey.

In late May, the Iranian press reported the arrest of the leader and several members of one of the largest Sufi sects in the northeast of the country.

Clashes pitting Sufis against the security forces and hardline supporters of the official brand of Shiite Islam in the clerical capital of Qom in February last year saw several dozen Sufi mystics sentenced to the lash and a year in jail for public disorder.

[Picture: Iranian volunteers from the Basij militia parade in Tehran. Photo: AFP].

Maulana as a Messenger

Staff Reporter - The Hindu - Chennai, India
Saturday, November 17, 2007

Celebrating the 800th birth anniversary of the great mystic poet Maulana Rumi, the Department of Persian at Jamia Millia Islamia [National Islamic University] is organising an international seminar here from Saturday 17 til Tuesday 20.

The Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Sayed Mahdi Nabizadeh, will inaugurate the four-day seminar on “Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi: Messenger of Love, Peace and Unity”.

A number of delegates from various countries like Pakistan, Germany, France, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and other Central Asian countries would be taking part in the event.

“A great philosopher and multifaceted personality, the Maulana’s doctrine advocates unlimited tolerance, positive reasoning, goodness, charity and awareness through love.

For him, all religions were alike. His peaceful and tolerant teaching has appealed to women and men of all sects and creeds.

His work and thought continue to have universal relevance even today,” said a Jamia spokesperson.

[Visit the Jamia Millia Islamia : http://jmi.nic.in/index.htm].

Call for White-collar Sufism in Congress

Turkish Daily News - Ankara, Turkey
Thursday, November 15, 2007

Istanbul: In a world of increasingly blurred borders, the profile of a private sector manager changes rapidly and shifts toward better communication and empathy as well as stronger, more efficient team-work, said managers and experts during a panel discussion on the last day of the 16th Quality Congress yesterday.

Curiosity, tolerance, patience and courage are the four characteristics of an international manager, according to Coca-Cola's Eurasia advisor, Cem Kozlu.

Kozlu pointed out the tolerance philosophy of the Sufi poet Yunus Emre as the “compass” of an international manager.

Tolerance and embracing differences are common characteristics of the Sufi philosopher Mevlana Jelaladdin Rumi and Italian philosopher Francesco Petrarca, Kozlu said, highlighting the crucial importance of understanding cultural differences.

“Listening, but sincerely listening” is the key to go beyond cultural barriers, he added.

Giving an example from his Vienna days, Kozlu said that he confronted a serious cultural resistance. Learning that employees were calling him a “carpet trader,” Kozlu organized a meeting in the Vienna military museum, with the paintings illustrating the Ottoman siege of Vienna and discussed history.

Research Baltaş presented on the changing definition of leadership indicated that employees think developing relations and providing a participatory management are more important qualities than others like determination and competence in a manager.

Characteristics like egocentricity and rudeness are regarded as negative for a manager in any culture, Baltaş concluded.

How a company could be profitable and at the same time, contributing to social causes was the main theme of the speech by Peter Baker, CEO of international cargo giant TNT.

“If you want to manage quality [in the services sector], you have to manage the motivation of your people,” he said.

[Picture: Francesco Petrarca (July 20, 1304 – July 19, 1374), from the Cycle of Famous Men and Women c. 1450. Detached fresco. 247 x 153 cm. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy. Artist: Andrea di Bartolo di Bargilla (c. 1423 - 1457). Photo from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrarch].

A Mystical Mindset with an Underlying Social Mission

By Roger Levesque - Edmonton Journal - Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Thursday, November 15, 2007

Let Whirling Dervishes spin you into mystical mindset: what seems an obscure practice has an underlying message of peace and love

Whether you see it as performance art or religious ritual, the Whirling Dervishes of Rumi represent a rare, authentic example of ancient Islamic culture.

The 10-member troupe of dancers and musicians from Konya, Turkey who visited the Winspear Centre on Friday are actually tied to the mystical Sufi sect of Islam, founded after the teachings of the Arabic poet Jalaleddin Rumi (1207-1273).

Because UNESCO has declared this year, the 800th anniversary of his birth, the Year of Rumi, it's a particularly busy time for the touring ensemble.

Their concert starts with a set from the group's musicians and lead singer, featuring traditional instruments like the ney reed flute, the kanun or harp, and the bendir, a hand-drum. Then the dervishes come out to whirl with the musicians in what's known as the Sema ritual.

The dancers wear tall camel's-hair hats that represent the tombstone of the ego, and wide white robes that symbolize the shroud of the ego.

A common misconception is that the extended whirling is intended to put the dervish into some sort of trance state.

"During that moment of whirling, if you are alone and one to one with yourself, it is possible to enter such a state of deep inner reflection," says Dervish Mehmet Gomul. "But in a group performance like this, that is usually not the case."

