Sufism Plays an Important Role

ECMI, "Ethnic Groups in Georgia #5 - Kists" - The Georgian Times - Tbilisi, Georgia
Tuesday, March 11, 2008

In our series on the wealth of ethnic groups in Georgia, this week features the Kists. The materials on the ethnic groups are provided by the European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) and the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) and are extracted from the book, Georgia – An Ethno-Political Handbook by Tom Trier & George Tarkhan-Mouravi.

With support from the foreign ministries of Switzerland, Norway and Denmark, the book will be published by the end of this year in a Georgian and an English edition.

Population in Georgia: 7,110 (Census 2002), and 1,150 Kist and Chechen refugees from Chechnya in Pankisi.
Total population: Approx 8,000.
Settlement: Kists are compactly settled in Pankisi Gorge, Akhmeta district; a few live in Tbilisi and other bigger cities.

Who, What, Where
Kists in Georgia (self-designation: Vainakh, Kistebi in Georgian) mostly live in villages in the Pankisi Gorge, and are descendants of Chechens and Ingush, who settled there from their native regions in the North Caucasus in the 18th-19th century.

The newcomers soon adopted the ethnic label Kist, which was used by Georgians as a generic term for Vainakh (Chechen and Ingush) people. As a result of the separation and isolation of the Kists from their ethnic kin in the north, the group in Georgia developed its own characteristics and gradually incorporated many cultural and linguistic elements from its Georgian neighbors.

Today, most Kists identify themselves as Georgians and/or as a separate group closer related to the Chechens than to the Ingush. Kists are well integrated in Georgia, and the vast majority is bilingual in Kist and Georgian.

Due to rural-urban migration in the Soviet period and after Georgian independence, there are also a few hundred Kists in Tbilisi as well as in other large cities. Some Kist and Chechen refugees initially settled in Pankisi have also found their way to Tbilisi.

A Bit of History

In Soviet times, three ethnic groups, Kists, Ossetians and Georgians peacefully coexisted in Pankisi Gorge. There were no reported cases of ethnically-based tension or violence. However, this situation changed after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Obviously, the general political and economical crisis also impacted on the situation in Pankisi Gorge, and at the same time the demographic situation has been in flux since the early 1990s. As a result of the conflict over South Ossetia (1990-92) and also fuelled by the conflict over the Prigorodniy district culminating with the North Ossetian-Ingush war in 1992, a part of the Pankisi Ossetians left the gorge for North Ossetia or other parts of Russia as refugees. The emptied houses were taken over by Kists and property conflicts arose between Kists and those Ossetians who remained. Simultaneously, relations between Kists and Georgians worsened, mainly due to Georgian discontent with the participation of Chechen voluntary fighters against Georgians in the Abkhaz War (1992-93).

The situation further deteriorated after the influx of refugees who fled the Russian-Chechen wars. Some 7,000 refugees arrived during the beginning of the second Chechen-Russian conflict in 1999-2000. There were two groups of refugees from Chechnya: native Chechens, and Kists, who had migrated to Chechnya during the Soviet or early post-Soviet periods. Some of the Kist refugees possessed houses or land in the gorge and most of them had relatives there. These factors contributed to the relatively easy integration of the Kist refugees, whereas the proper Chechen refugees faced more difficulties having no direct support base in the local Kist community.

With the refugees also came Chechen fighters (boyeviki), who used the Pankisi Gorge for training and reorganization of their units as well as a base for sporadic incursions into Chechnya for attacks against Russian military forces. Also some non-Chechen Islamist warriors (Jihadis) were reported to have taken part in military activities in Pankisi in support of the Chechen fighters. With the increasing presence of fighters and the general socio-political destabilization of the region, Pankisi also fell under the influence of criminal groups and became a transit region for drug trafficking and other illegal activities, including kidnapping. In this period, Georgian authorities failed to restore order due to lack of proper trained police forces, while at the same time corrupt officials were involved in the criminal activities.

Hence, from 2000 Pankisi Gorge earned a reputation internationally as a nest for criminal activity and terrorism. However, in 2002 the US government initiated a program to support the Georgian Army, and from 2003 the situation in Pankisi has greatly stabilized.

The region no longer provides shelter for Chechen fighters and rule of law has returned to Pankisi Gorge although the gorge’s reputation internationally as a hotbed for crime and guerilla warfare lingers on.

Since the early phase of the war in Chechnya, the number of refugees has now considerably decreased and today there are only around 1,150 refugees in Pankisi, as some have been resettled in third countries, others have returned and yet others have become Georgian citizens.

Language, Religion and Traditions

The Kist vernacular belongs to the Vainakh language group, which is part of the larger North East Caucasian (or Nakh-Dagestanian) language family. The Vainakh languages consist of Chechen, Ingush and Bats (Tsova-Tush), while Kist is not considered a separate language but merely a Chechen dialect with strong influences from the Georgian language.

Vainakh is the historical self-designation of the speakers of the languages and means “Our People”.

As Kists gradually moved to Pankisi in the 19th century, as there was a parallel process of settlement of Georgians to the gorge, resulting in close interaction between Kists and Georgians. Already in the late 19th century, Kists and Georgians culturally featured many similarities. Kists readily embraced Georgian traditions, such as the Supra (traditional Georgian feast), wedding ceremonies, funeral rituals etc, but at the same time, they preserved many elements of their original Vainakh traditions. In spite of the significant linguistic integration of the Kists, the group preserved their native language and traditional Vainakh toponymical names. With the establishment of schools in Pankisi Gorge in the early Soviet period, the language of education was Georgian, not Chechen, and this has been the case ever since.

As a result of Russification policies, the majority of Kists became Christians in the late 19th/early 20th centuries, but today practically all Kists are Sunni Muslims. Kists belong to the Sunni branch of the Islamic faith, but the religious practices of the Kists (like those of the Chechens and Ingushs) are often not in harmony with Sunni dogmas.

The Kists’ practice of Sunni Islam can be considered syncretic, fused with pagan and Christian elements.

At the same time, Sufism, a mystical, psycho-spiritual tradition practiced also in Chechnya, Ingushetia and among other North Caucasian people based on religious brotherhoods (Naqshbandiya and Qadiriya), plays an important role in the religious life of many Kists.

It is also true that while most Kists consider themselves to be Muslim, at least until recently many were largely indifferent to Islamic teachings, having been significantly influenced by Soviet secular policies or before to Georgian Christian practices and the Pagan traditions of neighboring Georgian Khevsurs and Pshavi mountaineers.

Many would eat pork, drink alcohol or sacrifice animals near the ruins of Christian churches, give their children Christian names, marry non-Kists, and profess other traditionally non-Muslim practices.

Since 2000, Wahhabism - a puritan and fundamentalist Sunni Muslim reformist movement originating from Saudi Arabia – had gained some support among Kists, mostly among the youth, although to a much lesser extent than in Chechnya.

Wahhabism mostly appeals to the male youth in Chechnya and has gained considerable popularity in pace with the wars and political radicalization in Chechnya. Today, there are four mosques of modern Sunni Islam in the gorge built in 1996-2001 and also one Wahhabi mosque in Duisi.

