Sufi Islam in Egypt

Sufi Islam in Egypt  Daily News Egypt, Sarah El Masry  /  October 21, 2012 

 

Lately, Sufis have been one of the vital cards utilised in Egyptian parliamentary and presidential elections. Being supportive of the “civil state” camp and against political Islam added more to the long list of misconceptions about Sufis. Not only are they depicted as indulgers in folkloric celebrations, poetic recitals and religious chants, but also as allies of secularism, a precondition to be bashed by their rival religious group, the Salafis. Daily News Egypt explores the meaning of Sufism through the eyes of its adherents, the insightful explanations of some Sufi sheikhs about the long rivalry against Wahhabism and the current Sufi involvement in politics.

“The mawalid [plural of moulid, birthdates of the prophet’s family and other awliya'a, saints] have turned into popular as well as religious celebrations, so not every person who goes to them is a Sufi,” said Sheikh Mohamed Mazhar, the leader of the Borhameya order in Egypt.
Two of the major mawalid that Sufis celebrate annually were held in the past two weeks. On 18 October, over one million visitors travelled to Desouk in Kafr El Sheikh governorate to celebrate the moulid of sidi Ibrahim El Desouki. On the preceding Thursday another million visitors from all over Egypt and even from other Islamic countries flooded Tanta in El Gharbiya governorate to commemorate the moulid of Sidi Ahmed El Badawi. The crowds who went there sought not just blessings, but to recharge themselves spiritually and to be reminded of the virtues Islam calls for through the remembrance of these righteous men’s deeds and attitudes.
The mawalid combine religious rituals such as dhikr (recitation of the names of Allah and the prophet and some verbal prayers) and inshad (an Islamic religious singing that allows minimal musical instruments) as well as some folkloric traditions such as poetry recitals, singing, dancing and selling oriental desserts and toys. Sufis originally celebrated mawalid for spiritual reasons but over the years the folkloric traditions grew bigger and to overshadow Sufism’s tenets, leaving behind an image that Sufism is just a circus for the commoners, uneducated and poor.
Like other religious communities in Egypt, there is no official information about the numbers of Sufis, however most estimates approximates the number of Sufis to around 10 million Egyptians. These estimates are much dependent on attendance of mawalid, religious lessons and dhikr and inshad sessions.  While none of these events are restricted by any means to the disciples of the turuq (plural of tariqa, order or path of Sufism), many people can go in and out of a Sufi order which makes it even harder to make a precise estimate.
What it means to be a Sufi
As he sipped his coffee, Ahmed Cherif put aside his colourful rosary on the table and commenced a passionate discourse about what attracted him to Sufism.
“I have always admired inshad and praise sessions because when I lived in Alexandria many of my friends used to hold dhikr sessions. Also my uncle Sheikh Mazhar guided the Borhameya order, but we never connected on that level,” said Cherif.
After his graduation, he knocked at the door of Sufism.
He continued, “two years ago many things happened to me and I talked to him [his uncle], attended his lessons and got attached to him. I then discovered that Sufism was very different from how I perceived it.”
Cherif read about Sufis, their ideas, how Sufism started and he started adhering to the Borhameya order.
“My first perception of Sufism was solely focused on the physical practices rather than the spiritual ones. I knew there were different aspects of it for the heart and soul, but I hadn’t thought it over,” he said.
Cherif’s definition of Sufism crystallised in freeing your baser self from the shackles of materialism which controls everything. He elaborated, “today people decide for us what to wear, buy, eat and drink; we no longer feel spirituality. Even religion is now measured with material rewards. Do this and you will get a reward from Allah. How about doing this because you love it or because it’s right?”
He thinks that true followers of Islam should control themselves because the prophet, peace be upon him (PBUH), was not afraid of Muslims being infidels, he was afraid of them being tempted by el donia (worldly desires).
He explained, “you practice self-restraint because many times you follow your desires to fulfill your ego. However, if you submitted yourself and emptied the path between you and Allah, then you would break free from anything that enslaves you.”
He believes that you can learn from reading about something, but Sufism requires one to act upon its principles to truly experience it.
“We learnt in books on religion to love, respect and to be humble. I saw that Sufis conform to these values. I saw that differences dissolve in the order. People from all classes, professions get together and differences never came up. I felt it was genuine,” said Cherif.
He described the changes he observed in himself. Some trivial things that used to matter to him were no longer important. Conforming to the five pillars of the order disciplines the person; eating less to purify the body, speaking only to say good, limiting sleeping, refraining from vicious company and keeping dhikr.
“I thought, it actually works!”
Sufi orders  
There are many narratives about the origins of the word Sufi. Some opinions say the name comes from safaa (purity), mystics wearing souf (wool), or el estefaa, being chosen by Allah for their religiosity and sincerity.
Sheikh Mazhar of the Borhameya order explained what Sufism is in his mind.
He said, “Sufism is the rouh [soul] of Islam. It seeks to help people reaching ehsan [a level of perfection and certainty in worshiping Allah] because it is based on the principle of purifying the baser self.”
Sheikh Mazhar is a graduate of Cairo University in economics and political science. His father became the sheikh of the order in 1968. In 1993, the disciples of the order pledged allegiance to him because he was always accompanying his father and they trusted his knowledge of the order.
“The ruling principles of any order are to abide by the Quran and the Sunnah [actions and sayings] of the prophet (PBUH) in our manners, talks, and actions. The order is really about istiqama, incorruptibility,” he said.
In Egypt, there are more than 75 Sufi orders. Each was established by a grand master. The biggest four orders are El Badaweya by sidi Ahmed El Badawi, El Borhameya El Desoukeya by sidi Ibrahim El Desouki, El Shazoliya by Sheikh Aboul Hassan Al Shazli, and Al Rifa’eya by Sheikh Ahmed Al Rifa’i. Other orders such as Al Qenawiya by Sheikh Abdel Rahim El Qenawi, founded in Qena, Al Naqshabandiya, Al Kaderiya, and Al Khelwatiya have chapters in Alexandria and the Nile delta.
Sheikh Mazhar explained that the difference between the orders relates to the spiritual aspect rather than to the creed. In other words, each order is not a distinct religion in itself. Each order might follow a different fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) school, but the leader of the order does not invent a whole new school.
He said, “the methods followed by the grand master with his disciples differ, but the core ruling principles of Sufism are consistent throughout the different orders.”
Sheikh Alaa Aboul Azayem of the Al Azmeya order in Cairo agrees with Sheikh Mazhar. He said, “all the orders are spiritual paths to reach Allah.”
Sheikh Aboul Azayem gave an example of these minor differences among the orders saying, “In the Azmeya order we observe praying the five prayers on time, we have our distinguished dua’a [verbal prayers], our mawalid [many of them are common among all orders] and we follow the Malki school of fiqh.”
Steffen Stelzer, a professor of philosophy at the American University in Cairo and one of the representatives of the Naqshbandiya order in Egypt, thinks the different label for the order are not important. Instead, he believes the emphasis should be on the core of Sufism.
“There is an old saying that says ‘at the beginning Sufism was a thing without a name, now it’s a name without a thing,’” he said. “What interests me is the thing and not the name; the living kernel of spirituality of any religion. It has been called Sufism in the context of Islam with the aim of pleasing Allah. If you’re a Christian, Jewish or whatever, and you’re aim is to please God then you can call that thing whatever you like. Labels and tags are not important.”
Stelzer’s story with Sufism took an interesting turn from someone who was not interested in Islam in 1980 to a leader of an order. The secret was in observing a true embodiment of Islam as a religion.
“People in Egypt knew what is right and what is wrong, but none of them was inviting. I did not see a true example of Islam. Then, I was interested in mysticism and I intended to learn about it in Japan through Zen Buddhism. Before traveling, I was introduced to a Sufi Sheikh in Turkey. That meeting made the difference and connected me to Sufism. I did not read about it before, it was the other way around, I met the person then I started reading about Islam.”
In addition to consistency in principles binding all orders, they emphasise purity and asceticism of the heart.
Sheikh Mazhar clarified that when people associate Sufism with austerity and asceticism they sometimes miss the point. According to him, Sufism and Islam in general are against excessive materialism. However, this does not mean that people should refrain from work. He said, “the Sahabah [the prophet’s companions] had their trade and jobs and the prophet did not ask them to dedicate themselves for worship only because Islam encourages people to work and be productive.”
Wahhabism, the antithesis of Sufis
Despite the authentic Islamic principles and foundations Sufism is based upon, as a doctrine it has been criticised heavily by its rival the Wahhabis (in Egypt Salafis adopt the Wahhabi doctrine).
Historically, since its foundation in the 18^th century in Najd, the Wahhabi movement, named after Mohamed Abdel Wahhab, adopted an extreme interpretation of the Hanbali school of fiqh and sought to purify Islam from all bid’a (innovations and un-Islamic practices). The Wahhabis were against celebrating mawalid and consecrating shrines. They believe that by such practices Sufis tarnish the Islamic faith.
Stelzer commented on Wahhabis saying, “you have different ideologies competing to represent purity. The Wahhabis want to bring back the simplest forms and that’s what represents purity for them. The desires to purity have some dangers with them because you think that you’re the only clean one and that everyone else is dirty.”
On the other hand, Sheikh Mazhar agreed with some of the criticisms by Salafis and disagreed with others. He agreed that some Sufis are not good disciples of Sufism. Those disciples sometimes commit mistakes against Shari’a and in that case Salafis are right to criticise Sufism.
He said, “Ibn Timia [the grand Sheikh who influenced Abdel Wahhab] distinguished between the early pure forms of Sufism and the later forms. The former he praised and the latter he criticised. However, he was criticising with knowledge of the ruling principles. Some critics of Sufism slam it so hard and generalise the wrong practices they see without having knowledge of the principle.”
Sheikh Mazhar explained that having awliya’a and virtuous men is important in Islamic societies.
“If the awliya’a are not highlighted, then people will think that Islamic virtues like loyalty, asceticism, honesty are just theoretical manners restricted to prophets only. Showing them that in our time there were awliya’a who practiced these virtues strengthens their belief in religion.”
It seems that Sufi Sheikhs and representatives agree that with time Sufism developed practices that were and still are tarnishing the appearance of Sufism.
Sheikh Mazhar added, “some critics have to do with our cultural practices as Egyptians, like cleanliness of our mosques during the mawalid.”
Beyond the Salafis’ attempts to demonise Sufis, Sufis have been looked down upon because they were considered a source of backwardness and traditionalism in Egyptian society. According to Stelzer, this portrayal of Sufis dates back to the colonial era and the rivalry between east and west.
He said, “at a certain historical period in Egypt, resentment started building towards Sufism by the middle classes because it was thought to be for common and stupid people. To be able to follow up with advancement of the west you needed to get rid of the stupid circus stuff.”
Sufis in politics
Sufis Sheikhs were involved in politics with the old regime through the Supreme Council of Sufi Orders. Although the council is somewhat disconnected from Sufi orders and is regarded as a regulatory authority, its existence curbs the autonomy of Sufi orders from the state. It has registered about 75 orders, leaving a further 25 unregistered orders deprived of certain privileges in the public sphere, such as permissions to use streets for celebrating mawalid. The purpose of the council is to advance Sufi rights; however it is hampered due to its structure and its semi-governmental nature.

