Hazrat Ghous Bah-o-Din Zikria Int'l Conference

Agencies, "International Sufism conference from 30th" - The Daily Mail - Islamabad, Pakistan
Monday, January 12, 2009

Islamabad: The Archaeological and Historical Association of Pakistan in collaboration with International Islamic University will arrange Hazrat Ghous Baha-o-Din Zakria International conference on Sufism here on Jan 30.

Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Foreign Minister will chair the conference, said a press release issued here Monday.

Prominent intellectuals will speak on life and teachings of Hazrat Ghous Bah-o-Din Zikria.

[Visit the International Islamic University http://www.iiu.edu.pk/].

Terror Never Pays

By K. Santhosh, "Theatre diplomacy at it best" - The Hindu - Chennai, India

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Pakistani actor-director Madeeha Gauhar on what it took to bring her troupe to the recent International Theatre Festival in Thrissur in the wake of the Mumbai attacks.

Friends and relatives warned Pakistani actor-director Madeeha Gauhar about safety issues when she planned to travel to India last week. Hardly a month had passed after the Mumbai terror attacks and she was advised against taking her troupe, Ajoka, to the International Theatre Festival of Kerala in Thrissur.

Post-26/11 tempers were still raging in India and Pakistan. New Delhi had even called off Indian cricket team’s tour of Pakistan. “I told my actors India was a safe place and that Indians had always welcomed Pakistani artistes warmly. Not everyone was convinced,” she recalls. Under pressure from their families, three members of her troupe backed out. Two others could not get the no-objection certificates for visa requirements. But she was determined not to give up.

Many struggles
Daughter of an army officer, she has always abided by her father’s advice: never lose courage. It had seen her through her struggles over two decades against gender inequalities, religious intolerance and bigotry. It helped her keep her chin up when she was arrested and jailed twice for her activities, when she lost her job as a lecturer in a regional college and when authorities clamped restrictions on her play, “Burqavaganza”, which depicted the burqa (veil) as a metaphor for double-standards and cover-ups in society.

She decided to travel to India, come what may. She knew that leading the first Pakistani troupe to India after the Mumbai terror attacks was a historical obligation, a small but significant step towards keeping the peace process alive, and a balm to heal wounds of distrust and hatred. She calls it “theatre diplomacy”.

The message of peace and tolerance the play preached through portrayal of the life and times of Sufi mystic Bulleh Shah echoed voices of reason from across the border. Her words and deeds reflect what Benazir Bhutto once said, “There is a little bit of India in every Pakistani.”

“For me, India is a home away from home. It exerts a compelling, but complex, fascination. I have staged more plays in India than in any other country. How can we forget our roots? My mother was born in a Gujarati-speaking family from Bharauch in India. India is a part of our soul. How can we forget the land where our parents and grandparents were born? When Indians and Pakistanis dislike each other, they hate their own past,” she says.

Some of her plays staged in India have sought to fight hate and prejudice. “But to carry on the campaign is increasingly difficult in the wake of the Talibanisation of Pakistan. Taliban militants in Pakistan’s restive North-Western Swat Valley have banned girls from attending schools because they considers education for girls ‘un-Islamic’. Militants also target music and movies. Freedom of expression is under threat. A blast at the Lahore International Theatre Festival indicated this. The worst is yet to come,” she says.

Breadth of vision
Religious hardliners, however, are a minority in Pakistan, she claims. “Overcoming initial trouble from authorities, ‘Burqavaganza’, was staged there in a different name. “Bullah” was staged 15 times in Pakistan and its message appreciated. Bulleh Shah was a revolutionary. He negated orthodox Islamism. A puritanical interpretation of Islam, which originated in the Middle East, reached Pakistan only recently. Practitioners of this relatively new credo are out to destroy Pakistan’s Sufi traditions.”

She owes her breadth of vision to her mother, Khadijah. “She was a fearless writer, human rights activist and social worker. She shaped my political consciousness. When I chose to be an actor, my family faced opposition from our relatives. During General Zia-ul-Haq’s Islamisation of Pakistan, my mother urged me and my sister to form Ajoka and use theatre for a democratic political offensive.”

To hone her skills, Gauhar went to London and did a master’s in theatre studies. There she met writer Shahid Nadeem, her future husband. The duo went on to revolutionise the alternative theatre movement in Pakistan, creating plays such as “Barri” (Acquittal), “Marya Hoya Kutta” (The dead dog), “Chullah aur Chaar Divari’” (The stove), “Teesri Dastak” (The third knock), “Lappar” (Slap), “Dekh Tamasha Chalta Ban” (Watch the play and move on), “Aik Thee Naani” (Once there was a grandmother), “Kaali Ghata” (When the cloud turned away), “Kala Mainda Bhes” (Black are my robes) and “Dukh Darya”, based on the harrowing real-life story of a Kashmiri woman.

The most defining moment of the festival came when Gauhar shared the stage with Bangladeshi playwright Mamunur Rashid and Indian actor Murali. “It was a reversal of history when a Bangaladeshi and an Indian honoured me. It showed the love we, people of the three countries, have for each other if we forget unnecessary religious, ethnic and geopolitical conflicts. Terror never pays.”

Are perpetrators and backers listening?

Photo by: K.K. Najeeb.

Close to My Music

By Barry Didcock, "It began in Africa" - The Sunday Herald - Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Sunday, January 11, 2009

He’s been courted by stars from Springsteen to Neneh Cherry, and helped shape the music of his native Senegal. Now Youssou N’Dour brings his virtuoso voice to the Celtic Connections festival.

Having one of the most famous singing voices in the world would generally be considered a boon, but for Senegal's Youssou N'Dour such a gift brings responsibilities too. "I have to sleep eight hours a night before a concert," he laughs.

Right now he's at his home in Dakar, the capital of Senegal, and sounding like he's more up for a party than a nap. But it's appropriate in this year of all things Burns that we celebrate the author of some of the world's most soulful song lyrics by welcoming to Scotland one of the world's most soulful singers. And so it'll be early to bed on the night of January 22 for Youssou N'Dour, ahead of his appearance at the Celtic Connections festival the following day.

N'Dour appears with his nine-strong Super Etoile band and will dig deep into his most recent album, 2007's Rokku Mi Rokka. He will also draw on older works like The Lion, his 1990 breakthrough album and (hopefully) Egypt, his album of Sufi devotional chants. Released in 2005 and recorded with Egypt's 14-strong Fathy Salama Orchestra, Egypt marries N'Dour's soaring vocals to North African instruments like the oud and the tabla. It deservedly won him a Grammy.

More importantly, it allowed him to proclaim his Sufi faith and in particular its message of tolerance and peace. N'Dour keeps more than a weather eye on how Islam is portrayed in the West and doesn't much like what he sees, which is in part why he recorded Egypt.

"It's like a different religion," he says. "There's a minority who are really radical and the Western media loves them. They show only the minority but portray the whole religion as being like that. The majority of Muslims are for peace. We have to use the same methods - the media, movies, music - to talk about the real Islam and to talk about the majority. We have to use the media to tell people we are not OK with violence."

Youssou N'Dour has a set list, then, which can switch between transcendental meditations on 19th-century Islamic poets, acoustic love songs sung in French or his native Wolof, scorching Afro-funk, and radio-friendly pop hits like 7 Seconds, his 1994 duet with Neneh Cherry. The man can dance a bit too, and has in his band longtime musical collaborator Habib Faye, probably the best bassist in the world. It's quite a package.

He's joined on the Celtic Connections programme by an equally impressive package - a roster of top musicians from neighbouring Mali. Prime among them is kora player Toumani Diabate, best known in the West for Kulanjan, his 1999 album with American blues veteran Taj Mahal, and for In The Heart Of The Moon, his 2005 album with the late Ali Farka Toure.

"He's great, I'm a big fan," says N'Dour. "Toumani's a great musician and someone I really respect for his music. I can't wait to see him."

Appearing on the same bill are Diabate's friend and musical collaborator Bassekou Kouyate, who plays the ngoni, a lute-like instrument. Like Diabate, Kouyate also recorded with Taj Mahal, and recorded and toured with Ali Farka Toure. Among those who have championed him in the West are former Blur singer Damon Albarn and DJ Fatboy Slim. His debut solo album, 2007's Segu Blue, showed a world music star in the making.

Finally there is singer Oumou Sangare, known as "the songbird of Wassoulou", a reference to her upbringing in the area south of the Niger River. At 40 she's the youngest of the Malian trio.
"Wow, it's going to be great," N'Dour laughs, evidently unaware until now of the presence of those three on the Celtic Connections bill. "The last time I saw Oumou was in Bamako the capital of Mali last year and the last time I saw Bassekou was at a concert in Germany. He played a lot on my last album."

