Bridging Gaps

By O.C., *ASG season ‘Tolerance and Peace’ opens* - The News International - Karachi, Pakistan
Saturday, October 10, 2009

The Asian Study Group season with the theme of ‘Tolerance and Peace’ opened to a houseful audience at the PNCA auditorium, initiated by Shafique Faruqi’s work, ‘Mysticism Through Colours,’ an exhibition of paintings featuring the whirling dervishes.

There was a flurry of activity as new members signed up and old ones renewed their membership while browsing through or buying ASG publications and calendars, which make an ideal gift for those living abroad.

Before addressing the audience, president ASG, Parvin Malik introduced the patron, ambassador of Switzerland, Marcus Peter, who said he was very pleased to welcome everyone. “Considering the circumstances under which ASG has to operate, the 2008/2009 season was a success,” he said, “although some of the traditional events like the end of the season evening at my residence could not take place — to my great regret.”

Adding that it was not the right occasion to elaborate on the reasons for the difficulties under which ASG had to carry out certain activities, he said it was necessary to point out that one of the main causes for these is a serious lack of trust between stakeholders with different concepts of life in the society we live in.

“This is the reason why ASG has chosen the theme, ‘Tolerance and Peace,’ the meaning of which we all know,” he said, “So the definition is not the problem, which starts with the implementation of everyone’s own concept of these terms. Despite having lived and worked in more than ten countries with different cultures, I still catch myself objecting to certain customs and values I have to deal with in my personal and professional life just because they are alien to my own beliefs and experiences.”

He went on to say that fortunately, he has the privilege to live in a social and cultural environment which usually reacts in a constructive way to these moments of prejudice.

In Pakistan the ASG has been an important part of this environment as it introduced him to the manifold values and traditions of the country and helped answer many questions. “With its diverse activities, ASG is a true metaphor for tolerance and, consequently, contributes in a peaceful way to the reconciliation of different values, customs and ideas in Pakistan. I am very proud and grateful to be part of a team which is bridging gaps between local and foreign citizens,” he said.

“The best way to express gratitude is by participating in large numbers in the programmes they arrange for us. Stand by it and make it a success!” He concluded with words of appreciation for Parvin Malik’s untiring efforts to keep ASG going despit the odds.

Parvin welcomed the audience and announced it was ASG’s 36th year of existence in Islamabad. “We are so happy to have you celebrate this moment with us and we are truly grateful to the PNCA for collaborating with us. This is one of the establishments that appreciates the efforts of voluntary organisations like the ASG and endorses and assists us it in our attempts to present Pakistan in its true, vibrant colours,” she said.

“We are equally grateful to Nestle for assisting us in sponsoring Arieb Azhars performance tonight.”

Explaining that the ASG is a voluntary organisation and its funds are limited to what it makes from its publications and membership, she said these are then forwarded to restoration and conservation projects, so indirectly all those involved are helping to conserve Pakistan’s rich heritage. She concluded by introducing the volunteer committee members, saying the ASG would never be able to survive without their enthusiasm as it was they who prepared the programmes for the season.

She then introduced Arieb Azhar, who is recognised nationally and internationally for rendering the poetry of Sufi and humanist content, quoting his words, “True music is the union between the individual and the universal; a release, rapture, celebration, quest, lament of the human spirit. If I am able to touch that in moments of my life, I consider myself fortunate.”

Arieb grew up listening to Eastern and Western classical and folk music. At the age of 19 he went to Croatia (then Yugoslavia) for his studies and spent thirteen years in Zagreb. In 2003 he moved back to Pakistan with the aim of immersing himself in the music of the sub-continent and has performed and been involved in the leading music festivals of the country — the Rafi Peer World Performing Arts Festival; Sufi Festival and more recently the Coke Studio projects.

Arieb introduced his accompanists Zeeshan Mansur (guitar); Akmal Qadri (flute) Amir Azhar (Bass) and Mohammed Ajmal (tabla) and made a statement about Guru Nanak which delighted most people in the audience and gave others pause to think.

“Baba Guru Nanak was born here and is a citizen of Pakistan though we may not give the idea a thought,” he said.

There followed over an hour of a real treat for those who enjoy music of this genre, with Arieb singing about a dozen numbers, some composed by himself and featuring poetry by Guru Nanak; Sultan Bahu; Baba Bulleh Shah; Shah Hussain; Sheikh Ayaz and others which are well known like ‘Husn-e-Haqiqi (the Beauty of Truth) by Khawaja Ghulam Farid; a Rajasthani folk number; a traditional Balkan gypsy folk song in the Roma and Serbo-Croat language; Mian Mohammed Baksh; Sarmad Sehbai; Akhtar Qayum and a rousing rendition of the ever popular Sindhi folk song ‘Mast Qalander.’

There was no doubt the audience was very moved by the whole performance.Thoughtfully, translations of the poetry were provided so that the expatriates in the audience were not completely at sea.

Although the language of music has no barriers and is understood by everyone, it’s good to know the meaning of what is being said especially as far as the poetry of Sufi poets is concerned with its message of love, peace
and tolerance.
[Pictures: right, Shafique Farooqi, Spiritual Dance, Oil Painting, 24 x 36 inches; left, Arieb Azhar.]

Divine Mystery

By Herman Roborgh, *Problems with Hitchens and Islam* - Eureka Street Extra - Australia
Friday, October 9, 2009

Modern atheists in the West and modernist Muslims in Islam are both abusing religion. Since the scientific revolution and the Enlightenment of the 17th and 18th centuries, some Western writers on religion and also some Muslim thinkers are interpreting their scriptures with a literalism that has become a characteristic of modernity. Their discourse about God has been influenced by the popular demand for scientific empirical verification, and they have lost confidence in the ability of figurative language to open a way to truth.

Modern atheists like Dawkins and Hitchens make use of Enlightenment discourse to reduce God to a scientific hypothesis. Like other modernist writers, they presume that the Bible must provide scientific information since it claims to be inspired by God. Having failed to understand the nature of scripture and religion, they reject them both as products of the 'God Delusion'.

Both modern atheists in the West and Muslim modernists in Islamic countries adopt an abstract notion of religion that remains unaffected by the historical and social changes taking place in society. Hitchens' oft-repeated phase, 'religion poisons everything', refers to an abstract religion devoid of morality and spirituality and with no concern for human rights.

In the Muslim world, Sayyid Qutb (1906–1966) advocated a return to the pristine form of Islam that acknowledged God as the only Sovereign in all spheres of life. Abu A'la Mawdudi (1903–1979) developed a form of Islam in Pakistan that reduced the law of God to a code of commands and prohibitions that all pious believers were expected to accept and obey. An influential teacher in Indonesia today, Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, maintains that Muslims will be able to revive the quality of their life only by going back to models provided by the Prophet Muhammad and his companions in the seventh century.

Modern atheists and modernist Muslims reach their extreme conclusions by bypassing the intellectual tradition of the Abrahamic religions. Traditional religious discourse has always been familiar with realities that take us beyond empirical observation and measurement, respecting the language of myth and symbol.

Traditional Christian theology, for example, kept coming back to faith, trying to reach some understanding based on faith (fides quaerens intellectum [faith seeking understanding]). Faith itself was an affair of the heart, not just an assent to rational principles or doctrines. Believing implied a commitment to God, who transcended any concept that the human mind could ever imagine. For the monks of medieval Europe, scripture was not simply a source of information about the universe or about God. Their contemplative reading of the scriptures (lectio divina) was a spiritual exercise that led to personal transformation.