The Mausoleum of Al-Hussein in Cairo is a sacred Sufi site. (Photo by Sarah El-Masry)

“Although the council is supposed to serve Sufi communities, it does not represent Sufis really,” said Sheikh Aboul Azayem.
The council is made up of ten members that are elected from the general assembly of sheikhs of Sufi orders and five representatives appointed by Al-Azhar (the most prestigious Sunni institute in the Islamic world), the local authority and the ministries of interior, culture and interior. Some members of the council are affiliated with the National Democratic Party and the chairman of the council is elected by the council and approved by the president.
The current chairman, Sheikh Abdel Hady Al Kasaby, was approved by ousted President Hosni Mubarak and therefore after the revolution, the Sufi Reform Front was founded by Sheikh Aboul Azayem to counterbalance the council. After many attempts at mediation between the front and the council, a reconciliation took place in January and the current formation of the council is awaiting new elections next year.
The entry of Salafis into politics in post revolutionary Egypt induced Sufis to enter politics too. In the wave of polarisation between Islamist and secular groups that hit Egypt, Sufis were a vital card. Their great numbers and solid connections attracted political parties to take advantage of Sufi networks. The secular and “civil” camp aligned themselves with the Sufis who are naturally opposed to political Islam.
Only a few orders opted to enter the political arena and established a number of Sufi parties such as the Egyptian Tahrir Party, El Nasr Party (victory) and Sout El Hurriya Party (sound of freedom). Only the Egyptian Tahrir acquired legal status as a political party while the others are still under establishment. The Egyptian Tahrir was founded by Sheikh Aboul Azayem and the majority of the members of the party are adherents of Al Azmeya order.
Since it originated in 1930s, Al Azmeya order has been involved in politics by printing brochures against the British occupation in Egypt, issuing fatwas (religious rulings) against selling Palestinian lands to Zionist settlers and publishing books rebuking Wahhabism.
Due to its overt involvement in politics, Al Azmeya order, in particular, has been criticised by different media outlets. The media capitalised on the membership of Sheikh Aboul Azayem in the Iranian-based organization known as the International Academy for the Approximation between Islamic Sects (IAAIS) and some Islamist fronts insinuated that Sufis are being infiltrated by Shi’a groups to be used to spread Shi’a Islam in Egypt.
Sheikh Aboul Azayem commented on the accusations of spreading Shi’a Islam saying, “Iran is an Islamic power, calling it an infidel only helps Israel and divide the Islamic nation further.”
He believes that Al-Azhar should play a stronger role in reforming what Islamists ruin. He said, “Egypt is Al-Azhar. If Al-Azhar is virtuous, so is Egypt, if Al-Azhar goes off track, so does Egypt,” referring to the autonomy of Al-Azhar from the state and its impartiality.
Unlike Sheikh Aboul Azayem, both Sheikh Mazhar and Stelzer think that Sufis should be out of the political realm and if they are to play a role in it, it should be to guide those in power towards the true principles of Islam.
Sheikh Mazhar said, “politics has its own balance of power, is governed by interests and needs compromises that can endanger some religious values.”
Stelzer believes in Plato’s statement that the best leader suited to govern a country is the one who has least inclination to do so, because anyone who has the inclination to rule is in danger of serving himself rather than severing the people.
Sufis are not peculiar in their diversity and differences; they are like any other community. They cannot be considered a monolithic group, therefore their entry to politics was not a position taken up by all Sufis in Egypt. The same goes for their mistakes; they should not be generalised or taken out of the bigger context. It is worthy after the revolution to tear down the misconceptions about such a big constituent of society to grant the different communities the freedom they need in Egypt’s new era.

Why are they targeting the Sufis?

Why are they targeting the Sufis? Richard Schiffman, New Internationalist blog, Oct 23 2012

Afghanistan in 2001? The Taliban destruction of these massive archaeological monuments dating back to the sixth century has become emblematic of the cultural and religious intolerance of radical Islam.What is less well known is that fanatical elements have done equal damage to Islam’s own religious heritage. Not only have Shi’a and Sunni partisans bombed each other’s mosques in countries like Iraq, Syria and Pakistan, but Sufi places of worship are under attack throughout the Islamic world.

