The Spiritual Ascent, a Male Exclusivity?

[From the French language press]:
La ville de Bargny abritera, le 15 juin, la 18e édition de la journée culturelle dédiée à la mémoire de Thierno Yoro Ndiaye. L’édition de cette année coïncide avec la célébration du centenaire du rappel à Dieu, en 1908, de cette grande figure de l’islam au Sénégal.

Par Babacar Drame, "18e JOURNEE CULTURELLE ISLAMIQUE THIERNO YORO NDIAYE A BARGNY : A l’école d’un maître du soufisme" - Le Soleil - Dakar, Sénégal - Jeudi 12 Juin, 2008

The city of Bargny will host, on June 15, the 18th edition of the cultural day dedicated to the memory of Yoro Thierno Ndiaye.

This year's edition coincides with the celebration of the centenary of the urs, in 1908, of this great personality of Islam in Senegal.

Regarding the Programme, in addition to the testimony, to be made by El Hadji Mouhamed Diouf, a former Ambassador, Diplomat and Islamologist, there are two important papers to be introduced by Prof. Abdoul Aziz Kébé of Ucad and Sokhna Binetou Fatou Diop, a Teacher and Islamologist.

While Professor Kébé will shed light on "The Profile, the Role and the Responsibility of the Religious Guide", Dr. Sokhna Binetou Fatou Diagne will focus on the theme: "The Spiritual Ascent, a Male Exclusivity? The examples of Fatima and Rabia Al Aawiya".

Age-old Traditions

By Imtiaz Ali, " Fahim Allan Fakir: chip off the old block" - The News International - Karachi, Pakistan
Thursday, June 10, 2008

Though Fahim Allan Fakir enthralled the audience at Alliance Francaise (AF), Karachi recently in concert, music lovers are still waiting to see whether or not he will be able to fill the void left by his father’s death.

Fahim may want to adopt the same style of singing as that of his father but he has a long way to go.

He may need more time to polish and hone his skill, which may or may not be different from his father or other performers. However, he is optimistic about his future.

Allan Fakir, the world renowned singer and musician introduced a new genre in the Sindhi-Urdu music. Basically, he was a traditional singer who proved to the world he could do equally well when it came to contemporary music.

Fakir attracted a large number of Urdu music lovers with his distinct style of performance. In a brief chat with The News at AF prior to his performance, Fahim said that once his father told him “if you cannot perform with ‘sur’, just croone ‘Woo, woo’and you will gain sur.”

Fahim said that he lacked melody in his voice at an early age and people often asked his father to train the son but “baba used to tell them that one day my son will get it.”

He also said that “I did not get any training from other singers or musicians,” adding that “I learnt some words by watching my father.”

He believes that sur is not something that can be learnt. Instead, it is something that is God-gifted.

“I was trained in the sufi tradition at an early age,” he said. “He taught me about Sufism and the love of God,” added Fahim.

Allan Fakir had assumed distinction in singing the ‘Wai’ of the great Sufi poet Shah Latif Bhitai as most Sufi singers preferred the poetry of Sachal Sarmast, which for them was relatively easy. Besides, the latter was also known as the ‘poet of seven languages.’

Singing the poetry of Bhitai is not difficult for him, said Fahim, as he inherited an appreciation for poetry from his family. His father also sang the kalaam of Baba Bulleh Shah, Sachal Sarmast, Haq Bahu, Meeral Fakir and others.

Fahim likes the recent trend of narration behind Sufi poetry in contemporary music. With the help of this technique, messages can be easily conveyed to the people. However, Fahim does not think much of the new trend of having models and actors in music videos while someone else is doing the real singing.

He is optimistic about the future of classical music. “Sufism and classical poetry are age-old traditions,” he explained, adding that “the trend of remixing music will not survive for long.”

He added that the people no longer invite Sufi singers at marriage ceremonies as they do not want poetry on festive occasions, which remind them of the ‘love for God’.

When he was talking about importance of classical music, the AF director Alexandre Tchikovani joined in. Interestingly enough, Fahim started speaking in English and told Tchikovani that the importance of classical music can be gauged from the fact that a king sacrificed his life after listening to the music of Beejal Fakir – in fact Bhitai has also written about this.

In response to another question, he said that he doesn’t want to bring out his own style of singing. “I wish I could emulate my father properly,” said Fahim.

“I would like to think that I have achieved my destiny when I will be able to sing like my father,” he added. There is no one in the world who can emulate his father, he said.

Sufi Music, Not Bollywood

TOI Music Editor, "Rahat likes Delhi’s tastes" - The Times of India - India
Monday, June 9, 2008

Has the Delhi audience learnt to behave itself? Rahat Fateh Ali Khan would certainly think so!

In a packed house at a function in the capital recently, he started his performance with classical and Sufi, and members of the audience started off with their requests.