Economy

Traditionally, the population of Pankisi gorge has lived by means of agriculture and animal breeding. In the past, trade was an important activity, as the gorge provided a geographical link between Kakheti and Tusheti. After the introduction of the Soviet regime, kolkhozes (collective farms) were introduced in all settlements of Pankisi. Agriculture and animal breeding remained the main basis for the local economy in the Soviet period, but after introducing market economy and the abolishment of collective farms, neither agriculture nor animal breeding are sufficiently profitable for the local population to sustain themselves, and these traditional fields of work have been complemented by petty-trade activities.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the deprivation of the primary means of income as elsewhere in Georgia contributed to a process of migration to urban centres or to other countries. Kists generally migrated and settled in Grozny in Chechnya or Nazran in Ingushetia in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, where they often established their own small business, although many later returned as refugees. Today, the traditional subsistence farming can no longer fulfill the household’s needs in Pankisi. Hence, the major economic activities in the region are now based on petty trade.

The Noble Values of Sufism

By Mohammed Iqbal, "Special budget for Ajmer dargah security" - The Hindu - Chennai, India
Monday, March 10, 2008

Ajmer: As part of its efforts to step up security for pilgrims, the dargah committee at the historic shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti here has sanctioned a special budget of Rs. 26 lakh [USD 2'600'000.--] for upkeep of the sensitive high beam cameras, closed circuit television, X-ray machines and metal detectors installed recently as well as the deployment of security guards at sensitive locations.

A bomb blast at Ahate-e-Noor – the courtyard outside the mausoleum of the 13th century Sufi saint – on October 11 last year killed three persons and injured over a dozen. The perpetrators of the terror attack are still at large with a Special Investigation Team of the Rajasthan police having made little headway in the probe.

The committee, a statutory body of the Centre, deliberated on the security measures, management of the endowment properties and the progress of several welfare and educational activities at its half-day meeting here on Saturday. Prince of Arcot Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali, who is the president of the committee, chaired the meeting.

An annual budget of Rs. 3.09 crore [USD 634'497.--] was approved at the meeting with the endorsement of proposals for eviction of unauthorised possessions on the dargah premises, extension of amenities for pilgrims, establishment of a university named after Khwaja Gharib Nawaz, expansion of the Khwaja Model School building and enhancement of grants to widows and orphans.

Priority for education
Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali told The Hindu that the utilisation of the dargah’s resources and revenues for promotion of education was high on the priority of the committee to help out poor families as well as indigent descendants of the Sufi saint.

The university, to be established in Kayar village on the outskirts of Ajmer, will cater to the educational needs of all communities.

The committee, established under the provisions of the Dargah Khwaja Saheb Act, 1955, administers and controls the affairs of the shrine as well as its endowments. It also organises the annual Urs and regulates the presence of Khadims (workers) on the premises, besides determining their privileges and giving them licences.

The Prince of Arcot, who took over as president of the nine-member committee in October last year after dissolution of the previous one, said he had requested the Centre to establish an airport in Ajmer to facilitate the journey of pilgrims from far and wide. The Union Ministry of Minority Affairs has initiated action in this regard.

“The Ajmer Dargah is an embodiment of the syncretic traditions of our country. Its legacy should be protected for generations to come to apprise them of the noble values of Sufism promoting tolerance, charity and universal brotherhood,” he said.

Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali is the first person from South India to be appointed the committee chief.

The Prince of Arcot said the committee would strive for beautification of the dargah, free movement of pilgrims, stopping commercial activities on the premises, and renovation of various buildings and modernisation of the langarkhana [Sufi kitchen] during his term.

[Picture from: http://www.dargahajmer.com/].

Cutting Across Faiths

By Press Trust of India, "Mahatma is a true Jihadi: Turkish spiritual leader" - NDTV - New Delhi, India
Sunday, March 9, 2008

Mahatma Gandhi's fight with his ego and subsequent victory represents the qualities of what can be termed as true Jihad, according to an eminent Islamic spiritual leader from Turkey.

''Gandhi is the martyr who has performed the real Jihad. As he taught us to first fight with one's ego and win, but never with guns,'' said Sheika Cemalnur Sargut, who heads the Istanbul branch of TURKKAD, the Turkish Women's Cultural Association.

Drawing comparisons between a Haji and the Mahatma, Sargut said, ''Mahatma Gandhi is dressed exactly like one performing Haj. Muslims wear single unstitched clothing ihram while performing Haj. This is a proof that he is always before Allah. He teaches real Islam'', she adds.

Sargut is one of the main speakers of 'The World Council of Women Spiritual Leaders' summit which is going on in Jaipur from March 6-10.

Women leaders cutting across faiths from over 50 countries have gathered in Jaipur to deliberate on various global issues and encourage women leadership.The delegates from countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Sudan, Palestine, Nepal, Tibet, Japan, United States and Afghanistan among others will be present at the event.

Perspective on Islam
Talking about the growing intolerance and suspicion against Muslims and rise of Islamic militancy, Sargut said that ''It is unfortunate that the West is trying to project Muslims as using violence.''

Sheika Cemalnur Sargut adds, ''Islam is a beautiful religion and people who really understand Islam are like diamonds. Sufism is the spectacle through which one can see both the worlds, the real and the divine.''

Talking about the various misconceptions about Islam she said, ''It is not easy to understand Islam, one has to live and feel it at close quarters to understand the religion.''

Explaining that the concept of Jihad was much vitiated in present times, Sargut, who has published many books and articles on Islam said, ''The Jihad, true war of Islam is Love. And where there is love there can be no question of violence and hate.''

Emphasing on the need for all religions to work together for global peace and prosperity she said, ''Different religions are like five figures which are very unlike each other but when they come together they create something very beautiful.''

The Poet Who May Be Prime Minister

Staff Correspondent, "The poet who may be prime minister" - The News International - Karachi, Pakistan
Saturday, March 8, 2008

He may come across as sober and conservative, but there is a poet in him whose verses have been sung by the likes of singer Runa Laila. On quiet evenings, he likes to listen to Rumi as well.

Unlike many other politicians in Pakistan, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, who has been tipped to be Pakistan’s next prime minister, is widely regarded as a non-controversial figure and one who has stood by his party through thick and thin at a time when many others jumped ship.

As a political worker, Makhdoom Amin Fahim has seen many bitter days, particularly when party faithful were attacked and tortured following the arrest of then PM Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in the late seventies and early eighties. A massive crackdown against politicians alligned to Bhutto’s Pakistan Peoples Party were targeted, harassed and beaten up on the instructions of military strongman General Zia. What saved Makhdoom Amin Fahim was his position as one of the country’s most revered spiritual leaders as well.

He is the Makhdoom of Hala, the spirtual head of the Sarwari Jamaat, a sufi order that has a large following.

In recent years, Makhdoom Amin Fahim was the face of the Pakistan Peoples Party. In the absence of Ms Bhutto, who was abroad on exile, he managed party affairs and headed the party structure. Some say he was at one time offered the position of PM by President Musharraf which he quietly declined.

He inherited both his spiritual mantle as well as the his political bearings from his father, Makhdoom Talibul Maula. And he takes both these responsibilities very seriously. In fact, one of the first centres for the PPP was the house of Makhdoom Talibul Maula.

Makhdoom Amin Fahim has remained loyal to the PPP and the Bhuttos ever since his father joined the party at its formation in 1969. His quality is that he also maintains cordial relations with all political leaders as well as President Musharraf. This also qualifies him for the job for which he is being tipped.