Harder to deal with than ensuring a good night's sleep on tour are N'Dour's responsibilities as the elder statesman of world music, a role he has filled for over 20 years now. In that time he's been courted by an impressive list of Western musicians - among them Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Paul Simon and Wyclef Jean - and become a cultural and political icon in his native Senegal.

It was his first Western collaborator, however, who has proved the most influential for both his music and his career. Peter Gabriel was the vocalist with rock band Genesis in the 1970s but, by the early 1980s, was a musician whose questing mind was taking him well beyond Europe in search of new frontiers.

"I first met him around 1985 when I was playing a concert in London," N'Dour recalls. "He came to my dressing room afterwards and said, I really love your voice'. I didn't know who he was. The day after, I started to listen to his music and I heard Biko. That was the connection."

Gabriel asked N'Dour to contribute to his platinum-selling So album in 1986 and, later, to go on the road with him in a gruelling 150-date tour. That in turn led to a slot on Amnesty International's 1988 Human Rights Now! Tour where N'Dour performed Gabriel's Biko with Lou Reed.

N'Dour was only in his mid-20s at the time, but he had already been performing for well over a decade. Born in Dakar in 1959, he began singing with the Star Band in the early 1970s - he was known as "the little prince of Dakar" - and formed his own band, Etoile De Dakar, in 1979.
Recordings were rudimentary, often released on cassette only, and far from the polished affairs he would later produce with the Virgin and Sony labels. But N'Dour was instrumental in sculpting the "mbalax" sound that still dominates Senegalese music today.

It's basically a grab-bag of Western influences - mostly soul, jazz and Latin - laid over traditional Senegalese percussion, but which in his case is topped with a fluttering, virtuoso voice of extraordinary power.

There were other early musical influences as well. In his early teens N'Dour discovered the music of Marvin Gaye while dancing at Dakar clubs such as the quaintly named Matinee Disco. Through an uncle who ran a record shop in Dakar he was introduced to Bob Marley. Later, Prince became a firm favourite.

N'Dour achieved worldwide fame in 1994 when 7 Seconds became a global top-10 hit. He and Neneh Cherry stayed friends afterwards but, though they performed the song at Murrayfield during the Live 8 concert in 2005, it was 13 years before they worked together in the studio again. That was on Wake Up (It's Africa Calling), the last track on Rokku Mi Rokka.

"7 Seconds was a magical song but it was really a pop song and afterwards I always wanted to invite Neneh to sing a song in my style, in something close to me," he explains. "I talked to her and she was excited about doing that. When I meet someone like Neneh Cherry or Peter Gabriel, it's not about an album or a song; it's about a collaboration, about bringing everything to another level and sharing what we have."

Today, Youssou N'Dour is one of world music's few genuine superstars, along with his compatriot Baaba Maal and perhaps a handful of others. "I feel like an ambassador for my country and for my countrymen," he says.

"I feel it's important to bring my music to different places, to see how people appreciate my music and let them have a connection with my country."

His profile in Senegal is like Bono and Bob Geldof rolled into one. He owns his own recording studio - it's been hailed as Africa's equivalent of Lee "Scratch" Perry's famous Jamaican studio The Black Ark - as well as a radio station and a nightclub. He even owns a newspaper, the Dakar-based daily L'Observateur. "Senegal's number one!" he says proudly. The newspaper was founded, he says, as a job-creation scheme as much as anything else and, beyond offering some musical direction to his radio station, he has a hands-off approach to media ownership.

"I don't write the articles," he says. "Even if they want to interview me, they have a lot of difficulty getting it." But, he adds: "Sometimes it brings me difficulties. If the paper writes about the government, people say This is Youssou N'Dour's newspaper'. If I meet them the government I just say I only give them jobs!'"

His political clout reaches well beyond Senegal, though. In March 2003 he made waves worldwide when he cancelled a major US tour in protest at America's plans to invade Iraq. In a forcefully worded statement he wrote: "It is my strong conviction that the responsibility for disarming Iraq should rest with the United Nations. As a matter of conscience I question the United States government's apparent intention to commence war in Iraq."

"It was very hard decision to make," he says. "The promoters were angry with me, really upset about it. But it was my only chance to say what I was thinking about the war. I still feel proud of that decision."

So would he ever consider standing for political office? "No, I don't need it," he says. "I'm someone who is inside of what's happening here and can denounce sometimes and be outraged sometimes. But when you go for political office, you're looking for a job and I have my job already.

"People think that I have a position where I might be a politician one day, but I don't think so. I'm going to stay close to my music. I want to have my freedom."

Youssou N'Dour and Super Etoile play the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on January 23.

[Visit Youssou N'dur website http://www.youssou.com/]

[Picture from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youssou_N'Dour].

Between Doctrine and Society

DPA, "Berlin Muslims to train imams at new school" - The Earth Times - London, UK
Sunday, January 11, 2009

Berlin: Muslims in Berlin are planning to open a school to train Islamic clergymen, the first of its kind in the German capital. The project is the brainchild of Institut Buhara, an organization founded by a group of Muslims linked to the Sufi branch of Islam.

The move comes amid growing frustration by Muslims who have grown up in Germany at what they are learning from imams who generally come from outside the country and rarely speak German.

"Imams carrying out their work here lack the requirements needed for the future of Islam in Germany," said Ayhan Cosgun, deputy chairman of Institut Buhara.

If all goes according to plan, the first 35 students could begin their six-year training course next month. In all, the school has the capacity for 68 students.

Located in Karlshorst, a suburb in the former communist eastern part of the city, the three-storey school has met with a mixed reaction from locals. "Some people will have to get used to the idea of living with a different culture," Andreas Pruefer, the local councillor in charge of planning issues, told the newspaper Der Tagespiegel.

The extreme right-wing NPD has already distributed leaflets referring to the new establishment as a "Koran school" and warning that "Islamic brainwashing" would be carried out there. The NDP also sought to channel opposition to East Berlin's first mosque, which opened in October 2008 in the suburb of Pankow to cater to the city's Ahmadi community.

An estimated 3-3.4 million Muslims in live in Germany, 220,000 of them in Berlin. The vast majority are of Turkish descent. There are also 160 mosques, alongside a further 2,600 buildings converted into makeshift places of worship.

The new school, formally known as the Centre for Education, Training and Culture, will be the second in Germany to train imams after the University of Muenster.

The goal of the new centre is to "build a bridge between Islamic doctrine and today's society in order to encourage young people to live together peacefully with European culture."
One of the ways towards this is to train German-speaking Islamic clergy who will be able to work with young Muslims who have grown up in this country and communicate with them in German.

The institute behind the school is deeply religious, but "also tolerant and open to ideas," according to its spokesman, Alexander Weiger, a German convert to Islam.

The Islamic Federation, which represents different Muslim groups in Berlin, says it welcomes the new school and has promised to extend its support to the centre.

The school is financed by funds from private sponsors, according to the Institut Buhara. After it opens the institute plans to host an open day so that locals can see for themselves what it is like.

"We have nothing to hide," said Weiger.

A Political Message of Peace

By Anne Penketh, "Observations: Persian poet's musical journey" - The Independent - London, England, UK
Friday, January 9, 2009

He has performed sell-out concerts across America and in his native Iran. The composer Hafez Nazeri is hoping that this year, his mystical musings inspired by the Persian poet and philosopher Rumi can be just as successful in Britain.

"I'm trying to bring the world together with a music that can talk to everyone," says the classically trained Nazeri who is now in London, where he has just recorded his first CD with the London Symphony Orchestra. Nazeri's brand integrates the melodic sounds of the West with those of Iran, to produce a "spiritual journey" based on the work of Persia's great Sufi poet.

"I'm bringing a fresh sound to classical music," says Nazeri, a 29-year-old tenor who is an accomplished player of the setar and the tambour, traditional Persian string instruments. "The idea behind it is a political message of unity, of peace and friendship and love."

Nazeri emerged from the shadow of his father, Shahram Nazeri, when he put together a Rumi ensemble while the legendary singer, who has been called the "Pavarotti of Iran" was on tour. But his father encouraged him to follow his own path from a young age: the piece performed by Nazeri with the LSO, Night Angel, was written when he was 16.

Now he is working on a project for a Rumi symphony, whose first cycle was performed in August 2007, marking the 800th anniversary of the poet's birth. Nazeri plans to return to London with his father as part of a world tour.