Similarly, for traditional Muslim thinkers, theology (kalam) was a method of acquiring knowledge arising out of faith because everything was understood in terms of its relationship with God. Many of the Muslim modernists of the 18th and 19th centuries, however, were so impressed by the progress of modern science that they adopted the empirical, scientific method in their religious discourse. As a result they lost contact with their own intellectual and spiritual tradition, which pointed to God as utterly transcendent but not remote from human life.

Moreover, because it was not tied to its own limited rational categories, traditional religious discourse was able to evaluate and incorporate elements from other religious, philosophical and cultural traditions which they found enriching or illuminating. Traditional religious discourse was, therefore, very different from the intolerant discourse of the modernist thinkers.

Muslims, for example, were able to evaluate and incorporate Greek knowledge in the ninth and tenth centuries because they had a basis from which to evaluate all knowledge that came from outside their own tradition. Modernist Muslim thinkers, however, abandoned their own religious tradition and were left without a criterion with which to evaluate new intellectual concepts.


Moreover, Muslim modernists rejected the mystical dimension of Islam (Sufism), which had always been an integral part of orthodox Islam. In Medieval Islam there were no hard lines between the Sufis and the scholars, nor between the learning centres and the spiritual centers. The lines drawn by modernist Muslim thinkers are a product of the modern mind, which imposes Enlightenment notions of mysticism upon the medieval Islamic world. Sufism has always been rooted in mercy and justice, forbidding violence towards civilians, and conforming to the ethical ideal of the just war. It is therefore quite different from the aggressive theories of jihad advocated by modernist Muslims.

The task for religious believers today is to develop a religious discourse that is not limited to the categories of modernism and the Enlightenment, which reduced the reality of God to one being among others. Religious language should create a space in which human beings can respect the otherness and transcendence of God through symbol and ritual. Faith in a truly transcendent God will readily acknowledge the limits of human reason. Such faith frees the believer from a literalist and a dogmatic attitude.

A truly religious discourse should enable believers to move beyond an all-embracing ideology and be respectful of various interpretations of the divine mystery. A religious discourse of this kind will enable us to learn from one another's religious beliefs instead of competing for the correct formulation of the truth. It will lead to greater respect and harmony between the many religions of the world.

Herman Roborgh SJ [Society of Jesus] lived in Pakistan for eight years before going to India where he completed a PhD in Islamic Studies at Aligarh Muslim University. He currently resides in Australia.

To Increase Understanding

By TPF Staff, *Mapping the Global Muslim Population* - The Pew Forum On Religion & Public Life - Washington, DC, USA

October 2009

A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Muslim Population

A comprehensive demographic study of more than 200 countries finds that there are 1.57 billion Muslims of all ages living in the world today, representing 23% of an estimated 2009 world population of 6.8 billion.

While Muslims are found on all five inhabited continents, more than 60% of the global Muslim population is in Asia and about 20% is in the Middle East and North Africa. However, the Middle East-North Africa region has the highest percentage of Muslim-majority countries. Indeed, more than half of the 20 countries and territories in that region have populations that are approximately 95% Muslim or greater.

More than 300 million Muslims, or one-fifth of the world's Muslim population, live in countries where Islam is not the majority religion. These minority Muslim populations are often quite large. India, for example, has the third-largest population of Muslims worldwide. China has more Muslims than Syria, while Russia is home to more Muslims than Jordan and Libya combined.

Of the total Muslim population, 10-13% are Shia Muslims and 87-90% are Sunni Muslims. Most Shias (between 68% and 80%) live in just four countries: Iran, Pakistan, India and Iraq.

These are some of the key findings of Mapping the Global Muslim Population: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Muslim Population, a new study by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life. The report offers the most up-to-date and fully sourced estimates of the size and distribution of the worldwide Muslim population, including sectarian identity.

Previously published estimates of the size of the global Muslim population have ranged widely, from 1 billion to 1.8 billion. But these commonly quoted estimates often have appeared without citations to specific sources or explanations of how the figures were generated.

The Pew Forum report is based on the best available data for 232 countries and territories. Pew Forum researchers, in consultation with nearly 50 demographers and social scientists at universities and research centers around the world, acquired and analyzed about 1,500 sources, including census reports, demographic studies and general population surveys, to arrive at these figures - the largest project of its kind to date.

The Pew Forum's estimate of the Shia population (10-13%) is in keeping with previous estimates, which generally have been in the range of 10-15%. Some previous estimates, however, have placed the number of Shias at nearly 20% of the world's Muslim population.

Readers should bear in mind that the figures given in this report for the Sunni and Shia populations are less precise than the figures for the overall Muslim population.

Data on sectarian affiliation have been infrequently collected or, in many countries, not collected at all. Therefore, the Sunni and Shia numbers reported here are expressed as broad ranges and should be treated as approximate.

These findings on the world Muslim population lay the foundation for a forthcoming study by the Pew Forum, scheduled to be released in 2010, that will estimate growth rates among Muslim populations worldwide and project Muslim populations into the future.

The Pew Forum plans to launch a similar study of global Christianity in 2010 as well. The Pew Forum also plans to conduct in-depth public opinion surveys on the intersection of religion and public life around the world, starting with a 19-country survey of sub-Saharan Africa scheduled to be released later this year.

These forthcoming studies are part of a larger effort - the Global Religious Futures Project, jointly funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John Templeton Foundation - that aims to increase people's understanding of religion around the world.

[This is an Executive Summary. For the PDF (62 pages, 10 MB) full report, click on the title of the article.]

Global Sufi Council

By Mohamed Abdel Salam, ** - Bikya Masr - Egypt
Thursday, October 8, 2009

Cairo: Sheikh Mohammad Shahawi, Chairman of the Committee of the Five Ways of Sufism and the man charged with organizing the leadership of the Sufi sect, has announced the establishment of a Global Sufi Council based in London to spread what he called “moderate and tolerant Islam.”

The council will aim to confront the spread of the less tolerant Salafist and Wahhabi branches of the faith, which are expanding their influence internationally.

The announcement of the new council comes after Shahawi’s wife, Magda Eid, established Egypt’s first female association for Sufi women. She said that the aim of the association is to raise awareness of Sufi women and the principles and teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah – the deeds, sayings and actions of the Prophet Mohamed – especially since most of the women lack awareness in these issues, “because of its unique role to serve the practice of Sufi groups through the preparation of food in celebrations, and other business, where the laws and customs of the chiefdom prevent the participation of Sufi women in its work.”

Shahawi believes it is the spread of these less tolerant ideologies, which has led to increased militant extremism and has tarnished the image of Islam and Muslims, especially after the events of 9/ 11.

Shahawi told al-Dustour that he chose London as the headquarters of the Global Sufi Council after Sufi leadership in Cairo failed to promote and spread Sufism in Egypt and around the world. Being located in London also means fewer legal and administrative problems for the council, which has the approval of the British government and security chiefs at Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the UK police force, he said.

Shahawi stressed that he will set up branches of the Council in Cairo and other Arab and Islamic capitals, adding that Egyptian security authorities warmly welcomed and encouraged the establishment of a branch in Cairo, where they will be licensed as a foreign Islamic body that practises religious activities within the country.

