The Soul Of Religion

By Amani Maged, *Salafists' wrath turns violent* - Ahram Online - Cairo, Egypt; Wednesday, April 6, 2011

The recent spate of violent attacks by Salafists in Egypt against shrines sacred to Sufis gives an insight into how the puritanical branch intends to interact with the rest of society

The hostility between Sufis and Salafists, long suppressed in the minds and hearts of both parties, has revealed its fangs for all to see. The shrines built to commemorate and worship saints in the Sufi tradition is a very physical embodiment of the clash in ideology and faith of the two groups. For Sufis these are sacred sites at which to pray and worship through celebration, for Salafists they are an abomination against Islam and the teaching of the Prophet.

This fractious relationship has recently taken a violent turn with the destruction of shrines by Salafists across Egypt, attracting attention to the diverging paths of faith as the attacks spread. The latest act was the burning of the tomb of Sidi Izz El-Din in Qalioubiya, which sparked the crisis and confrontation between the two groups.

A bearded man was apprehended by local residents after he threw a Molotov cocktail on the wood that covers the shrine of Sidi Izz El-Din. Word quickly spread that the young arsonist, who fled the town for fear of persecution, was part of the local Salafist group, something denied by the group’s leadership.

An extraordinary general assembly of the Sufi Council, which represents Egypt’s 20 million Sufis, was convened by its head, Dr. Abdel Hady El-Qasabi. The assembly discussed how to deal with these developments and announced the formation of popular committees (unofficial guards) to protect the shrines and those of Al al-Bayt (the descendents of the Prophet Mohammed).

The Muslim Brotherhood has become involved, lending its weight in an attempt to contain the crisis between the two parties; a prominent leader in the group, Dr. Gamal Heshmat, declared his readiness to mediate between the Sufis and Salafists. A meeting between all parties has been agreed for a later date to calm things down.

Another meeting was convened by the ministry of religious endowments in Alexandria between prominent Salafist and Sufi leaders.

A memorandum of reconciliation was signed, whereby the Salafists asserted that they had neither demolished the shrines nor would they incite such behaviour.

In return, Sheikh Yasser Burhami, a member of the Salafist Call in Alexandria, denied the demolition of shrines: “We do not change the evil thing with our own hand because this matter is within the jurisdiction of the political ruler.” He also pointed out that the sunnah (religious teachings) of the Prophet state that a grave should be no more that a few inches above the ground: "Oh God, do not make my grave an idol to be worshipped… God's wrath is intensified on the people who have taken the graves of their Prophets as tombs."

Although the Prophet ordered Ali bin Abi Talib, recognised by Sunnis as the fourth caliph and Shias as the first imam, to make any grave level with the ground, Sheikh Burhami said that the Salafists would not go so far as to implement this with their own hands. Instead they would educate the community “about the seriousness and the gravity of following the myths and keeping the existence of these shrines.” He said that the Salafists will clarify the abuses that these shrines commit.

The sheikh said: "After the outreach to people, we will call upon the governing body or authority to demolish the shrines when it is seen that the public interest is established and, thus, removing the evil will be without trouble and will not lead to the temptation of an even greater evil. This would be made at the time that the governing authority sees appropriate and after making sure that the people become aware that such practices are far from religion, and nothing but myths." The sheikh continued by referring to the words of the Prophet: "No graves are to be taken as mosques. I am forbidding you from doing so."

Hostility to Sufism is nothing new; Salafists believe that Sufis invent and introduce practices contradictory to the religion (including the building of mosques that have graves and advocating the supplication through the Muslim saints).

The Salafists also reject the notion of moulids (an annual religious festival to mark the birthday of a saint, prophet or head of a religious order), condemning the events that occur during these celebrations, which they view as contradictory to the teachings of Islam. To their minds, the Sufis are nothing but “odds and ends.”

This self-righteous fury of the Salafists has sparked rumours that they are threatening to demolish Islamic Cairo’s iconic El-Hussein Mosque, which Sufis revere for being the burial place of the Prophet’s grandson Hussein.

These rumours have been denied by Salafists.

Abdel Moneim El-Shahat, a prominent Salafist, responded obliquely by pouring scorn on the site’s significance for Sufis. “There is no tomb in the El-Hussein mosque,” he said.

The Sufis, for their part, view the Salafists as a group of radical extremists whom they accuse of receiving financial support from Saudi Arabia in order to spread radicalism, extremism and terrorism in the community, including the demolition of shrines and large mosques.

While the shrines are not the only contentious issue between the two groups, they have stirred their mutual antipathy into a fiercely violent battle over the soul of religion.

This May Take Years

By Ali Ibrahim, *Egypt: The Salafi Scarecrow* - Asharq Al-Awsat - London, UK; Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Salafi groups have suddenly appeared on the political scene in Egypt following the 25 January revolution, utilizing repulsive and ugly rhetoric, which has filled Egyptian newspapers and media with stories and news of these groups, from an individual's ear being cut off [by Salafists], to the "battle for the ballot boxes" on the day of the referendum [on the constitutional amendments].

We have seen Salafi groups celebrate victory after the constitutional amendments were passed following a "Yes" vote in the national referendum. We have also seen these same Salafi groups mock Liberalism, describing it as immoral and foolish.

We have even seen them destroy religious shrines, for they consider Egypt's Pharaonic monuments to be examples of idolatry, and they have also called anybody who disagrees with them to emigrate to the West.

Indeed a recent Salafi speech in this regard cited Taliban ideology and the Taliban's crime against the history of human civilization, namely its destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan.

These groups did not play any role in the events of the 25 January revolution, nor did they take part in any political discourse in this regard, with the exception of the former regime using them to harm the reputation of certain opposition figures, which resulted in some Salafist figures declaring opposition figures to be non-believers. Therefore the political scene has been surprised by the Salafi groups' reappearance in this bold manner, as well as the media attention being paid to them.

The Salafi groups are not the only ones that have appeared on the scene in an attempt to capitalize on what is happening. This is because the driving force of the revolution, which prompted the events that led to the ouster of the former President, is unorganized, and did not imagine – in the beginning – that it would succeed to this extent. When the regime was toppled, the revolutionaries did not have an immediate plan of action to fill the vacuum, and so others have exploited the opportunity to do so.

Yet what distinguishes the Salafi groups is that they are the most provocative and divisive, and this has prompted some people to wonder about the significance of their sudden appearance, and whether it is part of a so-called counter-revolution in Egypt, or an attempt to stir up fear of the future.

These groups offer no rational political discourse, however they excel in provoking and intimidating people. No one believes that they can succeed in the forthcoming parliamentary elections, to achieve any significant presence. They have excelled in provoking the Grand Mufti of Egypt, who attacked them in a fiery Friday Sermon. Likewise, they have succeeded in intimidating Egypt's Sufi trend, estimated at possessing 15 million adherents, by attacking their shrines, to the extent that one Sufi Sheikh called for the establishment of a Sufi Jihadist force to confront the Salafists.