In September, the world was shocked to learn that the US ambassador and three other Americans had been killed in an attack on a US Consulate in Libya. Few heard of the other violent events there later that month, which included the destruction of Sufi shrines in three Libyan cities.

In Tripoli, security forces watched passively as militants with bulldozers levelled the shrine of al-Shaab al-Dahmani, a venerated Sufi saint, in broad daylight. In Benghazi, on the other hand, locals fought back, killing three of the militants who were assaulting a holy place.

Perhaps we don’t hear much about these incidents because attacks on Sufis and Sufi sites have become routine, not just in Libya, but throughout the Islamic world. This past summer, Islamic militants in Mali demolished historical mausoleums, universities and libraries in the ancient Saharan trading town of Timbuktu, several of which were on UNESCO’s list of world heritage sites. Sufi worship halls have also been turned to rubble in Iran, where the Islamic government has reportedly jailed and tortured thousands of Sufi practitioners for their unorthodox views. And in Egypt since the fall of Mubarak Sufi shrines have been torched and the Sufi chanting ritual called zhikr has been banned in some locations.

The deadliest attacks to date have occurred in Pakistan, including last year’s bombing of the Sakhi Sarkar shrine during the annual festival of the Sufi saint, in which 41 worshippers were killed. Meanwhile, in the former Soviet Republic of Daghestan, the Sufi leader Effendi Chirkeisky, along with six of his followers, was assassinated at the end of August by a female suicide bomber. Chirkeisky, a critic of Muslim extremism, had ironically been working to broker peace between warring Islamic factions.

For many here in the US, Sufism is associated with the ecstatic verse of the 13th-century mystic, Jalaluddin Rumi, whose poetry in translation sells more copies than any living US poet. Rumi’s popularity derives in part from the fact that he taught that religion is less a matter of external observance than an intimate, personal relationship with God. This undoubtedly appeals to our American ideal of individualism and free-form seeking.

What many contemporary fans of Rumi may not realize is that Sufism in practice is more of a communal affair than a lonely quest. Moreover, the philosophy of Rumi and his fellow Sufis is very much alive today. It has spread to the distant corners of the Islamic world and beyond, and comprises many different orders, each with their own teachings and modes of practice.

Historically, Sufism was one of the great wellsprings of Islamic philosophy, and deeply influenced luminaries like the great Muslim theologian Abu Hamid al-Ghazali and the 13th-century mystic thinker, Ibn Arabi. Some have credited Sufism’s open-minded approach to knowledge with the development of Islamic medicine and other sciences in the Middle Ages. Sufism’s influence on the literature, music, art and architecture of Islam is also immense, and it was a potent force in many of the political and social reform movements in the 19th century.

While nobody can say with certainty how many Sufis there are, they undoubtedly number in the millions in countries like Iran, Indonesia and Pakistan, and untold hundreds of millions of Muslims take part in Sufi ceremonies and festivals.

‘In the Islamic world,’ according to Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Professor of Islamic Studies at George Washington University, ‘Sufism is the most powerful antidote to the religious radicalism called fundamentalism, as well as the most important source for responding to the challenges posed by modernism.’

This pervasive influence may be why Sufis have been targets of the fundamentalist, who see their kinder, gentler form of Islam as a standing challenge to their own rigid orthodoxy. Sufi practices, such as the famous whirling of the Mevlevi dervishes in Turkey, first practiced by Rumi himself, employ music, dance and spiritual recitation to awaken the God who Sufis say is asleep in the human heart. Nothing could be further from the grim-faced puritanism of the Islamic fundamentalists who accuse the Sufis of being ‘idolaters’ and ‘pagans’. Sufis reply that they are hearkening back to the roots of Islam, which means ‘peace’.

I can attest to the power of Sufi practices to provide a glimpse of the ‘peace which passeth understanding’ which is at the core of all religious experience. For several years I attended the weekly zickr of a Turkish Sufi order in New York City. The chanting in Turkish and Arabic was co-ordinated with our movements and the flow of the breath to create a trance-like state which I found to be both subtler and more powerful and enduring than the drug experiences which I had pursued during college. Equally remarkable was the feeling of deep affection and fellowship which was served up along with the tea and Turkish sweets after the ceremony.

The Sufism that I know, while deeply Islamic in form, is universal in spirit. I think often of what our Sheikh, Muzzafer Effendi, told his Turkish followers when they asked him why he didn’t convert more American dervishes to Islam. ‘There are more than enough Muslims already,’ he replied. ‘What the world needs is more lovers of God!’

I would love to say this to the extremists who are bombing holy places and attacking Sufi practitioners.

Richard Schiffman is an American dervish in the Jerrahi order of Sufism. He is also the author of two religious biographies, and a poet and journalist whose work has appeared in the Washington Post, the Christian Science Monitor, Reuters, the Guardian and on NPR.

Sufi orders: a vital part of Egyptian society

Sufi orders: a vital part of Egyptian society Al-Sayyed Hossein, Ahram Online, 9 Oct 2012
With an estimate 10 million members, Sufi orders are an under-reported influence in Egyptian life

A march for Sufi Orders in Egypt(Photo: courtesy from sufi.net)

Sufi orders have chapters all over Egypt, which organise festivals on saints days, hold chanting events, and engage in community work. Several chapters offer free-of-charge funerary service and some organise accommodation for visitors.
Sufi sheikhs, or grand masters, have a reputation for austerity and wisdom and are held in great veneration by their murids, or disciples. The murids come from a cross section of society, and many hold high-status posts as academics, officers, doctors,and journalists.
Sheikh Alaa Abu Al-Azayem, the grand master of the Al-Azimiya order, says that many Sufi orders were formed by immigrants who had arrived in Egypt from other parts of the Islamic world centuries ago, which explains the different in approach and style from one order to another.
Abu Al-Azayem adds that the Egyptian Sufism is known for its moderation and easygoing manners.
Researcher Abul Fadl Al-Isnawi says that the most important of Egyptian Sufi orders is the Al-Rifa’iya, founded by Ahmad Al-Rifa’i Ibn Saleh Ibn Abbas (b. 512 hegira), who refused to accept any disciples who have no known profession, as he didn’t want his order to be filled with people who have no desire to work and be part of society.
Another major order is the Al-Badawiya, founded in Tanta by Al-Sayyed Ahmad al-Badawi in Tanta, who taught his disciples to be at peace with themselves and the world.
Sheikh Abdel Rahim Al-Qenawi, who founded the Al-Qenawiya order in Qena, also ordered his disciples to remain fully involved in daily life while seeking spiritual evolvement.
Sheikh Abul Hasan al-Shazli Al-Hoseini ibn Abdallah, founder of Al-Shazliya order, emphasised seclusion and self-control as a path for salvation. Al-Shazliya has served as a role model for several other orders in the country.
In every geographical area, some orders have gained more popularity than others. For example, the Al-Borhamiya and Al-Saadiya are widespread in Cairo; while the Al-Naqshabandiya, Al-Khodariya, Al-Hashemiya, Al-Sharnubia Al-Burhamiya are predominant in Alexandria.
In Al-Gharbiya, the leading orders are the Al-Qasabiya Al-Khelwatiya, Al-Shennawiya Al-Ahmadiya, and Al-Marwaniya. In Al-Menoufiya, the most popular orders are the Al-Zahidiya. Al-Ahmadiya and Al-Mosaylihiya Al-Khelwatiya.
In all, the members of Sufi orders outnumber the members of Egyptian political parties. Some researchers estimate membership of Sufi orders at 10 million in both rural and urban areas.
Over time, every order developed its own paraphernalia, including flags, insignia, music, and ritualised celebrations.
Despite their rivalry, in the sense of seeking to recruit more followers, Sufi orders are remarkably cooperative and hospitable to one another. In various festivals, Sufi orders invite each other and help organise accommodation for visitors, which adds to their visibility and boosts their collective popularity.