Not An Issue

BT Staff, *Mosque in Northern Bulgaria Torched* - Balkan Travellers - Sofia, Bulgaria
Thursday, October 8, 2009

A hundred-year-old mosque of high historical and architectural value in the town of Nikopol in northern Bulgaria was torched in the early morning hours of Wednesday.

Fire-fighters went to the scene immediately but the flames enveloped the building quickly and 100 squere metres of it burned down. None was injured as the building was not inhabited and the material damages remain to be assessed.

The mosque of Nikopol is one of northern Bulgaria’s cultural monuments of high historical and architectural value. Built during the first years of the last century as a dervish centre, it had separate rooms for the practice of Sufism.

There are various theories on the cause of the incident. Some, such as the town’s mayor, Valeri Zheliazkov, claimed the fire was an accident. “There is no ethnic tension in Nikopol, and there never was. People here get on with their daily lives, and religion here is not an issue, I don’t believe that this was perpetrated with any sinister motive, I think it was an accident,” he explained, quoted by national media.

Other, however, say it was politically-motivated. The town’s imam Gyursel Mimishev, who also claimed Nikopol did not suffer from ethnic tension, told national media that the fire was an act of arson by local activists from the Movement of Rights and Freedoms, the party mainly led and supported by Bulgarians of ethnic Turkish descent, because the imam was a supporter of the newly elected Prime Minister Boiko Borisov and his ruling party GERB.

I Want Burning

By Tresca Weinstein, *Sharing a Sufi mystic's message* - Albany Times Union - Albany, NY, USA
Thursday, October 15, 2009

In the time it took him to drive from Woodstock to New York City, Peter Rogen's life was permanently changed.

He credits the transformation to a CD he heard for the first time on that fateful journey three years ago. Called "I Want Burning," it features the poet and translator Coleman Barks reading the verses of the 13th-century poet and Sufi mystic Jelaluddin Rumi.

"It's a 90-minute drive from the Kingston exit to the George Washington Bridge, and it seemed like a good opportunity to put the CD in," Rogen said, speaking by phone recently from his home in Woodstock. "By the time I got to the George Washington Bridge, I was a different person."

Barks' husky, Southern-inflected voice speaking Rumi's passionate words catalyzed an epiphany for Rogen, coalescing multiple parallel tracks in his life and work.

A former actor -- he spent two years performing with the Helen Hayes Equity Theater at the Brooklyn Academy of Music -- he went on to a successful 25-year career as an international business consultant, specializing in communications.

Before and after his retirement a decade ago, he studied Asian and Middle Eastern arts and culture and explored various spiritual paths, always drawn to communication in all its forms, he said.

"I Want Burning," and a reading by Barks that he attended soon after, moved Rogen so deeply that he began organizing his own recitations of Rumi's work, drawing on his many years of "reciting Shakespeare in the shower."

"It was a manifestation and a demonstration of love and compassion and tolerance and art and poetry," he declared in a resonant, mellifluous voice. "It was all in one. It felt as if life had prepared me for this."

"A Celebration of Rumi," a free performance featuring Rogen's recitation, will be on stage at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the University at Albany's Performing Arts Center. Rogen will be joined by the New York City-based composer, vocalist and musician Amir Alan Vahab, who performs spiritual and folk songs from Persia and Turkey, and by dancers who will perform the traditional Sufi whirling meditation.

The event is the result of an evolution that began with a series of informal readings at Rogen's home; he bribed friends with Indian dinners, he said, and then recited Rumi to them. These gatherings spawned his presentations at colleges, including Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson and Florida International University. (Rogen spends half the year in Miami.)

In Florida, Rogen was introduced to Faruk Hemdem, current head of the Mevlevi Order of Sufis and the 22nd-generation great-grandson of Rumi. The two discussed the whirling dervish dancers the Mevlevi Order is best-known for, and agreed that a performance incorporating poetry as well as whirling would give audiences a better understanding of the connections between the two.

According to legend, said Vahab, who grew up in a Sufi family in Iran, as many as a thousand people would congregate at Rumi's home to hear him speak; since his house could not accommodate them all, he put up a tent. His first whirling meditations were practiced while turning round the giant tent pole.

"Rumi's poetry is all about love," Rogen explained. "It's all about the relationship between the human being and God, the lover and the beloved. In a nonreligious model, it's about getting in touch with your deepest or highest part. The whirling is both symbolic of the growth of love as well as a practice to experience that love."

A 2008 performance, in which Rogen was accompanied by 16 Turkish musicians and whirling dervishes, filled every one of the 1,400 seats in the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., Rogen said. He also brought the production to the Yale Institute of Sacred Music and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Rogen hopes his readings -- some 75 since that life-changing drive -- not only educate audiences about Rumi and Sufism but also fill a hole in American culture.

"Something is missing for the soul when poetry isn't read aloud," he said.

"A Celebration of Rumi"
Where: University at Albany Performing Arts Center, 1400 Washington Ave., Albany
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday
Tickets: Free, but a ticket is required for admission
Info: 442-3997 or http://www.albany.edu/pac

Pictures (left to right, clockwise): Hafizullah will perform; Arsalaan will provide musical accompaniment on the Turkish nay flute; Amir Alan Vahab will recite Rumi and provide musical accompaniment. Photos: University at Albany.

Breathtaking Beauty

By Suzanne Lance, *"Rumi and the Whirling Dervishes" Presented on October 21, 2009* - NYSWI/Real Media - USA
Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Event Cosponsored by NYS Writers Institute and UAlbany Performing Arts Center

Albany, NY: "Rumi and the Whirling Dervishes," an event that will feature the poetry of renowned 13th century Sufi mystic Jelaluddin Rumi, as well as highly kinetic Sufi dance and medieval Turkish and Persian music, will be presented on Wednesday, October 21, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. in the Recital Hall, Performing Arts Center, on the University at Albany's uptown campus.

Admission is free and open to the public, but a ticket must be obtained from the Performing Arts Box Office at 442-3997 or tickets@ualbany.edu.

The event is sponsored by UAlbany's Office of International Education, the Performing Arts Center and the New York State Writers Institute.

Best known for ecstatic poems that celebrate the love between God and humankind, Rumi's work is revered by spiritual seekers from all faiths and backgrounds.

Performers will recite and sing Rumi's sacred poems in both English and Farsi, the language of ancient Persia and modern Iran. The event has previously been staged at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the National Cathedral.

The English reader will be Peter Rogen, founder of the Poetry of Rumi performance troupe, who is also a trained Shakespearian actor (formerly with the Helen Hayes Equity Theatre).

Presentations of the Poetry of Rumi troupe— praised for their authenticity as much as their breathtaking beauty— have been underwritten by the International Mevlana Foundation of the Mevlevi Sufi order, and by the Office of the Mayor of Rumi's home city of Konya in Turkey.

Rumi's poetry has exerted a profound influence on the literature of Central Asia, the Arab world, and the Indian subcontinent. In modern times, it has attracted numerous devotees throughout the Western world. In 2007, a BBC News feature proclaimed Rumi the "most popular poet in America" based on book sales.

Born in 1207 in the city of Balkh in modern day Afghanistan, Rumi fled with his family eastward to escape an impending Mongol invasion, and eventually settled in the Turkish city of Konya, the capital of the Seljuk empire. He grew up under the tutelage of his father, an eminent Sufi mystic, and his acolytes. Like his father, he developed into a renowned scholar, jurist, theologian, and head of a madrassah in Konya.