Rumi has become America's most popular poet, and Nazeri senses that British audiences will respond to his bridge-building approach.

"The idea of the Rumi symphony is to show another dimension of my country, to show the beauty of the country," he says.

[Picture: Setar. Photo from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setar].

Challenges

Staff report, "St. Mary sponsors talk on Islam" - The Ridgefield Press - CT, USA
Sunday, January 11, 2009

“Islam and Christianity Today” will be the latest in the series of St. Mary’s Parish Lectures on Tuesday, Jan. 13, at 7:30 p.m. in the parish hall.

Father Gerhard Böwering, professor of Islamic studies at Yale University, will speak. His presentation will talk about these faiths in the world today and some of the challenges they present co-existing in a diverse world.

He has lectured widely in Europe, Asia and the Middle East and has done research in many manuscript libraries of the Islamic world.

His publications include books and articles on Islamic intellectual history, Sufism and Qur’anic studies.

Refreshments will be served.

[Picture from Yale University, Dept. of Religious Studies. Meet Professor Böwering at Yale University: http://www.yale.edu/religiousstudies/facultypages/bowering.html].

Azerbaijani Scientist Passes Away

By J. Babayeva, "Renowned Azerbaijani scientist dies in France" - Trend News - Baku, Azerbaijan

Friday, January 19, 2009

Irene Mélikoff, a renowned Azerbaijani scientist living in France, has passed away. She was 91 years old. Melikoff received treatment at Strasbourg Hospital in recent months, the Azerbaijan State Committee for the Diaspora said on Jan. 9.

Mélikoff was born in St. Petersburg in 1917. She majored in Eastern languages at Sorbonne University.

During her career, Mélikoff chaired the Institute of Iranian and Turkic Studies at Strasbourg University and co-founded the TURCICA editions. She also held many other leading positions in her field.

Mélikoff is the author of “Umur Pasha Dastani,” “Melik Danishmend,” “Ebi Muslim Khorasani,” “In the Tracks of Turkish Sufism,” and other books.

Mélikoff received an honorary doctorate from Baku State University. She was awarded numerous other honors for her scientific contributions.

In America

RF Staff, "LUNCHEON: Sufism, Islam and Muslims in America" - The Rumi Forum - Washington D.C., USA
Thursday, January 8, 2009

The Rumi Forum presented: Sufism, Islam and Muslims in America - with Sulayman S. Nyang, Ph.D., Howard University

Sulayman Nyang teaches at Howard University in Washington, D.C. where he serves as Professor of African Studies.

From 1975 to 1978 he served as Deputy Ambassador and Head of Chancery of the Gambia Embassy in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Following his diplomatic stint, he immigrated to the United States and returned to academic life at Howard University, where he later assumed the position of department chair from 1986 to 1993. He also serves as co-director of Muslims in the American Public Square, a research project funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Professor Nyang has served as consultant to several national and international agencies. He has served on the boards of the African Studies Association, the American Council for the Study of Islamic Societies and the Association of Muslim Social Scientists. He is listed on the editorial boards of several national and international scholarly journals. He has lectured on college campuses in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas.

Professor Nyang has written extensively on Islamic, African and Middle Eastern affairs. His latest book, Islam in America, is scheduled to appear this fall.

His best known works are Islam, Christianity and African Identity (1984), A Line in the Sand: Saudi Arabia's Role in the Gulf War (1995), co-authored with Evan Heindricks, and Religious Plurality in Africa, co-edited with Jacob Olupona. Professor Nyang has also contributed over a dozen chapters in books edited by colleagues writing on Islamic, African and Middle Eastern subjects. His numerous scholarly pieces have appeared in African, American, European and Asian journals.

The host of the event, Hazami Barmada, is an independent consultant and contractor in Public and Cultural Diplomacy and Interreligious Relations.

She maintains expertise on a broad range of issues revolving around U.S. relations with the Muslim/Arab worlds, international communications and community development.

Barmada speaks frequently about the importance of international collaboration and public diplomacy initiatives to bridge cultural, political and economic divides. Additionally she has shared her perspectives on topics relating to women, civic engagement and leadership development at numerous conferences and workshops nationally.

Barmada plays a visible and active role in grassroots and community organizing. Her work aims to bridge communities across religious, economic, cultural, social and nationalistic divides. She is active in planning and coordinating initiatives that promote collaboration within interfaith and intercultural communities.

She is the Founding President and Director of the Progressive Muslim Network (PMN), an apolitical organization that hosts an array of social, educational and volunteer initiatives that aims to promote intra/interfaith understanding and dialogue in the DC vicinity.

Barmada currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Council for the Advancement of Muslim Professionals as Executive Vice President, the 9/11 Unity Walk as 2008 Executive Director and Chairperson of Organizational Development Committee, and as an advisor to Muslim Women in the Arts and the Network of Arab American Professionals.

She is an International Advisory Board member and Arab/Muslim world Liaison for the High Cloud Foundation. Barmada has a B.A. from Rhodes College, in Anthropology and Sociology with a concentration in intercultural relations and identity formation. She is currently pursuing a Masters in Public and Social Policy from Georgetown University.

Security Ban

From Our Bureaus, "Tajik Supreme Court Bans Salafi Islam" - Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty - Prague, Czech Republic
Thursday, January 8, 2009

Tajikistan's Supreme Court has banned the Salafi branch of Islam.

Court spokesman Mahmadali Yusufov told RFE/RL's Tajik Service that "for the security of Tajikistan and defense of its citizens' legal rights, as well as the prevention of national, racial, and religious enmity in Tajikistan, the court has decided to ban the Salafi group."

The Salafis promote a strict form of Sunni Islam based on the early period of Islam and do not recognize other branches of Islam, such as Shi'a and Sufism. It is frequently referred to as Wahabbism, although Salafis reject this as derogatory.

There are estimated to be several thousand followers of Salafism in Tajikistan, mostly young people and many of whom graduated from Islamic schools in Arab countries.

The overwhelming majority of Tajiks are followers of Hanafia, a more liberal branch of Sunni Islam.

Spiritual Needs

By Peter Szanton, "North African Sufism in World Context" - UCLA International Institute - Los Angeles, CA, USA
Wednesday, January 7, 2009

North African Sufism in World Context
A symposium on Sufi movements from North Africa and their influence in a global context

The spread of Sufism has been as rapid and profound as the spread of Islam. Mystical orders (tariqas) were established in North Africa, or the Maghrib (Muslim West) in the early Middle Ages, and Sufism flourished in the region, eventually spreading from the Maghrib to West Africa, Asia, Europe, and the United States.

Each tariqa, usually named after its founder, espoused its own doctrine and tradition (including music), social convention and political culture, all of which underscore the nuances and diversity that are hallmarks of Islamic civilization.

The global paradigm is the grounding metaphor of this symposium, which focuses on the North African roots of four international Sufi tariqas and their spread across the world, including North America. The symposium brings together studies of four Sufi orders from the Maghrib: the Jazuliyya (an early modern Moroccan order of the Shadhili tradition that influenced Sufi doctrines and practices as far away as South Asia), the Tijaniyya (founded in eighteenth-century Morocco and currently influential in West and North Africa with increasing presence in Europe), the Boutchichia (a modern Moroccan Sufi order of the Qadiri Sufi tradition that has become influential under government patronage), and the Maryamiyya (a modern international Sufi order based on the Darqawi-Shadhili tradition of Morocco and the philosophy of the Transcendent Unity of Religions).

By studying these North Africa-based Sufi orders in a global context, the symposium brings attention to the Maghrib as a crossroads of ideas and spirituality which continue to enlighten our life and times.

Paper/ Presentation Abstracts

North African Sufism and Global Islam: The Case of the Jazuliyya Sufi Order and Dala’il al-Khayrat
Vincent J. Cornell, Emory University
This paper illustrates the influence of North African Sufism on the wider Islamic world through the case of the Moroccan Jazuliyya Sufi order (15th-17th centuries CE) and the worldwide dissemination of Dala’il al-Khayrat (Signs of Goodness), a manual of prayers on behalf of the Prophet Muhammad. It begins by discussing the career of Muhammd ibn Sulayman al-Jazuli (d. 1465 CE), a Sufi jihadist, the author of the Dalil, and the founder of the Jazuliyya. Special attention is given to Jazuli’s attachment to two traditions of international Sufism, the Shadhiliyya of North Africa and the Qadiriyya, whose networks extended throughout the Islamic world from Afghanistan to Morocco.