Can Sufism Defuse Terrorism?

[Please note that although this article was written in 2009 it is included here today as it is still of relevance].

Can Sufism Defuse Terrorism? Time, Ishaan Tharoor, July 22, 2009 

In recent years, the dominant image of Islam in the minds of many Westerners has been one loaded with violence and shrouded with fear. The figures commanding global attention — be they al-Qaeda's leadership or certain mullahs in Tehran — preach an apocalyptic creed to an uncompromising faithful. This may be the Islam of a radical fringe, but in an era of flag-burnings and suicide bombings, it is the Islam of the moment.
And that is why some lament the decline of another, older and more tolerant Islam. For centuries many of the world's Muslims were, in one way or another, practi-tioners of Sufism, a spiritualism that centers on the mystical connection between the individual and the divine. Sufism's ethos was egalitarian, charitable and friendly, often propagated by wandering seers and storytellers. It blended with local cultures and cemented Islam's place from North Africa to the Indian subcontinent. (Read "An Islam of Many Paths.")
Yet amid the hurly-burly of 19th century empires, Sufism lost ground. The fall of Islam's traditional powers — imperial dynasties such as the Mughals and the Ottomans — created a hunger for a more muscular religious identity than that found in the intoxicating whirl of a dervish or the quiet wisdom of a sage. Nationalism and fundamentalism subdued Sufism's eclectic spirit. In the West, Sufism now usually provokes paeans to an alternative, ascetic life, backed up perhaps by a few verses from Rumi, a medieval Sufi poet much cherished by New Age spiritualists. But there was nothing fringe or alternative about it. "In many places, Sufism was the way whole populations expressed their Muslim identity," says Faisal Devji, an expert on political Islam at Oxford University. "In South Asia, it was the norm."
Some analysts think that historical legacy can still be exploited. A 2007 report by the Rand Corp., a U.S. think tank, advised Western governments to "harness" Sufism, saying its adherents were "natural allies of the West." Along similar lines, the Algerian government announced in July that it would promote the nation's Sufi heritage on radio and television in a bid to check the powerful influence of Salafism, a more extreme strain of Islam that is followed by al-Qaeda-backed militants waging a war against the country's autocratic state.
But can Sufism really bend terrorist swords into plowshares? The question is most urgent in South Asia, home to more than a third of the world's Muslims and the cradle of Sufi Islam. Shrines of Sufi saints are ubiquitous in India and Pakistan and still attract thousands of devotees. Yet the Taliban in Pakistan have set about destroying such sites, which are anathema to their literalist interpretation of the Koran. "Despite our ancient religious tradition," says Ayeda Naqvi, a writer and Sufi scholar from Lahore, "we are being bullied and intimidated by a new form of religion that is barely one generation old." (See pictures of the Taliban on LIFE.com.)
Still, Naqvi, Devji and other academics doubt that governments can use Sufism to fight their political battles. As in the past, foreign meddling would likely do more harm than good. "What is needed today, more than the West pushing any one form of religion," says Naqvi, "is a propagation of the underlying values of Sufism — love, harmony and beauty." This is not easy, especially in Pakistan, where poverty, corruption and the daily toll of the global war on terrorism simmer together in a volatile brew. Set against this, the transcendental faith of Sufi mystics seems quaint, if not entirely impotent.
But there is more to the allure of Sufism than its saints and sheiks. In 2001, one of the first things to happen after the Taliban was chased out of Kabul was that the doors of the Afghan capital's Bollywood cinemas were flung open to the public. The language of cosmic love that animates Bollywood music and enchants millions of Muslims around the world, even if sung and acted out by non-Muslims, is a direct legacy of centuries of Sufi devotional poetry. At Sufism's core, suggests Oxford University's Devji, is an embrace of the world. "It allows you to identify beyond your mosque and village to something that can be both Islamic and secular," he says. "It's a liberation that jihadis could never offer."
Nevertheless, it has also been Sufism's fate to fall afoul of more narrow-minded dogmas — even during an earlier golden age. The tomb of Sarmad the Armenian, a storied Sufi saint, sits close to Delhi's Great Mosque. Sarmad looked for unity within Muslim and Hindu theology, and famously walked the streets of Lahore and Delhi naked, denouncing corrupt nobles and clerics. In 1661, he was arrested for heresy and beheaded under the orders of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, a ruler admired now by Pakistani hard-liners for his championing of an orthodox Islam and the destruction of hundreds of Hindu temples. As Sarmad was led to his execution, he was heard to mutter lines of poetry: "There was an uproar, and we opened our eyes from eternal sleep," intoned the Sufi. "Saw that the night of wickedness endured, so we slept again." For many, Sufism's slumber has lasted far too long.

Sufism’s message of tolerance has universal relevance: Sherry

Sufism’s message of tolerance has universal relevance: Sherry Pakistan Today 28 Sep 2012

WASHINGTON - Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Sherry Rehman told an American audience at a cultural event on Saturday night that Sufism embraces the spirit of tolerance and inclusion, and its message is increasingly relevant in this age of competing ideologies.
She was speaking at the Smithsonian Institute, where popular Pakistani Sufi singer Sanam Marvi gave a mesmerizing performance, attended by Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar.The new US ambassador to Pakistan, Richard Olson, senior American officials and a large number of Pakistani and American followers of the mystic poetry and music attended the performance by the acclaimed singer. In her remarks, sherry made it clear that Sufism was not a sect of Islam. “Its practice encapsulates the very essence of our faith,” the Pakistani envoy said.
“For over a decade now,” she said, “we have seen the marketplace of global ideas distorted by new walls of hatred and prejudice... This negativity causes many to lose hope in the project of peaceful civilizations, that instead of clashing, nurture the best in humanity.”
She told the audience that Pakistan’s founding father, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, actively advocated a plural model of citizenship, asserting that all Pakistani citizens shall enjoy the same rights and privileges, regardless of their religious affiliation.
Sherry explained to the attentive audience the message of Sufism as she observed that “being grounded in the mystical connection between the individual and the divine, Sufism embraces the spirit of tolerance and inclusion in both its discourse and practice”.
“This is one of the reasons why Sufi saints played a central role in the spread of Islam, especially in South Asia, making it the second biggest and the most practiced religion in the world,” she added.
“The Sufi doctrine is simple and universal, that the light of God abides in the heart of each person. The Sufi ‘tariqa’ or the Sufi way guides us on the roads of the inner journey towards discovering the self, for the ultimate goal of reaching the divine light and wisdom that each one of us carries within.”
“What could, indeed, be a more appropriate and opportune time to think and reflect about the message of unity, peace, togetherness and patience exemplified by the life and teachings of Sufi saints and their philosophy of life?” the ambassador stressed.