Makhdoom Amin, who has the endorsement of party stalwarts like Aitezaz Ahsan, was with Ms Bhutto when she died in an attack in Rawalpindi in December 2007.

Gifted with a gentle demenour, he is known to be a man who works by consensus. Those who work with him say that he remains calm while taking major decisions either for his party or for his community. He is always accommodating to all leaders in the party as well as with local zamindars of Sindh, with whom he has a lot of interaction.

Political analysts say that Makhdoom Amin Fahim is a “rare breed in Pakistani politics where loyalty doesn’t matter at all and changing party and leadership is considered a routine affair.” He has remained loyal to the PPP throughout.

Makhdoom Amin is known as “Dada Sain” because he was named after his great grandfather Makhdoom Mohammed Amin popularly known as “Pakhan Dhani”, a famous Sufi poet of his era.
In Sindh, he is known more for his spiritual role as chief of the Sarwari Jamaat, which is spread from across Sindh’s Thar desert and has followers in Sanghar, Matiari, Hyderabad, Thatta and Badin districts as well as the Southern districts of Punjab and parts of Gujrat and Rajasthan in India.

Born on August 4, 1939 in Hala New, Makhdoom Amin Fahim is now the 18th Sajjada Nasheen of the Makhdoom of Hala, the largest spiritual family of the country. The Makhdooms, trace their linege to the first Caliph, Hazrat Abu Bakar Siddiq (Qureshi) and call themselves as Qureshi and Siddiqi.

Makhdoom Talibul Maula, the father of Amin Fahim, was among the few prominent figures who served in Sindh and made efforts to promote Sindhi literature and culture. He, alongwith other philanthropists, sponsored Mushairas and musical concerts to promote Sindhi language. The Makhdooms have also played key role in promoting education in their area.

Present Makhdoom Ghulam Hyder Government High School and Sarwar Islamia College Hala were established by family elders.

Makhdoom Amin Fahim has one poetry collection ‘Paigham’ to his credit. This was published by Sindhi Adabi Board. Sindhi literary critics call it the “message of romance”. Renowned singer Runa Laila and other Sufi musicians have sung his poetry.

Some historians tracing the background of the family of Makhdooms of Hala say that they migrated from the Arabian Gulf and settled first in Kote Kirore, district Dera Ghazi Khan of southern Punjab and later shifted to Torhi village near Hala Old.

Hala Old was then flooded by Indus as it changed its route. Historians link present Torhi Phattak (Railway Track) near Sehwan, which is remembered as a point where some Sindh University students were killed by the military during 1983 Movement for Restoration of Democracy (MRD), as a part of the same village near Hala Old.

Hala, known for handicrafts, is also respected for having one of the highest literacy rates in Sindh. It is also famous due to it being the seat of spiritual leadership and mausoleum of Makhdoom Nooh, the leader of the Suharwardi Sufi order.

Makhdoom Amin Fahim also led the MRD movement on his own traditional bunker, Hyderabad district, in which several activists and his followers were arrested, put into jails and tortured at army camps in Sanghar and Hyderabad.

When his younger brother Makhdoom Khalique Zaman was arrested in the end of 1977 after the ZA Bhutto government was ousted by General Zia, his followers blocked all the high ways in protest. It was the biggest shutter down by the people of Sindh, without any call by any political leader.

It may be pointed out so strong is the political grip of the Makhdooms that the National and Provincial Assembly seats of Hala have remained with the family since the early 1950s, except in 1985 when they boycotted the party-less polls.

Makhdoom Amin Fahim has been elected MNA for the sixth time. He was elected MNA in 1970, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1997 and 2008. He has held offices as Provincial Minister of Revenue in Sindh and as Federal Minister (1988 and 1994).

Fahim did his matriculation in 1955 and intermediate in 1957 from his native town, Hala. In 1958, he got admission in the Political Science department of Sindh University, and did his bachelors in 1961.

He has four marriages from which he has five sons, including Makhdoom Jameel Zaman, the newly elected member of the Sindh Assembly. Jamil is also a poet and author of more than six books on prose and poetry.

The only dark area is his personal life seems to be the treatment meted out to womenfolk in his family. Area people familiar with the the spiritual leader say that no one talks about the women of the family. They say that while the birth of sons is celebrated, no one knows when a daughter is born.

There is also the issue of the marriage of the women to the Quran, as told by many. Close family friends and area people say “When nobody from the town gets to know about the birth of a female child in the family or a death for that matter, the news of marriages are also kept secret.”

I Must Make My Own Life Meaningful

Cal-Earth - Geltaftan Foundation - Hesperia, CA, USA
Monday, March 7, 2008

Have you ever seen
a bucket lowered into a well
coming back empty
why lament for a soul
when it can come back
like Joseph from the well
Rumi

Nader Khalili, internationally renowned architect, author, and educator, passed away at the age of 72 on Wednesday, March 5th.

Khalili was known for his innovation into the Geltaftan Earth-and-Fire System known as Ceramic Houses and the SuperAdobe Construction (sandbag and barbed wire) technique also known as Earthbag.

He developed his SuperAdobe technology in 1984, in response to a NASA call for designs for human settlements on the Moon and Mars. He had been involved with Earth Architecture and Third World Development since 1975, and was a U.N. consultant for Earth Architecture.

In 1991 he founded the California Institute of Earth Art and Architecture (Cal-Earth), in Hesperia, CA, which teaches his SuperAdobe building technique.

His sustainable solutions to human shelter have been published by NASA, and awarded by the United Nations, the Aga Khan award for Architecture, amongst others.

He authored six books, including his international best-selling auto-biography, "Racing Alone," (his newest book "Emergency Shelter," available this summer) as well as two highly-acclaimed volumes translating the poetry of Rumi, "Fountain of Fire" and "Dancing the Flame."

Born in Iran as one of nine children, his quest was to empower the world's poor and refugees to build homes using the earth under their feet.

He was a prominent American leader on the value of ethically based architecture, where the needs of the homeless are considered above all else.

Inspired by the mystical poetry of Rumi, (whose poems he studied and translated, from an early age) his architecture was distilled from the timeless principles of this universe and its timeless materials -- the elements of earth, water, air, and fire, and has been described as "Poetry crystallized into structure."

Laura Huxley, Aldous Huxley's widow, called Khalili the "practical visionary."

He was a quiet hero and a gentle humanitarian, who wrote: "No one can prove there is a meaning to life. I must make my own life meaningful. That is all."

From "A Common Word" to a Permanent Forum

[From the Italian language press]:

Un Forum permanente per il dialogo islamo-cattolico: è la proposta lanciata al termine della due giorni di incontri preparatori, il 4 e il 5 marzo, tra cinque rappresentanti del Pontificio Consiglio per il dialogo interreligioso e una delegazione islamica composta da cinque studiosi di altrettante nazioni.

Di Mirko Testa, "Spiragli di dialogo tra cattolici e musulmani" - L'Occidentale - Roma, Lazio, Italy; venerdì 7 marzo 2008

A permanent Forum for Islamic-Catholic dialogue : the proposal came at the end of two days of preparatory meetings -held on March 4th and 5th- between five representatives of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and an Islamic Delegation of five scholars from different Nations.