The second half of the paper focuses on Jazulite Sufism’s ideology of the “Muhammadan Way” (al-Tariqa al-Muhammadiyya). This doctrine of personal and social reform was originally developed in Morocco but spread in the sixteenth century to the Ottoman Empire and beyond through the mediation of Sufis in Egypt. The paper concludes with a discussion of the dissemination of Dala’il al-Khayrat as part of this reformist project through the worldwide networks of the Qadiriyya Sufi order.

Globalizing Mystical Islam from Below: Exploring the Historical Roots and Modern Expansion of the Tijaniyya Order
Cheikh Anta Babou, University of Pennsylvania
The Tijaniyya Sufi order was founded by Ahmad al-Tijani in the late 18th and early 19th centuries in Algeria and Morocco. It developed at a time of an intense religious revival in the Muslim world which was fueled by European colonialism and spearheaded by the contending forces of Sufism and salafism.

This context of great change informed the historical trajectories of the Tijaniyya and helped its rapid expansion in North Africa, the Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa. Over two centuries after its founding, the Tijaniyya remains a potent spiritual force, inspiring disciples in Africa and the Middle East but also in Europe and North Africa, where it was brought recently by the increasingly visible Black African Muslim diaspora.

This paper seeks to explore the spiritual foundations of the Tijaniyya order and its extension in more recent times. It suggests that the dynamism of the Tijaniyya is rooted in its leaders’ political acumen, their capacity of religious innovation and adaptation, and their ability to respond to disciple’s changing spiritual needs across space and time.

The Moroccan Boutchichi Order or the Politics of Presence
Abdelilah Bouasria, American University
This paper analyzes the evolution of the Boutchichi Sufi order as a social movement that came from a non political stance to a pro-government stance. It will locate this Sufi oder in opposition to Al Adl wal Ihsane, another political islamist group of Sufi obedience, whose leader, Abdessalam yassine, used to be a Boutchichi disciple.

The roots of the order are analyzed and its links to the Tijani brotherhood questioned. This paper also explores the strategic change of name of the order and other tactical moves in the Moroccan mystical mosaic. The main emphasis is the relationship of the regime with the order and their mutual helping.

I explore the idea of a completely peaceful movement here through the writings of some of its members.

The Maryamiyya Tariqa: Convergent, Divergent, and Resurgent Directions
H. Talat Halman, Central Michigan University
In this paper I focus on the Shadhili roots of the Maryamiyya Tariqa, specifically its Shadhiliyya-Darqawiyya connection. I compare the directions taken by Frithjof Schuon (Shaykh 'Isa Nur al-Din) who introduced meditations, texts, and icons reflecting his interests in "Traditionalism," Marian devotion, and Amerindian "primordialism."

Schuon legitimated his teaching authority especially through four figures: Shaykh Ahmad 'Alawi, Rene Guenon, al-Khidr, and the Virgin Mary. These competing interests and claims to authority contributed to dividing the Maryamiyya.

After Schuon's death Seyyed Hossein Nasr turned back to the Shadhili roots, calling his Tariqa al-Maryamiyya al-Shadhiliyya. I examine the results of this return. I also describe the significant influence of the Tariqa on the academic study of Sufism in the USA and in Europe, including examples of Thomas Merton and Huston Smith.

This symposium was made possible by a grant from the Social Science Research Council program on Islam in World Contexts.

Thursday, February 12, 2009
1:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Kerckhoff Hall Grand Salon
UCLA
Los Angeles, CA 90095

Cost: Free

For more information please contact
Peter Szanton, Center for Near Eastern StudiesTel: 310-825-1181cnes@international.ucla.eduwww.international.ucla.edu/cnes

Sponsor(s): Center for Near Eastern Studies, Social Science Research Council

[Picture: Professor Vincent J. Cornell. Photo from http://mesas.emory.edu/person/cornell.V.htm].

Compassionate and Merciful

By Asghar Ali Engineer, "Compassion In Islam - Theology And History" - Just International - Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Islam is generally associated with Jihad. But it is more due to its history than its theology. It is interesting to note that while jihad in Islam is more historical than theological, compassion, on the other hand, is more theological than historical. The very opening of Qur'an, the holy book of Islam is with Bism Allahir Rahmanir Rahim i.e. I begin in the name of Allah who is Compassionate and Merciful.

Thus it will be seen that Compassion is one of the names of Allah and it is among the most popular names of Allah. Muslims always begin their name with this incantation i.e. 'I begin in the name of Allah who is Compassionate and Merciful'. A Muslim, who worships Allah has to be compassionate in his own behavior else his/her worship would not be complete. There are four key values in Qur'an which are repeatedly emphasized are: Justice ('adl), benevolence (ihsan), compassion (rahmah) and wisdom (hikmah) and compassion is one of them. Jihad, on the other hand, is not value but an instrument to realize certain objectives.

The Prophet of Islam too is described in Qur'an as rahmat lil 'alamin i.e. mercy of the worlds. Since Prophet is messenger of Allah he too has to represent His virtues on earth. Allah is perfect and so His Prophet has to be a perfect human being imbibing all the attributes of Allah. So other believers (mu'minun) also must, with all their limitations, imbibe these virtues.

A believer, who is not compassionate within possible human limits, is no believer at all. A true believer has to imbibe all those values represented by Allah and His Messenger. In other words Qur'an and sunnah (Prophet's sayings and doing) are binding on all Muslims and there is complete consensus on it among all Muslim theologians belonging to all sects of Islam.

Prophet lived in such historical situation and socio-political conjunction that occasionally he had to take to arms to defend himself and his community but this historical necessity cannot be counted as obligatory or value-oriented. At the most it can be called necessity-oriented. Al-Qaeda and some similar groups representing a miniscule minority among Muslims, are projecting jihad as if it is central value and obligatory. It is total falsification of teachings of Islam.

Let us remember necessity is situational and values are transcendent; necessity may compel human beings to do things which may not be strictly speaking desirable but values make society more humane. War, may become necessity at times but results in bloodshed and destruction and needs to be avoided as much as possible. Values, on the other hand, help purposefully construct society and are eternal.

It was due to historical necessity on one hand, and vested interests which used concept of jihad in a way that it appeared to be central to Islam where as values like compassion remained confined to one section of society represented by Sufis and weaker sections and hence never appeared on the pages of history which are reserved for the ruling classes. As we all know we read more about ruling classes in history than the ruled. And what rulers and ruling classes do is interest-oriented rather than value-oriented and it is for this reason that pages of history are red with blood.

Prophet's life history is full of value-oriented incidents but even biographers of the Prophet like Ibn-e-ishaq or Ibne Hisham have focused more on battles and wars than these events which would project the Prophet in true light. Prophet's name Muhammad (the praised one) was not because of his wars but because of his human qualities and the Prophet came to be known as Muhammad much before he became head of the community.

These virtues were his truthfulness, wisdom and compassion. He loved justice and hence formed an organization called Hizb-al-fudul to help the victims of injustices in his society. He himself was an orphan and had suffered many tribulations in life and had great sympathy for the weaker sections of society he lived in. All this became part of his divine message also.

Allah chooses His prophets from among the weaker sections of society as only such persons can be value-oriented as they know importance of human values in life as against rulers and ruling classes who happen to be interest-oriented. Thus one would see in Qur'an that all prophets mentioned with the exception of David and Solomon (Daud and
Suleman) (who were rulers) happen to be from weaker sections of society.

It is prophets from this section of society who can communicate with great conviction the divine message of truth, justice, benevolence, love, compassion, human dignity and equality. All prophets of Allah brought these values and exemplified them through their personal life. Prophet of Islam too was embodiment of these values, particularly compassion. There are numerous incidents from his life which show his compassionate approach towards fellow human beings irrespective of religion or station in life.

Once a woman was bought to his presence and was told she is sinner and must be punished. The Prophet, instead of asking her about her sins, asked her what act of compassion she had done to any fellow being. She said I cannot recall any act of good towards any other human being. She reflected and said no I can't recall any such incident. The Prophet again asked her whether you have helped any living being?

The woman thought for a while and said, yes, once a dog was thirsty and there was some water in a pit he was unable to reach with his tongue. I took pity on the dog, took off my sock and fetched some water from the pit and gave it to the dog. The Prophet said go Allah will forgive all your sin for his act of compassion towards an animal.

A frail and sick person came to the Prophet and said I have committed a grave sin, please punish me. Prophet asked him what sin have you committed? Thereupon the person said I was sick and a woman came to inquire of my health and I committed an act of sin with her. Please punish me otherwise Allah will punish me eternally in the world hereafter. The Prophet once again asked him if you really did this to the woman so as to give him one more chance of denying. But the person persisted.

