An Ongoing Struggle within Islam

By Suroosh Irfani - Daily Times - Pakistan
Monday, December 31, 2007

Telescoped into Bhutto’s assassination is an ongoing struggle within Islam that globalisation is bringing to a head.

(...)

In all probability, Bhutto has dealt with this crisis in her forthcoming book that attempts at reconciling Islam and modernity.

Until such time that her book is published, it is useful to draw a leaf from Akbar Ahmed’s new book to help understand the nature of the crisis we are facing today.

Entitled “Journey into Islam: Islam and the Crisis of Globalisation” (Penguin, 2007), Ahmed’s is an account and analysis of “how Muslims are constructing their religious identities” under the impact of globalisation and a ‘War on Terror’ that has heightened tensions between Muslims and the West on the one hand, and Muslims themselves on the other.

Ahmed analyses these tensions in terms of three ‘models’ of Islam, giving each model the name of an Indian city — Ajmer, Deoband and Aligarh. The names are broad generic terms for three different (and often conflicting) approaches to Islam worldwide.

The Ajmer model refers to “all those Muslims inspired by the Sufi and the mystical tradition within Islam”.

Islamic figures in this model range from Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti, founder of the Chishti Sufi order buried in Ajmer, Maulana Rumi, and Fethullah Gülen, a hafiz-e Quran who became “a great Sufi master himself through the inspiration of Maulana Rumi” and has millions of followers involved in educational reform.

Likewise, Aligarh, site of the first modern college founded in India, includes nineteenth century reformers like Syed Ahmed Khan in India and Muhammad Abduh in Egypt, the socialist and modernising leaders of the Middle East, and the democratic leaders of Malaysia.

Aligarh, then, reflects “a broad but distinct modernist Muslim response to the world”. And whether they are devout or secular Muslims, followers of Aligarh share the desire to engage with modern ideas while preserving what to them is essential Islam.

As for Deoband, drawing its name from India’s leading madrassa founded in the 19th century, it refers to orthodox mainstream Islamic movements — the Wahhabis in Saudi Arabia, the Muslim Brotherhood, and Hamas in the Middle East.

Besides Ibn Tamiya in the past, these movements are identified with modern religious figures like Syed Qutb and Maulana Maududi.

“Taliban, Osama bin Laden, and members of Al Qaeda also identify with the same spiritual lineage and argue that changes in the world are anathema to Islam, which can only be preserved by retreating to its beginnings, in the Prophet’s [pbuh] example and the Quran”.

At the same time, Ahmed’s models also reflect broad Muslim responses to one another. For example, “Ajmer followers think Deobandis are too critical of other faiths and too preoccupied with opposing mysticism, while they find Aligarh followers too concerned with the material world”.

As for Aligarh, they view themselves as members of the Muslim vanguard who “perceive Ajmer as backward and dismiss Deoband as a rabble of ignorant clerics”.

On their part, while Deoband followers are dismissive of the Ajmer model that they view as bordering on heresy, they are equally critical of Aligarh for being “too secular and too influenced by the West”.

The above models offer a lens for understanding why suicide bombers were targeting rallies of the People’s Party, even before Bhutto returned from exile.

Going by Ahmed’s model, the October 18 and December 27 bombings of Bhutto and her supporters signified a ‘Deoband’ backlash against the twin targets of Ajmer and Aligarh: the carnivalesque PPP crowd signifying Ajmer, and Bhutto’s “campaign manifesto” reflecting Aligarh.

The graphic increase in Deobandi militancy reflected in the ongoing ‘jihad’ for enforcing Shariah in the northern areas of Pakistan is consonant with Ahmed’s observation that the Deoband model is gaining strength with the heightening of tensions between ‘Islam’ and America following the US-led invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq.

The three models, however, are not ‘watertight’ concepts — there is flexibility, overlap, and even creative transformation from one category to another.

Ahmed cites Iqbal as an example of a creative synthesis of the three approaches.

As for Pakistan and the next elections, there is every possibility that the sympathy wave for Bhutto will make it possible for the Pakistan People’s Party to once again emerge as the largest party representing the federation.

(...)

Suroosh Irfani teaches Cultural Studies at National College of Arts, Lahore

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

Extension and Improvement of the Zaouia Nassiria

[From the French language press]:

Sa Majesté le Roi Mohammed VI s'est enquis, mercredi à la commune rurale de Tamgroute (province de Zagora), du projet d'extension et d'aménagement de la Zaouia Nassiria et de ses dépendances.

Le Matin, Maroc - mercredi 26 décembre 2007 - par MAP

His Majesty the King Mohammed VI inquired Wednesday in the rural commune of Tamgroute (province of Zagora), the proposed extension and improvement of the Zaouia [Sufi Center] Nassiria and its dependencies.

The Zaouia Nassiria includes an institute of religious studies consisting of five study rooms and a home that can house nearly 120 students.

Since its inception (year1010 of the Hijra) the Zaouia Nassiria has played a pioneering role in the various fields of science and thought, in addition to its religious and social mission.

The library, founded by Shaykh Mohamed Bennacer, has 4,400 books and manuscripts, 1,165 of which are now kept at the National Library in Rabat.

These books include the interpretation and explanation of the Holy Qur'an, jurisprudence, rites of the religion of Islam, Arabic language and literature, history and geography, logic, mathematics, astronomy and medicine.

A Dark Day for Pakistan

By Haras Rafiq - Press Release from The Sufi Muslim Council - U.K.
Thursday, December 27, 2007

The Assassination of Benazir Bhutto is one of the Darkest Days in the History of Pakistan.

The Sufi Muslim Council wishes to express our condolences to the family and friends of the late Benazir Bhutto and all of the people that were killed in Rawalpindi in a display of mindless anarchist violence.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to them all.

Ms Bhutto and her colleagues were working for a great cause to help to bring back democracy within Pakistan. She was a great advocate for her country and was looking to play a major role in trying to bring back some sense of order to a nation that has seen great unrest since its inception.

She will be sorely missed by all people that are purveyors of moderation.

“This is one of the darkest days in the history of Pakistan” said SMC Foreign Affairs advisor Ex Consul General Pakistan (retired) Salahuddin Choudhry. “She was a childhood friend of my wife’s and a daughter of Pakistan.”

Haras Rafiq (Exec Director SMC) also said “We condemn all acts of extremist violence that wish to send Pakistan back to the dark ages and I would like to urge everyone to try to remain calm at this moment both in Pakistan and the UK”.

Furthermore the Sufi Muslim Council invites all organisations to unequivocally condemn the terrorist acts of today and come together in helping to find solutions that can help bring stability to the region.

Shaykh Serigne Saliou Mbacke Returns to God

Al Jazeera Africa - Touba, Senegal
Sunday, December 30, 2007

The leader of Senegal's most powerful Muslim brotherhood has died [Friday 28] starting a three-day mourning period in the West African country.

Millions of Senegalese were expected to make a pilgrimage over the weekend to the grave of Serigne Saliou Mbacke, the leader of the influential Mouride association who died on Friday and was buried on Saturday.

Mbacke, who died aged 92, was a highly influential figure in the West African country, to the extent that he was a religious adviser to the Abdoulaye Wade, the president, who is a follower of the brotherhood.

Mbacke was the fifth caliph of the Mouride and the last surviving son of Ahmadou Bamba Mbacke, who founded the group in 1883.

He was buried in the holy city of Touba, about 200km east of the capital, Dakar, in a ceremony attended by Wade according to a source in the presidency.

News of the death was delayed until after the burial ceremony so as to avoid disruption from mourning followers of the brotherhood.

The brotherhood is the biggest centre of religious, economic and political influence in the mainly Muslim country.

(...)

The movement became wealthy based on Mbacke's investments in agriculture, particularly in peanuts.

Mbacke had built several Islamic schools in Senegal and figured among the 100 most influential Africans in a list drawn up by the French magazine Jeune Afrique.

Bamba's eldest grandson will become the sixth caliph of the Mourides.

[Read also (in French): http://www.africanglobalnews.com/article2242.html].

2007: Year in Review

By Mas'ood Cajee - Alt Muslim - U.S.A.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Top ten good news stories of 2007: though clouds gather, we must search for silver linings. They are always present and apparent to the optimist and the wisdom-seeker, as surely as springtime buds emerging from winter’s cold bareness

1. A common word: Muslims reach out to Christians
In a dramatic and groundbreaking display of inter-religious solidarity, 138 of the world's most senior Muslim leaders, from Sokoto sultan Ababakar to Bosnian mufti Zukoulic, wrote to their Christian counterparts proposing a solid base upon which the two global faiths can cooperate in creating peace and understanding in the world in October 2007.