The first seminar of the Forum will be held in Rome from 4th to 6th November 2008, and will be attended by 24 religious leaders and experts for each party.

The theme of the seminar is "Love for God, love for the Neighbor" with as sub themes "theological and spiritual basis" (first day) and "Human dignity and mutual respect" (second day).

The Forum aims to keep open the channels of communication between the two parties and will meet every two years alternately in Rome and in a Muslim country.

The five Islamic representatives who came to Rome belong to the group of experts coordinated by the Prince of Jordan Ghazi bin Muhammad bin Talal, chairman of al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, the first promoter of the "Letter of 138" (now 221) "A Common Word".

Among these outstanding representatives is the Italian Yahe Yahya Sergio Pallavicini, imam of al-Wahid mosque of Milan, ISESCO chairman of the Council for Education and Culture in the West and vice president of the Islamic Religious Community of Italy (COREIS).

Authoritative Voice of the Sufi community and of "moderate" Islam, Mr Pallavicini is certainly the privileged interlocutor for Vatican authorities.

Since 2006 he has been advisor to the Ministry of Interior for the Islamic Community.

[Picture: Rome, Trevi's Fountain, 18th century. Photo: Sufi News].

General Uncertainty

AFP, "Bhutto party delays Pakistan PM decision" - AFP - Islamabad, Pakistan
Thursday, March 6, 2008

The Pakistan People's Party, which won the most seats in the February 18 parliamentary polls, failed to agree on a candidate because of discord over the frontrunner Makhdoom Amin Fahim, a stalwart Bhutto aide, party officials said.

The delay comes amid mounting uncertainty over how the new premier and his or her government will handle key US ally President Pervez Musharraf, whose allies were trounced by the PPP and the party of ex-premier Nawaz Sharif.

"It is up to the party leadership what decision they take," Fahim told reporters, flashing a victory sign as he left the meeting of the PPP's newly elected MPs in Islamabad.

Bhutto was killed in a suicide attack in the garrison city of Rawalpindi on December 27 and her widower and successor as party leader, Asif Ali Zardari, has said he is not standing for the premiership.

Party insiders said the dispute hinged on the fact that Fahim, the PPP's long-term vice-president, hails from the southern province of Sindh, the Bhutto clan's power base.

Some party leaders wanted a prime minister from Punjab province, which is home to more than half of the country's 160 million people and where Sharif's party outnumbered the PPP in provincial polls.

Sharif and Zardari have agreed to form a coalition in parliament, which is set to be convened in mid-March, but both parties will inevitably want to maintain their own strength, officials said.

The leading Punjabi contender is Ahmed Mukhtar, an industrialist who is close to Zardari and who defeated the chief of the pro-Musharraf party in the elections, party officials said.

However, insiders said it would be a tough decision to pass over Fahim, a poetry-loving 68-year-old who effectively led the party when Bhutto was in exile from 1999 to 2007.

Party officials said a decision may not be announced until parliament convenes.

The delay in choosing a premier comes amid general uncertainty about the political direction of the country and the fate of Musharraf in particular.

(...)

[Picture: Makhdoom Amin Fahim]

From Which Rumi and Hafiz Emerged

By Molly Gilmore, "Festival celebrates sacred through spiritual music and dance" - The Olympian - Olympia, WA, USA
Thursday, March 6, 2008

This year's Olympia World Sacred Music Festival offers some surprises

There's a pagan drumming and dance group, for example, and even whirling dervishes and jazz.

Yes - jazz. The Olympia Jazz Senators will perform some of Duke Ellington's sacred jazz, composed in 1965.

"Ellington has these sacred suites that are just marvelous pieces of work, and hopefully those, along with the more global music, will help expand people's idea of what sacred music can be," said Scott Stevens, the music director for the fourth annual festival, set for Saturday [March 8].

"There's a church in Seattle that regularly does a jazz vespers church service, so it's not unknown. T he roots of jazz are at least partly in the black churches.

"The world is big and broad, and we're trying to be fairly inclusive about what we're doing, even though we're not doing a lot of traditional church music," he added.

The festival also features African, American Indian, Christian and Jewish music, plus dancing, storytelling and, for the first time, visual art.

"We're going to have around a dozen pieces of art representing a number of faith traditions," said Kathy Erlandson, director of Interfaith Works, which hosts the annual festival.

Back from last year is Shabava, a Portland group that plays the music of Persia, now Iran.

"People really liked them," Stevens said. "I'm not specifically trying to make a political statement with that, but I think it's good at a time when our country is talking about war with Iran that we get a different look at the culture there. That's the culture from which Rumi and Hafiz, the great Sufi poets, emerged."

The festival also will feature the Mevlevi Order of America, with Sufi dancing - also known as whirling dervishes.

"It's a dance and prayer form," Stevens said. "Visually as well as musically, it's going to be very interesting."

Click on the title to read the programme

[Visit the Mevlevi Order of America http://www.hayatidede.org/].

The Chosen One to Use Rabia’s Poetry

By Shridevi Keshavan,"Feminine strains of Sufi music" - Daily News & Analysis - Mumbai, India
Wednesday, March 5, 2008

She drifts off into her own little world often in the midst of a conversation. But conversely the weight of the musical lineage that she traces strongly reflects in her fiery talk too.

Daughter of Ustad Vilayat Khan, vocalist Zila Khan, has formed her own niche and secured a fine following for the form of music she follows. She might be jamming with Louiz Banks at the Jazz Utsav or even singing an item number for Bollywood but she has surrendered her soul to Sufi style of singing.

Zila is coming out with a special album Zila-The Girl Child which is her offering to all women on this year’s Women’s Day. The album features women poetesses, the highlight being Hazrat Rabia-al-Basri.

“I conceptualised the album knowing the emotions of a girl child, the struggle and the success. There’s sensuousness, romance and everything that a woman goes through. I felt blessed that I was the chosen one to use Rabia’s poetry which no one to date has used,” she said.

For Zila growing up studying music under her dad’s tutelage, managing his work and then finding her own path was a natural progression.

“I would spend about 12 hours every day with my father studying and discussing music. He was close to all his kids but I was the one who was handling his work. He ended up spending more time with me. He taught me a lot about life,” she reminisces.

(...)

[Visit the Artist's website http://www.zilakhan.in/].

Lucky to Grow Up in a Pool of Sufi Music

By Faridul Anwar Farinrodin, "Music in different shades" - New Straits Times - Persekutuan, Malaysia
Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Telling stories through music, Tunisia-born singer Dhafer Youssef lives in Paris and sings with Norwegian band members. He finds it hard put to put a name to his music but it tells stories just the same.

DHAFER Youssef’s music defies categorisation. It’s easy to call it a blend of “sufism, Nordic electronica and jazz”. His vocals — soaring, uplifting, achingly painful yet gleefully liberating — reflects a mastery of the Quranic reading discipline.

It meets with the sounds of modern technology, but that doesn’t compromise its beauty and integrity. Rather, it defines his musicianship and takes it to a level rarely enjoyed by many.

There is a kaleidoscopic of colours in his tunes, which are inspired by a broad spectrum of music including Indian, Brazilian, jazz, classical and electronica. Critics call it nu-jazz, but Dhafer refuses to be typecast by a genre.