The following question arises: are we facing a scenario whereby religion and politics will be mixed in an explosive cocktail, consuming everything and everyone, with rival parties and groups terrorizing the public, each wanting to impose its ideology upon society, each believing to have a divine mandate?

Nobody wants to see this scenario, because it is contrary to the fabric of society. However, there are those who think that everyone should come to the surface, even if they are provocative or intimidating, in order to bring everything to light before public opinion. This will help people distinguish between good and evil, and recognize the true ideology of some groups that were once hidden under the surface.

The beneficiary of the appearance of these Salafi groups may in fact be the Muslim Brotherhood, whose current discourse seems very moderate when compared to the Salafists.

Yet even if the Muslim Brotherhood came into the light and operated openly, its internal differences would soon become clear, as there is a divide in the ideology of the Muslims Brotherhood youth, and the old traditional ideology.

Without a doubt, the next period in Egypt's political history will be one of anxiety, as the scene is filled with the visions of different political forces. The 25 January revolution was an explosion that sparked change, but the final settlement or form [of the country] will take time to clarify. Indeed this may take years, being established following the legislative and presidential elections.

Destroying Unity

By Davide Morandini, *Muslim Brothers condemn destruction of shrines* - Bikya Masr - Cairo, Egypt; Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Several members of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) condemned the destruction of 20 Sufi shrines in different Egyptian towns. News of the destructions circulated on Saturday, the day after thousands of believers travelled to Cairo to celebrate a popular Sufi festival.

Attacks on shrines triggered public outrage, and demonstrations broke out in Alexandria where a procession of protesters walked through the city.

MB’s Executive Bureau member Abdel Rahman al-Barr claimed that although the shrines do not represent any religious value it was obligatory to at least respect the sacredness of those who have long died and are buried, reported the Brotherhood’s website, Ikhwanweb.

Salafist Muslims have often opposed Sufi religious practices, holding them as contradictory of the teachings of the Holy Quran. After the January 25 Revolution, attacks on shrines have reportedly increased.

“Such foolish actions and threats of further destruction are counter-productive and are against the spirit of our great Egyptian revolution,” wrote Khaled Hamza on the MB’s official website. “We strongly condemn such actions, which are clear attacks on government and public property, and violate the tolerant teachings of Islam.”

Following the attacks, Sufi leaders called on Sufi disciples to unite against “Salafi thuggery,” protecting shrines belonging to members of the Prophet’s family and preventing Salafis’ access to them.

Grand Mufti of Egypt Ali Gomaa praised a fatwa by the Islamic Research Complex that criminalizes the destruction of shrines, condemning such behavior for destroying the unity of Muslims.

The Supreme Council of Sufi Orders decided to institute a fact-finding committee that will investigate in the destructions of 20 shrines.

Two persons were already arrested in Qaliub on Thursday.

Concern Is Justified

By Ahmed Zaki Osman, *Sufis feel pressure as Salafi power grows* - Al-Masry Al-Youm - Cairo, Egypt;Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Adherents of Sufism, a mystical sect of Islam that has long been popular in Egypt, now see their tolerant traditions threatened by the growth of hard-line Salafism, an Islamic sect that claims to hearken back to the earliest form of Islam.

As Salafi groups have been emboldened around the country, Sufis, like Coptic Christians and secular muslims, have come into conflict with the orthodox sect. However, Sufi leaders say they have plans to fight the rising tide of radicalism.

Over the past month, followers of the Salafi movement have been accused of attacking both Muslims and non-Muslim Egyptians in an attempt to impose their strict Islamic views.

In Alexandria, traditionally a stronghold for both Salafi and Sufi groups, at least 16 historic mosques belonging to Sufi orders have been targeted by members of the Salafi movement, who attempted to demolish tombs of important Islamic scholars because they oppose the veneration of saints as heretical. One of the mosques allegedly attacked by Salafis is the historic mosque of al-Mursi Abu al-Abbas, which dates back to the 13th century and is a popular site for visits by Egyptians from across the country.

Alexandria is home to more than 40 historic mosques with tombs belonging to the Sufi movement.

In the Upper Egyptian city of Qena, a group of Salafis allegedly cut off the ear a Coptic man. In area of Fayoum, clashes between “religious people” and vendors at a wine shop lead to one death.

Last week, members of the Salafi movement denied allegations of violence in a statement posting on a website associated with one of Egypt's most influential Salafi preachers. The statement said Salafis preach peaceful methods of change.

Meanwhile, one leading Sufi preacher said that concern over Salafi-inspired violence is justified.

“I don’t underestimate people’s fears concerning Salfis,” said Sheikh Gaber Kasem al-Kholy, the highest-ranking Sufi sheikh in Alexandria. “Of course, Coptic Christians are a main target for those extremists, but we need to speak out about the suffering of the Sufi people who were attacked by the Salafis.”

There are about half a million registered Sufis in Alexandria, which has a population of 4.1 million people. The city contains 36 of Egypt’s 76 registered Sufi orders.

Sitting in a Western-style café at the Imperial Hotel in downtown Alexandria, al-Kholy presented a moderate and modern vision of Sufism. “Sufis believe in good deeds. They don’t force religion on people as the Salafis do. They don’t manipulate religion as the Muslim Brotherhood does.”

In the 18th century, an Islamic scholar in the Arabian Peninsula named Mohamed ibn Abdel Wahhab formulated a strict form of Islam that he claimed conformed to the original values of the religion. He forbade man-made images, art and sculpture, and provided religious support to Arabian rulers in curtailing the rights of individuals and religious minorities.

The Salafi movement has its origins in Abdel Wahhab’s hard-line vision and is relatively new to Egypt, where a more pluralistic version of Islam has flourished much longer.

Al-Kholy, dressed in smart casual Western clothing and apparently unperturbed by the Western music in the café where he sits, sees Salafis as a threat to the Egyptian tradition of tolerance. Salafism “is a Saudi product,” he said, noting that Salafis do not even quote respected Egyptian scholars, but instead defer to their Saudi counterparts.

“Alexandria has been a multi-cultural city," he said. "Throughout history, people here welcomed Islamic scholars from various locations. As for the Salafis, they are people without history. They don’t like Abu al-Abbas. They accuse the great scholar and other Sufi historical figures of heresy.”

Salafis also accuse Sufis of sympathizing with Shia Islam, a main target for Saudi religious propaganda, which describes them as a sect that does not conform to the original Islam.

The issue of scholarship is an important one, al-Kholy said. “What’s alarming is that Salafi preachers don’t practice Ijtihad [progressive legal interpretation], in which they can renew Islamic thinking.”