Knowing how well his film songs have been received over the years, Rahat couldn’t help but comply.

So, after Lagan Lagi Tumse and Main Jahaan Rahoon, as more requests poured in from excited fans, the singer also managed to hear lone voices requesting for Sufi songs.

“We’ve come to hear Sufi music, not Bollywood,” shouted a lady at the top of her voice. And that was something Rahat picked up.

He politely told the crowd that he had to keep the diktats of the organisation that had invited him in mind.
And continued his programme with his numerous Sufi songs and ghazals.

And no, lovers of film music did not leave the hall. They sat listening to each rendition, and encouraged him with thundering applauses inbetween.

Said a member of Rahat’s troupe, “This is something that any artiste aspires for – appreciation from music lovers who want not just Bollywood, but good music. Khan saab is very happy”.

Thunderous Applause

TNI Correspondant, "Allan Fakir’s son performs at AF" - The News International - Karachi, Pakistan
Monday, June 9, 2008

Fahim Allan Fakir, son of renowned singer and musician, the late Allan Fakir, performed late Saturday night before an impressive audience at the Alliance Francaise (AF).

He received thunderous applause from the audience by singing Sufi songs in Sindhi, Punjabi, Seraiki and Urdu.

He sang the poetry of Shah Latif, Sachal Sarmast, Baba Bulla Shah, Meeral Fakir, Bedal and Sheikh Ayaz for over two hours and his voice appeared to be reminiscent of his father’s melodious voice.

When he wound up his performance along with traditional Sindhi instrumentalists Ghulam Murtaza, Shahbaz Ali, Ali Raza and Shafi Mohammed, the people insisted him to continue and he sang two more songs on request.

AF Director Alexandre Tchikovani said that music doesn’t need explanation.

“We want to promote young, little known but talented singers and musicians,” he said.

“Fahim’s father was a famous singer and musician and we wanted to provide him (Fahim) an opportunity to perform before the public,” he said.

He said that you may not understand the words but you could understand the Sufi music as it was for the glory of God.

[Visit the Alliance Française Karachi's website http://www.afkarachi.com/]
[Listen to Fahim Allan's father singing through this Music Portal: http://tinyurl.com/5vdka5].

L'Eternità Sta Nel Vino, Coppiere

[From the Italian language press]:

Si dice di lui che ascoltando suo padre recitare il Corano lo avesse imparato a memoria. Hafiz : una nuova traduzione in italiano a cura di Stefano Pellò. Testo persiano a fronte.

Redazione Cultura, "d" - Il Giornale - Milano, Italy - domenica 8 giugno 2008

It is said of him that, by listening to his father's recitation, he learnt the Qur'an by heart. Hafiz: a new translation into Italian. With Persian parallel text.

"Imported" in Europe by Goethe, his poetry is used for divination and it is said to contain elements of Surrealism.

They say that from an Iranian house two books cannot be missing: the Qur'an and the Divan-e Hafiz.

A new translation into Italian is now available. Hafez: Eighty Songs, translated by Stefano Pellò and Gianroberto Scarcia.

L'eternità sta nel vino, coppiere, a me
versane l'ultima goccia:
lassù non fiorita è radura, non quale
a Shiraz riva d'acque.

Eternity in Wine stays, O Saqi, to me
pour the last drop:

no glade blooming up there, no like
in Shiraz are banks.

Di liuti parlatemi solo, parlatemi solo
di coppe: il segreto
di questo mondo è un enigma che mai
saprà scioglier sapienza.

Do not speak to me but of Lutes, do not speak to me

but of Cups: the secret
of this world is Enigma that never
will knowledge be able to solve.

Hafez
Ottanta Canzoni
2008 - Collezione di poesia Einaudi
pp. XXVIII-204 € 14,5
ISBN 8806188097

[Click to the Publisher's book card http://tinyurl.com/5dbwg7]

[Editor's note: Professor Stefano Pellò informs me that an unabridged translation of the whole Divan into Italian (also with Persian parallel text) was published in 2005:

Hafez

Canzoniere

a cura di Stefano Pellò e Gianroberto Scarcia

Edizioni Ariele, Milano 2005].

"Coolie Poetry", Not the Army

Tehelka Bureau, "Kashmiriyat Blooming" - Tehelka Magazine -

Vol 5, Issue 23, Dated June 14, 2008

A new research centre initiated by the South Asia Foundation promises to give a fresh lease of life to the rich but endangered Sufi culture of Kashmir

The thought had been lurking for as many as sixty years. Then, traumatised by the Partition, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Madanjeet Singh, who had witnessed bloodshed on both sides had been influenced by an illiterate Muslim labourer.

It was in Kashmir that he first became aware of the influence and power of oral folk culture. Aasi, a ‘coolie poet’, made ends meet through menial jobs, and walked the streets narrating poems.