The basis of the letter: the shared belief of both Muslims and Christians in the principles of love of one God and love of the neighbor.

Participants hoped that the recognition of this common ground will provide the followers of both faiths a shared understanding that will serve to diffuse tensions around the world.

With over a half of the world's population consisting of Muslims and Christians, the letter's authors believe that meaningful world peace can only come from peace and justice between these two faiths. As such, it represents a truly authoritative call for tolerance, understanding and moderation from some of the world's most influential Islamic leaders and thinkers.

In bringing together Muslims from around the world, and from both the Sunni and Shi'a, Salafi and Sufi traditions, it also marks an historic achievement in terms of Islamic unity.

The request for further meetings was accepted by Pope Benedict in November and a subsequent message of greetings was sent in time for the Christmas (and Eid) holidays.

2. Celebrating the year of Mevlana
Happy 800 Birthday,Rumi! UNESCO, the United Nations agency for educational and cultural collaboration, designated 2007 as the Year of Mevlana, in honor of the 800th anniversary of the birth of Mevlana Jallaluddin Rumi, the 13th century spiritual master, poet and mystic.

Readings, performances, and lectures were held around the world, from California to Amsterdam. In recent times, Rumi has been America’s best-selling poet.

3. In Pakistan, lawyers emerge as a country’s conscience

4. A journalist exposes the underbelly of a dictatorship

5. In London, a concert for peace in Darfur

6. The pioneering Amman Message is declared
An initiative of the King of Jordan, the Amman message is a consensus document that has sought to tackle the theological basis of religious extremism in the Muslim world.

Over 500 of the most senior Islamic scholars from around the world, representing all the major branches and schools of Islamic thought, have endorsed the Amman Message and its Three Points, which clarify, among other things, who is a Muslim and who has the right to issue fatwas (legal rulings).

British Muslim writer Yahya Birt says that the Amman Message can “form the basis of global Muslim unity, the grounds for the advancement of peaceful Muslim relations, and an endorsement of the means by which religious scholarship moderates extremism in matters of religious interpretation.”

7. Funny Muslims: Groundbreaking sitcoms air on TV
In North America, two mainstream television sitcoms with positive characters and themes are promising to humanize Muslims on the small screen.

“Little Mosque on the Prairie” follows a Canadian Muslim congregation in small-town Saskatchewan, while “Aliens in America” has Raja Musharraf, a Muslim exchange student from Pakistan, breaking bread with his American host family and making a splash at his Wisconsin high school.

“Little Mosque on the Prairie,” a play on the hit 1970s show “Little House on the Prairie," debuted in January 2007 on Canadian television to a record-breaking two million viewers. Networks in Israel, France and Turkey have already signed up to air the sitcom.

Episodes of “Aliens in America”, which has aired on America's CW network since September 2007, have included Raja convincing a class flirt to dress modestly and refusing (as a convenience store clerk) to sell beer to underage drinkers.

“Aliens” is the first mainstream comedy aimed at an American teen market that directly confronts issues around the phenomenon of Islam in America.”

"Little Mosque" creator Zarqa Nawaz, a mother-of-four from Regina, Saskatchewan, cut her teeth directing documentaries and short films and has just completed work on the second season of her hit show. Her success is inspiring scores of other Muslim filmmakers to follow in her footsteps.

8. India takes a step toward addressing disparities
At 150 million plus, India has the world’s second largest Muslim community after Indonesia. However, Indian Muslims suffer from high levels of poverty and low levels of opportunity.

After years of neglect, the Indian government finally took the modest but important action of studying the scope of problems that India’s Muslims face.

What the government panel known as the Sachar Committee found was not pretty, but the mere fact that an official baseline has been established is cause for hope.

9. The brewing revolution in Muslim music

10. A nascent movement for deaf Muslims
Deaf Muslims, like deaf people everywhere, face many barriers to education and participation. As awareness spreads about those challenges, a growing number of initiatives are beginning to address the needs of the hearing-challenged within the Muslim world.

To Educate: the Greatest Jihad

[From the French language press]:

Jamais penseur et Soufi n’a laissé dans la postérité sénégalaise et de la sous-région, une bibliographie aussi diversifiée que celle produite par Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba ainsi qu’une biographie sur lui aussi considérable.

Sud Quotidien, Sénégal - mercredi 26 décembre 2007 - par Madior Fall

Never a thinker and a Sufi has left in the Senegalese and in the subregion posterity a bibliography as diversified as that produced by Shaykh Ahmadou Bamba, as well as a substantial biography.

Just like a patient and passionate archaeologist, his biographers continue to search his works, his itinerary, his actions, his thoughts, his teachings.

Among them: Cheikh Anta Mbacke Babou, Assistant Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania (USA).

His work: Fighting the Greater Jihad: Amadu Bamba and the Founding of the Muridiyya of Senegal, 1853-1913; Ohio University Press, October 2007, has now been translated into French.

The French translation: «Le Jihad Supérieur ou Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba et la Fondation de la Mouridiyya au Sénégal, 1853-1913 » (Ohio University Press, 2007) will hopefully arouse an instructive "dialogue", not sterile polemics, but documented exchanges on approaches and attitudes that would certainly gain by a cleansing of their fanatics slag.

Editorial review:
In Senegal, the Muridiyya, a large Islamic Sufi order, is the single most influential religious organization, including among its numbers the nation’s president. Yet little is known of this sect in the West.

Drawn from a wide variety of archival, oral, and iconographic sources in Arabic, French, and Wolof, Fighting the Greater Jihad offers an astute analysis of the founding and development of the order and a biographical study of its founder, Cheikh Amadu Bamba Mbacke.

Cheikh Anta Babou explores the forging of Murid identity and pedagogy around the person and initiative of Amadu Bamba as well as the continuing reconstruction of this identity by more recent followers.

He makes a compelling case for reexamining the history of Muslim institutions in Africa and elsewhere in order to appreciate believers’ motivation and initiatives, especially religious culture and education, beyond the narrow confines of political collaboration and resistance.

Fighting the Greater Jihad also reveals how religious power is built at the intersection of genealogy, knowledge, and spiritual force, and how this power in turn affected colonial policy.

Fighting the Greater Jihad will dramatically alter the perspective from which anthropologists, historians, and political scientists study Muslim mystical orders.

[Review from http://www.amazon.com/Fighting-Greater-Jihad-Muridiyya-1853-1913/dp/0821417665].

Either a Saint or a Hedonist

India Post - Union City, CA, U.S.A.
Monday, December 24, 2007

Shams al-Din Hafiz (1320-1390) was a great Persian mystical poet who, as a professor of Koranic exegesis, composed some of the most sensitive and lyrical poetry ever produced in the Middle East.

Hafiz was born in Shiraz, the capital of the province of Fars.
He grew up in an age when the finest Arabic literature had already been written and when Persian poetry had reached the zenith of its romantic era.

What was left for Hafiz was the highest attainment yet of lyrical poetry, the ghazal. Scholars remain divided as to whether Hafiz was, as Wickens puts it "...a mystic or a libertine, a good Muslim or a skeptic, or all of these by turns".

Though, for the most part, "It is now generally claimed merely that he spoke through the standard themes and terminology of hedonism, the lament for mortality, human and mystical love, and so on; that he was a superb linguist and literary craftsman, who took these forms so far beyond the work of his predecessors that he practically cut off all succession; and that he revolutionized the ghazal and the panegyric both, by making the one the vehicle for the other."

This confusion regarding the status of Hafiz as either a saint or a hedonist is not surprising, Hafiz himself addresses it in many of his ghazals. The form itself requires such ambiguity.

As one Islamic literary critic puts it, "...the ghazal is not meant to explain or illuminate the poet's feelings; on the contrary, it is meant to veil them" (Anne Marie Schimmel, German Iranologist, 1922 - 2003). Indeed, it is this very inability to pin him down that is one of the signs of Hafiz's genius.

As Schimmel explains, "...the special charm of his verse consists in the fact that he uses the traditional vocabulary to such perfection that every interpretation seems to make complete sense."

It may be difficult for a modern reader to appreciate this multi-faceted quality of Hafez's poetry.
However, one has always to keep in mind that the Persian spirit was at that point deeply permeated by Sufi thought and thus by the belief that the divine presence is felt in the different manifestations of life.

"The rose that blooms in the garden points to the eternal rose (and Rozbehan Baqli, 1128/1209, Hafez's compatriot, was once blessed by a vision of the Divine Glory in the form of clouds of roses that overwhelmed him).