Since this person was too weak Prophet did not want to punish him with hundred lashes which is the Qur'anic punishment for adultery. Prophet thought for a while and asked hundred branches of palm date tree to be brought, he tied them together and delivered one soft blow and told the person go you have met with your punishment.

There is another often repeated story of a Jewish woman who sued to throw garbage on the Prophet whenever he passed through that way. When no garbage was thrown one day he inquired about the woman and was told she was sick. He went to her house to inquire about her health and prayed for her recovery. She of course was overwhelmed with this gesture of the Prophet and converted to Islam.

Needless to say it was not Prophet's intention to convert her but to show his deep personal concern for her illness. Had he not been compassionate he would not done that. These stories make it clear that the Prophet of Islam felt others sufferings as his own and would try to do whatever he could to lessen or remove these sufferings. It is strikingly like concept of dukkha in the Buddhist tradition and removal of dukkha is an act of religion.

Forgiveness is another quality essential for a compassionate behavior. Allah thus repeatedly described as Ghafurur Rahim (Forgiver and Merciful) in the Qur'an. He is not so much as Punisher but Forgiver. Sincere repentance (taubah) on the part of human beings leads to forgiveness of Allah.

The Prophet too was great forgiver. As far as possible he would forgive even worst of his enemies. When he conquered Mecca without shedding a drop of blood, he declared he would not punish anyone provided they did not fight and gave up arms. His enemies who had indulged in inhuman persecution of the Prophet and his companions, feared for the worst but were pleasantly surprised that Prophet pardoned all of them.

Abu Sufyan and his wife Hinda who were in the forefront of persecuting the Prophet and his companions and Hinda had chewed liver of his uncle Hamza who was most dear to him, were also pardoned. There can be hardly better example of forgiveness and compassion. And think of Arab society with all its tribal customs which considered qisas (retaliation in equal measure) a basic necessity. The whole society considered doctrine of qisasi central in the absence of any law enforcing agency.

Various Qur'an did sanction the doctrine of qisas (as there was no law enforcing machinery) but made it clear that forgiveness and compassion to the offender are superior values and who would practice these values if not the Prophet? He practiced them as the human exemplifier. Thus the Prophet did not teach anything but practiced it himself in most trying conditions. To forgive his worst enemies in Mecca was most challenging and no one would have complained if the Prophet had sought revenge. It was the norm of that society. But the Prophet wanted to establish superiority of higher values.

In Islamic world then there were two parallel streams and together they constituted Islamic mainstream. These two streams were socio-political stream and Sufi stream and both these stream had their own respective understanding of jihad. The socio-political stream which consisted of ruling and upper classes and on the other Sufis who got support mainly from weaker sections of society though part of the ruling class also had faith in Sufi saints due to their popularity among masses of people.

While the ruling classes understood by jihad defense of Islamic state and expansion of limits of Islamic state. A section of theologians depended for their sustenance on the ruling classes and hence their discourse on jihad was mainly to promote interests of ruling classes. Thus the large part of theological discourse on jihad supported the point of view of ruling classes and they defended jihad in the sense of military operations.

Jihad, on the other hand, meant inner struggle to suppress desires and cultivate virtues of patience (sabr) and reliance on Allah (tavakkul), for the sufi stream of Islam. There was'nt much support for war and political struggle among the sufi saints. The sufi saints tried to cultivate what Qur'an calls nafs-e-mutmainna (the contented soul) and not nafs-e-ammarah (desiring soul). Since it requires great deal of struggle to cultivate nafs-e-mutmainnah it was real jihad for sufi stream of Islam.

And let us remember it is nafs-e-mutmainna (contented soul) which also creates attitude of compassion. A grabbing and greedy soul which is nafs-e-ammarah can never show compassion towards the suffering of others and ruling classes and their supporters have this kind of soul as their greed can be fulfilled only by inflicting suffering on others. Thus it will be seen that jihad in the Qur'an is not in absolute sense of war or fighting against kafirs as usually understood.

Jihad is, on the other hand, layered concept and has been interpreted very differently by different classes of Muslims. Jihad is mainly spiritual and the Prophet of Islam had very complex kind of challenges both material and spiritual and hence he and his companions used jihad in both material and spiritual senses. However, its centrality lay in spiritual struggle and Sufis were basically enchanted by spiritual struggle of the Prophet and hence jihad for them was a supreme and most challenging struggle to suppress nafs-e-ammarah (desiring soul) and hence from them jihad had significance as a spiritual struggle.

Sufis had very caring and sharing attitude which is an important ingredient of compassion. They expressed their solidarity with suffering people and weaker sections of society and that is why thousands of people had great reverence for them. Though they received lot of money from their devotees including members of ruling classes, they never spent it on their self.

They used to open what is called langar i.e. a common kitchen where anyone irrespective of caste and creed could eat any time of the day. Thus they had very compassionate attitude towards suffering people. They derived their inspiration from a hadis-e-qudsi (a divine hadis) which is as follows: Allah would ask on the Day of Judgment "I was hungry and you did not feed me, I was thirsty and you did not quench my thirst and I was naked and you did not clothe me. The person being held to account would say O! Allah you are the Provider of food how could I feed you? Allah would say my servant (abd) was hungry and you did not feed him. If a human person is hungry as if I am hungry and if a human person is thirsty as if I am thirsty, and if a human person is naked as if I am naked." Thus the Sufis always saw to it that any human being who came to them should not go back hungry. They would do everything possible to feed him/her.

They would even go hungry and feed the person who happened to be hungry. And this compassion extended to even animals and plants. The Prophet once saw a donkey who was indentured on its face. He berated its owner that you have no compassion for this poor animal. You have disfigured its face. The owner said it is required for identifying the animal. Prophet told him at least do not disfigured its face and do it on some other part of the animal.

Sufi Junaid once say an ant crawling in his room. He got worried that someone would trample it underfoot and ant will be killed. He thought for a moment how to save its life. He saw a container containing wheat flour lying in the room. He gently lifted ant and put it in the container. Such was the compassion of Sufis towards human beings, animals and even an ant.

Compassion is highly necessary for sustenance of life on this earth. A compassionate approach only can make our life rich. It is greed which makes human beings ruthless towards others as one can fulfill once greed only by inflicting suffering on others. For a compassionate person thus it is necessary to lead need-based life, not greed-based life. The Qur'an exhorts believers to give away their surplus to the needy people (2:219).

Qur'an also levies a tithe on Muslims called zakat which has to be spent on orphans, widows, poor, needy, wayfarers and for releasing of prisoners. All these are helpless sections of society and hence need our compassion. It is obligatory for all Muslims to spend of their wealth on these helpless sections of society. It is not possible without having compassion towards them.

Thus it is compassion which makes us real human being. A human being who is not sensitive towards suffering of fellow human beings or animals and plants cannot be human being indeed. Thus there is constant struggle between greed and need and generally it is greed which triumphs and result is lot of suffering of large number of human beings on earth.

We can triumph over greed only through compassion. In fact all religions want to enrich our spiritual life and thus teach compassion. It is no religion which does not teach compassion. No religion promotes greed. But history of that religion is often history of its ruling classes and ruling classes are overpowered by greed for power and self and thus often we find lot of bloodshed and wars in history of these religions including that of Islam.

However there is always a parallel stream which is never highlighted in history which is that of Sufis and saints engaged not in struggle for power but struggle to overpower, over power their desire and greed and cultivate compassionate attitude towards others. It is this section of people who are salt of life and who find eternal reverence in the hearts people, though not in their history.

We are also increasingly becoming insensitive to suffering of our own climate. We want to live greedy life and do not mind even destroying our climate. It is our over consumption which is leading to destruction of our climate and our sensitivity towards it.

Thus we have to cultivate an attitude of compassion towards our climate also. Reducing our consumption would achieve two purposes: one, helping needy people on earth who are deprived of their just right to exist and secondly, would help normalize our climate.

Thus compassion towards others suffering can result in enriching our life both materially and spiritually. Today ours is consumer society and whole emphasis is on consumption and the capitalist system draws its dynamism from ever increasing consumption and it is sought to be boosted through high-powered advertisement. This race forever increasing consumption has made us, increasingly insensitive, towards other's suffering.

It is not easy to reduce our consumption as a whole though some individual may succeed in doing that. We have to carefully cultivate the attitude of compassion towards suffering of others to achieve this objective. According to me religion can become a rich resource for cultivating compassion in human beings. This can happen only when our understanding of religion is transformed by religious leaders.