A meeting with the dervish ("wandering ascetic and mystic") Shams-e-Tabrīzī inspired Rumi to pursue more ecstatic and musical expressions of piety.

After the death of Shams, the grief-stricken Rumi composed poetry extemporaneously, claiming that the spirit of Shams spoke these poems directly through him. Rumi also founded the Mevlevi Order of Sufi Islam, known for its practice of whirling dance as a form of religious devotion, which many regard as an essential complement to Rumi's poetical work.

The event is presented by a partnership of the Performing Arts Center, New York State Writers Institute, Office of International Education, and Office of Multicultural Student Success, with support provided by University Auxiliary Services.

For more information contact: Suzanne Lance, 518-442-5620 at the Writers Institute or online at http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst

[Visit the Performing Arts Center, University at Albany, NY]

Picture: Peter Rogan, founder of the Poetry of Rumi performance troupe

Room For Everyone

By TD Staff, *[CROSS READER] Democratic initiative leaves its mark on AK Party congress* - Today's Zaman - Istanbul, Turkey
Monday, October 5, 2009

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) held its third ordinary party congress on Saturday at the ASKİ Sports Hall in Ankara

Although the congress -- which was attended by thousands of enthusiastic party members -- was significant in that AK Party leader and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan changed 17 members of the party's Central Decision and Administration Board (MKYK) of 50 members, the prime minister's speech focusing on the government's democratic initiative to settle Turkey's long-standing Kurdish issue overshadowed the changes within the party management.

The congress was evaluated as a “democratic initiative congress” by many because of Erdoğan's address, which once again reflected his determination to settle the issue in addition to a “democratic initiative statement” approved at the congress.

While explaining the democratic initiative process, Erdoğan once again called for unity and referred to various figures from Turkey's history and said there is room for everyone in Turkey.

While stating that a Turkey without 11th century Turkish poet and Sufi Ahmed Yesevi, 16th century Alevi poet Pir Sultan Abdal and the late 14th and early 15th century Sufi and poet Hacı Bayram Veli would be an orphan, Erdoğan said a Turkey without the great Turkish Anatolian mystic poet Yunus Emre would be dumb and a Turkey without Turkish Sufi philosopher and poet Mevlana Rumi would be soulless. He also said songs would be imperfect without famous Kurdish singer Ahmet Kaya and that the spirituality of Turkey would be incomplete without 20th century Islamic scholar of Kurdish origin Said Nursi.

“We can say the democratic initiative left its mark on the third ordinary congress of the AK Party, in which Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan proved that he is the sole leader of the party without any rivals,” says Fikret Bila from the Milliyet daily. Noting that Erdoğan signaled that the AK Party is leaning towards a new mission based on settling the Kurdish issue with the motto of “We are all Turkey together,” he says he also signaled that he is ready to run the risk of taking steps for the settlement of the Kurdish issue in the coming period during which early election debates are likely to intensify. “Erdoğan tried to send messages to every segment of society. Referring to leading figures of all ethnic and religious segments of society, he tried to show what should be understood by the motto ‘We are all Turkey together',” Bila says.

According to Zaman's Mustafa Ünal, the third AK Party congress was not a classic party congress as it was one with no races for party leadership but lots of messages, implying that Erdoğan showed up at the congress with no rivals. Noting that Erdoğan once again emphasized his determination to settle the Kurdish issue and outlined the initiative in his speech, Ünal also draws attention to the democratic initiative statement approved at the congress, which says in brief that the government wants all ethnic groups to feel equal.

Mehmet Altan from the Star daily thinks Erdoğan's speech at the party congress reflects a “people-oriented” and “pro-freedom” understanding as well as giving a comprehensive and determined message. Noting that everyone who wants Turkey to keep up with the modern age would be pleased listening to this speech, he says although the AK Party has been successful in many fields, it still has many things to do. “I wonder if the Kurdish initiative process would make the AK Party regain a reformist dynamic,” he asks.

[Picture: Said Nursi]

A Completely Revised Book

By TT Culture Desk, *Iranian scholar correcting Bidel’s Divan* - Tehran Times - Tehran, Iran

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Tehran: Iranian scholar Alireza Qazveh is working on correcting the works of the Persian poet and Sufi Abdul Qader Bidel, also known as Bidel Dehlavi.

He is reviewing and comparing 20 volumes of manuscripts of his Divan and several editions of his couplet collections to compile a completely revised book. His book will contain all the differences in published versions as well as some newly found couplets written by the poet, he mentioned in a press release by the Fars News Agency.

Bidel’s Divan was previously published in Iran with corrections by Akbar Behdarvand.

Bidel Dehlavi (1642–1720) was a famous Persian poet and Sufi born in Azimabad (present day Patna, India). He mainly wrote ghazals and quatrains in Persian and is the author of 16 books of poetry, which contain nearly 147,000 verses and include several of Masnavi.

He is considered as one of the prominent poets of the Indian School of Poetry in Persian literature, and has his own unique style

His books include Telesm-e Hairat, Chahar Unsur and Ruqaat.

Click here to Abdul Qader Bidel at Wiki

[Picture from the International Congress on Bidel Dehlavi recorded by the BBC]

A Significant Contribution

By Ashgar Ali Engineer, *Sufism-Culture and Politics* - TwoCircles.net - Cambridge, MA, USA
Friday, October 2, 2009

Dr.Raziuddin Aquil has recently published a book entitled Sufism-Culture and Politics: Afghans and Islam in Medieval India. The first part of the book deals more with Sultanate period, especially Lodhis and Sher Shah Suri. The author feels that historians of medieval period and specially those of JNU and Aligarh school have concentrated on Mughal India and have generally neglected Sultanate period and have not done justice to rule of Shershah Suri. So he mainly deals with this period. He calls this as ‘Mughal centrism’.

Raziuddin Aquil also feels that “..a rather narrow framework of economic history, caught in the dichotomy of economic decline and prosperity, continues to dominate eighteen century studies. Those looking for a discussion on religion, culture, literature, architecture, and paintings, among other topics, in secondary works will be disappointed.”

He further observes, “The period is significant for the history of Islam in India. Sufis and scholars not only tried to stem the tide of Mughal decline, but also contributed to the consolidation of Muslim power in the regions through their writings and active involvement in political matters.”

It is true if the author has some professional historians of this or that school in mind but it should be pointed out that enough has been written by several Muslim scholars on history of Sufism and various theologians and several volumes on these subjects in Urdu, Persian and even Arabic are available. May be Dr. Raziuddin Aquil has some medieval historians from JNU & AMU are concerned.

It must be said that the book under review is highly scholarly and every statement has been supported by original or secondary sources. The first chapter of the book is non emergence of Sher Shah Sur, 2nd chapter to Mughal-Afghan interface. This constitutes the first part of the Book.

The second part of the Book includes two chapters "Norms of Governance and Aspects of Administration" and "The Afghans and the Rajputs: the conflicts and accommodation". Finally the third part of the book deals with Religion, Politics and Society and consist of two chapters the Political and the Sufi Wilayat and the second chapter is Suri Traditions and Hindu-Muslim Interactions.

Thus the first and second part of the book deals more with politics and administration than with Sufism and culture and is left wondering why Sufism in the title of the book. But in last two chapters one finds justification of the title. It is true the first two parts of the book try to correct the imbalance by dealing extensively with Shershah Suri and his administration.