The nightingale is in the same position as the human heart that longs and cries for the view of the rose-like cheek of the beloved, for the bird is an age-old symbol of the human soul..."

There are those, however, who despair at the readiness of the Sufi to attribute spiritual meaning to every utterance of Hafiz. As British Orientalist Edward Granville Browne (1862 - 1926) laments, "The student of Hafiz who cannot decide for himself which verses are to be taken literally and which symbolically is hardly likely to gain much from a commentator who invariably repeats that Wine means spiritual Ecstasy, the Tavern the Sufi Monastery, the Magian elder the Spiritual guide and so forth."

Hazrat Inayat Khan (1882 - 1927), the founder of Sufism in the West, has praised the poet at length. "Hafiz found a way of expressing the experiences of his soul and his philosophy in verse, for the soul enjoys expressing itself in verse. "The soul itself is music, and when it is experiencing the realization of divine truth its tendency is to express itself in poetry.

Hafiz therefore expressed is soul in poetry...The work of Hafiz, from beginning to end, is one series of beautiful pictures, ever-revealing and most inspiring. Once a person has studied Hafiz he has reached the top of the mountain, from whence he beholds the sublimity of the immanence of God".

Yet another approach to the understanding of the symbolism of wine is offered by Indian spiritual leader Meher Baba (1894 - 1969). "The Sufi master-poets often compare love with wine. Wine is the most fitting figure for love because both intoxicate. But while wine causes self-forgetfulness, love leads to Self-realization."

[Picture: Hafez, detail of an illumination in a Persian manuscript of the Divan of Hafez, 18th century; in the British Library, London. Photo from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hafez

The Booze Poet and the Spiritual Wine

By Leon Agusta - The Jakarta Post - Jakarta, Indonesia
Monday, December 24, 2007

"I am not `Malin Kundang' like Goenawan Mohamad is. I am not the `Man of the Frontier' like Sitor Situmorang.

I am not the `Heir of the World's Culture' like Chairil Anwar was. I just bequeath and the world transliterates," said Sutardji Calzoum Bachri in one quick spurt of words while delivering his Cultural Oration during the Jakarta Academy Awards Ceremony on Dec.10, 2007.

With those words he affirmed his position as one of the links in Indonesia's historic chain of poetry, which as a mode of cultural communication arts introduces signals to itself and to each poet of the passing generations and eras; it is his sensitivity to these signals that has distinguished Sutardji Calzoum Bachri from other poets.

Sutardji's relationship with the art of poetry was revealed in his intimate, almost confessional oration.

He said of his working process, "I write on a piece of paper that already bears text. I write upon those texts; the mantras that are the cultural manifestation of the subculture with which I am best acquainted, namely the culture of Riau."

As artists and creative souls often do, when Sutardji delivered his oration, he deviated from the precisely set out text that he was holding in his hands.

He let his mind wander, once again, creatively -- his talent emerging, and inspiration flowing and filling his oration with confessions and observations, replete with energetic interlacing expressions of thoughts about the art of poetry, human character, cultural roots, the history of the nation, and the oaths of youths.

"In creating history, poetry has its own unique role. On one hand, poetry is the fruit of history. On the other, poetry becomes the seeds for history. One of the bitterest fruits forced down the craw of the Dutch colonialists was to us a sweet, big fruit in the form of a piece of writing titled the Youths' Oath ... Like that of a poem, the content of the Youths' Oath is imagination.

"This Youths' Oath poem became the seed that grew into the history of the nation's struggle to attain its independence; rendering the imagination behind the words therein into reality."

Sutardji, who is most often called Tardji among his friends, is not only an authentic poet, but also an authentic intellect.

His way of reinterpreting the Youths' Oath (Sumpah Pemuda) is evidence of this.

The Melayu Stage Foundation (Yayasan Panggung Melayu) celebrated his birthday for one week in Taman Ismail Marzuki, July 13 - 19.

A thick book that documents the Working Papers of International Seminars and a number of essays concerning him, including writings from local and foreign writers, was published under the title The President of Poets, The King of Mantras (Raja Mantra Presiden Penyair).

"Apparently Sutardji is even bigger than Chairil Anwar," writes the editor Maman S. Mahayana.
The moniker "The President of Poets" was first uttered by Sutardji himself "in 1974, when he was really drunk," said a friend of his, painter Hidayat LPD.

Also present during the "self-baptism" were Sanento Yuliman, Jeihan, Wilson Nadeak, Jakob Soemardjo, Hamid Jabbar, and a number of other artists and friends.

It was already common among his colleagues to refer to him as "poet of booze" at that time. His performances then were always accompanied by a bottle.

Later, however, this "bottle poet" developed a strong urge to turn to Sufism when in 1989, with Mustafa Bisri and Taufiq Ismail, he was invited to the International Poet Conference in Baghdad, Iraq.

On that trip, he visited holy and historical places like Najjaf, Karballa, Kufa, the tomb of the king of Sufis Abdul Kadir Jaelani, and the Abu Nawas Garden. Sufism became the new direction of his works. He even went on the pilgrimage to Mecca.

According to Abdul Hadi WM, the Sufi spiritual tendency was actually visible in his early works, but was always hampered by the skepticism and nihilism that were also somehow strongly alluring to the poet.

During the Jakarta Academy Awards 2007 program, the title "The King of Mantras" was never heard. The term "The President of Poets" was also unheard.

The Director of the Jakarta Academy, Taufik Abdullah, without mentioning the names of the award recipients, simply said, Jakarta Academy Awards are given to recipients with lifetime achievements, not merely monumental works."

Alfons Raryadi, one of this year's judges said regarding the basis of the choice of Sutardji Calzoum Bachri for the honor, "A long time ago Chairil Anwar coined the phrase "Three Unravel Destiny", and now "One Tarji Unravels Chairil'."

[Photo from http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutardji_Calzoum_Bachri].

Second Book of the Masnavi translated into Russian

MNA - Mehr News - Tehran, Iran
Monday, December 24, 2007

The Second Book of Rumi’s Masnavi has recently been rendered into Russian by Hassan Lahuti.

Lahuti is currently translating other volumes of the masterpiece of the Persian poet Molana Jalal ad-Din Rumi.

After completion, the series will be published by the Iranian cultural attaché’s office in Moscow.

[Picture: Mr Hassan Lahuti. Photo: http://www.ketabname.com/main2/identity/?serial=1436&chlang=en].

Muslim Scholars send Christmas Greetings to Christians

[From the Swiss-German press]:

138 Hochrangige islamische Gelehrte haben den Christen in aller Welt ein fröhliches und friedliches Weihnachtsfest gewünscht.

sda/reuters/baz - Basler Zeitung, Basel, Schweiz - Montag, Dezember 24, 2007

138 Distinguished Islamic scholars have wished a happy and peaceful Christmas to Christians all over the world.

In a joint statement in Arabic, English and Latin addressed to the "Christian neighbors" the Religious Representatives sent their wishes for peace: "Al-salamu aleikum, Peace be upon you, Pax Vobiscum."

A similar Christmas message was never previously given: because Islam has no central authority like a pope or patriarch that could speak for all believers, there was always only a mutual exchange of greetings among individual scholars with representatives of Christian churches.

Among the 138 signatories of the greetings message are representatives of the two largest Islamic faith directions (Sunna and Shia), and also members of Sufism -the mystical current of Islam- and other religious currents.

[Read the message of greetings: http://www.acommonword.com/lib/christmas/Christmas_greeting_10.pdf].

Seminar Highlights Works of Rumi

The Siasat Daily - Hyderabad, India

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Consul-General of Islamic Republic of Iran Agha Hossein Ravish described Moulana Jalaluddin Balkhi Rumi as a great mystic and humanist to the core transcending national and ethnic borders.

Mr. Ravish said Rumi’s works throw light on the ubiquity and universality of his message of brotherhood, peace and love.

While taking part in the two-day national seminar on ‘Rumi and his teachings in the context of contemporary world’ at Department of Persian, Osmania University, Mr. Ravish quoted several of Rumi’s famous works.

On the occasion, Consul-General of Afghanistan Agha Gul Hussain Ahmadi released a book on ‘Time Management in Islam’ written by professor S.M. Tanveeruddin, Head of Department of Persian, OU.

Mr. Ahmadi mentioned that oneness of God and unity of mankind stood out as the central tenets of Rumi philosophy.

He also described as to how Rumi, arguably the most widely read poets in world, emphasised on spiritual upliftment.