Our understanding of religion is entirely ritual centered today. We have to go beyond rituals and religion should be our active guide for transforming our inner self, a contented inner being wholly occupied with values like love, selflessness, compassion and truthfulness. This in fact is real religiosity, not merely performing certain rituals. This also often leads to competitive religiosity and tension between communities.

Qur'an repeatedly talks of istibaq al-khayrat i.e. excelling each other in good deeds and what are good deeds, if not deeds based on these values of love, compassion and truthfulness. The Prophet is reported to have said that it is more meritorious to feed a hungry widow than pray whole night. Thus compassion towards a hungry soul is more important than prayer. Allah hardly needs our prayer.

And actually prayer and fasting has also been prescribed to cultivate with these values, not because Allah needs them. Rituals are a means to an end, not an end in themselves but we have reduced them to an end itself. We must urgently revise our attitude towards ritual-oriented religion and replace it with value-oriented one, if we have to reduce suffering of humanity. Buddhism and Islam both greatly compliment each other in cultivating compassion among their followers. Christianity and Hinduism too with their emphasis on love and non-violence can be valued associates and we can transform our world.

Will these religions join hands to reduce suffering of our earth?

Soul-Searching Questions

By Muuse Yusuf, "somalia:Al-Shabab: who are they and what they want?-Opinion" - Maareg Online - London, England, UK
Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Social movements and revolutions go through incubation and evolutionary periods under which progressive, reactionary, conservative, and radical elements come into display until one of them emerges as a winner.

This also applies to Al-Shabab or any religious group in Somalia. Even though these forces and their ideologies have been around for sometime, it is probably a year or two since they have emerged as a formidable resistance or political force.

A year or so is not a very long period and therefore to be fair on them one cannot really say that much about their real identities and political agendas. However, concerns over their identities and political programs are crucial and legitimate. Therefore one should start asking some questions right now rather than “wait and see” until it is too late.

To enhance the debate, let me share with readers some soul-searching questions, which reflect the anxieties of many Somalis. Although I use the term Al-Shabab, these questions are for all those socio-political forces whether be it in Hargeysa, Boosaaso or Baydhabo, who might have similar ambitions or aspirations as of Al-Shabab.

Who are Al-Shabab?

Politics:
Are they a concoction of clan demagogues whose main aim is to ensure their clan’s perpetual dominance over our country’s scarce natural resources?

Do they want to plant the seed of another totalitarian regime in Somalia only this time in the name of religion under which public and private spheres of its citizen will be controlled by a theological doctrine so that if yesterday it was “Aabbaha Ummadda iyo Hanti-wadaaga Cilmiga Ku Dhisan” – the father of the nation, tomorrow it will be the “Sheekha of Ummada”?

Do they want to create a Saudi Arabian model state – a total monarchy – in which peoples’ right to elect their leaders is denied? Are they zealots who would use their narrow interpretation of Islam to silence any opposition and dissent in opinion and in faith?

Are they ideologues who do not like concepts of human rights, democracy, freedom, liberty, public participation in politics and would see them as alien concepts that must be erased from our nation’s conscience?

Or:

Are they moderates who - even if they have political ambitions - would work very hard to pave the way for the creation of a modern secular state based on the Malaysian model win which Islam lives side by side with other faiths such as Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism? Thus creating a more tolerant society that is happy with it self and can also live with its neighbours in peace and harmony.

Culture:
Are they reactionaries who would desecrate and dismantle national heritage, emblems and symbols that national heroes paid a heavy price for their realisation?

Are they cultural revolutionaries who would scorn culture and would eradicate national folklore and dance so that shir, gabley-shimber, dhaanto, saar, heello, jiifto, sheeko-xariir, buraanbur, geeraar, maahmaah, gabayo, maanso, heeso jaceyl, and countless beautiful cultural expressions will be destined to the dustbin?

Are they revolutionary forces that would be prepared to sacrifice millions of lives in order to destroy identities and create new ones consequently repeating and reminding the world of the atrocities committed under bloody revolutions of Mao, Stalin and Pol Pot?

Are they Arabised fanatics who would prefer Abu Hafsa, Abu Cusman, Um Cumar over indigenous Somali names such as Geedi, Xaayow, Garaad, Gacal, Raage, Dhaayow, Keenadiid, Ceydiid, Maandeeq, Dheerow, Caraweelo, Culusow, Ceynte, Samatar, Marwo, Meygaag, Eenow, Deerow, Iidow, Madoobe, Mukuy?

Are they Wahabiyah enthusiasts who would exterminate Qaadiriya, Saalixiya, Ahmadiya, Rufuaaciya, Saylaciya and other Sufi sects whose teachings based on tolerance, love, wisdom, philosophy, reason and non-violent methods had enabled Islam to spread to all corners of Somalia from Saylac-to-Ras Kaambooni? The Sufi orders that encourage their disciples “xerta” to study different schools of thoughts including the Shaaficiya School of jurisprudence. The Sufi sects of national heroes such as Sayid Maxamed Cabdulle, Sheikh Hassan Barsane, Sheikh Aweys Al-Qadiri, Sheikh Nur Hussein who played a major role in defeating colonial powers.

Are they Wahabiyah fans who would outlaw Ziyaarada qubuuraha – a visit and reverence of the shrines of the saints such as Sheikh Aweys Al-Qadiri of Biyooley? A tradition deeply held by many Somalis.

Are they Wahabiyah fanatics who would issue fatwa, declaring Sufi sects followers as heretics under the pretext of the usual mantra “bidcah wat takfiir”? Because according to their version of Islam these practices resemble idol worshipping, and as a result of their actions stir up division, suspicion, animosity within the religious community.

Are they zealots whose main purpose is the application of and adherence to the Wahabiyah doctrine? An order whose strict interpretation of Islam failed the Muslim world by dismantling Sufi traditions and their institutions that encouraged logic, reason and enquiry into all fields including theology, social and natural sciences? Sufi orders under which science, philosophy and theology flourished thanks to their liberal interpretation of the Islamic faith.

Or:

Are they wise men who can bring themselves to the reality that above-mentioned traditions are facts in Somalia and have been so for a very long time, and that any attempts to erase them are bound to fail?

Are they an accommodating group that will help nurture and protect Somalis’ multiple-identities including their African, Arab and Western heritages and ideologies thus helping to create a balanced society that is at ease with its multi-layered identities?

Education:
Are they fanatics who - in order to implement their strict doctrine - would prefer theological schools over secular thus oppressing inquiring minds of the young who, otherwise if encouraged, would use their brilliant brains to acquire knowledge through balanced curriculum and well researched information?

Are they dogmatists who would violently suppress scientific explanation of the matter and universe? And because of their oppressive action many gifted minds will be wasted and Somalia will be left out of science and technology race hence perpetual poverty?

Or:

Are they a liberal minded group who will nurture talent and encourage it to excel in science and knowledge?

Women’s sphere
Are they copycats of the Mutawiciin – the virtue and vice police of Saudi Arabia that would indoctrinate girls to cover up all their bodies from toe to head?

Are they zealots who would spend millions of dollars to buy special busses in order to separate women from men?

Are they Wahabiyah chauvinists who are so anti-modernity that even in the 21st century they cannot bring themselves to the reality that women can be drivers, doctors, pilots and astronauts and can rob shoulders with their male counterparts on equal terms?

Are they Wahabiyah women-haters whose attitude towards women is based not on Islam but on a pre-Islamic Arabian tradition where baby girls were buried alive as they were perceived to bringing shame to their families?

Or:

Are they a blessed group who will treat women as fellow human beings who have equal rights and responsibilities as men?

Freedom of expression
Are they a totalitarian faction whose main aim is to control expression of personal thoughts, feelings, and ideas that differ from theirs?

Are they control freaks who will not tolerate any artistic expression of dissent and opposition in ideology and faith?

Are they reactionaries who believe sword is mightier than the pen, hence would condemn those who dare to ask questions to death by chopping off their heads?

Are they a group of enthusiasts - who because of their tribal allegiances - will succumb to pressures of clan demands and will therefore abandon their revolutionary ideologies like the old military regime have done when they abandoned their “Hantiwadaaga Cilmiga Ku dhisan” - “Scientific Socialism?”

Ki Jana Main Kaun

Staff Report, "Karachi-based filmmaker wins award" - Daily Times - Lahore, Pakistan
Monday, January 5, 2009

Karachi: Karachi based renowned young filmmaker, artist and director Sharjil Baloch’s famous classical documentary film Ki Jana Main Kaun (Who knows what I am) has won the first prize in the South Asian Interactive Documentary Film Festival held in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu last week.