It is true the Chishtiyah Sufis were supposed to keep their distance from seats of power. It is well known that Nizamuddin Awliyah saw times of several sultans but never paid court to them. However when the last sultan of his time sent a message to come to his durbar, he refused and then the Sultan himself expressed his desire to visit the saint, he sent a message that “this Darwesh (a pious mendicant or saint) has two doors to my hospice and if sultan enters from none, I would leave by another”.

However, all Sufis did not keep their distance from seats of power. Raziuddin has given instances wherein some Sufis were not only close to rulers but also supported one or the other in power struggle or prayed in favor of a particular ruler. Thus Raziuddin writes, “In such a situation (of chaos and turmoil) even the Sufis, otherwise devoted to spiritual and otherworldly pursuits, began to aspire for political power. Indeed, it is reported, many of them behaved like kings.

He also points out that some Sufis supported a king as long as he (the king) was accountable to God only and ensured peace and order he received Saint’s blessings but “if he failed to ensure peace and order in realm, and oppressed the subject, he could lose his ‘job’ on account of the prayer of a saintly person, for example, a Sufi Shaykh. The sources mention several anecdotes in which a reigning king was removed from the throne by the Sufi saint, and the kingship was bestowed upon some one who was portrayed as a more deserving person.

While some sectarian ‘ulama pressured the ruling king to enforce Shari’ah law but Raziuddin points out that “On the other hand, the Afghan rulers understood that a strict adherence to the shari’at was impracticable for ruling the vast majority of non-Muslim population. The Moghul rulers too, followed this enlightened policy. He also points out from the “sources actually illustrate how at times Sikandar Lodi could be indifferent to the dictates of the shari’at and mock at the power and prestige enjoyed by the religious leaders.

He points out other instances of conflict between Sufis or Ulama and the rulers. For example a Sufi Shaykh, Saiyid Sultan Bahraichi had married a Hindu woman and converted her to Islam and when her relatives sought the help of the Mughal Governor Mirza Muhammad Zaman refused to hand over the woman under his protection and Muhammad Zaman asked the Shaykh to had over the woman, the Shaykh refused and even drawn out his sword to have a fight with the Governor.

The author then observes “The above episode not only points to the Sufis’ interest in conversion, but also the occasional tension in their relationship with the rulers. Significantly, the religious divines at times took rigid shar’I position and wanted things to be different from what the rulers were comfortable with. Indeed on several issues the kings are found to be taking a liberal position despite pressure from the ‘orthodox party’.”

Raziuddin, giving several examples concludes, “that there was hardly any serious and systematic attempt on the part of the rulers to implement the shari’at as the law of the land, destroy places of worship of non-Muslims, convert them to Islam, or even collect jizya on a regular basis. Yet the ulama and the Sufis portrayed them as the ideal Muslim rulers, and ignored or legitimized many of their acts of omission and commission.”

Thus it can be seen that many Sufi saints and ulama also knew the constraints within which a Muslim ruler had to rule. They may pressurize the king but also then realize the reality and support the king and his rule. If some ulama persisted there were reasons other than religious. They may do so to either create their own power centre or yet for some acts of omission or commission earning displeasure of the king. Human behavior, one should remember, is much more complex and has hidden motives.

Raziuddin also points out that relationship between Sufis and rulers were based on mutual interests – “a relationship which recognized the equal status of the Sufis and the rulers if not the superiority of the former though claims to the effect were often made-served as legitimizers of the political authorities. They prayed for the continuation of the ‘just’ rule of the sovereign.” The Sufis praised for rulers, with whom they had cordial relationship, in their assembly for their piety, justice etc.

Further on the author also points out from the sources that there were even instances of kings or rulers purchasing badshahat (kinghood) from Sufis. He quotes the episode of in which the founder of the Lodi kingdom purchased badshahat of Delhi from a Sufi of Samana. According to Rizqullah Mushtaqi, “once three men came to Hindustan in connection with their trade. On their way back, they halted in the town of Samana. All the three men Ballu (Bahlul), Firuz Khan and Qutb Khan paid a visit to Saiyid Abban, who was absorbed in the thought of God, and possessed spiritual power and was known for his saintliness. As they sat down, the saint said: ‘I sell the throne of Delhi for two thousand tankas, is anybody willing to purchase it.” The Ballu had only one thousand and six hundred and the Sahykh accepted it. The Shaykh then said you can go, the badshahat of Delhi has been bestowed on you.

His other colleagues criticized him for giving away the entire sum he possessed. But Behlul somehow had his own conviction. But other historians point out Bahlul himself was not a trader, his ancestors were and they visited Hindustan for trade. Whatever, Bahlul had conviction that the Shaykh’s blessings would earn him badshahat of Hindustan.

Fiazuddin has also recorded instances of cordial relations between the Sufis and Hindu saints. He writes, “Abdul Quddus and other Sufis of the Chishti silsila were not exceptional in their willingness to learn from the Indian spiritual traditions. Saiyid Muhammad Ghaus Gwaliari, a leading shaykh of the Shattari order, popularized Hindu mystical practices through his translation of the Amritkund and drew attention to the similarities in the mystical terminology of Muslims and Hindus. In fact, according to the author, several versions of the Amritkund in Persian and Arabic known as Hauz-ul-Hayat or Bahrul Hayati were already in circulation in the Sufi circle of the period.

Thus it will be seen that the book by Raziuddin will be found to be a significant contribution to the understanding of role of Sufis and their influence not only on rulers but also on Hindu-Muslim relations. Apart from scholars of medieval Sultanate period the book will be useful for general readers as well. The Book is a result of original painstaking research.

Product Details:

Raziuddin Aquil
Sufism, Culture, and Politics
Afghans and Islam in Medieval North India

Oxford University Press
296 pages;
ISBN13: 978-0-19-568512-1ISBN10: 0-19-568512-1

[Click here to the Oxford University Press]

Trust And Cooperation

By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, *Noori Tasawwuf Conference held in New Delhi* - TwoCircles.Net - Cambridge, MA, USA

Sunday, October 11, 2009

New Delhi: Shariat is above tariqat and tasawwuf, and there is no Sufism without following Shariat, said Syed Shah Muhammad Ameen, head of Qadri Barkati order and Sajjada Nasheen of Barehra Sharif (Etah district in UP).

He was delivering presidential address at the Noori Tasawwuf Conference held at India Islamic Cultural Centre in New Delhi today.

The conference was organized by Mumbai's Raza Academy, a representative body of majority of traditional Sunni Muslims adhering to Sufism, on the occasion of 175th birth anniversary of Hazrat Shah Abul Hasan Ahmed Noori known as Hazrat Noori Miyan of Barehra Sharif.

Muhammad Saeed Noori, chief organizer of the conference and president of Raza Academy, earlier elaborating the objective of the conference said that Sufism is the central theme of the conference in which the message of communal harmony, love and brotherhood will be taught to develop a society based on mutual trust and cooperation.

"The onslaught of religious hatred is leading to an uprecedented trend of people breeding prejudice, lack of respect and triggering wars of mutual hatred. Under these circumstances the Sufi message of respect for all creation, tolerence and love articulated in our country assumes a real contemporary and global relevance. The Sufis believe that without the spark of love no true society can be developed and above all it is love that teaches higher values, cures alienation of humans from themselves, their fellow beings and all that exists in nature," said Saeed Noori.