OU Vice-Chancellor Suleman Siddiqi said that Rumi’s message was ever-lasting love for reality.

[Visit the Osmania University at: http://www.osmania.ac.in/].

Victims of a Civil War

[From the French language press]:

Sous la férule d'un cheikh soufi, ils sont cinq cents enfants venus du Darfour à écrire et réécrire les versets du Coran sur une planchette de bois, la "loha", calée sur les genoux.

AFP - Agence France-Presse, France - jeudi 22 novembre 2007

Under the leadership of a Sufi shaykh, they were five hundred children from Darfur to write and rewrite the verses of the Qur'an on a little wooden board, the "loha", lying on their knees.

Some have only five years, others are emerging from adolescence, and all of them are supported, housed, fed and educated at Ombadda, near Khartoum, by a Qadiriya Brotherhood, the oldest Sufi Brotherhood in Sudan.

Victims of a civil war that broke out in 2003, the black tribes of Darfur (Western Sudan), are Muslim just like their adversaries, the Janjaweed.

"Everything is destroyed there, we can no longer live and study," said Abd el-Wahid, a 13 years old from Kungara, in Northern Darfur, where the United Nations has counted 200,000 dead and more than 2 millions people uprooted.

Not much inclined to let us interview the students , Shaykh al-Rifaï, a young religious bearded man 31 years old, adds: "You see how sad are their faces, they carry a lot of misery within."

Invoking the Spirit of Christmas

TT Women's Desk - Tehran Times - Tehran, Iran
Monday, December 24, 2007

“If thou, like Christ, be pure and single–hearted,

Who once ascended far beyond the sky,

Thy life will shine with beams of light, whereby

The Sun will brighten by thy light imparted.
(Translation: Smith)

These verses of universal beauty and meaning were written by the poet Hafez (d. c. 1389 CE) and are engraved on the interior eastern wall of his mausoleum in Shiraz.

We send greetings, best wishes and peace to all Christian women, mothers and their families throughout the world.

May the celebration of the coming to earth of the great soul of the Prophet Jesus be accompanied by the spirit of love and compassion for the whole of mankind.

May the true spirit and meaning of his teachings be embodied by disciples of light who have the wisdom and knowledge to attract positive forces from the universe towards this strife-ridden planet.

[More on Hafez at: http://www.untiredwithloving.org/hafiz.html].

Mandir dha de, Masjid dha de, par kisse ka dil na dhayee

By Sarover Zaidi - The Hindu - Chennai, India
Sunday, December 23, 2007

The Ruhaniyat festival in Mumbai brought together performers and singers from places as diverse as Rajasthan, Bengal and Konya, Turkey

“Mandir dha de, Masjid dha de, par kisse ka dil na dhayee” (you may break the mosque or the temple, but do not break anyone’s heart), explains Kachra Khan, evoking Bulleh Shah and his relevance in the current world.

He represents the Langaas community of Rajasthan which is being showcased amongst many others in the Ruhaniyat festival in Mumbai.

It has been a musical experience that enthralled the audience in an overwhelming and sublime manner.

This festival was made possible by Mahesh Babu and his wife Nandini, who, for the last seven years, have been searching and showcasing many Sufi mystics and musicians from India on the platform of the Ruhaniyat festival.

Over the last 5 years, the event has been supported by TCS and SBI. The experience this year ranged from Kamala Devi Bheel from the interiors of Madhya Pradesh, to the Whirling Dervishes which has come from Konya, the home of Jallaluddin Rumi.

The message of Rumi is “the essence of Insaniyat” explains Mithaf Biyukalim, the deputy Mayor of Konya, who had accompanied the troupe of Whirling Dervishes here.

Celebrating harmony
Mevlana Rumi was born in Balkh, explains Kadir Ozcakil, the head of the Whirling Dervishes troupe. Konya is the city where Rumi lived and was buried and the city is the symbolic Mecca of the Masnavis.

Kadir says he started young; in fact, he was initiated into the orders at the age of five by his uncle who was a Sheikh and for the last 34 years he has been practising the meditations of a whirling dervish.

He explains the ritual through the word Mevlana which means the intersection between the brain and the heart. Here the brain symbolises tolerance and the heart symbolises love. This, he says, should create the Sama of life.

On a full moon night, this group of Islamic mystics initiated the “Sema” (the mood) for love, peace, and harmony in the city of Mumbai. This was heard in complete silence as Sema is more of a ceremony than a performance.

Joy and rebellion
The word “Baul”, besides meaning “the mad mystic”, “the wind” also means “the one carrying the dead body”.

This was elaborated by Parvathy Baul who explained that to be a Baul is to seek freedom from everything, including the bond with the body.

Baul is both an individual ecstasy and an individual revolt. This is the path of rebellion which defies all caste and religion.

The path of the Baul for Parvathy is the path of absolute joy. She started young as a painter in Shantiniketan and used to visit the wandering mystics of Bengal to sketch them. It was then that she was pulled by their words and songs and eventually by the essence of their lifestyle.

She also believes that the path of the Baul and the mystics is not the alternative in India but the norm. It is only in the mainstream Indian classical forums that this is called the alternative.

She enthralled the audience with her song which literally means “the practice of dying” while she made the audience come alive with her voice.

The Manganiyars from the deserts of Rajasthan sang the story of Rani Bhatiyani who committed Sati for her true love, the brother of her husband. An early ancestor of the Manganiyars from the hamlet of the Rani, unaware of the death of the Rani, was directed towards her palace by the enraged in-laws, only to meet the spirit of the Rani who showered him with her jewellery.

The gift of music
Defying her orders not to mention this to the in-laws, the Manganiyar meets them only to lose the precious collection.

Heart broken, the Manganiyar walks back to his village, but meets the spirit of the Rani again, who, although angry with him for violating her command, blesses him with the gift of ever sustaining music.

Manganiyars have been carrying on this hereditary tradition of music ever since although some aspects of this tradition, like the Kavitv, are in danger of being disrupted.

Ruhaniyat also witnessed a glimpse of this rare form from the masters themselves. The Maganiyars, besides singing the story of Rani Bhatiyani, also sang songs of the popular Sufis of the region, such as Sucha Sayain, Bulleh Shah and Kabir.

Overall, the Ruhaniyat festival was very well organised and presented, but the demand for its passes was high and it had shades of becoming an elite event. The team does plan to take this to a much larger public platform, and is also taking this to seven cities over the next three months.

[About the Ruhaniyat Festival, see also these articles (click and scroll down): http://sufinews.blogspot.com/search?q=Horniman].

The Scarf's Scrap

By Mohammed Wajihuddin - The Times of India - India
Sunday, December 23, 2007

(...) After the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) lifted the ban on headscarves in universities (a ban on wearing scarves in government offices continues), Istanbul’s secular elite sensed an impending danger: had Islamism entered their homes?

Last week, celebrated Turkish pianist and composer Fazil Say triggered a storm when, in an interview to the German daily Suddeutsche Zeitung, he admitted, “The Islamists have won. We are 30 per cent while they are about 70 per cent. I am thinking about moving elsewhere.”

As one of the ambassadors of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 2008, Fazil Say echoed the fears of secular friends when he lamented: “All the ministers’ wives wear the headscarf.”

Say may be exaggerating but the fact is that the wives of both President Abdullah Gül and AKP’s boss, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan wear headscarves.

The secularists have feared the return of this piece of cloth ever since Erdogan’s AKP was returned to power in the July election with a landslide victory. The main opposition, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), founded by Turkey’s great moderniser Mustafa Kemal Ataturk who abolished the Caliphate, won just 21 per cent of the vote.

(...)

But others in Istanbul dismiss these misgivings as unfounded.

“The headscarf is just about freedom of choice. The government is not pandering to the Islamists,” defends Erkam Tufan Aytav of the Journalists and Writers Foundation, a wing of the Movement of Volunteers.

The Movement, an initiative started in the 1960s by scholar Fethullah Gülen, has dozens of educational and cultural branches in over 120 countries.

To back their argument, Aytav and his friends in the Movement cite examples from institutions (academic, television, business) where both scarved and non-scarved women work side by side.

Yes, there are many scarves on the mosque-dotted streets of Istanbul but there are jeans and skirts and dreadlocks too. Just as the mellifluous azaans from the high minarets have not silenced the stirrings of the country’s secular temperament the sartorial changes too, say optimists, will meld into rather than swamp lifestyles.

(...)

Mumbai’s Islamic scholar Zeenat Shuakat Ali, who was part of our delegation, was elated at the moderate Islam practised in Turkey.