Balance at the Heart of Islam: A Message from Medina in light of Benghazi

 Balance at the Heart of Islam: A Message from Medina in light of Benghazi
Claire Alkouatli, Huffington Post 9/16/2012


Balance was the first thing that attracted me, a decade ago, to the Islamic deen--the comprehensive spiritual and practical life system of Islam. Balance between worldly structure and beautiful essence.
When you step into the Prophet Muhammad's mosque in Medina--at the heart of the Islamic world, shoulder to shoulder with people of every ethnicity on earth--the deep subtle brilliant beauty is resounding. Everything is in perfect balance.
Yet, out there, in the world, balance seems nowhere to be found. Muslims are either extremists or secular. Salafis or Sufis. Sunnis or Shiites. And the non-Muslims? Many observe in fearful incomprehension; others act and react negatively.
Recently, I got a message from a friend from Medina--a clear outline of the balance intrinsic to the deen. I was simultaneously amazed that such clarity continues to emanate from this illuminated city and inspired by the reminder that we all have the potential to attain the ultimate balance: being mindfully present in the world, with our hearts immersed in the Divine. Balance within is the place to begin if we want to contribute to a world in balance.
So, at a time when the world is hurting from the actions of the unbalanced ones, I wanted to share this inspired reminder:
"Our deen is built on three rocks. The first rock is the 'technical rock. It deals with the details of daily life starting with the five pillars of Islam, the oneness of God, the prophethood of Muhammad, the five daily prayers, the zakat, fasting during Ramadan, and performing Hajj for the capable. It also covers economic and social rulings, such as trading, marriage/divorce and inheritance. A person who is deeply knowledgeable about this rock is traditionally called a faqih. The most famous faqihs in our history are the four Imams of the four schools of Islamic jurisprudence (madahib). The majority of Muslims (no less than 95% in every era) follow one of these madahib in their daily routines.
The second rock is the 'faith' rock. It deals with the details of the unseen starting with the six corners of faith (iman), to believe in God, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Day of Judgment, and that fate, both good and bad, is from God. The creed that clarifies these articles of faith is called aqida. The most famous scholars of aqida in our history are Al-Ash'ari and Al-Maturidi. The majority of Muslims (no less than 95% in every era except for some blips in our history) believe in this creed.
The third rock is the 'self-improvement' rock. It deals with the ways of elevating the human condition to become true to God and treat all His creatures with Prophetic standards. The knowledge of how to get one's self to these standards is called the knowledge of tazkiyah, the process of transforming the self from ego-centeredness through various spiritual stages towards the level of purity and true submission to the will of God. It is also called tasawwuf, or sufism. The person who comes close to reaching the pinnacle of these standards is called a sufi. The most famous scholars of tazkiyah in our history are Al-Ghazali, Al-Junaid, Ibn Arabi, and Al-Jilani. With the exception of the past 60 years or so, tazkiyah was part of every type of education in the Islamic world.
These rocks are academic classifications that have helped Muslims, since the third or fourth century, develop the sciences of turning human beings into Prophetic beings; those who Prophet Muhammad longed for when he said, "I wish I could have seen my brothers..."
As time progressed, these sciences matured and kept connecting new generations to the salaf, which refers to, in the traditional sense, the people who lived during the time of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and the next two generations, through unbroken chains of scholars. So a 'salafi' is someone who projects the essence of these early Muslims.
Additionally, scholars cannot excel in their own rock without achieving a masterful command of the sciences behind the other rocks too. So, a master salafi is a master sufi, is a master scholar, is a master faqih. In other words, at the level of mastery, the words 'salafi,' 'sufi,' 'scholar,' and 'faqih' are essentially synonymous. And they all point to the essence of the Prophet Muhammad.
Turbulence has occurred, throughout our history, when someone decides to raise a flag of deen that is based on an incomplete, or deformed, set of rocks. Or, when people see these rocks as independent competitive camps instead of seeing them as parts of a whole. Both occurrences happen, exclusively, because of breaks in the chains of scholars.
The groups that have a solid first rock but a deformed, or missing, second and third rock, for example, tend to be detail oriented, dry, argument oriented, narrow, and sometimes violent.
On the other side of the spectrum, groups that have a solid third rock but a deformed, or missing, second and first rock tend to be mellow, perceptive, tolerant and lost.
The first extreme of the spectrum explains the "kill first, judge later" jihadi, the politically obsessed shiite, the "My way or you're doomed" salafi (which is also the wahabi mentality), and the power hungry Muslim brotherhood. The other extreme of the spectrum explain the disenfranchised Muslim liberal, the "above the need for obligation" sufi, and "let's keep the deen only in the heart" advocate.
This is why we ask God, at least 17 times in our daily prayers, to "Guide us to the Straight Path, The way of those whom You have favored; Not of those who have incurred Your wrath. Nor of those who go astray."
So in short, given the proper definitions, it is my wish to be a salafi, my dream is to become a sufi, my hope to be a faqih--and I would love to see, follow and kiss, every footstep, expression and deed of the beloved Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.
But, instead, I'm still stuck at trying to achieve a moment, let alone an hour, let alone a lifetime, of what the masters call Al Khalwa fil Jalwa. Which means being, both at once and without contradictions, fully involved with the world with your heart completely immersed with God.
May God give us a taste of that, followed by enough servings to get back Home. Safely.
Salaams,
M.
P.S. Kindly notice that the deen-hijacking criminals who kill treacherously, demean women and children, destroy mosques, dig up graves, and behead people were not mentioned in the spectrum above. Because they are beneath it. They call themselves many things--from salafis, to messiahs, to cowboys--but these behaviors do not belong to any Divine deen."

Timbuktu: The Ink of Scholars and the Blood of Martyrs 

Rudolph Ware Huffington Post 8/31/2012

In this excellent montage Alexandra Huddleston closes by reminding us of a hadith of the Prophet Muhammad -- still learned and taught in Timbuktu -- "the ink of the scholar is more precious than the blood of the martyr." These words echo today as a reminder that the mainstream Islamic tradition has always harbored the most profound respect for scholarship and sanctity while questioning worldly ambitions.
Unfortunately, the "radical Islam" of groups like Ansar Dine and al-Qaida have spilled far too much blood and ink in Northern Mali and beyond. Armed with deadly weapons, a false doctrine of jihad, and a perverse sense of martyrdom they have committed countless acts of violence. While the Western imagination is captivated by fear of 'radical Islam' its victims -- in Timbuktu as elsewhere -- are almost invariably Muslims.
Ms. Huddleston shows us their faces -- the men, women, and children of Timbuktu -- many warmly rejoicing in the pleasures of ancient knowledge, all fully connected to the contemporary world. In a single blow they have suffered a double violence: their lives and ways of life have been taken, and their religion has been disfigured, disgraced, and defamed by their tormentors.
It is important to understand that the leadership of groups like Ansar Dine and al-Qaida often has little or no formal training in the Islamic religious sciences. This does not stop them from passing judgment upon the Islam of their well-learned and lettered adversaries. To make up for their lack of knowledge they routinely resort to spectacles of symbolic violence, desecrating the tombs of scholars and destroying manuscripts. They seek, not only to cow opposition, but to wipe the slate clean of competing forms of Islamic authority
In a place like Timbuktu this is no small task, for it first gained an international reputation for Islamic knowledge in the fourteenth century when the great medieval empire of Mali was at its height. Its fame as a city of learning attracted students and scholars from all over West Africa as well as the Maghrib, Egypt, Baghdad and Damascus.
Though they usually maintained cordial relations with emperors, the scholars and teachers of Timbuktu, like most West African Islamic scholars, tended to scrupulously avoid overt involvement in politics. Islamists like to say "Islam is religion and politics," but this is no Prophetic tradition, it is a maxim little more than a century old. It was coined as some began to transform Islam from a universal religion to an ideology of resistance to Western imperialism. The classical tradition, of which Timbuktu was an integral part--tended to be suspicious of such things. As a rule it preferred for scholars to maintain a pious distance from power for fear that it might corrupt their intellectual and ethical autonomy. In the West, efforts to separate church and state evolved primarily to protect the latter. In Muslim Africa scholars and saints usually maintained distance to protect the former. Continue reading here  The article also contains an excellent video.

UNESCO urges Libya to stop destruction of Sufi sites

UNESCO urges Libya to stop destruction of Sufi sites Paris August 28 2012

UN cultural body UNESCO on Tuesday called on Libya to immediately cease the destruction of Sufi holy sites after Islamist hardliners wrecked shrines across the country.

UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova expressed “grave concern” at the destruction of Sufi sites in Zliten, Misrata and Tripoli and urged perpetrators to “cease the destruction immediately”.