At the conference Mufti Abdul Mannan, former Shaikhul Hadees at Jamia Ashrafia, Mubarakpur, Azamgarh and Ghulam Yahya Anjum, professor of sufism at Hamdard University were conferred with Noori Award by Raza Academy.

Several ulema and scholars attended the conference from around the country.

The Unity Behind Them

By Siddhartha Shukla, *The pilgrim's progress* - Express India - India
Friday, October 2, 2009

For the common man, it's still a distant land full of mysticism and a different kind of spiritualism. Sufism is yet to be decoded by the layman, but in the meantime, Kamla K Kapur has taken an initiative and simplified it a bit.

Poet, writer and playwright, Kamla has come up with her new book on Sufi tales of Rumi, the 13th century Persian Sufi mystic, poet and writer.

The book titled 'Pilgrimage to Paradise - Sufi Tales from Rumi' is a simplified account pertaining to the spiritual essence of Sufism. The short stories in the book have been taken from Rumi's work Masnavi, a six-volume work originally written in Persian.

In town to promote her book, Kamla says, “Rumi was known more as a poet and less as a writer. He dealt with all the aspects of life, not just the ascetic aspect. His manner of story-telling was in the old-style. I have simplified it to make it more accessible to the modern reader.”

These days, Rumi is getting increasingly popular in the Western countries as well, and Kamla feels that “books such as these are reminders that we all operate from a central ego system which makes us view the world in our very own way.”

When asked about how much her own experience in life had contributed in her writing, she smiles, "There are many strands in a story like the strand of our spiritual journey, our career strand and biographical strand. In my case, the career strand took precedence over the biographical strand.”

Her last book was *Ganesha Goes to Lunch*, a vivid collection of stories from the Hindu epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata. She plans to complete her trilogy of books on the spiritual aspect of different religions by writing her next book on the Sikh Sakhis.

“I wanted to write books on different religions to show the unity behind them,” says Kamla adding that Gurbani was an inspiration for the book on Rumi’s Sufi tales. On the wide appeal of Sufism among the people she feels, “sufism resonates with the heart. It is a bridge between the Islamic and the non-Islamic world.”

Kapur, who also has eleven English plays to her credit, says that she was motivated by her father to take up writing at a young age. It was only in 2006 that she decided to be a ‘full-time’ writer.

On her immediate future plans, she said that she would be taking a break, not from writing, but from publishing.

[Visit the Author's website http://www.kamlakkapur.com/]

With Healing Intent

By Darrell Jónsson, *Pakistan's timeless mystic song* - The Prague Post - Prague, Czech Republic
Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Weeping and dancing are de rigueur at this unusual concert

From the Beatles to Bollywood, the music of the Indian subcontinent continues to filter into the West.

In the 1980s and '90s, through the efforts the late Nusrat Ali Khan, a Sufi form of devotional expression known as qawali music began finding a global following.

While Khan's collaborations with trip-hop duo Massive Attack, Pearl Jam guitarist and singer Eddie Vedder and world-beat pioneer Peter Gabriel displayed his experimental side, it was Khan's swan song "Mercy" on the American composer Jonathan Elias' choral work The Prayer Cycle that reflected his debt to qawali's sacred origins.

Khan's untimely death in 1997 at the age of 48 meant the loss of the 20th century's most visible representative of Pakistani song. But the ancient tradition he made known to the world continues as a way of life in his home country.

This week in Prague, from a family known since the 13th century for their mastery of qawali's mystical and musical qualities, local audiences will have a rare opportunity to hear and experience Sufi song in its purest, most enchanting form.

For the singer/leader of the ensemble Qawal Najmuddin Saifuddin and Brothers, there is nothing but harmony in the fact that they are practicing what is essentially an Islamic art at Prague's Christian Sts. Simon and Jude Church. Given the natural need for devotional expression found in every society, the Pakistani form of song is a good fit, according to Saifuddin.

"The qawali is linked with the Sufi tradition, a mystical school of Islamic thought which strives to attain truth and divine love by direct personal experience," he tells The Prague Post over the phone from his home in Pakistan. At the same time, Saifuddin acknowledges the sensual elements in qawali's appeal, which he describes as "its loudness, rhythm, variety of instruments and the dynamic combined efforts of the group."

Even for those listeners who are not initially attracted by the ecstatic qualities of qawali, hearing the music live can be a moving experience. "Normally, during our performances, we present works based on or related to the mystical foundation of qawali, and the audience becomes so entranced that they start weeping or dancing," Saifuddin says.

Which leads one to wonder how the Czech Order of the Brothers of Mercy, a group known for their contributions to the advancement of medicine, music and science, would feel about such proceedings taking place in the shrine they built. But Saifuddin sees a connection in historic figures from the Islamic world such as Omar Khayyám, famous for his poetry, music theory and contributions to the origins of algebra; Al-Ghazali, who, like the Brothers of Mercy, pioneered the science of anatomy and psychology; and the lute player turned alchemist Al-Razi, who forwarded the use of sulfuric acid and ethanol in medicine while pioneering treatment for measles and smallpox.

In such polymath company, qawali developed over centuries, providing a conduit for Sufi poetry while refining itself in the context of Indian and Arabic classical and folk traditions. The result is a form of music that resonates equally well on the streets and in the finest concert halls, providing inspiration and solace to every strata of society.

It's this role, with its spiritual and healing intent, that may be at risk these days.

"The media has impacted qawali," Saifuddin explains. "In general, people are more attracted to qawali; on the other hand, with so many qawals becoming commercial artists as our music branches out, the spiritualism and the purity that are the essence of qawali music are vanishing from it."

In talking with Saifuddin about his family of musicians, it's clear that the sublime music they make represents far more than a stack of ticket receipts and royalty checks. The rewards are in sharing a timeless journey.

"By the Grace of God, we will never give up," Saifuddin vows. "Our seven centuries-old tradition strictly follows the footsteps of our ancestors. Perhaps we are not so famous, but we hold this mystical tradition within us."

Qawal Najmuddin Saifuddin and Brothers
When: Saturday, Oct. 3, at 8
Where: Sts. Simon and Jude Church
Tickets: 370 Kč, available through Ticketpro and at the venue

Picture: The group plays qawali, a devotional form of Islamic music that they will perform here in a Christian church.

Celebrating Their Shaykh

[From the French language press]:

Fès: Plus de 850 Tijanes se réunissent depuis mercredi dans la cité impériale marocaine de Fès à l’occasion du bicentennaire du fondateur de leur très influente confrérie, Cheick Ahmed Tijani.

Par YB/od/APA, *Maroc-Religion-Confréries* - Agence de Presse Africaine - Dakar, Sénégal
Vendredi 9 octobre 2009

More than 850 Tijani meet since Wednesday in the imperial city of Fez in Morocco celebrating the bicentennial of the founder of their most influential Brotherhood, Shaykh Ahmed Tijani (d. 1815 AD / 1230 AH).

An international conference, which will last until Friday, is organized on this occasion.

Among the highlights of the meeting in Fez, the decision of King Mohammed VI to restore the Shaykh's shrine for a budget of 6 million dirhams, or about $ 800,000.

The work of the "Dar Meraya" home of Shaykh Ahmed Tijani, will be completed in October 2011.