About a hundred documentary producers, leading directors and journalists from eight South Asia countries, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka submitted their films in the festival.

Ki Jana Main Kaun, reflects the cultural festivals of Sufism, one of the national identities of the Sindhi culture.

It took Sharjil a year to complete his documentary and during that year, he visited dozens of shrines of Sufi saints in Sindh. Baloch’s entire perspective on life changed when he exposed himself to Sufism.

The idea of making such film came to him suddenly when he visited Sadh Belo, a historical Hindu religious place which is located on an island in River Indus.

“I found a watchman praying and reciting the Quran inside Sadh Belo. Surprised, I asked the watchman how he is allowed to pray inside a Hindu temple, he told me that in Sufism this is not strange. So I started researching and collecting information on Sufism and I found it to be very interesting and thus I started working on the documentary.”

[See the documentary (31' long) at http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/794/Ki-Jana-Main-Kaun--Who-knows-what-I-am-]

[More about the Festival at http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-12/28/content_10570406.htm].

Minnesota Muslim

By Jane Borden, "Minnesota Muslim" - Time Out New York - New York, NYC, USA
Issue 692 : Jan 1–7, 2009

An accomplished improviser and character actor finds his own voice

“You’d believe me if I said I was from Minnesota, right?” asks Charlie Sanders, noting his appearance, at the top of his new solo show. “But if I told you I was raised Muslim, you’d think I was kidding.”

Amazingly, many of his closest friends have never heard these anecdotes about his high-school years spent whirling with Sufi dervishes, his parents’ drug-addled hippie friends and the truly bizarre circumstances of his father’s funeral.

Sanders doesn’t say why he sat on this story for so long—that would be a different one-man show—but the effect is apparent; in the telling, he is less a monologuist than a burst dam. From those opening lines, the piece moves at breakneck speed to a stunning crescendo.

Sanders draws in the audience by recalling, with hilarious acuity, the confusion of his teenage peers in the early ’90s. Spike Lee had just made Malcolm X; when some of the African-Americans at Sanders’s school found out he was Muslim, they accused him of posing, of trying to co-opt something “black.” Then he recited a prayer in perfect Arabic, and they lionized him.

Throughout the evening, Sanders is the anchor among such wildly varying and often opposing emotions coming from the tale’s other characters. He’s the relatable, clear-eyed everyman—which also makes him a keen narrator. The comic wins laughs through composition, by focusing on rhythm and structure rather than by forcing jokes onto the action. In his first storytelling foray, Sanders proves himself a natural with a gift for creating immediacy and a flair for the cinematic.

Indeed, much of Minnesota Muslim plays out like a film (the next Little Miss Sunshine?).

Before the funeral, everyone wants something out of Sanders: His father’s deluded, saccharine ex-girlfriend needs closure; his rigid grandfather demands a commitment to science; his dad’s potentially psychotic best friend craves a fellow outlaw. Our hero just wants to smoke pot.

The piece teems with misguided characters searching for meaning. In spite of this—or perhaps because of it—Sanders offers no message. His disinterest in dogma might mirror a decision to leave behind the religion of his youth (he admits he’s agnostic now).

Or he might agree with Paul Auster, who writes, on the first page of City of Glass: “The question is the story itself, and whether or not it means something is not for the story to tell.”

Take away a moral if you like. Or just enjoy the ride.

Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. By Charlie Sanders. Dir. John Kingman. With Sanders. 30 mins.

Picture: STATION OF ISLAM Sanders reconnects with his roots. Photograph: David Rosenzweig.

Celebrating the Brilliance

By Howard Male, "DVD: Sufi Soul: the Mystic Music of Islam, (Reverboat)" - The Independent - London, England, UK
Sunday, January 4, 2009

Because Sufism is a peace-loving, music-loving and pluralistic take on Islam, Sufis are often persecuted by Islamic hard-liners.

But director Simon Broughton doesn't dwell on this fact; instead he concentrates on celebrating the brilliance and diversity of Sufi music, and fills his modest but vibrant film with colourful footage taken during his visits to Pakistan, Turkey and Morocco.

Should you wish to become a whirling dervish, the dizziness apparently stops after a couple of months, after which ecstasy will be yours.

To Keep the Spirits Colourful

By Avinash Kalla, "Organizers look forward to a year of hope" - The Times Of India - India
Saturday, January 3, 2009

Jaipur: Come New Year and it is time to celebrate in Rajasthan. It is that time of the year when the desert state showcases its cultural splendour, attracting a lot of fanfare from across the globe.

From popular draws like the Jaipur Literature Festival and the Rajasthan Desert Festival that is being organized in border town of Jaisalmer to the new entrants like Nagpur Sufi festival, there is lots of gusto and anticipation in the air.

What the organizers of these cultural extravaganzas are hoping for is that 2009 should not be any different from the previous years and the good tourist turnout for the New Year is boosting their hopes.

Welcoming the world to the Pink City is the Jaipur Literature Festival that commences from January 21. The five-day literary gathering despite the odds like slowdown has grown in size and is attracting more people than ever from across the globe. The number of participating authors has almost doubled to 93 from 45 last year and for the first time a lot of delegates from countries like France, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore to name some are travelling to the Pink City. As a result this time it will be hosted at three venues instead of one that was used last time.

The slowdown in economies worldwide, terror attacks becoming a routine in India and war mongers going on, getting the people to travel to India and organize these festivals was a challenge. "Courtesy the slowdown we lost some sponsors, but thanks to the brand that the festival has become over the year, others came on board," says Sanjoy Roy, producer, DSC Jaipur Literature Festival '09. He further adds, "It's the charm of Jaipur that draws a lot of people. However, this time post 26/11 there were a few authors who were a bit apprehensive about coming, but thankfully there hasn't been any cancellations on this account."

News of J K Rowling being approached to participate in the event this time also floated. But Roy says, "Rowling is being pursued and one never knows, maybe in another couple of years we might have her."

Following this literary gathering will be a celebration of Sufi music in district town of Nagaur. In its second year, the festival exclusively held for a select gathering of 300 visitors that attracted a lot of foreigners last year is pinning hopes on the domestic traveller.

"Last year the ratio of foreigners to Indians was 70:30 but this time around it will be the other way round. A lot of people from metros are showing interest and we hope to have a packed house this time round as well," says Mahesh Babu of Banyan tree, the event managers for the musical. The festival this time has overseas performers who will add a different and unexplored dimension to Sufism.

"In addition to Sufi Qawwals, folk musicians from desert villages of Rajasthan there are performers coming in from Iran, Egypt and Turkey. We hope to get more names in the coming few years," says Karni Singh of the festival organizing committee.

Following these will be the big daddy of festivals in the state, the Rajasthan Desert Festival to be held between February 7 and 9 in Jaislemer. Everyone, from the organizers to hoteliers in the town are pinning their hopes on it. With luxury train, Palace on Wheels running with a good occupancy and another luxury train Royal Rajasthan, starting its operation on January 11, everyone is hoping for the best. "We are going ahead with the celebrations, like always it will be a three-day affair and we are hoping for a good turnout of visitors," said Urmila Rajoria of RTDC.

While another official on condition of anonymity added that the organizers were looking at the idea of adding new innovations for the festival to draw crowds. It's the year end turnout of visitors and a lot more domestic footfalls are keeping the hopes of hoteliers in the region alive. "Usually by this time 90% of the overseas booking for the fare is done, however, this time around the bookings haven't been that great. We have managed some bookings for the fare but by the way things are turning out, a lot needs to be done to lure foreigners to travel to this part of the world and government needs to send the message that we are a safe destination," says Vijendra Singh, general manager, fort Rajwara.

When asked about any proactive steps that RTDC was considering, all that the official said was, "There is still time for the festival and we are hoping things will settle down by then." While the big festivals are making all efforts to draw people there are smaller events that will also pep up the cultural scene. On January 14 the Pink City will become kite city on the occasion of Makar Sakranti. The tourism department also hosts a kite festival at the Chowgan stadium every year that draws a lot of foreigners. The colourful kite festival will be followed by Brij festival that will be held from February 2-4 in Bharatpur. It is a colour of riot as the festival finds villagers full of zest and vitality, with Raslila dance being the main draw.

Also in the moth of February at the Sufi Shrine of Hazrat Khwaja Muinuddin Chisty in Ajmer, a group from Istanbul will be taking Khilafat for the first time and will be performing Whirling mediation at the shrine in a week-long celebration.

"This will be the first time that some foreign group will be receiving Chisty's Khilafat to spread his message of universal brotherhood across the world," says Syed Salman Chisty, managing trustee of the Chisty Foundation.

