I Will Continue

By Deepa Ganesh, "Sufi singers condemn attack on shrine" - The Hindu - Chennai, India
Monday, March 9, 2009

Bangalore: “I will continue to spread the message of the Saints and Sufis through music, come what may,” declared Shafi Faqir, the Sufi singer from Umerkot in the Sindh province.

He was recently in Bangalore to sing at the Kabir festival. He was speaking to The Hindu in response to the recent attack by the Taliban on the shrine of the 17th century mystic Pashto poet Rahman Baba in Peshawar.

Three days before the attack, the Taliban had sent a letter to the shrine authorities warning them of serious consequences if they did not put an end to their activities. Their ire was directed against the participation of women in the musical offerings, which they termed an “obscenity.”

“They have no understanding of Islam. Even before undivided India was split and we made the crossover, Kabir, Baba Farid, Bulle Shah, Mira were part of our traditional repertoire. They wrote with one central idea of universal love and this binds both our countries strongly,” Mr. Faqir said.

He said that in Pakistan where there are a large number of women Sufi singers like Abida Parveen, the news numbed and enraged singers.

Abu Mohammed, a famous qawwali singer from Karachi who also sang at the Kabir festival was no less outraged.

“Islam like other religions of the world is built on principles of love and tolerance. These people who are on the war path are not true Muslims at all,” he said.

The cultural and religious fabric of the country was far too strong to be torn by agendas that were political and not even remotely religious, he said.

Picture from the Kabir Festival. Photo: Murali Kumar K./The Hindu http://tinyurl.com/dgxkst