[Picture: Fez]

The Essence Of Life

By ANI, *Thousands of devotees celebrate Sufi saint’s anniversary in Moradabad* - Trak.In - India
Thursday, October 1, 2009

Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh: Setting aside all differences of faith, caste, colour and creed, thousands of devotees converged at the Dargah (mausoleum) of Hazrat Abdul Aziz Miyyan, a Sufi saint at Moradabad for the annual Urs (anniversary celebrations) that was celebrated on Thursday.

“There are no two opinions about it that there is no distinction made on the basis of faith, caste, or class in this place. Whoever prays with a truth and a pure heart, there is no question that that person’s wishes will not be fulfilled,” said Javed Liaquat, a devotee.

The devotees believe that the saint always fulfills all their wishes.

Most of the devotees are regular visitors and they contend that the teachings of the saint have helped them understand the path of love and the essence of life.

“What I have learnt here is that what actually a human being is. I have understood the message of love and the first and foremost hing for anyone is to be human. That is why I like coming here, and whenever I am summoned by divine intuitions, I come here,” said Arun, another devotee.

[Picture: Sweets from Moradabad]

The Magic Of Words

By K. Surekha, *A narrator of visual poems* - Express Buzz - Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Kochi: Indian art is happening, said Ghulam Mohammed Sheikh, artist, art historian and poet, who received the Raja Ravi Varma Puraskaram for 2008 instituted by the Kerala Lalitha Kala Akademi recently.

From ripples it’s set to create waves in the global arena. Markets brought about a change in art over the last 16 years. “I think we should look at its positive aspects.

Today young artists can support themselves through art unlike our days when we had to do other jobs even to source our art. Luckily for me I taught art at MS University, my alma mater. The media, although it highlights art’s commercial aspects, has done a lot to promoete it. It’s a pity that newspapers that write art reviews no longer need them”, he said.

“In our days art camps brought artists together but nowadays it’s the galleries, curators and collectors that play a major role. Despite the different generations and different levels of art, we are one big family,” said Sheikh. “Artists are making new statements, trying to express themselves in new ways and in different media.”

For Sheikh, art is not merely for art’s sake. Along with aesthetics he has raked up many social issues as he tries and hopes for a positive transformation in society. The past fills his present just as he blends the subjective with the objective.

Myths and legends of diverse cultures find expression in his work which encompasses the universality of human feelings and basic nature of life despite the superficial changes seen in the climate and culture in each area. His large canvases encompass the whole world, cutting across political, religious and cultural barriers. Narrative with symbolic motifs, the colourful forms and figures take on allegorical tones in many a frame.

Ghettoisation and subaltern images punctuate his narrative pieces. They haunt you while stirring your thoughts and senses. Sheikh has immortalised his native town Surendranagar and his work place Baroda in his works.

Past is not nostalgia but linked with the present. Of epic dimensions, his works have many episodes related through multiple images in a simple style, concealing the complexities of life that people hate to confront and pleasant aspects that people love. His compositions augment the fact that all that’s happening in the world has its precedence in different epics, and their symbolism finds a way into his works - Mughal, Rajput art, Renaissance elements and Sufism are unique in his hands as he creates magic with them exploiting spaces in ways unimaginable.

Open to new methods in art Sheikh has made use of digital spaces in his work.

His latest works are a series of Kaavads (portable shrines), a tradition followed in Rajasthan. Sheikh’s Kaavads are expressions of his religion - the installations of temple-like structures are huge with four openings and paintings done on all four sides and the ceiling. Kaavads have themes like journey, forced journeys and the demolition of the Babri masjid (with images of Ram hunting the deer Maricha).

His Kaavads on musing and miscellany deal with many aspects of poetry and alphabet, the charm and magic of words. Another one is dedicated to Bhupen Khakhar. The one on migration is presently being shown in Vienna. This huge work is part of a travelling exhibition. One can walk into it and feel the wonder.

His other work is ‘Mappa Mandi’ (Beyond Borders) that are mappings of his mind - statements on religion, politics, spirituality and individual spaces.

Sheikh has moved with the times in his five-decade-old career.

Sheikh’s visual presentation of a magazine during his school days caught the attention of an artist in Baroda who showed him the way to MS University and there was no turning back. At the university Sheikh was instrumental in Baroda’s evolution as a landmark in contemporary art. He went around the world, enriching his vision and expanding his oeuvre.

Poetry comes naturally to him and some of his paintings are visual poems. Recipient of many awards, Sheikh is exploring the mysteries within him, linking the space within and outside through poetry and art.

Sheikh is also into prose, a kind of work that transcends genres, a style in which he finds new paths like he always does.

[Picture: Speaking Tree. Photo from http://www.artnet.com/artist/713009/gulam-mohammed-sheikh.html]

Spiritual Riches

By Sunni Publications, *REALITIES OF SUFISM*
By Shaykh `Abd al-Qadir `Isa
Translated by Suraqah Abdul Aziz
415 p. Price: €17,50

The late Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qadir ‘Isa (ra) (d. 1312 H/1991 CE) was one of the revivers of the Sufi tradition in the Levant.

In a time of gross materialism and imported profane ideologies into the Arab world, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qadir ‘Isa provided the keys for a reclamation of Islam’s spiritual riches and revived the spiritual path, imparting guidance and instruction to scores of people from all strata of society.

Realities of Sufism, the Shaykh’s only book, takes readers on a journey to the heart of Islam.

Expositing on the foundations of Islam’s spiritual path, Sufism, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qadir simultaneously describes the workings of the path of excellence -ihsan— and answers the doubts of the orientalists, modernists, and would be Islamic revivalists.

Some of the topics in this book include: the history and etymology of Sufism, the conditions of a true spiritual guide, the proper manners of a spiritual seeker, the outer manners of the path, the inner manners of the path, the deeds of the heart, spiritual unveiling, miracles, oneness of being, and historic testimonies to Sufism’s key role and efficacy in purifying the souls and elevating the Sacred over the profane in the lives of man.

Sufism is good character
He who is ahead of you in good character
Is ahead of you in Sufism

[Click on the title of this article to the original with a link to the Table Of Contents]

The Revolution Of Love

RK News, *Renzu for making Valley hub of literature* - Rising Kashmir - Jammu & Kashmir, India
Saturday, September 26, 2009

Stressing on the importance of heritage and values propagated by Sufi saints, Director Information [of Kashmir Sufism Society]*, Khawaja Farooq Renzu on Saturday said that time has come to revive the revolution of love and brotherhood brought by them, and to make the valley centre of literature and scholarly thoughts.

He was addressing a literary conference held at Degree College, Sopore which was attended besides others by intellectuals, academicians, scholars and writers. Renzu was the chief guest of the function while noted broadcaster Abdaal Mahjoor was guest of honour.

In his welcome speech, principal of the college, Peerzada Muhammad Ashraf said that it is honour for the Degree College that on this particular day when cream of the society particularly writers, professors, scholars and intellectuals assembled under one roof. He said that the arrival of the Director of Information is more significant because he is well known for highlighting life and works of Sufi saints.

Accordingly, he was chosen by for “KHALIAT-I-RAHIM” in the memory of revered Sufi saint. On the occasion, books- “Nida-i-Ishq” written by Rahim Sahib Shahnaz and “The wind without rain” written by Rashid Afaaq were released.

Bashir Chirag and Prof Mohi-u-din presented papers on first and second book respectively.