Even the Sunni Muslim world’s most prominent religious institution is becoming caught up in the struggle between Salafism and more moderate strains. Cairo’s Al-Azhar, which was founded between 970 and 972, has long been the main source for Sunni Islamic learning. Its influence has impacted Islamic thinking throughout the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

This month, the Salafi movement organized a conference at Al-Azhar University, and one of the movement's key figures, Sheikh Yasser Burhamy, accused the Sufi movement of heresy and of being sponsored by the United States.

“That was so silly. Yes we expect them to accuse us of heresy because the Salafis are single-minded people,” said al-Kholy. “But as for the American support, what we did is simply have visits for two American ambassadors in Egypt, a move we thought would introduce them to a moderate version of Islam.”

Francis Ricciardone, the former US ambassador to Egypt, showed great interest in attending various Sufi festivities.

Perhaps most worrying for the Sufi community is Salafi attempts to bring Sufi mosques under Salafi control. “They are now launching a war over mosques. They try to destroy historic mosques with tombs because they’re not Islamic for them, and also they are trying to have a monopoly over mosques,” said al-Kholy.

One of the mosques that Salafis are trying to bring under their control is Qaed Ibrahim Mosque, a gathering point for protesters during the 18-day uprising that lead to the resignation of former President Hosni Mubarak.

Under Mubarak’s rule, both Salafi and Sufi movements were largely apolitical. But Sufis are ready to become engaged with politics, al-Kholy said.

“That’s a historical trend for Sufis, not to clash with the country leaders. It might be a mistake, but now, after the revolution, I do think that this trend is going to change,” said al-Kholy.

Under the former regime, the highest authorities in Egypt’s various Sufi orders publicly backed Mubarak and his former ruling National Democratic Party (NDP).

“We were people without political aims, so we maintained good relations with the regime. In fact, we were totally wrong. The regime was indirectly putting us in an awkward position through its Ministry of Endowments,” argued Al Kholy.

Mubarak gave officials at the Ministry of Endowments full authority for the control of mosques, regulating the appointment of imams and the distribution of financial donations. Mubarak aimed to reduce the influence of extremists, but that strategy was a failure, al-Kholy said.

“Instead of combating extremism, the state was combating moderate Islam and giving mosques to the Brotherhood and Salafis as deals.”

Sufi followers across Egypt, such as in the Delta city of Monufiya and the Upper Egyptian city of Aswan, have filed complaints against the Ministry of Endowments and the public prosecutor, calling for the state to protect historic mosques from Salafi attacks.

“If the state doesn’t give enough time to protecting these sites, we as Sufis have to do something practical, such as establishing a political party to enable us to address our concerns against those extremists,” said al-Kholy, demonstrating how much Sufis may be willing to break with their apolitical past.

“We have a considerable number of followers, and we are willing and able to protect Egypt’s legacy of moderation,” he said.

Photo by Namir Galal

Muslim World Music Day

Today, April 12, 2011, is Muslim World Music Day. Happy Bird Day!

Muslim World Music day is a project of The ARChive of Contemporary Music:

Muslim World Music Day is an online effort to identify and catalog all the recordings of Muslim music in the world. It will be a step towards making this culturally significant body of work readily available to people around the globe for study and enjoyment.

What is Muslim Music? We realize that characterizing an artistic activity as a product of a religious belief is inherently problematic. Is the music of Muslim convert Yusuf Islam (formerly known as Cat Stevens) “Islamic”? How do we define a classical Arabic music tradition influenced by Orthodox Christianity as well as Islam? Can erotic Persian verse set to music be seen as part of the same tradition as Sufi devotional songs? What should we make of death metal from Pakistan, or hip-hop by Latino Muslims from Spanish Harlem?

Muslim World Music Day is a cultural project.

Centuries of music making in the established traditions of the Muslim world have produced shared musical vocabularies. Muslim musicians have also embraced other genres, from jazz to hiphop to hard rock, to express their faith. Today, Muslims from a range of theological perspectives continue to debate the place of music in Islam, while musicians around the world —Muslim and non-Muslim alike— draw inspiration from old traditions and invent new ones.

The definition of “Muslim music” will always be changing.

We seek to provide an inclusive overview of this music from a variety of perspectives. We hope the very act of collecting, discussing, and listening to the music gives rise to new answers to the question, “what is Muslim music?”

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[Birds are not only the ones who fly, they are also the ones who sing. Thus, when speaking of Muslim World Music Day, *The Conference of the Birds* comes to mind.

The Conference of the Birds (the Mantiq al-tayr, in Persian) is Sufi Poet's Farid al-Din 'Attar (d. 1221) most famous mystical poem. It tells about the birds of the world undertaking an arduous journey in search of their true king. Their leader is the Hoopoe. (ed.)

Listen and watch the Hoopoe singing at IBC The Internet Bird Collection

Picture: Hoopoe (Upupa epops). Photo: Wiki.]

3rd Sufi Poetry Carnival

By Irving Karchmar,*3rd Sufi Poetry Carnival* - Darvish blog - USA; Thursday, April 7, 2011

The *Darvish* blog of Irving Karchmar is co-hosting the 3rd Sufi Poetry Carnival, along with Sadiq Alam of the *Technology of the Heart* blog.

The theme is:

The Mystic Heart

The Carnival will run from April 7th to April 30th, during National Poetry Month in the US.

If you have a blog or website, you can submit a direct link of your poem. If you don’t have a blog or website, you can email your submission to the following e-address:

Irvingk1945@gmail.com

with a duplicate copy to Sadiq at:

mysticsaint@gmail.com

In the subject line write:

Sufi Poetry Carnival

All may enter: We are all spiritual beings having a human experience, so may submit their poetry, whether a Sufi or not, as long as the poetry is in English and the Mystic Heart theme is followed.

Click on the title or here to the Darvish blog.

Haxhi Dede Reshat Bardhi

By Staff Writer, *World’s Spiritual Father of Bektashi Order, Father Reshat Bardhi, dies* - Albeu Online - Tirana, Albania; Saturday, April 2, 2011

Father Reshat Bardhi, the leader of the Bektashi Order, passed away at 76, after a long illness.

Health problems obliged him to interrupt his activity at the Bektashi World Headquarters in Albania, after two heart surgeries, one on 2000 and the second on 2004. Both interventions were performed in United States of America and were considered successful.

President of the Republic of Albania, Bamir Topi, through a message made ​​public, expressed condolences for the death of World’s Spiritual Father of Bektashi Order Haxhi Dede Reshat Bardhi.

A National Day Of Mourning

By AFP Staff Writer, *AFP: Day of mourning in Albania for Bektashi leader* - Focus News Agency - Sofia, Bulgaria; Monday, April 4, 2011

Tirana: Authorities in Albania have declared Monday [April 4th] a national day of mourning in honour of the leader of the Bektashi World Centre, Haxhi Ded Reshat Bardhi, who has died at the age 76, AFP informs.