“You must compare Turkey with Saudi Arabia. One glows in the benign influence of Sufism while the other staggers under the oppressive monarchy sanctioned by the clergy,” says Ali, who sobbed openly at Rumi’s decorated grave while saying her fateha (prayer in tribute).

Outside Istanbul’s most famous landmark, the massive 17th-century Blue Mosque built by Ottoman king Sultan Ahmet, a tiny cafe serves delicious kebab and Turkish chai (black tea in small glasses).

Two middle-aged men play chess at a corner table even as the young wife of the restaurateur takes the orders. Uninhibited by the stream of strangers, the jean-clad Muslim woman works hard, adding to the galloping economy of a country whose GDP has touched 7.6%.

It is on the legs of women such as this that Turkey will hopefully stride into the European Union.

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

[Visit Fethullah Gülen's website http://en.fgulen.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/].

“Roumi le brulé”: Upcoming Review

TT Culture Desk - Tehran Times - Tehran, Iran
Saturday, December 22, 2007

Jean-Claude Carriere to review “Roumi le brulé” in Tehran

“Roumi le brulé” [Rumi the Burnt], a book authored by Nahal Tajadod about the Persian poet Molana Jalal ad-Din Rumi is slated to be reviewed by French author Jean-Claude Carrière during a session at Tehran’s Book City on December 25.

France-based Iranian writer Tajadod released “Roumi le brulé” in French in 2004 and it has recently been translated into Persian by Mahasti Bahreini.

Carrière is an expert on Rumi and the author of “Love: The Joy That Wounds: The Love Poems of Rumi”.

He has also worked as the principal of a French film school, written books on films and screenwriting and hosted a debate program on French television.

Memoirs Make Us Travel Through the Time Zones

Glam Sham - Mumbai, India
Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Aasakta, Pune based Theatre Company is scheduled to perform its play "TU" on Saturday, December 22nd 2007 at the NCPA Experimental Theatre at 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

TU is a two-act Marathi play, based on the famous Sufi philosopher-poet Rumi’s verses. The production is being supported by Tata Sons.

TU has received accolades not only at the state level (the Best Play award at the Maharashtra State Competition) but at the national level also, at Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards and at the Bharat Ranga Mahotsav.

Aasakta began the journey as a small conglomerate of college students aspiring to do theatre of their own choice.

Participating in various one-act play competitions was an integral part of this journey and the economics as well. Winning several prizes and re-cycling the prize money to produce new plays built the organization up.

However, talented, young, energetic and dedicated team members have been the core strength of the group. The group has so far had approximately 150 performances of all plays that it has produced on its own.

The stories of the characters in this play "TU" are blended in each other’s stories, as are the past, present and the future in the story. There are no obvious boundaries to the time and space in the play.

Memoirs and thoughts make us travel through the time zones in the story and … the virtual time and space unfolds before us.

To read a detailed synopsis of the play, which enfolds through 52 poems, click on this link:

http://www.glamsham.com/dramas/marathi/19_preview-tu.asp

Being a Whirling Dervish

Asli Saglam/ANA - Turkish Daily News - Ankara, Turkey
Thursday, December 20, 2007

Konya: The Year of Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi has seen many whirling dervish performances around Turkey and also abroad.

Whirling dervishes, who perform the sema ceremony in long white dresses called “tennure" and tall conical hats, making the audience feel like they are from another world, are often florists, officers, doctors, grocers and farmers in their daily life.

Today there are 14 permanent whirling dervishes within the directorship of the Konya Turkish Mysticism Music Community. Additional performers are residents of Konya who have different jobs but are as professional as the staff.

These craftsmen and traders become whirling dervishes in the evenings after they close down their shops and offices. Their information is on record at the Konya Turkish Mysticism Music Community and they are always ready to perform after office hours.

One of the whirling dervishes is Recep Erol, 29, who owns a flower shop in Konya's Zafer Square. Following Rumi's path is a way of life for him and being a whirling dervish is like praying.

Some in the audience are surprised when they find out that he is one of the part time whirling dervishes. "Most of the people around me know that I am a whirling dervish, we don't only perform for people, we come together with friends once in a while," Erol said, adding, "I started learning Sufism when I was 12 years old."

Celalettin Berberoğlu, who owns a grocery store near the Rumi Museum, was born into the philosophy of Rumi and started learning how to be a whirling dervish when he was a 6-year-old.

"I have been a dervish for 31 years now, I even go abroad to perform, but actually being a whirling dervish is not an occupation," said Beberoğlu.

Rumi wanted dervishes to look after their families so it was their occupation but now it is seen as a job, he said, adding that every dervish should have another job.

"The sema ceremony is actually a celebration; turning to God when hearing the order, "turn into me;" it is rendering thanks to God," he said, adding, "dervishes are enlightened during the sema ceremony, the body leaves its frame and reaches unification."

On a Very Small Scale

Staff report - Daily Times - Lahore, Pakistan
Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Karachi: Fatima Zahra Hassan is a visual artist, designer, art educator and researcher with more than 12 years of experience in the field of art.

She was also one of the first graduates of the National College of Arts’ (NCA) Miniature Department.

Her recent display of work opened at the Chawkandi Art Gallery Tuesday evening.

Hassan is inspired by Sufism and the works of poets such as Bulleh Shah and Rumi and her paintings are based on their poetry’s interpretation.

When questioned about her choice of subject, she said “The best thing about Sufism is that it talks about humanity, peace and the love of God, there is no extremism involved.”

However, Hassan seemed rather reluctant to categorise her work under Miniature Art.

“Although some of the work comes under miniature parameters I would just call them paintings. Nevertheless, the beauty of miniature art is that one can explain a lot on a very small scale.”

Around 12 to 15 years ago nobody was familiar with this style of art while today miniatures are the latest trend in Pakistani art. It is our own heritage and people have slowly begun appreciating it.

“The Union” shows two cypress trees symbolizing divinity while one with the creeper around it suggests the lover and the beloved.

Hassan is currently focusing on three-dimensional and digital art and her future work will carry a similar Sufi theme but with the use of more technology.

The Essence of a Flower

Music Editor - The Times of India - India
Monday, December 17, 2007

Most singers or musicians try to break away from the style that their gurus have established to make a statement, but Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan doesn’t crave to do so.

Having learnt music under uncle and music maestro Late Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Rahat is quick to acknowledge the impact his guru’s style has had on him.

And that style reflects in his recently launched album Charkha on Sa Re Ga Ma. Obviously the expectations from him are high, luckily for him he could meet those expectations.

"Even in this album the music is different from what you get to hear these days. You’ll get to hear various kinds of songs. We have maintained the body structure of quawalis and worked around it," he says.

And besides the newly composed songs Rahat has also added an unrecorded number composed by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

Talk about his association with Bollywood and he has only good things to say. "I have got a lot of love and appreciation here. From Man se man ki lagan to Jag suna suna all my songs have been liked by people.," he smiles.

The singer is happy that politics has not affected the give and take between India and Pakistan where music is concerned.

"Music and politics are two different things. There shouldn’t be any politics in music. Music is like the essence of a flower you can’t bind it," he says.

With Sufi music being the flavour of the season for Bollywood, what does Rahat have to say about it?

"What you hear under the name of Sufi music is not the real thing. The mellow songs that these bands make are good, but not all songs are Sufi," he points.

Ask him about influence of Nusrat’s songs on him and he says, "I have learnt everything I know from him. It’s in my blood, the influence has to show. My songs are in his style so people don’t really ask me to compose as per his style".

"I work thoroughly on my music that the reason it took me two-and-a-half year to put together this album," he explains.

With Peace, Patience and Hope

The New Anatolian - Ankara, Turkey
Wednesday, December 19, 2007

On Monday, December 17th, President Abdullah Gül was in Konya to attend the ceremony marking the 734th anniversary of the passing of the great Sufi master Mevlana Muhammed Jelaluddin Rumi.

President Abdullah Gül said there is need to understand the philosophy of Mevlana more than ever today.

"We can establish a better world if we try to understand the words of Mevlana that calls for brotherhood and divine union," Gül told during the ceremonies.

Gül said, "we can learn from Mevlana that we can overcome problems irrespective of how bad circumstances are and that we can be patient against unsolved problems."

"We can solve problems of not only our country but the world with peace, patience and hope," he also said.


[Picture: Mr Abdullah Gül, President of the Republic of Turkey. Photo: Wiki].

