Syrian Delights

By Razzak Abro, *Syrian Dervishes bring message of peace* - Daily Times - Lahore, Pakistan
Saturday, July 4, 2009

Karachi: A Syrian band has arrived in the city to perform at a two day Syrian Dervish Festival, which includes Sufi music and a dance festival with the theme ‘A call for peace’.

Festival organisers said that the festival, which begins from today (Saturday), would be a chance to meditate through music, dance and Syrian delights, adding that the festival comes at a time when Pakistan is facing the challenges of extremism and terrorism.

“The festival is being held at an appropriate time in association with the Embassy of Syria. It has more importance at this juncture as it calls for peace,” said Chang Cey Wen, the general manager of the local hotel where the festival is being held, while addressing a press conference on Friday.

He said that the festival is close to Pakistan and Islam.

The Syrian troupe’s leader Hisham Al Khatib said that the dance and music in this festival is spiritual. “The artists would present Sufi songs by different mystic poets. Besides, they would stage the whirling Dervish dance featuring Sufi mysticism (Mawlawiyah),” he said adding that it was Maulana Jaluluddin Rumi who founded the whirling dance.

The members of his band also gave a preview of their performance on the occasion.

The Sufi whirling or Sufi spinning is a turning meditation that originated among mystics and is still practiced by the Dervishes of the Mawlevi order. It is a symbolic ritual through which the dervish aims to reach perfection. The aim is to abandon one’s egos or personal desires by listening to Allah and the music and then thinking about Allah while whirling.

The dance and some of the musical instruments were similar to those found in Sindh at the shrines of Sufi poets including Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai and Sachal Sarmast.

The Syrian dervish artists’ performance is similar to that of the faqirs at Bhittai and Sachal’s shrine.

Interestingly, one of the musical instruments, Oud, played at the preview was similar to Tanburo that Bhittai had introduced in Sindh.

According to Khatib, though the shape of both instruments is similar but Oud is bigger than the Tanburo. He also displayed other musical instruments including Kanun, Pandero and Naai, which is similar to the ‘Been’ found in Sindh.

Khatib is the executive director of his institute, Tahlila Institution for Sufi and Andalusian Production (TISAP).

According to him, the institute undertakes Sufi and Andalusian art production based on lyrical Andalusian poetry genre Muwashshah, which harmonises with the institute’s style of highly delicate religious recitation.