Bardhi, who headed the Bektashi -- an Islamic Sufi order -- for 18 years, died Saturday at a hospital in Tirana after a long illness.

The national flag was to be at half-mast at all public buildings and tributes would be held at a convention centre. The funeral was to be held on Tuesday at the Bektashi World Center in Tirana, the government said in a press release.

The World Center of Bektashi, the Islamic order of dervishes that is said to have around seven million followers worldwide, was moved from Turkey to the Albanian capital Tirana in 1929.

The Inhuman And Cowardly Attack

By Shahnawaz A. Malik Warsi (Advocate), *Sunnis demands Protection of Sufi Shrines in Pakistan* - Sunni News - New Delhi, India; Monday, April 5, 2011

Various Muslim Organization Including Raza Academy,Jamiat-e-Ahle Sunnat Jammu and Kashmir,Idara Tehqiqat-e-Imam Ahmed Raza Kasmir, All India Ulema Mashaikh Baord, All India Sunni Jamiatul Ulema, and MSO of India have condemned the ghastly attack on the Dargah of Hazrat Sakhi Sarwar Dera Ghazi Khan. Leaders have expressed grave concerns over the contionus attacks on Innocent Muslims at Sufi Shrines in different parts of the world.

Muslim Students Organization of India MSO Condemns in highest terms the inhuman and cowardly attack on the Dargah of Hazrat Sakhi Sarwar R.A at Dera Ghazi Khan, Pakistan, by the hands of Tehreek-e-Taliban, which once again proves that Pakistani Government has no control whatsoever on the terrorists targeting innocents and peace-loving citizens of its country.

The Pakistani Government must ensure the safety and security of Sufi Institutions and Personalities associated with Sufi Movements and it must take hard steps to punish the Talibani culprits.

MSO also make demands from Indian Prime minister Mr. Manmohan Singh to talk to his counter parts to raise this Issue so that Safety and dignity of Sufi Shrines and Personalities may be Protected.

MSO National President Syed Muhmaad Qaudri expressed grief and sorrow over the Shahadat of at least 50 Innocents Zayreen and injury to more than 100 at Dargah attack. He said that a fight has been started everywhere between local Muslim community and between the propagators of Talibani brand religion. Wherever this religion of Taliban has been spread in the name of Islam, Muslim Community is standing against them, it may be Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia, Egypt, Palestine or Caucacus region etc. The whole game of violence is just to capture and rule territories by misusing the name of Islam.

Shujaat Ali Qaudri National Secretary of MSO said that by killing and targeting the Muslims they are going to achieve nothing rather the faith and belief of Muslims in Sufism will be more stronger after each and every such attack.

We call upon all the Indian Muslims to spread awareness about this dangerous terrorist movement in the country. These Talibanis are nothing but bunch of thugs and Dacaits dividing and killing Muslims.

Neither Faith Nor Belief

By Salman Masood and Waqar Gillani, *Blast at Pakistan Shrine Kills Dozens* - The New York Times - New York, NY, USA; Sunday, April 3, 2011

Islamabad: Two suicide bombers set off an explosion on Sunday evening at a Sufi shrine compound in Pakistan, killing at least 42 people, police officials said. More than 100 people, including women and children, were wounded.

The attack was aimed at a popular shrine of a Sufi saint, Sakhi Sarwar, in Dera Ghazi Khan, a remote district of Punjab Province, police officials said. An annual festival was in progress as hundreds of worshipers thronged the shrine compound when the attackers detonated their explosives.

Police officers said the attackers failed to get inside the shrine because of strict security measures.

With several of the wounded in critical condition, rescue officials said, the death toll was expected to rise.

A third attacker, who was wounded, was arrested after his explosives-laden jacket failed to fully detonate. The man appeared to be from the tribal regions close to the Afghan border, the police said.

The wounded were taken to a hospital. Emergency workers said they were facing difficulties in the rescue operation.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or Movement of Taliban, an umbrella group of militants, claimed responsibility for the attack, Reuters reported.

Taliban militants have repeatedly aimed attacks at Sufi shrines across the country, along with government targets and security forces installations.

The attack on Sunday was seen as another attempt by militants to exacerbate the ideological divides that exist within different schools of Sunni Islam.

Deobandis are a puritanical branch of Sunni Islam to which most of the country’s militant groups belong. Followers of the Barelvi sect, on the other hand, believe in mysticism, revere saints and shrines, and are considered to be tolerant and accommodating of other faiths.

Though no accurate statistics are available, it is estimated that more than 75 percent of Pakistan’s population adheres to the Barelvi school of thought, which follows many Sufi practices. Punjab, the country’s most prosperous and populated province, has a Barelvi majority. Hard-line Deobandis consider Barelvis heretics.

Barelvi religious leaders have described the attacks as an attempt to sow sectarian strife.

“This is an act of terrorism by the Taliban,” said Sahibzada Muhammad Fazal Kareem, a member of Parliament and head of the Sunni Ittihad Council, an alliance of eight religious parties opposed to the Taliban.

“Taliban want to destroy the peace of the country, and attacks on shrines are a heinous conspiracy to spark sectarian tensions and riots,” Mr. Kareem said.

He criticized the government for failing to provide adequate security at shrines.

The shrine of Sakhi Sarwar, a 12th-century saint, is 25 miles from the district capital in the southern part of Punjab Province. Militants had been issuing threats against the shrine, police officials said.

Dera Ghazi Khan borders the northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province and Baluchistan Province and is known as the gateway to Punjab.

Recently, there have been concerns that militants from the tribal regions of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, formerly North-West Frontier Province, have been using Dera Ghazi Khan as a route to enter Punjab.

Concerns about rising militancy and extremism have also surfaced in recent years in southern Punjab, where feudal influence is still powerful and most of the population is impoverished and uneducated. The region also teems with madrasas, or religious seminaries.

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani condemned the attack.

“Such cowardly acts of terror clearly demonstrate that the culprits involved neither have any faith nor any belief in human values,” a statement by the prime minister’s office said.

Salman Masood reported from Islamabad, and Waqar Gillani from Lahore, Pakistan.

Picture: Officers at a Sufi shrine in Dera Ghazi Khan removed explosives from a wounded man whom they called a suicide bomber. Photo: Sheikh Asif Raza/Reuters.

It Was Like Hell

By South Asia Reporter, *Pakistan Sufi shrine suicide attack kills 41* - BBC - UK/Pakistan; Sunday, April 3, 2011

Suicide attackers have killed at least 41 people and wounded many more at a shrine in Pakistan, police say.

The explosions struck near the Sakhi Sarwar shrine in Punjab, as Sufi Muslim devotees gathered for an annual three-day festival.

Sufis, a minority Muslim group who follow mystical beliefs, are regarded as heretical by hardliners.