“I don’t agree with the label but I have learnt to accept it. My music has become a product and it needs a name,” said the acclaimed oud (traditional Middle Eastern lute) player and singer in a phone interview from his home in Paris recently.

Tunisia-born Dhafer, 41, who is performing at the Mosaic Music Festival on March 11 in Singapore, said his music is about “telling stories and is open to interpretations”.

When asked how would he would define it, the musician said: “Maybe when I am 90 years old then I’d be able to put a name to it.”

He added: “I am Tunisian growing up in Europe and my music is a fusion — it reflects everything around me. I’d like my music to represent today’s world.”

Sufi purists may have bones to pick with him due to the strong presence of modernised sufism in his music. In his defence, Dhafer insisted “I don’t represent the sufi tradition. I am just lucky to grow up in a pool of sufi music.”

(...)

Dhafer last went back to his hometown in Teboulba in January to see his family. “It was hard in the beginning to convince my parents of my career path because it is believed that musicians don’t make a good living.

“Eventually, they realised that I am passionate in what I do. Now, they are happy with my achievements. I get so much support from my family, who believes in me and support my decisions.”

Dhafer will be performing at Esplanade’s Recital Studio at 7.30pm. There will be a post-show talk by the musician and the audience is welcome to take part.

Tickets for Mosaic Music Festival Singapore 2008 (from Friday to March 16) are available from Esplanade’s box-office at mezzanine level (tel: +65-6828-8377), SISTIC hotline (tel: +65-6348-5555), the festival website at www.mosaicmusicfestival.com and all SISTIC outlets.

[Visit Dhafer Youssef at http://www.dhaferyoussef.com/].

“Molana Is Hidden”

Tehran Times Culture Desk, "Amirkabir University honors Rumi experts"- Tehran Times - Tehran, Iran
Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Iranian experts and researchers on Rumi were honored in a ceremony named “Molana Is Hidden” held at the venue of Amirkabir University on Monday.

Tribute was paid to researcher Mohammad-Ali Eslami Nadushan and expert Bahaeddin Khorramshahi during the ceremony attended by many scholars and students.

Khorramshahi made an opening speech, saying, “We are a harmonious nation that takes great interest in literature and poetry. Due attention has been paid to the Masnavi of Molana over the past 50 years, but whenever the name of Molana Jalal-ad Din Rumi is cited, the names of the scholars Mohammadreza Shafiei Kadkani and Badiozzaman Foruzanfar are also brought to mind,” he added.

The head of the Majlis library Ahmad Jalali was the next speaker who handed a medal to Khorramshahi on behalf of the students of Amirkabir University.
(...)
Vocalist Shahram Nazeri sang a vocalized version of some of Rumi’s poetry.
(...)

[Picture: Left Bahaeddin Khorramshahi; Center Shahram Nazeri; Right Mohammad-Ali Eslami Nadushan. Photo: ISNA/Amir Kholusi].

The Door Will Open

By Elizabeth Lesser, "MIND SET: Accept your troubles" - The Times Of India - India
Sunday, March 2, 2008

Learn the alchemy true human beings know.
The moment you accept what troubles you've been given, the door will open.
— Rumi

How do we begin that journey from Once-Born innocence to Twice-Born wisdom? Where do we find the courage to make a big change? How do we use the forces of a difficult time to help us grow?

There are many ways, but the first way, the gateway, is to know that we are not alone in these endeavours. One of the greatest enigmas of human behaviour is the way we isolate ourselves from each other. In our misguided perception of separation we assume that others are not sharing a similar experience of life.

(...)

Rumi wrote poems so alive and clear that even today–eight centuries later–they shimmer with freshness. Their wisdom and humour are timeless; whenever I have an a-ha moment with one of Rumi’s poems, I feel connected to the people throughout the ages who have climbed out of their confusion on the rungs of Rumi’s words.

In several of his poems and commentaries, Rumi speaks of the Open Secret. He says that each one of us is trying to hide a secret–not a big, bad secret, but a more subtle and pervasive one.

(...)

The irony of hiding the dark side of our humanness is that our secret is not really a secret at all. How can it be when we’re all safeguarding the very same story? That’s why Rumi calls it an Open Secret.

It’s almost a joke–a laughable admission that each one of us has a shadow self–a bumbling, bad-tempered twin. Big surprise! Just like you, I can be a jerk sometimes. I do unkind, cowardly things, when I should be doing something constructive. Just like you, I wonder if life has meaning; I worry and fret over things I can’t control; and I often feel overcome with a longing for something that I cannot even name.

For all of my strengths and gifts, I am also a vulnerable and insecure person, in need of connection and reassurance. This is the secret I try to keep from you, and you from me, and in doing so, we do each other a grave disservice.

Moment we accept what troubles we’ve been given, the door will open.

Sounds easy, sounds attractive, but it is difficult, and most of us pound on the door to freedom and happiness with every manipulative ploy save the one that actually works.

If you’re interested in the door to the heavens opening, start with the door to your own secret self. See what happens when you offer to another a glimpse of who you really are.
(...)

(Excerpted from Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow).

"I Grew Up Singing at Dargahs"

By Anuji Kumar, "Why the awards matter" - The Hindu - Chennai, India
Sunday, March 2, 2008

Like every year past, the announcement of the Padma Shri/Bhushan/Vibhushan awards has not been without a dash of controversy. “Political patronage,” some cried. “Well deserved but a bit late,” say others. Regardless of the con troversy, some of this year’s recipients repeat a common sentiment: they are all glad and honoured to be conferred with the award.

(...)

His compositions create the same frenzy at a discotheque as at a countryside dhaba. He works with Anuradha Sairam and Daler Mehndi with the same zeal. The lyrics of his songs are as popular in Punjab as in Kerala.

In short, Jawahar Wattal unifies the country through his music rooted in folk traditions. “The Padma Sri is the result of 25 years of hard work to create a sustainable alternative to film music,” says Jawahar, who has 19 multi-platinum discs to his credit.

Jawahar, who started by composing advertisement jingles like ‘Fill it, Shut it, Forget it’, says his music worked despite the overwhelming presence of Bollywood.

“And I didn’t have the advantage of a multitude of channels to broadcast sleek music videos round the clock. I have worked on Sufi music and bhangra and introduced artistes like Daler Mehndi and Hans Raj Hans but I have also worked on Gujarat’s dandia, Rajasthan’s nathni and the folk music of Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. I have worked with the likes of Shujaat Khan, Shubha Mudgal, Hema Sardesai and now I am working with Aruna Sairam.”


Coming from Shafipur, a remote village in Punjab, Hans Raj Hans says coming to Chandigarh was a big thing for him. Today he is a visiting professor at the University of San Jose in California.

“I grew up singing at dargahs. I had full confidence in my sur and my guru Ustad Puran Shah Koti.”

Hans has been singing at the Wagah border for the last 12 years and roots for Indo-Pakistan friendship. Sufi music has won him many admirers abroad.

“Recently I performed at Birmingham and 70 per cent of the audience were white. The influence of Sufi music is catching the fancy of foreigners.”

With Bulle Shah as his favourite, Hans says he still loves singing in front of rural crowd in his state. “Woh hawa ka farq pehchante hain. If I miss a note they tell me: you are looking tired, Hans. This is not the case in the metros.”