“I am deeply concerned about these brutal attacks on places of cultural and religious significance. Such acts must be halted, if Libyan society is to complete its transition to democracy,” she said in a statement.

“For this, we need dialogue and mutual respect. Libya’s future prospects depend on its inhabitants’ ability to build a participatory democracy that respects the rights and the heritage of all its citizens.”

Several Muslim shrines have been attacked in recent days, including those of the mystic Sufi strand of Islam.

Islamist hardliners on Saturday bulldozed part of the mausoleum of Al-Shaab Al-Dahman, close to the centre of the Libyan capital.

The demolition came a day after hardliners blew up the mausoleum of Sheikh Abdessalem al-Asmar in Zliten, 160 kilometres (100 miles) east of the capital.

According to witnesses, another mausoleum — that of Sheikh Ahmed al-Zarruq — was destroyed in the port of Misrata, 200 kilometres east of Tripoli.

Hardline Sunni Islamists are opposed to the veneration of tombs of revered Muslim figures, saying that such devotion should be reserved for God alone.

The Sufis, who have played a historical role in the affairs of Libya, have increasingly found themselves in conflict with Qatari- and Saudi-trained Salafist preachers who consider them heretical.

Sufis say Islamists in Egypt could squeeze out their traditions

 

Sufis say Islamists in Egypt could squeeze out their traditions

Al Arabiya News 29 August 2012 By SHAIMAA FAYED AND ABDEL RAHMAN YOUSSEF
REUTERS CAIRO AND ALEXANDRIA

Down the narrow alleyways of Cairo’s Sayidda Zeinab neighborhood, 100 men sway their heads and clap in rhythm as they invoke God’s name.
“O how you have spread benevolence,” chant the men, some dressed in ankle-length galabeya robes, to celebrate the birth of Fatima al-Zahraa, the daughter of the Prophet Mohammed. The men are followers of the centuries-old Azaimiya Sufi order who seek to come closer to God through mystical rites. Some say their traditions are now threatened by Islamists elbowing for influence after the overthrow of Egypt’s veteran leader Hosni Mubarak. Tensions have long rumbled between the country’s estimated 15 million Sufis, attached to some 80 different orders, and ultra-conservative Salafists who see Sufi practices such as the veneration of shrines as heresy. The ousting of President Mubarak in February has loosened state control over Islamist groups that he suppressed using an emergency law in place since 1980. As Sufis seek to defend traditions dating back centuries, what began as a loose religious identity could be gelling, gradually, into a political movement. “If the Sufis stood side by side, they could be an important voting bloc ... but their political and organizational power is less than their numerical power,” said political analyst Nabil Abdel Fattah. Alaa Abul Azaim, sheikh of the Azaimiya Sufi order, says moves by Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and Salafi groups to enter formal politics endanger religious tolerance and oblige Sufis to do the same. “If the Salafists or Muslim Brotherhood rise to power, they could well cancel the Sufi sheikhdom, so there has to be a party for Sufis,” Abul Azaim said. Shrines dedicated to saints are central to Sufi practice and can be found in towns and villages across Egypt, but they are frowned upon by Salafists. Many are built inside mosques and contain the tombs of saints. They are often highly decorated, using wood and mother-of-pearl. Some religious conservatives also dislike Sufi moulids -- festivals celebrating the birthdays of saints that have become carnival-like events popular even among non-Sufis in Egypt. Moulid music has found its way into pop culture, such as the well-known puppet operetta “El Leila El Kebira” (The Big Night).
Fears for the future of Sufi traditions were underlined in April, when two dozen Islamists wielding crowbars and sledgehammers tried to smash a shrine used by Sufis in the town of Qalyoub north of Cairo. Their plan failed when residents rallied to defend the site revered for generations.

Salafist leaders denied their followers were behind the shrine attack and condemned it, while making it clear that they oppose the shrines. “The Salafi call does not reject Sufism,” said Sheikh Abdel Moneim el-Shahat, official spokesperson for the Salafi movement in Alexandria. “We reject (the practice of) receiving blessings from tombs and shrines because it is against Sharia law.” He said Salafis believe religious blessings can only be sought from the Black Stone of the Kaaba in the Saudi city of Mecca. Millions of Muslims circle the stone during the Hajj pilgrimage. Egypt’s constitution forbids political parties formed on overtly religious lines. That has not stopped Salafist groups such as al-Gama’a al-Islamiya and the once-banned Muslim Brotherhood moving to create parties to compete in September elections. No overtly Sufi party has emerged -- adepts of Sufism, with their emphasis on personal development and inner purification, have till now seen little sense in forming a political movement. But one nascent party, al-Tahrir (Liberation), has pledged to defend their interests and, by doing so, has built most of its membership from among the Sufi community. “There is no doubt that the (Islamist) flood that’s coming ... scares them,” said the party’s founder Ibrahim Zahran.
Affirmative political action would mark a departure for Egypt’s Sufis, who have tended to submit to the will of Egypt’s political leaders since the 12th century.

“From Sultan Saladin al-Ayubi until Mubarak, Sufism was used by the state to reinforce its legitimacy,” said sociologist Ammar Aly Hassan.

In a sign they are more ready to challenge authority, sheikhs of 13 Sufi orders have staged a sit-in since May 1 calling for the removal of Sheikh Abdel Hadi el-Qasabi, the head of the Sufi Sheikhdom who was appointed by Mubarak in 2009. They say Sheikh Qasabi broke a tradition of ordaining the eldest sheikh to the position and they refuse to have him as their leader as he was a member of President Mubarak’s disbanded National Democratic Party. Many Sufis oppose the idea of an Islamic state promoted by Islamists who take the Iran’s theocracy or the Wahhabi ideology of staunchly conservative Saudi Arabia as a model.
Sufi Sheikh Gaber Kassem of Alexandria criticised the political ambitions of the Muslim Brotherhood and its slogan “Islam is the Solution.”
“This is a devotional matter, a religious call ... so how are they entering politics? Is this hypocrisy?” he said.

UNESCO calls for immediate stop to destruction of Sufi religious sites in Libya

UNESCO calls for immediate stop to destruction of Sufi religious sites in Libya

 UN News Center

A lone protester holds up a placard condemning the destruction of a Sufi shrine in Tripoli as he approaches the site of the demolition. Photo: UNSMIL/I. Athanasiadis

28 August 2012 –

Noting that “destroying places of religious and cultural significance cannot be tolerated,” the head of the United Nations agency tasked with safeguarding the world’s cultural heritage today spoke out against the destruction of various Sufi religious sites in Libya, and called on the perpetrators to cease immediately. “I am deeply concerned about these brutal attacks on places of cultural and religious significance. Such acts must be halted, if Libyan society is to complete its transition to democracy,” the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Irina Bokova, said in a news release.
“For this, we need dialogue and mutual respect,” she added. “Libya’s future prospects depend on its inhabitants’ ability to build a participatory democracy that respects the rights and the heritage of all its citizens.”
According to media reports, ultra-conservative Islamists damaged major Sufi shrines and libraries in the north-western town of Zliten, the city of Misrata, and the capital, Tripoli, over recent days, reportedly with the acquiescence of members of the security forces.
The affected sites are the Islamic Centre of Sheikh Abdussalam Al-Asmar in Zliten, the Shrine of Sidi Ahmed Zaroug in Misrata, and the Mosque of Sidi Sha'ab in Tripoli. The sites are revered by Sufis, a branch of Islam known for its moderation but considered heretical by some branches of the Islamic faith.
Ms. Bokova also urged the Libyan authorities and society at large to exercise their responsibility in protecting cultural heritage and sites of religious significance for future generations.
In addition, she welcomed the Libyan government’s condemnation of the destruction, and indicated that UNESCO stands ready to provide assistance to protect and rehabilitate them.
Libya has been undergoing a democratic transition over the past year. In July, it held its first free elections in decades, in the wake of the toppling of the regime of Muammar al-Qadhafi. The former leader ruled the North African country for more than 40 years until a pro-democracy uprising last year – similar to the protests in other countries in the Middle East and North Africa – led to civil war and the end of his regime.
Some 2.7 million Libyans took part in the polls to vote for members of the new National Congress. The election was conducted in a largely peaceful manner, receiving praise from international observers and the Security Council.