A Taliban fighter told reporters his group carried out the attack, the third on Sufi shrines in a year.

Ehsanullah Ehsan told Reuters news agency the attack was in revenge for a government offensive against militants in Pakistan's north-west.

Sunday's blasts hit near a shrine to Sufi saint Sakhi Sarwar in Dera Ghazi Khan district, and devotees were reportedly among the dead and wounded.

"We have recovered 41 bodies so far," police officer Zahid Hussain Shah told AFP news agency.

He said both explosions had been caused by suicide attackers, adding: "They came on foot and blew themselves up when police on duty stopped them."

Another police officer told reporters that a third attacker had been caught before he could detonate his explosives

Eyewitness Faisal Iqbal told Reuters he had been standing yards away from one of the explosions.

"People started running outside the shrine. Women and children were crying and screaming. It was like hell," he said.

Thousands of people had been marking the annual festival of Urs at the time of the blasts.

Sufism has been widely practised in Pakistan for hundreds of years - analysts saying it has a much bigger following than the hard-line Taliban version of Islam.

Devotees perform singing and dancing and pray to saints who are honoured with numerous shrines.

Their beliefs are considered un-Islamic by hardliners, who have targeted their shrines several times.

Last October, a suicide bombing at a shrine in Punjab province left six people dead.

And earlier in the year a suicide attack on a Lahore shrine killed at least 42 people, making it the most deadly such attack on record.

For decades, the government has also sought to suppress Sufism, and has put it under strict control.

Picture: Dozens of injured devotees were rushed to hospital after the attack. Photo: AFP.

Searching For Common Themes

By Staff Reporter, *Sarwar Chishty inaugurates Peace Symposium at UNT* The News International - Karachi, Pakistan; Saturday, April 2, 2011

Peace through mystic and Sufi linked between different world’s religions was celebrated at the University of North Texas (UNT) in Denton, at a Peace Symposium inaugurated by Syed Sarwar Chishty, the Gaddi Nashin of the Holy Shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty (R.A) in Ajmer, India, last Friday.

Inaugurating the Symposium he said Sufi shrines are an open venue for people of all faiths in India and all Sufi orders in South Asia worked with each other in a unique harmony.

Dr. Qaisar Abbas, Assistant Dean at UNT who organized the Peace Symposium said searching for common themes in world cultures and religions is the dire need of our time. “People all over the world have similar emotions and aspirations which is our collective human heritage,” he said.

The scholarly, colorful and academic program included a keynote speech, a panel discussion and a Sufi Music Performance. The keynote speaker Dr. Ori Soltes of Georgetown University, a scholar in mystic traditions in Abrahamic religions, discussed similar mystic themes in Islam, Judaism and Christianity. He said Moulana Rumi’s Sufi philosophy offers a universal perspective based on the concept of human love and equality.

Participating in the Panel Discussion, Dr. George James of UNT elaborated the mystic tradition in Christianity and said like Sufism, mysticism is also a Christian tradition that relates religion to personal contemplation of community of believers. Dr Ori Soltes said Kabbalah in Judaism is the first form of mysticism that strives for individual concentration and purification.

Pravrajika Brahmaprna of Ramakrishna Vedanta Society of North Texas said the Vedanta tradition in Hinduism provides an interfaith dialogue between different religions through the four Yogas of devotion, knowledge, action and meditation.

Dr. Masood Ashraf Raja of UNT said we often think of peace in grand terms, but it is the little things that we share with others in our daily life that matter the most; this includes the being kind to those we meet in life and to attempt to look at life from the perspective of others.

The unique Symposium was organized in collaboration with the UNT departments and Daanish Kadeh International, a literary organization in Dallas. The organization’s president Nadir Durrani presented plaques to the participants. The Symposium concluded with a Sufi music program by S.M. Rehan group of Dallas who performed Sufi and folk music in Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi languages.

[Visit the University of North Texas]

Mimes And Dramas

By Staff Reporter, *Spiritual quackery — recurring theme at GCU arts festival* - Daily Times - Lahore, Pakistan; Saturday, April 2, 2011

Spiritual quacks were highlighted as one of the biggest sources of social evils in our society at the Performing Arts Festival organised by the Government College University’s (GCU) Psychology Department on Friday.

As many as 16 universities and colleges took part in the festival and staged mimes and dramas on the themes of “Sufism”, “Religion and psychology” and “Human nature”. The plots of most of the mimes and dramas revolved around the spiritual quacks and the negative role they play in creating paranoia in the minds of people through tactics like fortunetelling.

The opening play of the festival was presented by the Punjab University (PU) Institute for Art and Culture, that portrayed how the so-called spiritual healers in our society misguide people even on religious issues and destroy families for money.

The play presented by the students of Kinnaird College for Women won the first prize.

The story was of a girl who suffered from a psychological problem but her mother-in-law, instead of consulting a doctor or a psychologist, took her to a spiritual quack. The play portrayed the blind faith some women in our society have on these “immoral and characterless cheaters”.

The GCU Psychology Department presented a mime in which four different traditions, including “Heer Waris Shah” and “Whirling Derwasih and Dhamal”, were staged.

The GCU students also presented a drama “Sayan Aur Psychiatrist”, written by the late eminent writer Ashfaq Ahmed. The play underlined the spiritual and social problems of our society. The Fatima Jinnah Medical College, Rawalpindi, students staged a play on the topic of “nationalism”, in which they highlighted the invaluable love of cadets for their country.

The PU Department of Psychology also presented a play on “childhood trauma and its effects on later life”.

[Visit the Government College University.]

[Picture: Government College Celestial Gothic building, India, 1880. Photo: British Library, Wiki]

The Primary Source

By Omid Safi, *Is Islamic Mysticism Really Islam?* - The Huffington Post - New York, NY, USA; Wednesday, March 30, 2011

There is a lovely story from the life of the Prophet Muhammad, remembering that a mysterious visitor came upon him and his companions. The visitor, later revealed to be the archangel Gabriel, proceeded to sit intimately next to Muhammad and quiz the Prophet. He asked Muhammad about three increasingly higher and deeper levels of religiosity, which the Prophet answered sequentially as Islam (wholehearted submission to God), Faith and, lastly, Loveliness (ihsan). This third quality the Prophet identified as worshipping God as if we could see the Divine, and if we cannot, to always remember that God nevertheless sees us.

The sequence is fascinating, as it reveals that what we think of as Islam (the attestation to Divine Unity, the performance of the prayers, the pilgrimage to Mecca, the paying of the alms tax, the fast of Ramadan) mark only the very first layer -- though the foundational layer -- of religiosity. Above that is faith, and above faith is the spiritual and mystical layer of spiritual beauty, for ihsan is literally the realm of actualizing and realizing beauty and loveliness (husn), of bringing beauty into this world and connecting it to God, who is the All-Beautiful.