Then, way back in 1948, Aasi’s secular poetry had inspired the Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs to form a cultural front to resist the brutal attack by tribesmen who had invaded the Kashmir valley.

Sixty years later, Madanjeet Singh is trying to apply the same balm.

A student of Government College, Lahore, who hails from Uri — a border district in Kashmir — Singh believes that culture will provide the antidote to the violence and intolerance that has ravaged the Valley over the last two decades.

As founder of the South Asia Foundation (SAF), 85-year old Singh was back in Kashmir to open the Kashmir Institute of Studies, where he hopes students from Pakistan will also come and learn about Sufi culture.

Former military dictator Zia ul Haq changed that in Pakistan and the myriad militant groups punctured holes into Kashmiriyat in India.

“Only culture will stop violence, not the army,’’ asserts Singh whose Foundation has also been recognised as an apex body of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation.

Kashmir certainly can do with a lot of help. There are many silent Aasi’s, who like the labourer-poet, are devotees of Hazrat Nuruddin Nurani — or Nund Rishi — Kashmir’s patron Sufi saint whose shrine used to have a temple on one floor and a mosque on another.

That is, in effect, the essence of Kashmiriyat — slowly but surely chipped away in the last two decades, since the gun culture took root.

(...)

Madanjeet Singh is clear about his mission: that suppression of culture can’t stop the arts from transcending national boundaries.

[Visit the South Asian Foundation Website: http://www.southasiafoundation.org/]

[Click to the List of UNESCO Goodwill Ambassadors: http://tinyurl.com/6hy9a].

Ulama Besar: a Father Figure

Bureau Report, "News Focus: Honeymoon led to Pattani 'affair'" - The News Straits Times - Persekutuan, Malaysia
Monday, June 2, 2008

Francis R. Bradley cuts a distinctive figure in the Malay manuscript centre. Look closely at what he has on his desk - Malay manuscripts written in old Jawi.

The researcher, from University of Wisconsin in the United States, was studying an old Kitab Sembahyang (prayer book) and Collection of Hadith at the National Library recently.

Bradley, who speaks fluent Malay, has been to Malaysia a few times to conduct research.

He is studying old manuscripts written in the 18th century by an Islamic scholar from Pattani, Thailand. Works of Syeikh Daud Abdullah Al-Pattani on legal treatises and Sufism, written in Mecca, Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah, can easily be found here.

"I went to Pattani in 2006 but people told me to come to Malaysia. It has been overwhelming here. "I found about 700 manuscripts on Syeikh Daud in the library and 300 more in the Islamic Arts Museum."

He added that the manuscripts were also in good condition although they were about 200 years old.

The manuscripts in the library are stored in a strong room at a temperature between 20°C and 22°C for preservation purposes.

Bradley said he was interested in the scholar's work as Syeikh Daud was the "Ulama Besar" and was portrayed as a father figure by Pattani folk. He said Syeikh Daud was also important to the idea of Pattani as a place.

Bradley's interest in Islamic culture began when he went to Istanbul with his wife for their honeymoon. He initially studied the Turkish language and decided to study Southeast Asian history on his professor's recommendation.

In 2004, he studied Bahasa Indonesia and learned Jawi language in the Language and Cultures of Asia Department in his university. He chose to focus on Pattani history as it was under studied.

Bradley is currently pursuing his PhD in History and visits the library daily to conduct his research before he returns to the United States later this month.

"I never expected to find this much information. I'm really grateful that this place offers convenient research facilities," he said.

[Picture: Francis R. Bradley studying one of the manuscripts written in old Jawi at the Malay manuscript centre in the National Library].

Music and Interreligious Dialogue

[From the French language press]:
Fès : le rendez-vous des musiques sacrées du monde se déroule dans la ville marocaine de Fès.

Par Pierre Polomé, "Fès : le rendez-vous des musiques sacrées du monde" - Agora Vox - Paris, France
mardi 3 juin 2008

Fez: the appointment of World Sacred Music in the world takes place in the Moroccan city of Fez.
From June 6 to June 16 the fourteenth edition of the Festival of Sacred Music combines original music and interreligious dialogue.

The Festival is widely supported by the Ministry of Culture and the mainstream French Media. Seats and doors of the medina welcome fifty concerts of world music of good quality.

[Photo: Micham Tazi, FFMSM 2007. Visit the English version of the Festival's Website http://fesfestival.com/2008/indexen.php].

Music with More Meaning

By Tiffany Arnold "Message from the hillside" - Hagerstown Morning Herald - Hagerstown, MD, USA

Friday, June 6, 2008

Unity Music Festival organized by local Indie musician. Proceeds from the concert will go to the Shadhiliyya Sufi Center East

Warfordsburg, Pa. - Indie musician Camela Widad Kraemer was tired of not hearing the music she likes to hear, so she created a music festival in the Pennsylvania countryside and has invited 15 artists to perform at it.