The real point of the whirling or revolving dance is to symbolize a kind of harmony with the universe, an analogy for the motion of sub-atomic particles within our own bodies to the revolving motion of celestial bodies.

"The basic core of Sufism as taught by the poet Rumi is a way to peace and love, so the Sema ritual is a way to connect with God. That motion is to experience the intense love of God and to become part of the universe."

While dancing "like a whirling dervish" may seem an obscure practice, the underlying message of peace and love has made the works of Rumi the top bestseller among works of poetry in the United States in recent years.

Gomul explains that in Turkey, dervishes typically begin their training at the age of five or six, as do the master musicians. But there is no formal priesthood in the Sufi tradition. They are just seekers from various walks of life, some of them teachers "who want to further the message of universal love."

The current six dervishes from Konya, Turkey (the town where Rumi died) average around 30 years of age though the eldest member has been part of the practice for 45 years. The ensemble has put in some 250 performances on six continents over the past six years.

At a time when the Islamic religion is often seen as a source of violence by many in the western world and a frequent target of negative views, Gomul admits they also have an underlying social mission of sorts.

"The vast majority of Muslims feel mis-understood and this is part of the reason we hope to bring across this message of peace and love which is at the true heart of our beliefs. The word Islam actually means a way to peace."

Finally, the dervishes eschew applause from the audience at performances:
"The Sema ritual is a period of deep reflection, an inner journey, so applause can distort that. They can clap after we exit the stage if they wish."

Special thanks to translator Sahri Karakas for facilitating this interview.

"Sevgiyi Arayış"

Arts & Culture Desk - Today's Zaman - Istanbul, Turkey
Thursday, November 15, 2007

Cultural tour focuses on Mevlevi lodges

The interest in Mevlana Muhammed Jelaluddin Rumi, the 13th-century Sufi saint who advocated tolerance, reason and access to knowledge through love, continues to bring thousands together.

The Greater İstanbul Municipality will introduce cultural tours titled "Mevlevihane tours in İstanbul" as part of a series of activities to mark the 2007 Year of Mevlana declared by UNESCO.

The municipality announced in a written statement that the tours, aimed at familiarizing the public with Mevlevihanes (Mevlevi dervish lodges) in İstanbul and the Mevlevi community, will start this Saturday.

The tours will feature information about the Mevlevihanes in addition to presentations by Professor Mahmut Erol Kılıç about the Yenikapı Mevlevi lodge, which for years has served as a central Mevlevihane for Mevlevi dervishes.

The weekly tours will be organized for 40-person groups and will take place every Saturday until Dec. 29.

In line with the activities marking the year of Mevlana, an exhibition titled "Sevgiyi Arayış" (Seeking Love), featuring examples of the traditional Turkish arts of calligraphy and gilding, will open on Nov. 21 at the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts in Sultanahmet.

[Picture: Qur'an's wooden case; Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, Istanbul http://www.virtualistanbul.com/virtualistanbul/Museum_of_turkish_and_islamic_arts.htm].

Supporting Communities

Northampton Chronicle & Echo - Northampton, U.K.
Thursday, November 15, 2007

A spiritual order of the Whirling Dervishes will perform in Northampton for the first time this month.

The Turkish dancers derive from Sufism, a moderate form of Islam, which promotes mutual understanding and divine love.

Founded in the 13th century by philosopher and poet Rumi, the order will appear as part of a Spring Educational Society project, which supports Turkish-speaking communities in other countries.

Society spokesman Selcuk Bassoy said: "This is a chance for the people of Northampton to witness this intensely spiritual and inspirational performance without having to travel to Turkey."

As well as the Whirling Dervishes, the evening will include music, poems, the Turkish paper-decorating art of marbling and video presentations.

The performance is on November 22 at 7.30pm, in the main hall, Avenue Campus, University of Northampton.Tickets cost £10 and can be booked by calling Mr Bassoy on 07921 645887 or emailing info@springeducation.org.uk.

Painted Dervishes

By Saadia Khalid - Pakistan Times - Lahore, Pakistan
Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Islamabad:
Portraying the whirling dervishes of Konya, a painting exhibition by Shafique Farooqi began at the Nomad Art Gallery on Tuesday.

Displaying 39 pieces, the exhibition is a tribute to Maulana Rumi, the poet, philosopher and Sufi mystic, who claimed that whirling brought him closer to God. Rumi’s followers were spiritually inspired by him and are titled as ‘Whirling Dervishes’.

The rotating movement of dervishes called Sema (Saamaa) was a source of inspiration for Farooqi, who has a Masters degree in Fine Arts from Turkey. The dervishes plant their left foot firmly on the ground, while spinning with the right one so that they find themselves above the earth, in communion with the divine.