Throughout Islamic history, this realm of ihsan was most emphatically pursued by the mystics of Islam, the Sufis. Historically, this mystical realm of Islam formed a powerful companion to the legal dimension of Islam (sharia). Indeed, many of the mystics of Islam were also masters of legal and theological realms. The cultivation of inward beauty and outward righteous action were linked in many of important Islamic institutions. In comparing Islam with Judaism, the mystical dimension of Islam was much more prominently widespread than Kabbalah. And unlike the Christian tradition, the mysticism of Islam was not cloistered in monasteries. Sufis were -- and remain -- social and political agents who went about seeking the Divine in the very midst of humanity.

After the Prophet Muhammad, many of the most influential of all Muslims were and remain mystics. Mawlana Jalal al-Din Balkhi, known to Turks as Mevlana and to Americans as Rumi, remains the most beloved of all Sufi poets, whose Masnavi was perhaps the only work ever compared directly with the Quran. Ibn 'Arabi, the Spanish Muslim sage, remains the most widely read metaphysician, and his school of "Unity of Being" (Wahdat al-wujud) has been both influential and controversial from Spain to Indonesia. The most important Muslim theologian, al-Ghazali, identified the realm of Sufism as the highest Islamic quest for knowledge, one that dealt most directly with other-worldly matters.

Nor was the practice of Islamic mysticism limited to intellectuals and poets. At the level of popular practice, some of the Sufi shrines received as many (if not more) annual visitors that the Mecca does for the Hajj pilgrimage. Entire Muslim-majority regions (Iran, Turkey, South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, etc.) came to develop understandings of Islam that are and remain inseparable from mystical understandings of Islam. Much of the higher dimensions of Islamic aesthetics (calligraphy and poetry) have been inseparable from Sufism.

And yet, today, the word "Sufi" is a highly suspect one for many modern Muslims, and even thinkers and preachers whose frameworks and anecdotes are permeated with those of the mystical dimension of Islam eschew the mere mention of the word Sufi, either not wanting to alienate their suspicious audience or not wishing to "erode" their authority by connecting their teachings to anything other than the Quran and the example of the Prophet.

So how did such a powerful and beautiful dimension of Islam come to be viewed with such suspicion by so many Muslims?

The marginalization of Sufism came about through an initially unlikely perfect storm, an alliance of European Orientalists and conservative/modernist Muslims, whose agenda in demarcating Islam from Sufism ironically supports that of certain New-Agey Universalists who sought to extract Sufism out of Islam. Let's explore this somewhat odd association a bit more closely.

The Orientalist scholars (whose approach began in Europe and dominated much of the American scholarly engagement with Islam) based their approach on a study of Islam that privileged "classical" legal and theological Arabic texts from 800-1100 C.E. Of all those texts, the most important ones were held to be the ones closest historically to the "foundational" period. The Orientalists became interested in Sufism very early on, almost as early as their translations of the Quran. They found themselves attracted to the deep beauty and wisdom of Sufi poetry, particularly from Persian.

Quite inconveniently for them, they were also committed to a bifurcated view that divided the world into Semitic (Arabs and Jews, characterized primarily by law, monotheism, and dry deserts) and Indo-Europeans (Hindus, Europeans and Iranians, who lived through philosophy, art, mysticism and logic).

The Orientalists had no problem thinking that entire blocks of humanity share certain "mentalities" and "temperaments" connected to their languages. Even though they admired the poetry of mystics like Sa'di, Hafez and Rumi, they could not admit that Muslims (who were "Semitic" after all) could come up with such beauty, mysticism and poetry. Therefore, the Orientalists decreed that Sufism must be "un-Islamic" and due to Christian, Persian, Hindu or Neoplatonic "influences" -- anything but Islam, anything but the experience of Prophet Muhammad in encountering God, which is what the Sufis have always claimed as the primary source of their inspiration!

The Muslim conservative/modernists (what we broadly refer to as the Salafi tradition) came to have a profound distrust of what might be termed "the tradition(s) of Islam," believing that the historical tradition of Islamic scholarship -- and the scholars who had been the authoritative interpreters of Islam -- were increasingly irrelevant to the historical trials and tribulations through which 19th and 20th century Muslims were suffering. They wanted to remain pious and observant Muslims, but believed that the way to return to the "glory days" of Islam was to "return" to the original spirit of vitality and authenticity of Islam, before the influence of "foreign ideas" crept into Islam, sapping its authenticity. These foreign ideas they equated both culturally (the contribution of Persians, Indians, Turks, etc.) and intellectually (the traditions of philosophy, mysticism and all non-scriptural sciences).

The idea for the Muslim modernists was that the remedy for Islam consisted of a textual return "away from the blemishes ... of the later phases" back to "yearning for truth" of the founders of Islam. In this, they found themselves oddly in full-agreement with the orientalists. They came to be suspicious of many traditions of Islamic thought and practice that developed through time, including that of Sufism. Perhaps most polemically, they identified Sufism as having contributed to a corrupt and inward-looking mentality that allowed the colonial powers to dominate Muslims.

Throughout Islamic history, particular Sufi ideas and practices (such as the "Unity of Being," certain meditation techniques and commemoration of the Prophet's birthday) had always been contested by other Muslims. It was in this modern and modernist context that the whole of Islamic mysticism came to be viewed with great suspicion as being un-Islamic if not outright anti-Islamic.

So where do the New Agers come into play? It was only in the 20th century that human beings became capable of uttering a sentence like "I'm not religious, I'm spiritual."

Historically all religious traditions have had mystical dimensions, and their mystical traditions have arisen within the very depth of each tradition, partaking of its key symbols and emulating the spiritual experiences of its main exemplars. It was in this modern context that a deep and new suspicion of the outward forms and institutions of religion was cultivated, with people who believed that they were on the edge (or already inside) a "New Age" of human consciousness.

It was these new Agers who, dissatisfied with their own experiences of Judaism and Christianity, turned "East" to the mystical traditions of Buddhism, Hindu traditions and Islam to obtain the mystical truth that they so yearned for -- without necessarily wanting to adopt the legal and institutional aspects of those traditions.

In many cases, the engagements were complicated by colonial politics, as the "eastern" traditions of wisdom were connected to colonized countries that many of the same Westerners looked down upon, even as they were fascinated by them. So what we have had for the last few decades is a situation of Orientalists and Salafi Muslims seeking to construct a "real Islam" that is untainted by Sufi dimensions, and many new agers seek to extract a mysticism that stands above and disconnected from wider, broader and deeper aspects of Islam.

Yet we have learned that the human yearning for the Divine, for beauty, for love and for loveliness is too deeply engrained in the human spirit to be partitioned off or exiled.