The first-ever Unity Music Festival will be held Saturday at Farm of Peace in Warfordsburg. It's a labor of love Kraemer hopes audiences and musicians will appreciate.

"After playing music for 10 years, I started to get hungry for music with more meaning to it, and it was hard for me to find it," said Kraemer, a folk musician who lives in Frederick, Md.

The missing meaning was peace, love and unity, Kraemer said, so the outdoor music fest will tout those through "music with messages of social change, like music of the '60s and '70s," Kraemer said.

Proceeds from the concert will go to the Shadhiliyya Sufi Center East, headquartered at the Farm of Peace. The Shadhiliyya Sufi Center East promotes the teachings of Sufism, a mystical sect of Islam.

Kraemer, who believes in Sufism, said there is no religious slant on the festival and that attendees need not be Sufi to attend.

"I don't care what your choice is," Kraemer said. "I want you to leave feeling nourished from love, that you've been cared for."

WHEN: 11 a.m. Saturday, June 7. Gates open at 9:30 a.m. 11 a.m. Saturday, June 7. Gates open at 9:30 a.m. WHERE: Farm of Peace, 1212 Haven Lane, Warfordsburg, Pa.

[Click the title of this article for the Program, an MP3 sample of music and a Link to online tickets].

Karabat versus Nazarbandi

By Irfan Aligi, "Mind over matter or parlour tricks?" - Daily Times - Lahore, Pakistan
Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Karachi: Some followers of Sufism, during the height of their conviction, enter into a state of ‘wajd’ or ‘haal’ (ecstasy) during which they claim to be at a place inaccessible to regular believers, and one where only those at the height of their passion can tread.

Very often, these devotees perform unbelievable acts, transgressing the threshold of pain and belief as known by us.

Acts of piercing their tongues, cheeks, nostrils and forearms with sharp needles of the thickness as a mini screwdriver, are normal. Apparently, not a single drop of blood emerges, nor is their any pain in the eyes of the subject. There isn’t any puncture or scar left behind after the removal of needle either.

Peer Syed Mahfooz Ali Shah Ejazi, commonly known as Shah Ejazi, told Daily Times that ‘Peers’, Sufis, ‘Qutab’ and ‘Abdal,’ are all categories of ‘Silsila-e-Tareeqat,’ the followers of different Sufi thoughts, but none of them is above the Shariat.

Those who cross the boundaries of what is normal to us are either imposters or have been rejected divinely, he opined.

“Those who perform tricks on themselves by piercing their flesh are only imposters. They have trained hard to control their nerves, preventing themselves from feeling pain and showing agony during these acts. This is neither a ‘karamat’ (divine or heavenly act), nor magic. It is simply ‘Nazarbandi,’ a deception of the eye.

They also take drugs to make their veins shrink, blocking the flow of blood, practice self-control and soothe their pain, all to impress the viewers,” he said.

A real peer, according to him, has to spend his entire life seeking spiritual guidelines from heaven, while only a few are successful in reaching the final stage. There are more than 360 stages to pass and those who achieve their goal never expose their talent. “It is at this stage that they achieve nirvana,” he said.

Ejazi said that whether such acts are bestowed divinely or not, they should not be performed to open public because Shariat does not allow this. In the media savvy times of today, these acts should be positively utilized for preaching different holy thoughts, he added.

However, followers of other Sufi schools of thought, including Muhammad Jahanzeb Chisti Nizami, told Daily Times that there is only one ‘Silsila-e-Tareeqat’ which is known as ‘Silsila-e-Rifa’ie’ and ‘Gaddi Nasheen.’

These devotees are especially bestowed with the power of piercing their flesh with needles and it is not jugglery, ‘nazarbandi’ or any other act of deception.

Follower of this silsila are everywhere in Pakistan and have a stronghold in Lyari.

First Priority Is You

By Mark Silver "Why Your Clients Should Always Come Last" - The Huffington Post - NY, NY, USA
Thursday, May 29, 2008

When you run a small business, there are a lot of competing demands and needs in front of you. And what looms the biggest are your clients.

As one of our own clients calls them: "My 800lb gorilla clients."

And when they need help, you jump. Because you need them, yes. But also because you really care.

If someone were drowning in front of you, everything else would fall out of focus. Suddenly, all the trivial little things really are trivial, and you drop everything to help this poor soul who is going down for the third time.

If you don't act right now, and forget about everything else, they'll be gone, and all that will be left to do is write the eulogy and attend the funeral.

Your business is here to serve others. Your clients need the help, sometimes desperately. They are hurt, they are struggling, they are depending on you. And, they're paying you money. Of course they come first.

Just like emergency workers, you're here to help.

Uh, no. That's not right. The client always comes last.