[Pictures: Shri Jawahar Wattal and Shri Hans Raj Hans. Photos by: Rajeev Bhatt, R.V. Moorthy and Sandeep Saxena]

[About the Padma Shri Awards, go to this Wiki link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padma_Shri].

You Inhale the Personality of Your Teacher

By Gazala Hassan, " 'History of Kashmir has been a victim of distortions' " - Etalaat - Srinagar, J & K, India
Saturday, March 1, 2008

Prof Fida Muhammad Hassnain, an eminent historian of the state believes that Kashmir history has been a victim of distortions.

“The process of distortion started in the Mughal rule. They employed historians who wrote wrong about Kashmir and the same continues today." Prof Hassnain talked about the history, Sufism, and his life:

(...)

As an eminent historian how do you trace the history of Kashmir?
Kashmir has a history of about 8000. Kashmir has seen many rulers, like Greeks, Buddhists, Mughals, Sikhs and Dogras. It was in 1586 when the Mughal ruler Akbar enslaved Yousuf Shah Chak and murdered the latter and occupied Kashmir. The slavery continues till date.

But according to Ibn-e- Khaldun the life and fate of societies, nations and family changes after every 5-6 hundred years. We are also at the fag end of slavery.

(...)

You’re known for your expertise on the Buddhist culture
I returned from Delhi in 1954 and I was given the charge of various departments. I have been Director General Records, Director Archives, Director Museum, and Director Libraries for about two decades. During the same time a letter came to the state government to send someone who could give lectures on Buddhist culture in Japan. Sheikh Sahib selected me for the job, rejecting the objections raised by my Pandit colleagues.

Once I delivered six lectures, I was told to prepare the remuneration bills by the Japan University, which I did not. They were quite surprised when I told them I won't charge them any money as they had already bore my boarding and lodging expenses.

(...)

After one year I was a teacher of Buddhism and I was given the certificate of being a Buddhist saint. I could live in any Buddhist monarchy of Japan. It was the beginning of my journeys to Japan.

I later on took my elder son along, who settled his business and now lives there in Japan. I started travelling to Japan every year and have visited many countries like Bulgaria, Scotland, Malaysia, Germany, Russia, and China. This motivated me to read and research on Buddhist culture.

Apart from this I also teach some spiritual therapies in psychiatric hospitals of Germany.

Any association with Sufism?
I believe nothing lies in our hands and circumstances are created by God and we have to play accordingly. I became a fatalist and that is how I take it be it fortune or misfortune. I studied Sufism and Madam Bohumen was my first master, who taught me the tenants of Sufism.

I travelled to South India where I met Abu Baba Ji. On asking him where will I again see him, he told me that he will meet me in London. I was in Germany and at airport; tickets for London were available in cheap rates. I availed the opportunity and reached London where I met Abu Babaji as he had predicted.

Where does mysticism figure in Islam?
Indeed, it does. Religion for you is chosen by God, but Sufism is the religion of heart. Where you have a Sufi teacher and the time comes you inhale the personality of your teacher.

Sufism is establishing connection between your teacher, Prophet and God. A Sufi sees God in every human and believes his heart is his Kaba. Mysticism is the kernel of every religion and Muslim mystics are called Sufis.

Sufis breathe in and out in the name of Almighty. Human body is composed of three things: body, mind and spirit, and for a Sufi every act of his body is for God. It is very unfortunate that some ignorant mullahs make a hue and cry in this regard.

And, if we go to Masjid Nabwi (SAW) we find a place there called Ashab-e-Sufa. They were the people who were the lovers of Prophet (SAW). They were always found engrossed in the love of the Prophet (SAW). They were also the Sufis.

(...)

In the light of history how do you see the future of Kashmir?
At present, we are in a transition. I would say that we should visualise some better future. We are inheritors of great civilizations and are quite famous people.

Kashmir has to become focus of the Asiatic civilizations, a miniature England in the heart of Asia. Kashmir belongs to the whole world and let people come, enjoy and leave. Why should some country control it?

Kashmir has a composite culture and Kashmiri Muslims are quite different from the Muslims of India. The slavery will end. It has to end.

A Resurgence in Religion

By Katherine T. Phan, "Columbia Univ. Opens Institute on Religion and Cultural Tolerance" - Christian Post - USA
Saturday, March 1, 2008

Columbia University's new Institute for Religion, Culture and Public Life, which opened this semester, has recently launched programs addressing current sectarian conflicts in India, Sri Lanka, the Holy Land and the newly established Kosovo.

(...)

Mark C. Taylor, professor and chair of the Department of Religion and co-director of the institute, observed that the "world is experiencing a resurgence in religion."

(...)

Some themes that will be explored include conflict resolution through sacred space, the relationship between the secular state and the religiously diverse populace, the potential amendment of Turkey’s secular constitution, the contributions of Sufism and art to Senegal’s democracy, and the relationship between secularism and women’s rights, according to Columbia.

The institute will begin offering internship and fellowship programs this summer.
A ceremony will be held in the fall to formally launch the institute.

[Visit the IRCPL: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/08/02/religion.html].

Law, Sufism, Life

[From the French language press]:
La jurisprudence doit intéresser tous les domaines de la vie et non seulement le fikh, a affirmé hier, à Alger, le ministre des affaires religieuses et des Wakfs, M. Bouabdellah Ghlamallah.

Staff Report,"Islam : Ghlamallah : «La jurisprudence doit englober tous les domaines de la vie»" - El Moudjahid - Algiers, Algeria - mardi 26 février 2008

Law must involve all areas of life and not just Fiqh, said yesterday in Algiers the Minister of Religious Affairs and Wakfs*, Mr Bouabdellah Ghlamallah.

Opening the three days [Feb. 26-29] Symposium "la jurisprudence et les enjeux de la modernisation dans le monde arabe" [Law and the chances of modernization in the Arab World], held in Algiers' National Library, Mr Amine Zaoui, General Director of the National Library, felt that the purpose of the Symposium is "to open a scientifically serious dialogue, important and serene, on the concept of jurisprudence, criteria and fields of religion, philosophy, language and literature".

He said that "Fiqh is not to be confined to religion only".

Among the topics dealt within the Symposium: "Legal Thought and the Culture of the Future", "The relationship between Law and Modernisation", "Aspects of renewal in Sufism", "The Crisis of Jurisprudence in the contemporary Arab Thought ", "Jurisprudence between Indoctrination and Fanaticism. "

* [For Waqfs, also called Habous: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habous].

The Man Behind the Mystic

By Melissa A. Bell, "The man behind the mystic"- Livemint - Delhi, India
Friday, February 29, 2008

A top contender in the Mahindra theatre awards, poet Rumi comes alive in this play

From Bob Dylan to film-maker Muzaffar Ali, many have fallen under the spell of Jalaluddin Rumi — the 13th century poet and Sufi mystic.

Author and playwright Mohini Kent Noon is no exception. Intrigued by his writings and legacy, Noon was hooked on Rumi, who most famously wrote TheMasnavi, an epic poem about man’s search for God.

After introducing his works to her mother, Amrit Kent, an Urdu scholar, Noon decided she wanted to explore Rumi as a man, and not just as a great poet.

Kent spent years researching Rumi’s life, while Noon worked on versions of the play. The result of their four years of work, Rumi, Unveil the Sun, premiered in New Delhi last May, and has now been highly lauded by the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META).