Prominent Sufi dies in Dagestan suicide bombing

Prominent Sufi dies in Dagestan suicide bombing

Boston.Com Globe Newspaper Company, August 28 2012

MAKHACHKALA, Russia (AP) — Thousands of mourners converged on a cemetery in Russia’s republic of Dagestan on Tuesday night for the burial of a top Muslim religious leader who was killed in a suicide bombing hours earlier, Russian news agencies said. Said Afandi, a leader of Sufi Muslims in the region, and five of his followers were killed by a female suicide bomber in an attack at Afandi’s home in the village of Chirkei, said Dagestan Interior Ministry spokesman, Vyachelav Gasanov.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility or identification of the bomber, but the attack could be linked to tensions between Sufis and the Wahhabi sect that is the core of the insurgency in the republic. Afandi was a frequent public critic of Wahhabism. In July, a top Muslim cleric in the Volga River republic of Tatarstan was gunned down and the republic’s chief mufti was wounded when a bomb ripped through his car. Both victims had been vocal critics of radical groups that advocate a strict and puritan version of Islam known as Salafism.

In a visit to Tatarstan on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin presented state awards to the wounded mufti, Ildus Faizov, and relatives of the slain cleric Valiullah Yakupov.

Putin called for interethnic harmony and said of extremists: ‘‘You cannot defeat a unified, multinational, strong Russian nation because on the side of truth and justice are millions of people who fear nothing, who cannot be intimidated and know the price of peace.’’

The killing of Afandi highlighted the violent tensions that persist in Dagestan, even as neighboring Chechnya has become relatively pacified and orderly after two wars in the last 20 years between separatists and Russian forces. Clashes with militants and attacks on police occur almost daily in Dagestan.

The Interfax and RIA Novosti news agencies said witnesses reported tens of thousands of mourners came to Afandi’s burial. Also Tuesday in Dagestan, a border guard opened fire on colleagues at a barracks, killing seven before being shot to death himself, Gasanov said. There was no indication of motivation.

Representing a different face of Islam

Representing a different face of Islam
 By Jim Quilty, The Daily Star, August 18 2012

BEIRUT: The foyer of NOK Yoga Shala is littered with shoes. You wonder whether this is indeed a footwear-free affair. The young woman lingering nearby smiles in confirmation.
This space, it seems, is ordinarily devoted to the practice of yoga. This evening, however, it is hosting a promotional event for the documentary “Wajd – Music Politics and Ecstasy.”
One part autobiographical tale of discovery, one part history lesson-cum-polite interrogation of Islam, “Wajd” is the work of Syrian-Canadian writer-director Amar Chebib. There might seem some incongruity between the event and the space hosting it – in that “Yoga = Hinduism, Islam = well, Islam” sort of way.
Appearances are informative, but they aren’t everything.
During the half-hourlong rough cut of “Wajd” screened this evening, the filmmaker informs his audience that he was raised Muslim and drifted away from the faith, unable to reconcile facets of Muslim practice with his own belief system.
A couple of years ago he decided to give Islam another shot, returning to Syria to study Arabic. During this rapprochement he become a student of Ottoman classical music, which underlined his feelings of dissonance.
Conservative readings of Islam have determined that the Prophet disapproved of music – confusing for a student of a tradition with a strong devotional component. Another sore point for Chebib is his religion’s attitudes toward women – which to many Western eyes makes women look less equal than men.
“Wajd” is hardly an ad hominem attack on Islam. The message that emerges from the doc’s putative inquiry is that the militant versions of Islam that dominate news coverage, much documentary and blockbuster feature-film production, particularly since 2001, aren’t the summation of the faith.
The “other” Islam, the real subject of the film, is the Sufi mystical tradition that has followed in the wake of the 13th-century Iranian poet and theologian remembered as Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi.
It so happens that the questions Chebib asks are precisely the ones that trouble Western intellectuals who would quite like to like Islam, but have been challenged by events in the last decade or so.
Since the Sept. 11 attacks, “Muslim” terms like “Taliban,” “jihadist,” “Salafist” and “Ikhwan” have become synonymous in the Western consciousness with militant bigotry.
While it doesn’t exclude curious audiences from the Middle East and North Africa, Chebib’s depiction of his journey in search of Islam – narrated in his affable North American English – will speak explicitly to Western audiences.
Based on the film rushes, “Wajd” abjures journalistic approaches to documentary in favor of the more intimate first-person narrative favored by young filmmakers and the festivals that project their work.
It’s an interview-based film, drawing on Chebib’s conversations with musicians, musicologists, Islamic scholars and performing artists in Syria, Turkey, Europe and North America. The interviews are sometimes illustrated by historical footage from Kemalist-era Turkey and the Middle East.
At times visually arid interviews play in counterpoint to photogenic performance – whether instrumental playing or Sufi dhikr (group chant originally designed to induce ecstasy), with that of the Mawlawiyya (aka “whirling dervishes”) taking pride of place.
“Wajd” is still a work in progress and the doc’s production company, Salam Films, hosted the NOK Yoga Shala event in order to introduce Kickstarter – the online pledge system it is hoped will raise the film’s post-production funding.
Dima Alansari, the Lebanese-Canadian producer behind Salam Films, hopes Kickstarter will provide a measure of financial independence for idealistic projects like this one – which often don’t have the hooks needed to penetrate the bottom-dollar ethos of international film markets.
It’s bad journalism to assess a film on the basis of what is essentially a trailer. Yet “Wajd” is not the first project to showcase the charms of Sufi Islam for Western audiences – witness the labors of Paris-born Alsatian qanun-player and composer Julien Jalaleddin Weiss and his multinational, Mawlawi-infused Al-Kindi Ensemble.
Neither is it a secret that, since the 20th century, Muslim militancy has frowned upon the ecstatic practices of Rumi’s followers – indeed it is said that one of the things compelling Hasan al-Banna to found Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood was his disapproval of what he saw to be the pernicious influence of Egyptian Sufism.
Since then, a face of stern piety has come to dominate media representations of Islam, making picturesque images of the Mawlawiyya a compelling tool for filmmakers trying to plead the case for a more nuanced Western reception of the faith.
Alansari says that this was one of the main reasons she decided to produce “Wajd.”
“My last coproduction, ‘Journey to Mecca’ [2009] is about [the 14th-century Moroccan traveler] Ibn Battuta. I’m interested in stories that cross the divide, that tell the other side of the story. I myself was educated in American schools in the Middle East. [Between Arab and American students,] there was always a curiosity and a misunderstanding about each other’s culture.”
Film is image. The problem with filmmakers trying to present an alternative face of Islam – effectively swapping footage of ecstatic Sufi practice for that of suicide videos, a collapsing World Trade Center, etc. – is that you run the risk of replacing a hackneyed picture with one that’s even more cliched.
Unfortunately, representations of whirling Mawlawis (in soft focus or in slow-motion) have a long history in Orientalist depictions of the Middle East and Muslim world, and in their demotic inheritors – homespun tourist promotions.
Alansari says she and Chebib are aware of these challenges.
“Being an Arab, growing up here, I’m aware that at any given moment I might offend somebody. There’s no way you can represent anything [in Beirut] without three or four people saying, ‘No that’s not how things are.’
“Yes, Rumi has been romanticized. People do have completely different ideas of what’s really happening on the ground. However, there haven’t been many documentaries talking about [these issues] from a [personal] perspective ... for Amar, Rumi is a role model.
“We’re having so many problems today, it’s important for us to dig deep, to go back into history, and learn from it.
“We are aware of this romanticization and we are trying our best to ground it. We’re finding parallels between what happened then and what’s happening now and we’re trying to show that there are other ways, other things we can hold on to.
“Everybody has the attention span of goldfish these days. They just want to listen to Nancy Ajram. It doesn’t take them out of what they need to get out of. If they were just able to – to look in and ground themselves, they’d realize that this music has so much to offer.
“I think we have to do a little bit of romanticizing,” Alansari says, “just to grab some people, but at the same time try to stay realistic, to the issues on the ground. It’s a bit tricky but we are aware.”
For more information on Salam Films and Kickstarter, see: www.salamfilms.com and kickstarter.com.