Windows through Empathy

All About Jazz - Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A.
Sunday, December 16, 2007

Cheb i Sabbah, musical adventurer, global spiritualist and producer extraordinaire has returned to the Indian subcontinent for Devotion, his seventh album on Six Degrees Records

Hundreds of artists in the world music genre, or for that matter any genre, have come and gone like bottle rockets, but Cheb i Sabbah's light keeps burning and it is his bhakti (devotion) to the spiritual essence of music, and to truth and humanity, that is responsible for his longevity.

Devotion was produced in the past year or so but has been in the making for at least nine years since Cheb i Sabbah started visiting India to record his first release.

His first visit to the Mother land goes back to 1970. He has been to the country several times in the interim, and with each journey he has excavated an aspect of its culture and spirituality with respect and taste to produce sublime albums like Shri Durga (1999) and Krishna Lila (2002).

Both are considered gold standards by classical music purists and casual listeners alike, and remixes from these projects are club staples around the world.

South Asia is a kaleidoscope of multiple faiths, fantasies, languages, cultures and sub-cultures. It is not an easy task to sift through the rich but massive tapestry of religious devotional music and distill it into a flawless 62-minute summary of prayer.

Cheb i Sabbah has managed to produce eight wonderful pieces that are inclusive of its three main religions but are a metaphor for the deep spirituality that suffuses every aspect of life in the Indian subcontinent.

Early this year, during the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, Cheb i Sabbah was among the 70 million devotees at this greatest of human gatherings on earth, and lived with the Naga Babas of Juna Akhara, the oldest order of (naked) sadhus (holy men).

This deeply inspirational experience comes through in Devotion, as does his emotional attachment and practice of Vedic spirituality.

Also palpable is Cheb i Sabbah's embrace of the good in all mystical and esoteric paths. The record features three distinct traditions ofreligious music representing Hinduism, Sikhism and Sufi Islam.

(...)

“Kinna Sohna” (How Beautiful Did God Make You?), is a Sufi tune written by the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and sung here by Master Saleem, the versatile young artist from Punjab who sets the song free and makes it his own.

“Qalanderi”, another Sufi track features the sensuous vocals of Riffat Sultana, daughter of the late, great Pakistani classical singer Ustad Salamat Ali Khan, who also happened to be Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's musical guru.

“Qalanderi” is a luminous example of what Cheb i Sabbah does best: taking a valuable artifact and with great care and joy reinventing it for a contemporary audience. This trippy and slow-burning qawwali takes off into the stratosphere and brings to mind the fervent dances of whirling dervishes. It ends all too quickly.

(...)

If there was a Cheb i Sabbah in every country, there would be a thousand windows through which we would see other countries and other cultures and perhaps develop empathy to other people that would help solve some of the problems of our troubled, ravaged world.

Devotion is a step in that direction and a call to the prayer of love.

[Listen to samples at Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/2u6xhm].

Love Did Not Leave Anything of Me

By Mehmet Seker - Today's Zaman - Istanbul, Turkey
Monday, December 17, 2007

Human beings are equipped in the best possible way, both materially and spiritually.

The human being is potentially able to achieve the level of “the best of creation,” which is dependent on his ability to use and develop his endowment of spiritual attributes.

Those who can escape from the material world and escalate toward the higher ranks of the heart and soul will experience this world in a different way and they will become conscious of the secrets of creation.

When they look, they will see things that others cannot; and everywhere they look, they will see the manifestations of the Beautiful Names of God.

Without doubt, they would never trade such moments filled with the indescribable flavors of spiritualism for anything. Instead, they will spend all the bounties given to them for the sake of God with the sole intention of reaching Him.

Those who have achieved such nearness to God are always careful in their relations with the Beloved and thus extremely cautious to retain their sensitivity and maintain this level. These people are nothing more or less, in effect, than Friends of the Truth.

Mevlana Muhammed Jelaluddin Rumi is one of these Friends -- one of the perfect representatives of the many Sufi devotees whose way of life is to love and be of service to people, to become a perfect human being and thus to have the good pleasure of God.

Rumi’s path of love within Sufism’s inclusiveness has always attracted people from all cultures and backgrounds and this is certainly the major reason for Rumi’s appeal in both the East and the West.

The theoretical aspect of this path is Sufism, while the practical aspect is Dervishood. Rumi led the theoretical path, as a leader in his time and all times to come after him; in addition, his mature dervishood, taken from this world and decorated with angelic qualities, set a good example of devotion to God through the passion and love with which he inspired millions.

During his lifetime, there were many people of other faiths around Rumi, listening to him and respecting him for what he was teaching. Thus, Rumi emerged in a period in which disorders, conflicts and exploitation lay heavy on the peoples of the world.

Throughout this period, Rumi proved himself to be both a powerful personality and an eminent scholar. For not only did he talk about compassion and tolerance, but he actually produced an exemplary atmosphere where these values were upheld, thereby opening the door to dialogue through his message.

Today, we are experiencing rather similar turmoil, unrest and conflicts everywhere. Yet instead of raising the awareness of the need for understanding, religious devotions are simply being manipulated in the so-called “clash of civilizations.” Therefore, at this time in history, it is most imperative that we find the time to come together, to talk and try to understand one another, to find a common ground and shared references.

Once again, then, we need this most outstanding poet, a revered mystic renowned for his understanding and wide embrace, to shed light on the relation of human beings to their Creator as well as their interrelations with others.

The world has never been without representatives of love and peace. Rumi was and is one of the perfect representatives of such a complete human being and one of the greatest teachers of universal love and peace.

Rumi has always been a major figure in the Middle East and Western Asia, where he has had an exalted and comprehensive impact among a wide variety of people.

The great Islamic scholar and poet, Muhammad Iqbal, became fascinated with Rumi’s view of discovering the Divine Entrustment in one’s self. Embracing Rumi’s understanding of the perfect human being and seeing Rumi as a spiritual guide for himself, Iqbal states:

“I received a share of his light and warmth. My night has become day due to his star … In Rumi, there is sorrow, a burning that is not strange to us. His union talks of going beyond the separations. One feels the beauty of love in his reed and receives a share, a blessing from the Greatness of God.”

Yet Rumi is not merely a Mevlana (”our master”) -- one of the titles assigned to him and widely used among Muslims -- whose scope is limited to one part of the world. Rather, he is the master of people from both the East and the West.

In fact, Westerners have increasingly been amazed that his presence seems so alive eight centuries after his death. In a tribute to Rumi, Andrew Harvey puts forward that Rumi, the remote star shining in the West, will help lead the West out of its materialist manifestation of ego-over-everything.

Thus, Harvey sees Rumi as “an essential guide to the new mystical renaissance that is struggling to be born today … and the spiritual inspiration for the 21st century.”

(...)

Music is defined by Rumi in the following couplet:

"Music is the nutrition of the souls of the servants of the Lord,
Since in music there is the hope of reaching God".

Therefore, music, when combined with meditation and contemplation, is seen as being a faster way to reaching God.

On the other hand, music brings out physical movement, as it addresses bodily impulses and desires. At first, these motions were restricted to the swinging of the body while seated.

However, with time, people started to accompany the musical harmony with swaying and larger movements and this gradually evolved into the sema. In this way, contemplation became the union of the soul, sound, and motion, as both the heart and body achieved a state of meditation, overcoming all physical and intellectual interference.

Thus, the sema symbolizes the escalation of the human spirit: the servant’s turning of his face toward the Truth; being exalted with Divine love; abandoning personal identity and the self to become lost in God; and finally returning to servanthood, mature and purified.

The semazen, the whirling dervish, with the sikka (the traditional “hat”) on his head and with the tannura (a shroud-like gown) on his body, is born into the truth as he symbolically removes his jacket at the onset of the dance and begins his revolutions -- thus, his evolution -- on the path of profound contemplation.

During the sema, his arms are wide open, with his right hand turned toward the sky as if praying, ready to receive honor from the Divine One, and his left hand turned down, transferring the bounties that come from the Lord to those who are willing to receive them.

As the semazen whirls from right to left, circling with the full devotion of his heart, he embraces all the nations of the world, and all of creation, with utmost love and respect.

Ultimately humanity was created to love and to be loved. According to Rumi, all types of love are bridges to divine love and, believing this completely, Rumi spent his whole life dedicated to God Almighty.

Not only did he try to reach the Lord himself, he earnestly strove to help others to do the same. In the end, he was a traveler on the journey of love, describing this love as one that “did not leave anything of me, nor on me.”

And through these travels of the soul, he allowed his feelings and emotions to be heard by countless others, leaving a powerful trail of inspiration that would long outlast his own life and come to nurture millions of souls.