The patient is the fourth priority
We were sitting there in our white shirts, and the instructor at the front of the room was saying to us: "No! That's not right. The patient always comes last."

I, along with the rest of my paramedic class, was shocked. Last? The patient comes last? I thought the whole point of being a paramedic was to take care of the patient.

"First priority is you. The second priority is your partner. The third priority is other emergency workers. And the fourth priority is the patient. Because if the helpers are hurt, what happens next? And if you make it through the call, but then need to go out of service, then we have an ambulance offline until we get someone else in, which could take hours."

You've heard some version of this a thousand times, but something about sitting in that paramedic class really helped it sink in for me.

And, years later, I found that there is a spiritual teaching that supports this. It's called 'The Sequence of Connection.'

The Sequence of Connection
Nearly every spiritual path I've encountered talks about how to experience and live in the Oneness of Reality, and then, from Oneness, from wholeness, from unity, be in service to the many.

Some call it being a boddhisatva, some call it 'enlightenment', others call it 'Christ Consciousness.' Whatever you call it, the elements are the same. And, since I'm a Sufi, I'll talk about it from the Sufi perspective.

The first step in the sequence of connection is 'know thyself.' Taking the time, attention, and consciousness to know your strengths, your weaknesses, who you are, how you feel, what you know.

The second step is 'annihilation.' At least, that's the fun word in Sufism. It's about then surrendering those known parts of your ego, of your limited self, and letting go of attachment and ownership.

This happens through connection to the Divine, Source, That Which Is, The Real, God, Allah, HaShem. Whatever insufficient name one uses, we're talking about the Big Reality.

The third step is 'subsistence' or 'the return.' This is when the ego has been cleaned completely, and the enlightened one brings attention and consciousness back to Divine service here in the world.

Of course, all of that is a tall order. People spend decades of their life in spiritual practice, only to receive little tastes of this. Luckily you don't need to be enlightened in order to put it into action on a daily basis in your business.

The client is the third priority
Next time a client, or anyone in relationship with your business, asks you for something, take a moment to reflect. Even if they are in terrible, immediate need, my paramedic instructor told us: "There's always time to take your own pulse."

First, check in with yourself. How are you feeling, physically and emotionally?

Then, take a breath and even two seconds of spiritual practice, such as the Remembrance I describe in my free workbook or whatever practicing or centering practice you do. Remember your Divine Source, and that the buck doesn't stop with you.

Finally, finally, turn your attention to the person in front of you and their request. Suddenly, it's a little easier to face it, without dropping everything you're doing.

But, that seems like quite a long process. Meanwhile, the person is sitting in front of you, watching all of these weird contortions on your face... can you speed it up a bit? How does it really work?

Keys to Not Drowning with Your Clients.

• Practice before you're in the hot seat.

Think about a request someone made of you recently that had you forgetting your own needs. Let the experience of their asking you be real for you again- recall the strong emotions.

Now, take as much time as you need in the privacy of your own office, to go through the Sequence of Connection. How do you feel? Make space for that first. Then, take time in your heart to connect to the Divine with Remembrance or other practice.

Finally, in your mind, turn back to the person and their request. How does it all look? With practice, you can get this whole sequence down within the space of two or three breaths, especially with issues that are less "hot."

• At first, or with big issues, it is going to take some time.

If the initial two or three breaths are stretching out towards twenty breaths of silence, you can ask for more time to decide.

No joke- out of every 100 emergency calls I responded to as a medic, 95 of them were not truly life-or-death. Meaning, if we hadn't arrived until the next day, things would've been fine, medically speaking.
It's okay to honor yourself, and take time to decide before responding.

True emergencies will become obvious
As you take more time, and use the Sequence of Connection more consistently in your responses, then you'll become more practiced at discerning true emergencies, from situations that just have a lot of charged emotional content.

Over time, you'll notice that emergencies don't seem so urgent, and you'll have a better track record of making a decision that truly honors all involved.

I'm begging you: please don't put your clients first. Use the Sequence of Connection, and start giving yourself some more spaciousness in your business. And with that spaciousness, don't be surprised if you see more opportunities to grow and expand.

How about you? Have you been handling client demands at the expense of yourself?

[Visit the Author Website: http://www.heartofbusiness.com/index.htm].

To Bring People Closer

APP, "Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s biography published" - Daily Times - Islamabad, Pakistan
Thursday, May 29, 2008

Islamabad: The first ever biography of “Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the messenger of Qawwali” was presented here by Dr Pierre Alain Baud at the Alliance Française.

The programme comprised four presentations, depicting the life and work of late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, three short films and a 10-15 panels’ exhibition.

Dr Baud is a researcher and journalist but he is also interested in spreading the artistic expressions of the “Sufis of East” to the world.

Baud has worked for many years on Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and has written several books, booklets and research articles on music of Pakistan and Sufism.