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Culture/Performance/2012/Aug-18/184963-representing-a-different-face-of-islam.ashx#ixzz248Devy8g

Nazareth's Sufis bullied by fellow Muslims

Nazareth's Sufis bullied by fellow Muslims Haaretz  Saturday, August 11, 2012 Av 23, 5772 By Lauren Gelfond Feldinger, Aug.10, 2012

 For decades, the mystical Sufis in Nazareth have celebrated Islam through music and poetry without considering themselves in danger.But nowadays, local Salafis, who practice a more conservative and coercive Islam, bully and beat Sufi leaders to deter them from their practices, Muslim community leaders told Haaretz. "We visit tombs of holy peoples and they say it is forbidden; we chant and they say it is forbidden to use instruments; I say there should be dialogue with Israelis and Jews because the prophet Muhammed received delegations of Jewish tribes," but Salafis object, said Nazareth Sheikh Ghassan Menasra, 44, a leader of the Qadiri Sufi Order of the Holy Land.

Menasra says he and two of his five sons have been beaten in Nazareth and Jerusalem and his wife, an Islamic educator for women, was pushed. Shaken by threats and having tear gas thrown into his home, he spent two weeks in meditation to avoid the fate of Jerusalem Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bukhari, who suffered similar attacks and died of a heart attack in 2010 at age 61.

Such incidents may reflect a growing regional trend of clashes between progressive Muslims and their more fundamentalist brethren. Egyptian Salafis have razed Sufi shrines, Tunisian Salafis injured dozens in riots over work of art and political analysts blame Salafi Jihadis for the bloodshed in Syria.

There are thousands of Sufi supporters who worship in their homes or houses of prayer in Israel.Abdullah Shama

But Salafis and Sufis are both tiny minorities here, with Salafi activity funded by countries like Saudi Arabia, Menasra says. According to research by Middle East expert professor Khaled Hroub of Cambridge University, the small Palestinian Salafi element includes violent radicals whose interpretation of Islam is linked to Saudi Wahabism, but most are nonviolent moderates focused on conservative social and religious programs.

Sufis are famed as whirling dervishes, but the Nazareth Sufis do not practice this tradition. They observe Islamic law, but also include reverent prayers, chanting (zikr), instruments and poetry in their worship. They are often compared to Jewish Kabbalists. The greatest jihad of Islam, according to the Qadiri order that Menasra and his father Abdel-al Salaam head, is overcoming ego, hatred and violent speech and behavior. 

Critics condemn them as "heretics" for their practices, which also include having women teach Islam.

They particularly attack them as "collaborators" for associating with Jews. Menasra is involved with numerous interfaith programs, joins rabbis for meetings with international political leaders and performs Sufi chants with Jewish musicians such as Yair Dalal. Menasra argues that interfaith cooperation was the Prophet Mohammad's way and later was the tradition of Muslim and Jewish mystics in Medieval Cairo, Baghdad, Damascus and Morocco. Interacting with other faiths also helps Arabs, he said.

"We need to talk [with Jews] about the problems of Arab rights in Israel and Palestinian rights," he said. "Muslims can also teach Jews the cultural codes of peacemaking in Islam – politics alone cannot build trust."

The threats started a decade ago, after 10 Nazareth Sufis reached out to other Muslims, teaching "moderate Islam" through op-eds and classes on Islamic text and tradition, led by Menasra, who holds a master's degree in Middle Eastern and Islamic studies, a bachelor's degree in Arabic literature, a teaching certificate in Islamic family law and ordination as a sheikh by the renowned Jerusalem Sheikh Baghdadi.

As they gained followers and began including Jewish communities, threats turned to violence.

Anat Lev-Or of Central Israel, a Jewish teacher of Sufi and Jewish philosophy, says two years ago she witnessed a mob beat Menasra's teenage son, while he shielded his younger brother.

Imam Mahmoud Abukhdeir, spiritual leader of an east Jerusalem mosque, condemned Salafi violence in Nazareth and Jerusalem.

"To many Muslims, the Sufi way is not acceptable, but in Islamic law, such violence is forbidden," he said. "Salafis are against many groups, not just Sufis. They beat everyone--they think they are the only real Muslims."

It is not clear how widespread the Sufi-Salafi conflict is in Israel, because Sufis say they would not report Salafi leaders to the police or Higher Arab Council for fear of retribution. Despite repeated inquiries, Haaretz was unable to locate a Salafi leader to respond. The Salafi movement in Israel is not centralized, but Itzhak Weismann, a professor and Sufi expert at Haifa University, says most Islamist movements subscribe to Salafi principles and consider Sufis "deviators from Islam."

But he noted, "Sufism is based on Islamic texts and tradition. Sufis are part of Islam since the beginning."

"We will not stop"

Scholars date Sufis in the Holy Land to eighth-century Ramle and Jerusalem, with centers developing later in Safed and Hebron. Jerusalem was always an important site of pilgrimage, and several dozen Sufi shrines and graves remain in Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Today in Israel there are a few hundred Sufi disciples and thousands of supporters who worship in their homes or houses of prayer, primarily in Jerusalem, Nazareth, Acre, Umm al-Fahm and Baqa al-Gharbiyye.

Sufism, with its many orders and varying customs, is not widespread in Israel because of the exile of Muslim leaders after the 1948 war, Weismann says.

"Since 1967, when communications resumed between Muslims in Israel with relatives in West Bank and Gaza, there was a renewal," he said.

In Nazareth, Sufis face not only the threat of extremists, but also difficult living conditions because of government prejudice against development in Arab neighborhoods, said Sufi teacher Khalid Abu Ras. Israel's largest Arab city, with nearly 74,000 residents – 69.5 percent of which are Muslim – is plagued by unemployment, overcrowding, lack of green spaces and, says Abu Ras, inadequate municipal services.

Despite struggles with poverty, threats and violence, the Sufis of Nazareth say that they will carry on as usual.

On a recent evening, twenty family and community members gathered in the Menasra home to break the Ramadan fast. After dinner, the older son played classical Egyptian oud, including works from Umm Kulthum and Mohamed Abdel Wahab. The elder community members chanted traditional songs about the prophet Mohammad. An infant moved with his arms to the music and a grandfather beat an oversized tambourine. The elder Menasra, wearing a traditional tunic and head covering, danced slowly into the inner circle, extending his arms to bless the guests.

Days later, on the Jewish day of mourning Tisha B'Av, several of Menasra's Jewish colleagues who were also fasting joined his family to break the fast.

"Our activity does not make us weaker -- it makes us strong," Menasra said.

There are three kinds of religious people, he explained, quoting Rabia al-Adawiya, a female Sufi saint: "Slaves who worship through fear, merchants who worship for profit and free people who worship through love – this is the way," he said. "The radicals think that they need to stop us in any way, but we will not stop."