Today, many Muslims world-wide are increasingly dissatisfied with what they see as dry as stale bread interpretations and practices of Islam, and want -- and demand -- something more spiritual and more beautiful. They know about the deep spiritual experience of the Prophet Muhammad, who came face to face with God, and they too yearn for their own spiritual experiences.

All Muslims seek to emulate the Prophet Muhammad. The Quran reminds them that if you love God, follow Muhammad. The mystically oriented among Muslims take the emulation a bit more literally: If Muhammad arose to have his own face-to-face encounter with the Divine, they too aspire to rise in the footsteps of the Prophet, to have their own meeting with God. As it was said of the great Rumi, they too want to be "off-springs of the soul of Muhammad."

Omid Safi is a Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina. He is the Co-Chair of the Islamic Mysticism Group at the American Academy of Religion, and the author of 'Memories of Muhammad: Why the Prophet Matters' (HarperOne, 2009).

Help

By Shabelle Media Network, *Ahlu Sunna Demands International Help Its Fight Against Al Shabaab* - All Africa - Port Louis, Mauritius; Tuesday, March 30, 2011

Dhusamareb: The administration of Somalia's moderate Ahlu Sunna Waljama ASWJ has asked international community to help its fight against Al Shabaab fighters in Somalia.

Speaking at a meeting by the Sufi group in Dhusamareb town, the general chairman of Ahlu Sunna, Moallim Mohamoud Sheikh Hassan, said the international community is needed not to interfere in Somalia affairs.

He condemned people saying that there is no peace the regions and areas under Ahlu Sunna Waljama ASWJ control.

He reiterated how it is important for the international community to help Ahlu Sunna in its battle against what he called criminal terrorists who invade war-ridden Somalia.

[Picture: Somalia, orthographic projection. Photo: Wiki.]

To Serve The People

By GK News Network, *Dr Sameer Kaul appointed PDP spokesman* - Greater Kashmir - Srinagar, India; Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Jammu: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti Tuesday appointed leading cancer surgeon Dr Sameer Kaul as the spokesman of the party. Dr Koul joined PDP on March 7.

Dr Kaul is presently senior consultant surgical and clinical oncology at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi.

Expressing his gratitude towards PDP leadership for giving him an important responsibility as spokesman of the party, Dr Kaul said he would try to put across the party’s viewpoint, including its policies and programmes, in the country.

“Being spokesman of party, I will also try to involve leaders of different shades of political opinion to discuss PDP agenda of peace and reconciliation for the region”, Dr Kaul said.

Dr Kaul said he has decided to join the politics to serve the people of Jammu and Kashmir through the political field and PDP is the best platform to work for the betterment and upliftment of the people and to strengthen a composite culture in the State in general and Kashmir valley in particular.

Originally hailing from Chakoora village in district Pulwama, and presently putting up at Guptganga, Nishat, Dr Kaul did his MBBS from Government Medical College (GMC) Srinagar. He did his post-graduation in head and neck surgery from Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai. He has also got specialised training in surgical oncology in UK.

Known for social service, Dr Kaul has been conducting free medical camps for cancer patients in the Kashmir valley for the past 18 years and maintains a home in Srinagar.

A staunch follower of Sufism, Dr Kaul used to regularly visit late Ahad Sahab at Sopore to seek his blessings.

To increase access to cancer treatment, Dr Kaul is the founded the Breast Cancer Patients Benefit Foundation 8-years ago. The group is different from others focused on just raising awareness about cancer and detection because its main focus is to pay for those who need help.

He is one of the surgeons who performed a successful surgery of veteran separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani at Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital after he was diagnosed with cancer.

No Respect

By Osama El-Mahdy, *Sufis call on followers to unite against Salafi movement* - Al Masri Al-Youm, - Cairo, Egypt; Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Leaders and followers of the Sufi orders have threatened to launch a Sufi war on those responsible for the demolition of shrines belonging to the family of Prophet Mohamed (PBUH), describing themselves as soldiers of God charged with defending these shrines and tombs.

Some followers of Sufism have recently accused Salafi Muslims of attacking and destroying shrines belonging to Sufi clerics in various parts of Egypt, including Alexandria, Beheira and Monufiya.

During a protest organized by the Supreme Council for Sufi Orders in the Hussein Mosque Square on Tuesday evening, the Sufi followers called on the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to denounce the demolition of the shrines. They also threatened to prevent Salafis from entering the shrines belonging to the family of Prophet Mohamed.

The Sufi’s also called on all Sufi disciples to unite in order to put a stop to what they described as “Salafi thuggery” at the shrines, as well as the formation of Sufi committees around all shrines to protect them. During the protest, a number of signs were raised such as “No to the demolition of shrines” and “We call on the Egyptian government and the SCAF to protect the holy places and the Islamic identity of Egypt."

Meanwhile, a number of Sufi disciples attempted to lead a protest outside the Square. However, the were stopped by leaders of the Rifai Sufi Order, who instructed them not to leave the Square in order to prevent the disruption of traffic on Azhar Street.

The protest was joined by a number of leaders of the Shia community in Egypt, headed by Shia leader of Egypt Mohamed al-Derini, as well as by heads of the Syndicate of al-Ashraf.

Al-Derini said he had come to join the Sufi order in their million man march against the ongoing assault from Salafi Wahhabism, which he said shows no respect for other beliefs or religions.

Translated from the Arabic Edition

Photo: Reuters.

To Transcend Our Differences

By Amira Noshokaty, *Big night of the moulid of El-Hussein today* - Ahram Online - Cairo, Egypt; Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Three nights of festivities to mark the Prophet's grandson's birthday climax tonight at El-Hussein mosque in Islamic Cairo

Today marks the “big night” of the moulid (an annual religious festival to mark the birthday of a saint, prophet or head of a religious order) of El-Hussein.

Hussein was the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed and the festival in his honour is held over three days on the grounds of the El-Hussein mosque in the heart of Islamic Cairo. This year, however, the celebrations have been overshadowed by false news that Sufi's were protesting against the destruction by Salafists of tombs of their Wallis (chosen spiritual leaders of Sufi sects) in governorates across the country.

“Sufis are not affiliated to any form of activism, hence they do not protest,” explained Sheikh El-Qasabi, head of the Sufi Council. “However, as part of their annual gatherings at El-Hussein moulid, members of various Sufi sects issue a speech after the sunset prayers.”

As for the current harassment by Salafists who have destroyed numerous Sufi tombs and sites, El-Qasabi insisted that “the Sufis are sending a message to transcend and bury our differences for the greater good of the country and avoid any room to divide Egyptian people.

“The Sufis vary from any other sects because they have no political aspiration. Sufism is a science, with methodology that is mainly derived from the ethics and beliefs of Prophet Mohammed. Such values are practiced among Sufis from Alexandria to Aswan, and shall be there till doomsday.”

Moulids, denounced by puritan Salafists, have long been embedded in Egyptian culture. They encompass both the spiritual, through chanting and Zikr circles (assemblies of remembrance), and the secular, in music and street art.