Although the META winners will not be announced until 6 March, Rumi, Unveil the Sun distinguishes itself from the other nominees by sheer numbers. It was nominated twice in the supporting actor category and once in every other category, with the exception of best actress — but only because the play didn’t have a lead actress role.

But it is not just the number of nominations that sets this play apart; the story looks back 800 years to the moment when a proud, religious student underwent a profound personal transformation, forever altering the world of poetry and Sufism. While other plays in the category are based on fictional stories, Rumi, Unveil the Sun takes its plot line from historical fact.

“I think people respond to it because we are talking about a human being,” Noon says. “We can see that he is a great man. But when he was going through a very difficult period in his life, he was just another man trying to cope with events as best he could.”

The play takes a moment from Rumi’s life when he encounters Shams-e-Tabriz, a wandering mystic. The director, Sohaila Kapur, says it was this meeting that attracted her to the play. “(Shams’) negation of Rumi and Rumi’s anger at being criticized for the first time really fascinated me. I had never done a play dealing with philosophy.”

Despite the profound ruminations on Rumi’s mental transformation, Noon denies the play is too cerebral to be entertaining. “It is very moving because it is about a real human being, and his human condition.”

Actor Oroon Das, who doubles as lead actor and set designer, agrees. “The play is not too abstract, it’s a pretty real depiction,” Das says. “It’s a play of ideas and a journey of Rumi’s thoughts, but it conveys those ideas through staged incidents in his life.”

Das, like many other cast members, was only vaguely familiar with Rumi when he joined the production. He dedicated himself to reading Rumi’s work and tried to abstain from drinking and smoking to prepare his body for the role.

After acquainting himself with Rumi’s poetry, Das was inspired enough to ask for the job of set designer in addition to playing the lead.

Noon says that like Das people have responded strongly to the play because it reintroduces Rumi to them. “A lot of people have heard the name Rumi but haven’t actually read his poetry, and a lot of people have read his poetry but they don’t know much about his life,” she says.

She considers the play her contribution to spreading Rumi’s message of love.

Only a Thin Dividing Line

By Prahlad Singh Shekhawat "Betraying The Past" - Tehelka - New Delhi, India
Friday, February 29, 2008

The Jodhaa Akbar controversy distorts the glorious legacy of Rajput-Mughal syncretic culture

The controversy created by the film Jodhaa Akbar and the opposition mounted mainly by sections of young Rajputs in Rajasthan raises a number of issues related to historical facts, poetical license of a creative and imaginative work of cinema or art, modern Rajput identity and the rising intolerance in the country.

It is true that factually the name of the Rajput princess married to Akbar probably was not Jodhabai, but it is not disputed that a Rajput princess from Amer-Jaipur was married to Akbar and other Rajput princesses from various Rajput states except Mewar or Udaipur were married to successive mughal emperors, often the marriages being arranged by Rajput mothers of mughal princes.

This was part of a political alliance begun by enlightened and secular Akbar and by Rajput kings who were discerning enough to accept the realpolitik which could promote peace so that the kingdom and its people could flourish economically and be socially harmonious.
(...)
History is witness to the subsequent flowering of composite and secular mughal culture in which the Rajput wives played a part, until the time of Aurengzeb. Noted historians like Satish Chandra would agree with this version.

Rajput princesses were marrying emperors and into the highest royalty (which in those pre-Hindutva times) could be trans-religious and they lived as respected wives. Akbar had an affectionate childhood connection with the Rajputs which he must have surely remembered while marrying a Rajput princess. His father Humayun, while fleeing from the Afghan invader Sher Shah Suri, was given refuge by the Soda Rajput Raja of Umarkot now in Sindh, where Akbar was born and taken care of.

Jodhabai has become a part of the popular imagination, mythology and cultural folklore as Akbar’s wife after the classic film Mughal-e-Azam, persisting as an "imaginative reconstruction of reality," as Max Weber defined art.

One of the latest words in the Oxford dictionary is 'faction' which is a mix of fact and fiction. Historical characters and events can be authentically woven into a story or film as long as it does not distort and demean the spirit of those characters, events and social relations. By all accounts and reviews, the film Jodhaa Akbar does not distort the spirit and may even be inspiring, but a disclaimer that the name of characters and incidents may not be accurate even though the story is based on history, could have helped.
(...)
Yet the opposition of the Rajput groups has its own peculiar politics of identity. As Ramchandra Guha says, it is religious intolerance masquerading as historical scholarship, but it is not ordinary intolerance but an intolerance born of belief in purity of blood just as the Brahmans believe in ritual purity.
(...)
Purity is even more at issue when community women are involved. It is a common saying among the community that for a Rajput man three things are a matter of the greatest honor in the following order: women, sword and horse. Rajput women had deeply internalised these values and heroically committed jauhar, so that they do not fall into the hands of the conqueror and face dishonour.

Even though the political and matrimonial alliance with the secular Mughals was honourable it is perceived by some Rajputs to be a matter of dishonour and the only way to deal with it is to deny history.
Incidentally there are hardly any Rajput girls or women demonstrating against the movie.
(...)
As Ashis Nandy has pointed out, fifteen percent of communities in India are followers of more than one religion, like the Meos in Rajasthan who practice both Islam and Hinduism.

Baba Ram Dev, a popular folk deity [Saint] of Rajput lineage in west Rajasthan is worshiped by both Hindus and Muslims who call him a pir, with a pundit and maulavi in attendance at the shrine in Ramdevra in Jodhpur. Similarly Goga Ji shrine in Ganganagar is another deity worshipped jointly by Hindus and Muslims.

The Ajmer Dargah of Sufi Gharib Nawaj receives "hazri" and "chaddar'' not only from Muslims but also large number of Hindus. This is the same dargah where Akbar prayed to be blessed by a son from a Rajput wife and Salim was born.

Leading social scientists Iqbal Narain and PC Mathur in their book *Rajput Hinduism* argue that historically Hinduism in Rajasthan was more liberal and broad minded because the absence of strong Brahmanical religious influence was compensated by Rajput cultural leadership.

This inclusive and fine old Rajput legacy is under threat by the new narrow identity mobilisation. So is the case with UP [Uttar Pradesh] maulavis coming to Rajasthan and teaching the pure Islam of Arabia asking Muslims to keep away from their traditional grassroots mixed shrines.

A senior maulavi at the hard line Deoband Islamic academy, UP, whom I interviewed did not hesitate to declare that the Sufi philosophy of Moinuddin Chisti who is worshipped at Ajmer Dargah was not Muslim enough and did not meet the test of pure Islam.

My own surname, Shekhawat, is derived from a Sufi saint Sheikh whom both Muslims and Hindus revered, and who blessed my ancestor Shekhaji with child and heir. In respect we don’t eat pork. But recently some "pure" revivalist Rajputs are revising history by connecting Sheikh to Sanskrit lineage.

There is a historical denial and the opposition to Jodhaa Akbar is actually an expression of the acute anxiety felt by some Rajputs in reconciling the two selves of a modern secular Indian self on the one hand and a post Hindutva "proud Rajput of pure blood" self.