Late Nusrat was coined as the “Qawwali Emperor” while his unique voice with rich lyrics of poetry brought ecstatic celebrations.

French Ambassador Regis de Belenet, speaking on the occasion, said that the presentation would revive the unmatched sounds of the voice of this singer that no proper metaphors or comparisons could ever describe the emotions felt by his worldwide audiences.

He recalled that Nusrat’s first concert at “Theatre de la ville” in Paris, in autumn 1985 made him one of the best ambassadors of Pakistan and moreover a voice celebrated as a mean to bring people closer.

He appreciated Dr Pierre-Alain Baud for his passion for music and Sufism, which made him well known among the Sufi singers community in Pakistan.

The members of Alliance Française, elite of the town and diplomats attended the event.
[Visit the Alliance Française Pakistan's Website http://www.aflahore.org/CulturalEvents.htm

A Stream of Devotees

By Noor Aftab, "Barri Imam ‘urs’ concludes" - The News International - Islamabad, Pakistan
Friday, May 30, 2008

The annual spiritual festival at the shrine of Sufi saint Hazrat Shah Abdul Latif Kazmi, popularly known as Barri Imam, concluded Thursday after five days of non-stop prayers by a stream of devotees from across the country.

Under heavy police deployment around the tomb at the foot of the Margalla Hills, the hectic rituals reached the climax with a closing ceremony attended by various political and religious figures who paid rich tributes to the Sufi saint for his services in the promotion of peace and harmony and spreading teachings of Islam among the people.

Custodians of the shrine said that over 500,000 people — men, women and children — visited the tomb to participate in the ‘urs’ celebrations, paying homage to the great Sufi saint.

On the last day of the ‘urs’, hundred of thousands of devotees from all nearby cities and across the country assembled at the scenic place of Nurpur Shahan to pay homage to Hazrat Shah Abdul Latif Kazmi, one of the greatest Sufi Saints whose ‘urs’ is celebrated every year right from his death centuries ago.

(...)

‘Knowing a Turkish Genius’

Bureau Corr., "104th birth anniversary of Kisakurek commemorated" - The News International - Islamabad, Pakistan
Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Najib Fazil Kisakurek (NFK) was an intrepid genius who had dedicated his entire life to the service of Islam and awakening of the Muslim Ummah

As a flag-bearer of Islam, NFK’s thinking is very close to that of Allama Iqbal, particularly in his denunciation of the rigidity of the ‘mullah.’

It was NFK who, through his untiring literary pursuits, put the thinking and conduct of a whole generation of Turkish youth on an even keel.

It was in these words that Turkish language scholar Colonel (r) Masud Akhtar Shaikh recollected the tremendous contributions of NFK, a multi-dimensional Turkish genius who is rated as a short story writer of the calibre of Maupassant and Edgar Allan Poe, and a playwright of the caliber of Shakespeare.

The occasion was an exclusive commemoration of NFK’s 104th birth anniversary. Organised by Rumi Forum, the ceremony was addressed by Masud Shaikh as the key resource person.

Sharing the podium with him were the chairman of Rumi Forum Harun Koken; head of the Department of Turkish, National University of Modern Languages (NUML), Dr. Durmus Bulgur; and visiting associate professor of the Faculty of Islamic Studies, International Islamic University, Dr. Abdulhamit Birisik.

Masud Shaikh lamented that in spite of his prolonged stay and frequent visits to Turkey, and his interest in Turkish language and literature, he had not heard NFK’s name till 1988, five years after his death.

He was introduced to NFK’s literary masterpieces by Mustafa Miyasoglu, who had just then joined the National Institute (now University) of Modern Languages to teach Turkish.

“Those reading NFK’s works with an open mind can be sure that their complete outlook on life would undergo a metamorphosis.

This is what has happened in Turkey where the thinking and conduct of a whole generation of Turks has been put on an even keel due to NFK’s untiring efforts,” stated Masud, who recently published ‘Knowing a Turkish Genius,’ a book that portrays NFK’s achievements in various literary fields and as a flag-bearer of Islamic rennaissance.

Masud said it is a pity that NFK has remained almost unknown to the world outside Turkey. “A mere peep into his works makes one look differently at life and death, religion and the life Hereafter, one’s rights and responsibilities as a member of the society and the nation to which one belongs, in fact at every aspect of life.”

Masud told the audience that ever since he came to know about NFK, he has made it a mission to introduce this genius to the English speaking world and to Pakistani readers.

“I have spent 20 years of my life in translating his short stories, poems, and plays into English, and partly into Urdu and Punjabi,” he said, fondly remembering Turkey’s former ambassador in Pakistan, Kemal Gur, for supporting the publication of two of NFK’s plays which he translated into English under the titles ‘Money Games’ and ‘Creating a Man.’