There were two types of paintings at the exhibition, distinguished on the basis of their colour schemes. One type had highly contrastive dark strokes including shades of red, black, orange and blue, while the other group had very subtle pastel tones that blended well.

Each painting had two dots, one at the bottom and one at the top while a figure lay between them. The bottom dot symbolised the earth from which the figure levitated to the other world of spiritualism indicated by the top dot.

Talking to Daily Times, Farooqi said he used powerful colours as a medium to portray the energy and power that a dervish might feel in the state of Sema.

“These colours can provoke a real mystical feeling that satisfies one’s spiritual appetite,” he said.

Farooqi said he emphasised on the dress and the cap of the dervishes, while blurring the face, as their facial expression were not as important as their movement.

“The real task is to create a lyrical movement of the figures which ca not be created unless one has deeply observed the Sema,” he said.

Farooqi pointed out that the raised hands of the dervishes depicted their urge to go beyond the earth and to reach above the skies.

“There is a force in them which is forcing them to move faster and with more energy to obtain the ultimate goal which is to cross the limits of the skies,” he said.

Nomad Director Nageen Hayat said that the state of levitation of dervishes in the paintings creates a powerful ambience.

“One can see the energy flowing out of the paintings which have been created masterfully by the painter, depicting their powerful movement in strong colour combinations,” she said.

Hayat said the paintings create a strong connection of human beings with the spiritual world. “It is something out of the world that conveys the futility of the material symbolised by the lack of any facial expressions,” she said. The exhibition will continue till November 20.

Harmony

Tehran Times - Tehran, Iran
Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Asia Society honors Shahram Nazeri with Lifetime Cultural Heritage Award

Iranian vocalist Shahram Nazeri received the Lifetime Cultural Heritage Award at the Annual Dinner of the Asia Society of New York on November 6. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and a number of cultural and political figures and entrepreneurs attended the event.

In his acceptance speech, Nazeri expressed hope that music would bring all the people of the world together in harmony.

He also gave a special performance at the ceremony, accompanied by his son Hafez Nazeri and the Rumi Ensemble.

“Shahram Nazeri is a musical icon. I am delighted that he will be performing with the Rumi Ensemble this evening,” Ban Ki-moon said.

In recognition of the work Nazeri has done on the musical vocalization of the lyrics of the Iranian poet Molana Jalal ad-Din Rumi, the French government presented Nazeri the Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur medal during a ceremony in Paris on September 29.

Voice of the Heart

Artlinks News - Johannesburg, South Africa
Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Come, come, whoever you are, ours is not a caravan of despair…’

This year is the 800th Anniversary of the birth of 13 Century Persian poet and mystic Jelaludin Rumi, and popular English actor and storyteller Duncan Mackintosh returns to South Africa to bring Rumi’s universal message alive through a series of performances and workshops.

Mackintosh has performed Rumi and run workshops for many years in numerous countries. His performances leave audiences in no doubt as to why Rumi’s inspired words are so widely read in the West.

“There is perhaps no one person in history who expressed the essential unity of mankind more eloquently and passionately than Rumi”, says Mackintosh.

“His name means literally ‘Majesty of Religion,’ and he is believed to have said that his work would return to the world when it was most needed. The works of Rumi reach across faiths and no faiths, beyond creed and religion. He is also the most popular poet in the USA.”

Based in England, South African born Mackintosh has returned to this country on several occasions, and has built up a large following of fans who share his enthusiasm and passion for spiritual awakening and transformation.

“Through the way Duncan speaks Rumi's poems my own longing for Oneness and Truth rose up inside me”, wrote Interfaith Minister, Rev Annie Blompied. “Not only that, we laughed a lot too!”

"Duncan works out of a deep love and sense for the Truth - unsensational, yet truly profound”, adds Phillipa Blakestone, who attended a workshop in Scotland.

South African teacher Estelle Bryer claims that her experiences at one of Mackintosh’s workshops will never leave her. "I cannot thank him enough. He is a fine midwife.”

Mackintosh will be in South Africa for a limited number of performances of Voice of the Heart and accompanying workshops, and early booking is essential to avoid missing this opportunity.

He did perform Voice of the Heart with Ashley Ramsden at the Sufi Temple, Claremont in Cape Town on the 15 and 16 October; this will be followed by a workshop on 17 November.

Next up will be a short solo season at the Kwasuka Theatre in Durban from 19-26 November. The Durban workshop will take place on Saturday 24 November.

Ashley Ramsden presents the works of Rumi in Johannesburg at the Goethe Institute in Parkwood on 25 November.

For more information contact Clinton Marius on 082 573 3704 or at copypuppy@artslink.co.za