Mahjoor, chairman of Mahjoor Foundation also highlighted the contribution of Sufi saints and intellectuals of Kashmir in the world of literature. He also praised Department of Information for introducing film Mahjoor in international film festival held in Srinagar in recent past.

*[Click here to know more about Kashmir Sufism Society ]

`Rethinking Religions'

By TNN, *'Religion won't be the same in 50 years'* - The Times Of India - India
Sunday, September 27, 2009

Bangalore: In 50 years, religion will not be the same. Its present form will be completely unrecognizable, given the rapid change brought about by information society, MP Arun Shourie said on Saturday.

He was speaking at the Rotary House of Friendship on `Rethinking Religions'.

"Religion as we know it will not be the same in 50 years. There has been a rapid democratization of the world. The world is a much smaller place. The pronouncements of religions can therefore not remain the same," he said.

However, he added that universal standards of secularism will be maintained all over the world. "No country which hurts its minorities will be able to say it is a sovereign country. The world has begun to apply similar standards for all. It is becoming a duty for governments to protect minorities. There will be no exceptions."

Shourie said some notions central to religion will not survive the future. "We live in a time where getting to know each other is easy. You have to stay with the times or you'll be left behind."

He also spoke on different aspects of Islam, Hinduism, Sufism, Christianity and the changes in them.

[Picture from http://arunshourie.voiceofdharma.com/]

An Olive Branch

By Mairbek Vatchagaev, *Ingush Rebels Extend an Olive Branch to Sufis* - The Jamestown Foundation/Eurasia Daily Monitor, Volume 6 Issue 176 - USA
Friday, September 25, 2009

The latest move by the insurgency in the North Caucasus was not entirely unexpected. It has finally dawned on the rebel leadership of the Caucasus Emirate that waging a war against everyone is a hopeless proposition. Their perpetual hostility toward Sufi Islam resulted in pushing away the majority of those unhappy with Russia's posture in the region, or at best, alienating them from the whole concept of a religiously inspired Emirate. The bitter strife between the Salafi and Sufi ideologies occasionally made it look like the militants spend more time and effort fighting Sufis than their real enemy -that is, Moscow.

For the first time since the Caucasus Emirate was announced in the fall of 2007 as a replacement for the former Ichkeria, the Ingush rebel fighters have reached out to Sufis, releasing a statement entitled "Address of Galgay (Ingush) Vilayat's Mujahideen to Sufis and Tarikat Leaders" and posting it on the Ingush insurgency's website on September 18*. The statement said that the rebel fighters do not see Sufis as their enemies and are not fighting against them, the only exception being for those who worship their sheikh/leader beyond the level allowed in Islam. It also agreed that many Sufi teachers (ustaza) and leaders of brotherhood orders called for resistance against Russian troops and suffered in the war with Russia.

The statement became the first signal that the resistance movement is prepared to move away from their formerly unrelenting hostility toward Sufism. It apparently became impossible to deny or ignore the fact that 90 percent of the inhabitants of Chechnya, Ingushetia and Dagestan Muslims are followers of Sufi Islam. The militants gained nothing by bashing Sufis; on the contrary, they lost a significant base of supporters that included a majority of the local populace. The Ingush rebels' move is a first step toward easing the tensions between these two irreconcilable strains of Islam. However, this should not be confused with an actual change of heart on behalf of the Salafis; rather, they are facing the reality that nothing significant in the region can be accomplished without Sufi support. In short, the Salafis have been forced to accept this temporary coalition with the Sufis out of necessity.

Moscow was the first to understand the importance of Sufi Islam in the region, and decided to make a strategic alliance with the Sufis before the Salafis realized the need for the same thing. This strategy allowed Moscow to destabilize the situation somewhat and to neutralize a certain segment of the Sufis. The militant movement did not help things by their harsh stance toward the Sufis; it seemed as if the rebels had decided that the support of Salafis around the world would be a worthy replacement for the loyalty of those among whom they live and fight. Therefore, a competition for the support of Sufi Muslims may soon begin in the region. To wit, in an obvious attempt to court the Sufi leadership, Moscow recently allowed a university named after one of the most respected leaders of the Qadiri tarikat, Kunta-Hajji Kishiyev, to open.

One can only guess as to the reasons for and timing of the statement released by the Ingush rebels. Since the announcement of the creation of the Caucasus Emirate, Amir Magas of the Ingush jamaat (aka Akhmed Yevloev, a successor to Shamil Basaev) has become completely inconspicuous. He might not have completely supported the transformation of Ichkeria into the Caucasus Emirate. Moreover, those who had a real hand in the establishment of the Emirate stepped into the limelight, including Amir Seifullah (Anzor Astemirov) and the former vice president of Ichkeria, Supian Abdullaev. Both men have made a number of statements explaining the motivation for the change in goals and on the prospects of the new virtual state called the Caucasus Emirate. However, the actual military commander was nowhere to be seen or heard - he rarely signed any statements or made public addresses. He has either fallen out of favor or joined the opposition.

The lack of statements from Amir Magas was particularly intriguing, considering that a majority of the military operations during the past two years took place in his backyard. Every statement that came from his jamaat was signed by "The Department of Information and Analysis of Vilayet Galgaiche Headquarters".

One possible explanation may be his alliance with the brotherhood of Kunta Hajji Kishiyev. It can also be surmised that the decision to announce a virtual state of the Caucasus Emirate was made without his input, which made him shy away from discussing the issue in public.

Therefore, there has been only one instance of a prominent Chechen field commander -Amir Mansur (aka Arbi Evmirzayev)- refusing to recognize the legitimacy of rebel leader Dokka Umarov's decision to announce the creation of the Caucasus Emirate. All the rest, regardless of their Sufi roots, recognized the Emirate in the name of unity within the armed resistance's ranks. Consequently, it would be incorrect to equate the resistance movement with Salafism; the insurgency ranks in Chechnya, Ingushetia and perhaps Dagestan comprise two completely different ideologies -Salafi and Sufi Islam. Salafi followers are probably more numerous than the Sufis; however, this has to do with the arrival of new members, who are joining a movement in which the dominant ideology is that of Salafism.

Finally, the recent statement made by the Riyadus Salikhiyn militant group about the attack on the police district in the Ingush village of Ekazhevo on September 11 introduced a different stand on inter-ethnic relations. Prior to that, the insurgents usually avoided criticizing a particular ethnicity; however, this statement clearly pits the Ingush against the Ossetians, calling the latter "the most despised kaffir people in the Caucasus of Alans"*. The statement refers to the decision made by the Ingush President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov to recognize Ossetia's claim to the disputed area of Prigorodny district of Ossetia (also referred to as Alania). In effect, the Ingush have been presented with a new enemy, the Ossetians, who only a year ago were, according to the resistance leaders, an equally important ethnic element of the Emirate -that is, until May 5 of this year, when their homeland Iriston was "dissolved" and reintegrated into the administrative unit of Galgayche/Ingushetia.

The insurgency's latest move also indicates that, two years after the announcement of the creation of the Caucasus Emirate, it might be contemplating reverting to its original Ichkerian roots. In fact, there is also no guarantee that the rebels' return to the ideology of the independent Chechen state of Ichkeria will not be their next move in an effort to regain the lost support of the populace.

[Click here to a Wiki article about the Caucasus Emirate]

Picture: Amir Magas of the Ingush jamaat