According to The Moulids of Egypt by J. W. McPherson, “moulids are national or religious carnivals held in honour of one of the Egyptian Wallis (blessed). Though they flourished in Egypt in the 12th century on the hands of the Fatimid’s who gave Islamic moulids in Egypt legitimacy, yet the book explains that moulids could be traced back to ancient Egypt.”

El-Hussein’s is one of the biggest moulids in Cairo, running for three days and drawing thousands of visitors. Celebrations include numerous Sufi chants, and Zikr circles. To mark today – the big night – renowned Sufi chanter Yassin El-Tohami will perform.

With over 15 million followers in Egypt, represented by the council’s 74 orders, Sufis are described as the soul of Islam. Often referred to as “people of the truth” because of their emphasis on spirituality, modesty and a long quest to purify the soul, millions have been and continue to be attracted to their eternal path.

In 2009, the serenity of the Sufi house was disturbed through a disagreement that made headlines between Sheikh Alaa Abul Azayem and Sheikh El-Qasabi over who should succeed the late Sheikh Ahmed Kamel Yassin as head of the Sufi Council.

Their Beloved Saint

By Jan Khaskheli, *Urs celebrations begin for Hazrat Shaikh Salamat* - The News International - Karachi, Pakistan; Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Jati, ordinarily a quiet coastal locality that shares a border with Punjab, will spring to life today (Tuesday), when the town becomes the focal point of hundreds of devotees, who are making their way to the shrine of Hazrat Shaikh Salamat to pay homage to their beloved saint during his annual death anniversary festival.

Popularly referred to by his followers as Bhayani, the sufi saint is the spiritual leader of many communities residing along the coastline of Pakistan and India, including Sindh’s 350 km long coast spreading over the districts of Karachi, Badin and Thatta.

For one whole week starting form Rabi-ul-Sani 23 (April 29), Bhayani’s 830th annual ‘Urs’ will be celebrated in full force and vigor in the form of various festival activities unique to this event. Devotees, including shop keepers begun pouring into the town’s limits a few days earlier in order to make arrangements for their stay in Jati.

Newly-wed couples along with their families and parents of infants will soon throng the narrow streets of this coastal town with food offerings while seeking their beloved saint’s blessing in their first year of marriage or parenthood.

Herdsmen visit the shrine whenever their animals fall ill in order to rub its sacred earth on their wounds and feed them dried grass, which they believe will as a cure. To show their gratitude the herdsmen make offerings of musical ornaments, which are ordinarily tied in the neck of the animals, and hang them outside the gates of the shrine.

Various groups are assigned different duties during the Urs celebrations. For instance, fishermen provide various forms of water vegetation and paddy grass, which will act as the natural carpet for the shrine, as beds and bed sheets are not allowed in the holy premises. They even bring plenty of fish to feed hundreds of cats that call the shrine home. Members of the Thaheem tribe paint the entire shrine, including its graves, in a whitish colour while carpenters do their part by tending to the doors and general structures within the area. A different group is responsible for the cleaning of the shrine’s sacred cloth in the local canal. Similarly, the Blacksmiths and Goldsmiths that visit the shrine are assigned specific duties based on their craft.

Traditionally, members from coastal communities make sure that no wedding ceremonies are held in this week of the festival, during which time they devote themselves completely to the event’s rituals and activities. They even make a point to don new clothes bought specifically for the occasion.

While recalling his experiences at previous Urs ceremonies, Noor Mohammed, a local activist and devoted follower, said that hundreds of fishermen families from India’s Gujrat used to make the long trek to Jati at this time of year. Unfortunately, due to the strained political relationship between Pakistan and its neighbor, and subsequent border restrictions, these devotees have been deprived of paying homage to their revered saint, he added.

Noor elaborated that the elders from various communities and others alike enter the town’s streets barefoot out of respect, as people are unsure about the exact location of Bhayani’s eternal abode and so the entire area is considered sacred. Noor pointed to an ancient myth that says Bhayani was martyred in the war against evil forces at his time.

One of the festivals many attractions is a boat rally in which hundreds of disciples, mostly comprising of fishermen, walk through the streets of Jati carrying elaborately decorated small wooden boats, which end up at the shrine itself. Another unique feature of the shrine is that it is the only one of its kind where devotees are forbidden from entering its locked gates, and followers offer their prayers and respects outside. Only a member of the shrine’s caretaker’s family is bestowed the honor of entering the shrine each year to light a dia (lamp) and change the sacred cloth that adorns the grave. Some believers maintain that the shrine is a mass grave of all the martyrs that gave their lives while allegedly fighting evil forces. Other important rituals like the ‘malakhro’ and music show starts from Rabi-ul-Sani 26, 27, 28 and 29 (April 1—4, 2011).

Previously it was the tradition amongst prosperous coastal communities to travel to the shrine via bull-carts, horses and camels, bringing with them food items such as rice, wheat, milk and meat; a generous contribution to the festival’s feasts. But sadly enough, due to poverty and food shortages, traditions had to be altered, it was learnt.

Local activists say that despite falling victim to the horrors of natural disasters, including the July 2010 floods, many affected families will spend a portions of the money, given to them by the government to rebuild their lives, on Bhayani’s annual death anniversary.

Sindhi Adabi Sangat, a literary organization is organizing a literary conference for the Urs celebrations on April 2, in which writers and historians will share their work and singers will perform sufi songs to pay homage to their beloved saint.

In Truth They Agree

By Staff Writer, *Sufi sheikhs call for Islamic movements to put aside differences* - Al-Masri Al-Youm - Cairo, Egypt; Saturday, March 26, 2011

Several Sufi sheikhs called for an initiative bringing together members of all Islamic movements, mainly the Muslim Brotherhood and moderate Salafi groups, in order to serve the call to Islam and brush aside disagreements.

Several Sufi sheikhs rejected what they described as attempts to drive a wedge between Sufis and the Brotherhood. They said that in truth they agree on the teachings of the Quran, the prophetic tradition and serving the call to Islam.

The Brotherhood welcomed the initiative, saying it would contribute to the stability of the state. It added that it is ready to cooperate with everyone.

Mohamed al-Shahawi, head of the International Sufi Council, said some people try to drive the Brotherhood and Sufis apart to serve their personal interests. Regarding approach, the only difference between the Brotherhood and Sufis is that the latter reject mixing religions and politics to avoid compromising either. Both, however, are moderate and follow the Quran and tradition.

He added that the initiative had been submitted to the International Sufi council.

Mohamed Alaa Abul Azayem, founder of the Egyptian Tahrir Party and a Sufi leader, said he met with the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar to suggest the launch of an initiative endorsed by all Islamic movements in a conference sponsored by Al-Azhar.

Translated from the Arabic Edition.