An Outstanding Quality of Devotion

TT Art Desk - Tehran Times - Tehran, Iran
Monday, December 17, 2007

The Selçuk University paid tribute to Iranian vocalist Shahram Nazeri by appointing him as honorary head of its Rumi research center in Konya on December 15.

He also received the Golden Sama medal, which was awarded by Rumi’s 22nd niece, Esin Celebi.

“I have received many medals over the past few years, but I consider this award to be the most important of them all,” Nazeri said.

The honoring ceremony was held before the commencement of Nazeri’s concert held in commemoration of the 800th birth anniversary of the Iranian poet and mystic Molana Jalal ad-Din Rumi.

Nazeri’s performances are famous for their quality of devotion to Rumi’s poetry.

“The most important message of Rumi was unity and the avoidance of division,” Celebi said during the ceremony. “I’m happy that we have enthusiastically gathered together here to commemorate the high status of Rumi,” she added.

Nazeri was presented with the Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur medal, one of the most prestigious awards in the world of art and culture, in Paris on September 29.

It was given to him in recognition of the scholarly interest he has taken in the musical interpretation and vocalization of the transcendent lyrics of Rumi.

Molana Visits the Bektashi Community

MNA - Mehr News - Tehran, Iran
Saturday, December 15, 2007

An exhibition of Iranian art, culture and handicrafts on the theme of Rumi was held at the National Museum of Albania in the capital Tirana to mark the occasion of the 800th birth anniversary of Molana Jalal ad-Din Rumi.

Iranian and Albanian cultural figures including the leader of the Bektashi community in Albania, Haxhi Babab Dede Reshat Bardhi, Iran’s ambassador Ali Beman Eqbali and a group of writers and literary figures attended the opening ceremony on Thursday.

Babab Reshat made a short speech at the ceremony pointing out that Iran benefits from having a high culture and civilization.

He referred to Rumi as a great poet possessing mystical qualities. He said that the exhibit will assist in further familiarizing the Albanian people with the character and poetry of Rumi.

Iran’s ambassador Eqbali spoke, mentioning that Iran’s art, culture and civilization are held in high regard world-wide. He also remarked that the mysticism found in the works of Rumi is receiving global attention, adding that the poet recommends peace, friendship, love and theism.

A number of paintings and calligraphy works inspired by Rumi’s poetry, a collection of Persian inlaid artifacts and various productions by Rumi experts were put on display during the three-day event.

From Rumi to Ferdowsi

TT Culture Desk - Tehran Times - Tehran, Iran
Monday, December 17, 2007

Iran’s programs marking Rumi’s 800th birth anniversary will be brought to a close with the celebration “500 Days with Molana” on December 19th [today] at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall.

Iranian Rumi experts and scholars including Ahmad Jalali (Iran’s former UNESCO ambassador in Paris), Gholamreza Avani (Head of the Wisdom and Philosophy Institute), Reza Purhossein (Manager of Iran’s TV Channel 4) and the eminent painter Aidin Aghdashlu will be making speeches at the event, secretary of the celebration Ali-Asghar Mohammadkhani announced on Sunday.

He went on to say that live music concerts conducted by Hamidreza Nurbakhsh, Alireza Cheraghi, and Behnam Badani have also been organized for the program, adding, “A theater performance about Rumi which was recently staged in Paris, directed by Hossein Mosafer-Astaneh, will also be on the agenda.”

Mohammadkhani remarked that Iran’s programs in commemoration of Rumi had been extensive and had included an International Rumi Congress held in Tehran, 100 student theses written on the subject of Rumi, and over 20 sessions held in Tehran’s Book City attended by Rumi experts.

“There were also many programs on Rumi held internationally in countries such as Germany, France, Australia and Russia,” he stated.

Mohammadkhani also mentioned that Book City is planning to begin sessions focusing on Ferdowsi and the Shahnameh beginning on December 26th to mark the 1100th birth anniversary of Ferdowsi.

The Ferdowsi sessions will continue into the beginning of January 2008, he concluded.

[Picture: Tehran, the Vahdat Hall. Photo from http://www.persiancarpet.lv/english/ir_teh_vahdat.htm].

To Knowledge, through Love

Greater Kashmir - Srinagar, J&K, India
Friday, December 14, 2007

Srinagar: The University of Kashmir has named its main entrance gate of the campus after Moulna Jalal-ud-Din Rumi.

The vice-chancellor of Kashmir University, Prof Abdul Wahid Qureshi, inaugurated the gate on Wednesday.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof Wahid described Rumi as one of the greatest spiritual, mystical and philosophical poet.

The vice-chancellor said Rumi advocated “tolerance and reason and access to knowledge through love.”

He said naming the gate after this great poet is humble way to pay tributes to him. The UNESCO had declared 2007 as Year of Rumi in recognition to his universal appeal of love and brotherhood.

Enclosing the Divine

By Mehru Jaffer - Sunday Deccan Herald - Bangalore, India
Sunday, December 16, 2007

Rumi chose womanhood, the ability to nurture, and the privilege of childbearing as metaphors for the sacred

Did Jalal al-din Rumi, the 13th century Persian poet and great Islamic Sufi mystic whose 800th birth anniversary is being celebrated around the world this year, shun the feminine and treat it merely as carnal?

This is not true according to most scholars at the ‘Wondrous Words’ conference held in London, some weeks ago, at the invitation of the British Museum and the Iran Heritage Foundation. The conference was on the poetic mastery of Rumi.

Rumi looked upon women as the most perfect example of God’s creative power on earth. In Masnavi-I Ma'navi (spiritual couplets), his monumental mystical work, Rumi calls woman, “a ray of God”. “She is not just the earthly beloved, She is creative, not created”.

“Rumi is one of those rare spiritual masters who had female disciples. This is not so common in the history of Sufism.

Rumi’s letters, teachings, advice to his son to be kind to his wife and the tenderness he showered on his own wife— show how sacred the feminine was to the poet,” points out Dr Leili Anwar-Chenderoff, Head, Iranian Languages Department, INALCO (Institut des Langues et Civilisations Orientales), Paris.

Anwar-Chenderoff does not think Rumi considered the soul of a woman inferior to that of a man. In fact, women were the banos, or the respected ladies of his home. He believed that it is possible for both man and woman to progress towards contemplation of the truth.

There are numerous other examples to show that the great poet, jurist and theologian held women in high regard. These may contradict some misogynic aspects of Masnavi but Anwar-Chenderoff does not think that the writings and opinions of Rumi were misogynic.

Rumi, after all, was a product of a time and culture when the mention of the word ‘man’ evoked images of courage and strength.

He is bound to have shared many of the traditional views of his contemporaries, for he was steeped in both the religious and the literary traditions into which he was born. But he also believed that a woman can be courageous and a man— cowardly.

The late Annemarie Schimmel, author of My Soul is a Woman, has expressed that the role of women is the most misunderstood feature of Islam.

She disagreed with those who take Islam to task without first trying to comprehend the cultures, language, and traditions of the many societies in which Islam is the majority religion.

Schimmel spent a good part of her life proving the clear equality of women and men in the eyes of God, Prophet Muhammad, the Quran, the feminine language of the mystical tradition and in the role of holy mothers and unmarried women as manifestations of the divine.

When recited in the right spirit, beyond the male dominated interpretation, the Quran does reveal respect for all human beings regardless of sex or social situation. And none realises this essential Quranic spirit better than the Islamic mystic or Sufi.

Unity of being
Wahadat ul-Wajud, the unity of being or oneness of existence, is at the core of Sufi belief. Since there is no room for duality here, there is no divide between the male and female either. There is only the yearning amongst everyone to journey towards the one and only ‘truth’.

Nargis Virani, a scholar from New School, USA, feels that gender distortion is created perhaps by the word ‘nafs’. “Arabic is a very gendered language and ‘nafs’, or spirit or soul, is grammatically and linguistically very female.

But to equate it with a biological female is a fallacy”, she explains. All human beings have ‘nafs’ and the spirit of every man and woman has both beauteous as well as bestial aspects.

Rumi illustrates this best when he says that a human being is a donkey’s tail with an angel’s wings. The moral of the metaphor is to inspire human beings to spend their lives trying to balance the profound and the profane within the self.

Patriarchal culture, however, interprets ‘nafs’ literally as woman who is to be avoided and to be treated inferior to man if mankind is not to be led astray.

Sufi articulation of gender is broader than the way it is sometimes presented.

In I am Wind You are Fire, her seminal work on Rumi, Schimmel writes that the poet may not have been a systematic thinker but was aware that the human being consists of several layers. The first is the body that is mere husk or thornbush hiding the beautiful spirit.