These were published in 2005, a year dedicated to commemoration of NFK’s 100th birth anniversary.

(...)

Responding to a question, Masud Shaikh informed that 1934 was the year that brought about a revolutionary change in the life and thinking of the then 30 year-old NFK.

It was a year in which he met Abdulhakim Avrasi, a great religious personage. The meeting created in NFK, a serious intellectual crisis from which he could not extract himself for a very long time.

The first work that he produced after undergoing this unique experience was published in 1935 under the title ‘Tohum’ (Seed), Masud Shaikh informed.

[Visit Rumi Forum Pakistan http://www.rumiforum.pk/aboutrumiforum.html].

Nastaliq Verses

RM/HG, "Shirchi calligraphy show begins European tour" - Mehr News - Tehran, Iran
Wednesday, May 28, 2008

An exhibit of the works of veteran Iranian calligrapher Esrafil Shirchi opened in Luxembourg on Wednesday.

Over thirty works of calligraphy in the nastaliq style bearing verses by Iranian poets Omar Khayyam and Rumi are on display in the exhibit, which is the first show of its three-week European tour.

Shirchi is also holding a workshop in the side section of the exhibit.

The show will travel to Brussels, Belgium and Strasbourg, France after its run in Luxembourg.

After the European tour, Shirchi will hold several exhibits in Tehran and other Iranian cities in autumn.

He is also planning to hold an exhibit in New York in the future.

Born in 1962 in Babol, Mazandaran Province, Shirchi studied art at the University Of Tehran and later the Association of Iranian Calligraphers awarded him a master calligrapher certificate.

Happy Birthday, Professor Chittick!

TE/HGH, "Iran to honor US scholar Chittick" - Press TV - Tehran, Iran
Monday, May 26, 2008

Iran's Society for the Appreciation of Cultural Works and Dignitaries is set to honor the renowned Mowlavi expert, William C. Chittick.

The event, which will be held on June 14, 2008, will mark the American scholar's 65th birth anniversary and honor his life-long efforts to promote Islamic-Iranian studies.

Professor Chittick, who received his PhD in Persian literature from Tehran University, has written and translated twenty-five books and numerous articles on Islamic thought, Sufism, Shiite thought, and Persian literature.

Sufism: A Short Introduction (Oneword, 2000), The Heart of Islamic Philosophy (Oxford University Press, 2001) and The Elixir of the Gnostics (Brigham Young University Press, 2003) are among his recent books.

William C. Chittick is currently a member of the Asian and Asian-American Studies department at the Stony Brook State University of New York.

[Visit Professor Chittick's Homepage http://tinyurl.com/68q5ad]

[Search Professor Chittick's books at The Sufi Books Store http://tinyurl.com/687uhx ]

[Read also this Book review http://tinyurl.com/63cemb ].

A Path to Peace

NWA, "Professor to make presentation" Benton County Daily Record - Benton, AR, USA
Sunday, June 1st, 2008

Dr. Jay B. McDaniel, professor and chair of religion at Hendrix College in Conway, will present "One World, Many Faiths: Christianity and World Religions With a Special Focus on Islam," today and Monday at the First United Methodist Church in downtown Rogers.

He will introduce the various kinds of Islam at work in the world today, including militant Islam and more liberal forms, and also discuss the spiritual side of Islam, Sufism.

By the end of the series, participants should have a good understanding of one of the world's most influential religions and its people. This presentation is sponsored by the Lewis Lecture Series in memory of John Lewis, a longtime member of the church.

There will be two 45-minute lectures, followed by open discussion, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday, followed by a reception, plus a luncheon program at noon Monday. All events are free.

McDaniel has written five books and edited three on spirituality in the age of consumerism, religion and ecology; religion and inter-religious dialogue; and learning other religions as a path to peace.

His teaching and research interests also include contemporary Christian theology, world religions, contemporary Buddhist thought, and Chinese culture and philosophy. His books will be available at the church.

Dr. McDaniel serves as director of the Steel Center for the Study of Religion and Philosophy and is a member of the Advisory Board of the Center for Respect of Life and Environment in Washington, D. C.

[Visit Professor McDaniel Homepage http://www.hendrix.edu/religion/religion.aspx?id=2945].

“Sayoone”

Staff Report, "Pakistani band Junoon rocks Srinagar with peace message" - Thai Indian News - Bangkok, Thailand
Sunday, May 25, 2008

Trouble-torn Jammu and Kashmir resonated with sounds of the guitar Sunday, as thousands here were held mesmerised by Pakistani rock band Junoon’s eclectic fusion of Sufi music and western tunes.

“It is a 10-year tryst with destiny which has come true through our performance in Kashmir,” said an ecstatic Salman Ahmad, the lead artiste of the band.

“I sincerely hope this ‘Junoon’ (passion) spreads the message of love and friendship in entire South Asia,” he added.