All this leads to the Rajasthan Day celebrations in March. Last year the government of Rajasthan and the Jaipur Virasat Foundation, joined hands for grand celebrations between March 24 and 30, this year it is to be seen whether we will have the same celebrations or not. But till then it is enough celebration to keep the spirits colourful.

[Picture: Dargah Sharif, Ajmer Urs Mubarrak 2008. Photo by Syed Salman Chishty].

It Works Both Ways

By Sujata Chakrabharti, "Moods of the Himalayas, by artist Neena Singh" - Daily News & Analysis - Mumbai, India
Friday, January 2, 2009

Artist Neena Singh has a problem with the way her paintings are interpreted by people.

While Neena loves to paint landscapes, natural surroundings, mountains and the deep blue sea, she is not too happy that people who often don’t have the technical knowledge about art do not look beyond the obvious on the canvas.

In her current series titled Echoes, she has depicted the Himalayas in its different shades and moods.

“I have almost taken for granted that the audience will not go beyond the contours on the canvas and delve deeper into the soul of the mountains,” she says.

To help the layman interpret it better, Neena has also borrowed verses from Rumi, who is considered the Sufi poet of love, as an explanation of the thoughts that have gone behind creating each painting.

Neena’s trips to the foothills of the Himalayas have been her inspiration for the current series. She says, “The mystery of this massive mountain range has made me pay visits several times. Every time after I return, I get a sudden rush of emotions that have to be unburdened on the easel.”

Due to her intense passion for Rumi’s poetry, Neena has learnt several of his verses by heart, and everytime she comes up with a painting, she spontaneously tries to find an explanation in the poet’s works.

So do the verses inspire her paintbrush? She laughs, “It works both ways. Rumi’s poems are very visual. After you read his lines, you can start drawing images out of them. But it can work both ways; often I paint a picture and then suddenly find a connection to an old poem I might have read.”

While Neena says her works are in private collections of many prominent people, her recent admirer is film-maker, Govind Nihlani. Govind, who incidentally also inaugurated Neena’s current exhibition, wrote to her expressing his admiration for her works.

An ecstatic Neena says, “Govind-ji had chanced upon the catalogue of my last collection and told me that my works reminded him of the imagery that is observed in the Japanese Haiku poems.”

Neena’s solo-exhibition is on at the Indusvista Gallery, Fort till January 4.

A Human Being First

Staff Report, "Imam is honoured" - Manchester Evening News - Manchester, England, UK
Wednesday, December 31, 2008

A Muslim Imam from Rochdale has received the MBE for services to the muslim community in his home town, where he has been actively involved in community and religious affairs for a number of years.

Father of three Muhammad Chishti, 35, has been an Imam at Forest Bank Prison for eight years, and has served in the same role at Buckley Hall Prison for the past two years.

His work involves planning and delivering weekly sermons to Muslim inmates, and he has been particularly effective in helping them make plans for resuming life when they have completed their sentences.

He has also made a significant contribution at both prisons by advising prison officers and management on Islamic issues.

He represents the Muslim community speaking at churches and temples and is also a presenter, on Crescent Radio, a local community station which broadcasts from Rochdale, addressing social issues faced by all sections of the community.

He was one of the founder members, and the Director of Citizenship, of the Sufi Muslim Council, an organisation that has successfully been able to project moderate British Islam and organises and promotes presentations from the Jewish and Christian communities to pupils in his local mosque.

He said of his award: "I feel genuinely honoured, though I had to ask myself what I had really done to merit the award. To me, I just do what I do."

He said: "My prison work is something that I have found particularly rewarding, and I have been humbled when inmates have told me that had they had an Imam like me, they might never have ended up inside in the first place.

"Similarly my multi-faith work is something that I believe is both very important, and again rewarding. I have been involved in numerous sermon exchanges with other faiths and it is essential that we inter-react and learn to respect each other.

"I think it is all a matter of being approachable. I consider myself a human being first, and a Muslim second. It takes a great deal of time to build relationships, but it can be done."

[Picture: HM Prison Forest Bank. Photo: http://tinyurl.com/7epu7t ]

Visit the Sufi Muslim Council http://tinyurl.com/7epu7t

Larger than Life

PTI, "Manjit Bawa: 'Ice cream' painter no more" - Press Trust of India - New Delhi, India

Monday, Secember 29, 2008

Eminent painter Manjit Bawa who had made a mark for himself with his larger than life unique paintings in vibrant 'ice cream' colours filled with mythology and Sufi spirituality leaves behind a body of work which finds relevance in today's terror-filled world.

The 67-year-old painter who was in coma for the last three years after suffering a stroke died in the capital today.

"Manjit Bawa has left behind a legacy that addresses the mythology with a sense of contemporaneity elevating it to to our present context of the contemporary ethos," National Gallery of Modern Art director Rajeev Lochan told PTI."

It is unfortunate that a painter of this calibre was forced to remain silent for some years because nature forced him to be alive but not yet active," he said.

Born in a small town of Dhuri in Punjab, Manjit went on to study fine arts in the capital's School of Art under eminent professors including Somnath Hore, Rakesh Mehra, Dhanaraj Bhagat and B C Sanyal.

Manjit gained identity under Abani Sen, whom the late painter had claimed taught him "to revere the figurative at a time when the entire art scene was leaning in favor of the abstract."

Vadhera, who owns the Vadhera Art Gallery in the capital and who had attended the painter's cremation said, "The most recet memory that I have of Manjit's work was in New York where Christie's auctioned his work for USD 360,000."

"He was a major artist post Independence and his works were a beauty with its minimalistic forms that were easy to pick out from even a distance. His creations were so original and so Indian but so contemporary and stood apart. It was something like Husain's work, quite distinctive."

[Picture: Untitled, Oil on Canvas, 36" x 48 " (cm 96 x 122), 2003; Photo from The Palette Art Gallery http://www.paletteartgallery.com/ ]

[Read Manjit Bawa's bio and see more works at http://www.paletteartgallery.com/artistbiography.asp?artistid=66].

The Magic of Circus

Culture Desk, "" - The Telegraph - Calcutta, India
Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Manjit Bawa, who died on Monday, will be remembered for his paintings of gamboling animals, mythic creatures and legendary characters in a pastoral set-up depicted against a single-colour field of satiny hues — red, green, yellow or mauve — straight out of Pahari and Rajput miniatures he loved so much.

Bawa may have thus become the darling of the smart set but that should not obscure the fact that he collaborated with Sufi musicians, eminent theatre directors and filmmakers as well, and was an outspoken critic of belligerent Ram bhakts. During the anti-Sikh riots, Bawa was no silent observer. He had worked in refugee camps.

Bawa was born in his family goshala at Dhuri in Punjab in 1941. His father was a timber merchant who cared for and treated sick cows and calves, and this must have left a deep impression on his young mind, for cows and cowherds in the avatar of Krishna and Ranjha of the popular romance from Punjab were recurrent icons in his canvases. He was brought up on the Indian epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata, Panchatantra and the Puranas, the poetry of Waris Shah and readings from Granth Sahib.

His brother Manmohan Singh, a graphic artist, was another early influence on the artist, who was trained at the Delhi School of Art between 1958 and 1963. Among his teachers were Somnath Hore and B.C. Sanyal, but it was Abani Sen who gave him a sense of identity.
Bawa had learnt to play the flute from the maestro, Pannalal Ghosh. He went for long rides on his bicycle when he was “physically seized” by the vibrant colours of hillsides, paddy and mustard fields and violet jacaranda trees. He had motored down to Britain with friends, and this journey was an eye- opener as he was exposed to the flavours of Europe and diverse cultures.

He lived in London for eight years, and after the first year he was trained in serigraphy (colour silk screen technology) at the London School of Printing.

After returning from the UK, he immersed himself in mythology and Sufi poetry. He tried to look back at myths through a contemporary consciousness, and although he went back to his favourite miniatures for inspiration, Bawa’s works were never cluttered with details.

Bawa’s figures had impossible bone structures which gave them their remarkable plasticity. He admitted that he tried to capture the magic of circus with all its risk, humour and colour.

A striking figure with a lean frame and a shock of hair and beard, he had acted in plays directed by Prasanna and M.K. Raina, made posters for the films of Mani Kaul and Sandeep Bedi, and sang with Allan Faqir, the celebrated Sufi singer from Sind.

He became director of Roopankar, the arts wing of Bharat Bhavan in Bhopal, in 1992 and remained so, though he had distanced himself from the institution after a BJP takeover.