One of the worst words of abuse among the Rajputs is “gola” which means someone born out of “pure” Rajput and lower status “impure” Rajputs. Rajputs in Rajasthan, being small in numbers, are politically marginalised and divided. Many young people are unemployed and poor while other castes and communities like the Jats and Meenas have become more economically and politically powerful and have secured reservations, sometimes unjustly.

These Rajput youth are trying to mobilise and express their anger by rallying to causes of honour and purity which gives them solace through a sense of identity and superiority in difficult times of transition.

Unless the young people in the country get proper education, employment and a wise leadership they will continue to rally around communal, regional and caste causes of narrow identity, past hurt and imagined purity of honor. The rich legacy of a composite, diverse and tolerant cultures is under threat. The threat is based on the false equation of a rich and complex cultural intercourse with impurity which is then translated as dishonour.

The threat is projected as shrill moral policing as in the case of Jodhaa Akbar, as in the case of Raj Thackerey’s exclusivist Marathi 'son of the soil' pride, as in the hounding of Tasleema Nasreen by Muslim extremists.

We Indians need to know that there's only a thin dividing line between honor and intolerance, between pride and prejudice.

[About the movie Jodhaa Akbar, see also these links:
http://sify.com/movies/bollywood/fullstory.php?id=14613499
http://www.jodhaaakbar.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jodhaa_Akbar].

Breaking Down Barriers

By Sarah Higley, "Sufi Rock Band Junoon’s Lead Singer Salman Ahmed Comes to Pomona" - The Student Life News - Claremont, CA, USA
Volume 119, Number 13 /Friday, February 29, 2008

Musician, medical doctor, goodwill ambassador, and Pakistan’s first rock star Salman Ahmed performed for an audience of more than 300 people Sunday night at the Smith Campus Center, promoting his lifelong dedication to the people of South Asia.

A noted humanitarian, Ahmed screened a short documentary about his work with his band Junoon, and later performed a set with maestro tabla player Pandit Sameer Chatterjee.

Ahmed is both the lead guitarist and founder of Junoon, one of South Asia’s most popular rock bands. He specializes in Sufi rock, his creation, which blends conventional rock and traditional

Sufi music and imagery.
While attending middle and high school in New York, Ahmed found inspiration in the music of the Beatles and Led Zeppelin. He later incorporated the ideas of Sufi poets, who he said celebrate “the one-ness of humanity, finding God through self-knowledge.”

Ahmed has dedicated much of his life to breaking down barriers, between India and Pakistan and between East and West. He jokingly breaks the barrier between the band and its fans as well.

“You can get up here and dance, and do whatever you want and enjoy yourselves today,” he said to students at his talk on Sunday. “The aim is to destroy the wall between you and me.”

Taking him up on his offer, fans of all ages danced on and around the stage by the end of the night.

“He wanted people to be around him,” said Afshin Alaf Khan ’11, a fan of Junoon since childhood. “He was very down to earth, and very patient, and I like that.”

Ahmed also participated in a restrained question-and-answer session and a second showing of his documentary at Oldenborg on Monday. He fielded questions relating to his musical inspiration, his views on Pakistani politics, and how to breaking cultural divides.
He spent some time decrying the lack of understanding between the people of different countries, citing political maneuvering as a main obstacle.

“Politics demonizes, culture humanizes,” he said. “If you want to find out about the people, look at their culture, look at their music, look at their poetry, their art, and you’ll find out that people pretty much everywhere in the world are the same.”

Ahmed’s main wish for Pakistan was for the politically torn state to become a place where culture flourishes once again, “so that all these potential undiscovered artists can finally find a place to express.”

(...)

Ahmed will be performing at UCLA on Saturday, March 8 and in various cities across the United States as part of his ‘Mystical Journey’ concert tour.
[Picture from: http://www.junoon.com/].

With Prayers for Peace

By Fatima Raza, "964th Urs of Hazrat Data Ganj (RA) concludes with special Prayers" - Pakistan Times - Islamabad, Pakistan
Friday, February 29, 2008

Lahore: The three-day 'Urs' of the great Sufi saint, religious scholar and spiritualist of the 11th century Hazrat Ali bin Usman Hajveri (RA) – popularly known as Data Ganj Bukhsh (RA) concluded at midnight Thursday with prayers for peace, progress and prosperity of Pakistan.

Hundreds of thousands of the faithful – who had arrived Lahore from all areas of Pakistan as well as from different parts of the world – also offered special prayers for the entire Muslim world.

(...)

Hazrat Ali Hajvery (RA) was a Persian Sufi and a scholar. The greatest saint for all times was born in Hajver, a town of Ghazni in Afghanistan in 1000 AD (400 H) and died in Lahore in 1063 or 1071 AD.

He voyaged physically to many countries, including Turkistan, Transoxania, Iran, Iraq, and Syria where he met innumerable Sufis and Sheikhs, many of those have been mentioned in his book 'Kashf-ul-Mahjoob'.

During the Urs the shrine and its whereabouts were beautifully lit. A large number of devotees from different parts of the country besides tens of thousands from the city visited the Data Darbar [the Mausoleum] – to pay their homage by reciting verses from the Holy Quran. Qawals, and Naat Khawan recited mystic verses – paying tributes to the venerated saint.

Separate arrangements were made for women to visit the shrine.

'Langer Khana' (distributing free food) and milk sabeels were also made available for every-one comprising a large number of people.

According to some historians one of the first persons to become Muslim at the hand of Hazrat Data Gang Bakhsh (RA) was Rai Raju. He was Naib Hakim [Deputy Ruler] of Lahore at that time. On his conversion to Islam Hazrat Data Gang Bakhsh (RA) named him Shaikh Hindi. After this, many other people also converted to Islam.

When Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh (RA) came to Lahore, he built a "Khanqah" and a Mosque, known as "Khishti Masjid", outside the city on a mound to the west of Bhati Gate near the bank of river Ravi.

It is said that when the mosque was originally being built by him some of the locals pointed out that 'the "Qibla" of the mosque is not in the right direction and appears towards south'. On complaint, he asked the people to say prayer and during the prayer he showed them the Holy Kaaba, consequently its direction was right.

It was one of the many miracles of the great saint.
This mosque became a model to look at for the fixing of Qibla of all the mosques in the following centuries.

The historical records tell us that after the death of Hazrat Data Gang Bakhsh (RA) because of the reverence and deep respect of the Muslims for the great Saint, the mosque has been the subject of renovation, addition and beautification for several times by different devotees.

(...)

On the south, in front of the mausoleum, there are two doors. One of these doors has beautiful Iranian inlaid work on gold. All the arches, the window frames and pillars in the mosque and mausoleum are in carved marble. The entire floor is also in marble.
The mosque is spread over a total area of 3,68,150 sq. ft. [34'201 sq. metres] and it is the third largest mosque in Pakistan. It can accommodate up to 52,600 people.

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Hazrat Daata Ganj Bakhsh Ali Hujveri, R.A was well versed in all the Islamic sciences such as Tafsir; (exegesis) of the Holy Quran, Hadice; (Traditions of the Holy Prophet [PBUH], Fiqah; (Muslim Law), Firm Theology; (Elm-e-Kalam) history, jurisprudence and logic.

He was an eminent scholar, poet and author. He wrote seven different books on theology and religion but the most famous of them all is ‘Kashf-ul-Mahjoob’, an awe-inspiring book on Islamic mysticism.