“Kashmir is caught in Junoon fever today and I hope this fever continues to spread,” Ahmad said, as his band enthralled the nearly 4,000 strong audience comprising mostly the local youth.

The concert was declared open on the lawns of the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Complex off the Dal Lake by Mani Shankar Aiyar, union minister for Panchayati Raj, who is also the chairman of the South Asian Federation’s (SAF) Indian chapter.

The band sang numbers from their album “Sayoone” (Soulmate) to a receptive audience. Ahmad also sang a stanza from the band’s famous album “Azadi”.

As the concert progressed, the rock band changed to an even more feverish pitch with their famous lines “Dama Dam Mast Qalander”.

Former chief minister Farooq Abdullah, himself an ardent music lover and an amateur singer, looked visibly stirred as the concert moved from one composition to another.

SAF members Chandrika Kumaratunga, former president of Sri Lanka; Husna Bano, the Afghan minister of state for women’s affairs; S. Makhdoom Rahim, Indian ambassador in Afghanistan; Madanjit Singh, Unesco goodwill ambassador; Abdul Waheed Khan, assistant director general of Unesco and a number of other SAF members from Maldives, Pakistan and Bangladesh were also among the audience.

The performance was one of the biggest musical event in the state that has been facing separatist violence for nearly two decades.

[Picture: Hon. Mani Shankar Aiyar, union minister for Panchayati Raj and chairman of the South Asian Foundation’s (SAF) Indian chapter].

Knitting Hearts with Strings of Harmony

By Shivani Gupta, "Junoon rocks Srinagar breaking the Jehadi barriers" - Newstrack India - Delhi, India

Monday, May 26, 2008

The magical vibrations tuned around the Dal Lake mesmerised the souls of even the unanimated beings that day.

It seemed as if the water goddess, who was buried deep inside the lake for fear of its rape by the hands of the foreigners, had arisen out of its forceful sleep and fused with the throats of the Sufi singers, the strings of the guitar and everything around.

The Pakistani top rock band “Junoon” drove the “terror struck innocents” out from their pain and fear. The rare event proved to be highly successful with nearly 4,000 Kashmiris present to attend the live performance of an unparalleled band.

The success of the concert also sprouts up from the fact that so many Kashmiris, especially youth, headed for the live concert despite threats from the militant organisation, United Jehad Council.

Salman Ahmed, the lead singer of Junoon was desperate to play live in this “Garden of Eden” and was trying to gain permission for the same for last ten years.

The band swept the audience towards frenzy as it performed on numbers like Khudi Ko Kar Buland Itna, Ya Ali and the popular Sayoonee. As the concept moved further, the Kashmiris found themselves dissolving into the darkness of night with the dishevelling Dama Dum Mast Kalandar.

Their individual spirits melted to galvanise into one soul of Kashmir as Ahmad sang a stanza from the band's famous album Azadi.

Actually, it was an event of the inauguration of a Kashmir study centre at Kashmir University and the band in the concert was organised to add spice to the event. But it turned out to be the first live concert of its own kind.

As the huge crowd gathered for the uncommon event in the valley, the clapping and cheering went hand in hand with the stringent guitar riffs and the melodious Sufi lyrics.

With former Sri Lankan president Chandrika Kumaratunga, Union Minister Mani Shankar Iyer and Farooq Abdullah Khan to grace the occasion, the event succeeded in spreading the message of love and peace and in knitting their hearts with the strings of musical harmony.

The event would surely be recalled in future as a great historical achievement.

Spiritual Strains

Agencies, "Cultural exchange way to resolve issues: SAARC leaders" - Kashmir Live - New Delhi, India
Monday, May 26, 2008

After being treated to the vibrant and spiritual strains of Sufi-rock music, several South Asian political leaders agreed that cultural exchange is a positive way to resolve issues among the neighbours

"This is the way to resolve conflicts," former Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga told reporters after watching popular Pakistani band 'Junoon' mesmerising a 4,000-strong audience along the banks of the Dal Lake in Srinagar.

Echoing her views, Union Minister for Panchayati Raj Mani Shankar Aiyar said cultural exchanges between India and Pakistan can lead to a "grand reconciliation".

"People are less interested in politics; they are more into music, dance and culture. Such exchanges will strengthen people-to-people contact and lead to a grand reconciliation about which (Pakistan) President Pervez Musharraf has spoken," he said.

He said such cultural exchanges helped in contact at the grass-root level.

Afghanistan Women's Affairs Minister H B Ghazanfar said through an interpreter that there was no politics involved in the events organised by the South Asian Foundation.

"We are here to promote people-to-people understanding," she said.

[Picture: Overview of Dal Lake around Nehru Park. Photo from http://www.jktourism.org/cities/kashmir/srinagar/index.htm].