Rumi once called the body “dust on the mirror spirit”, dust that veils the radiant spirit found beneath it. He also referred to the body as a “vessel for the wine soul”.

The other component of the human being is the ‘nafs’, usually referred to the lower instinct of human beings, but which can be educated and refined.

Writes Rumi, surely with a smile, “When the ‘nafs’ says meow like the cat, I put it in the bag like the cat!”

Fatemeh Keshavarz, professor of Persian and comparative literature at Washington University in St Louis, USA, talks most poetically of the gendered nature of the images and metaphors through which Rumi portrayed the sacred.

“He chose womanhood, the ability to nurture, and the privilege of childbearing as metaphors for the sacred”, she says.

Rumi refashioned the sacred as the baby that comes to this world from the deepest and least known corners of a woman’s being. He was aware that the sacred is given to imperfect human beings to nurture and valued the profound responsibility carried out by women of mothering the sacred.

Sacred making
He was respectful of the godly function of women who have first-hand experience of the act of ‘sacred making’. He saw women with their vulnerabilities and strengths, with their ability to nurture life in their very bodies and withstand the pain of bringing the sacred into existence.

In fact, Professor Keshavarz imagines Rumi delighted at the paradox that the ‘weaker’ sex shared with God productive and life generating privileges and was quite convinced that there is more to the presence of women in the world than just being the lesser sex.

The brilliance of Rumi, according to the scholar, is to have taken the carnal image of the feminine and to have turned it against itself.

In ‘Fihi Ma-Fih’, his sermons, Rumi repeatedly uses the metaphor of the sacred impregnating humanity till all women become Marys impregnated with the seed of God and potentially entitled to a Jesus of their own.

Rumi saw women not just as worshipping and obeying God but ‘mothering’ Him in a very real sense.

[Picture: The Mathnawî of Mevlâna (1278); Ritual Hall (Semahane); Mevlâna mausoleum; Konya, Turkey. Photo from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Turkey.Konya021.jpg].

This Day Is Not a Mourning Day

Today's Zaman - Istanbul, Turkey
Monday, December 17, 2007

Everyday is special

Today is the anniversary of the death of Mevlana Muhammed Jelaluddin Rumi (1207-1273), a Sufi saint and founder of the Mevlevi order of Sufi dervishes.

Called Şeb-i Arus (the Night of Union) this day is not a mourning but a day of celebration.

Rumi is most famous in the world for his "Mesnevi" (The Couplets), written originally in Persian. The "Mesnevi" is one of the best-selling books of poetry in the West.

[Picture: Rumi's tomb in Konya (Turkey). Photo from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jalal_ad-Din_Muhammad_Rumi].

Sufism in Somalia

[From the French language press]:

Les travaux du 10ème congrès International des Etudes Somali, inaugurés jeudi dernier par le Premier ministre, M.Dileita Mohamed Dileita, se sont clôturés ce soir au Palais du Peuple, en présence d’une cinquantaine de chercheurs et d’intellectuels issus de divers horizons.

A.D.I. Agence Djiboutienne d'Information - Republic of Djibouti - samedi 15 décembre 2007

The proceedings of the 10th International Conference of Somali Studies, inaugurated last Thursday [Dec. 13] by the Prime Minister Mr Dileita Mohamed Dileita, were closed this evening [Dec. 15] at the Palais du Peuple, in the presence of about fifty scholars and intellectuals from different horizons.

Animated by several local and international scholars, including Professor Lee V. Cassanelli (University of Pennsylvania, U.S.A.) and Professor Giorgio Banti (University of Naples, Italy), the work of this 10th congress ranged in topics relating to the Somali literature, Sufism and Islam, and culture and identity of the Somali people.

[More on Djibouti at Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Djibouti]

[Picture: Map of Djibouti. Photo from: African Studies, University of Pennsylvania, PA, U.S.A.
http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Country_Specific/Djibouti.html].

More Attunement with the Mystic Poet

By Tanveen Kawoosa - Etalaat - Srinagar, J&K, India
Thursday, December 13, 2007

Instead of organising musical shows just to entertain VIPs, there is dire need to focus on intellectual programmes in tune with cultural ethos of Kashmir.

This was stated by the Additional Secretary of the Cultural Academy, Mr Zafar Iqball Manhas, at a conference organised by the Academy in collaboration with Bazmii Hamdani to highlight the teachings of the great Sufi saint and scholar of 14th century, Mir Syed Ali Hamdani (RA).

While admitting that the Academy lacks clear and well defined vision in terms of art and cultural activities, Manhas said this feature has distanced the Academy from rational thinkers, intellectuals and people at large.

‘’It is not the job of the Cultural Academy to organise stereotype functions and entertain bigwigs. This way we misinterpret the cultural canons and create huge communication gap between the people and us,’’ added Manhas.

While highlighting the teachings of Mir Syed Ali Hamdani (RA), Mr Khurshid Mohmad Kanoongoh (President J&K Bazmi Hamdani), stated that, besides being a deeply religious person, the Sufi saint was an intellectual of the highest calibre.

‘’He was also a great reformer with numerous books to his credit. His well known book ‘’Zakhiratulmulk’’ based on socio-political ideas is counted among his most acclaimed works. His verses are testimony to his perception and analytical mind which evokes intellectual and spiritual curiosity,’’ he added.

In Kashmir, the Kubravi order, which is an off shoot of the Suhrawardi, was introduced by this saintly scholar of 14th century (1314-1385).

The mystic poet preached Islamic message in various parts of central Asia such as Bokhara, Samarkand, and Balkh.

He laid emphasis on justice, fought against caste system and urged Kashmiri people to become self reliant.

It is said that he earned his living by stiching caps.

Devotees usually recite ‘Awradi fatihiya’ (verses in praises of Allah) composed by this Sufi saint, in Khanqah’s (shrines) of Kashmir.

Dedicated to Shattari Sufism

Pune Newsline - Express India - Pune, India
Thursday, December 13, 2007

Sufi Syed Ali Shah, President of Sufi Gafoorshah Durgah Trust, announced that the recently launched website, http://www.sufishattari.com/index.htm, dedicated to the Shattari tariqa, received 3,000 hits in the first fortnight of its launch.

A three-day sandal mubarak celebrations in commemoration of Hazrat Sufi Gafoorshah Husaini and Hazrat Mohammadshah Husaini began Friday at Daruwala Pool durgah, Pune, Maharashtra, India.

Sufi Syed Ali Shah announced on Thursday that as part of the celebrations, there will be a programme on Sufi devotional music on Friday and a health camp will be organised between 11 am and 4 pm on Saturday.

The Quran recitation will be held on the last day [today, Sunday] of the celebrations.

[Picture: Sufi Gafoor Shah Qalander Kadri Shattari].

Mr. Singh Seeks More Keshdari

By Madhur Singh - Time - U.S.A.
Thursday, December 13, 2007

Ever since 18-year-old Ishmeet Singh won the glitzy American Idol-inspired Voice of India contest on Star TV last month, the phone hasn't stopped ringing at his family's home in Ludhiana, the busy industrial hub of Punjab.

But the kudos is about more than Singh's impressive singing prowess; he has earned it by the fact that he is a keshdhari (turban-wearing) Sikh.

"It is his sabat-surat [appearance conforming to the Sikh ideal] that has brought him where he is today," says his proud father Gurpinder Singh. "He has shown other Sikh boys that they don't need a trendy hairstyle to attain stardom."

At a time when more and more young Sikh men are relinquishing the turban — considered the very core of a Sikh man's cultural and religious identity — community leaders have hailed Singh's win as, literally, a godsend.

Sikh blogs have been pointing out that Singh was declared a winner on Guru Nanak Jayanti, the anniversary of the birth of the founder of Sikhism. And he has been honored by the Akal Takht, the highest seat of the Sikh clergy.

(...)

Cutting one's hair is not new among Sikhs, but the number of turbanless, clean-shaven Sikhs has grown astronomically in the last two decades.

"In India, education has become so secular that even Sikh schools do not preach Sikhism," says Dr. Kharag Singh, editor of the journal Abstracts of Sikh Studies. "As a result, children don't realize the philosophy behind wearing a turban."

The euphoria over Ishmeet Singh's victory reflects the need of the Sikh community's elders to find turbaned role models.

While Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, always seen with a spiffy turban, is an obvious example, Sikh leaders also hail pop culture icons such as the "turbanator" — cricket hero Harbhajan Singh — and popstar Daler Mehndi, whose glittering turbans are said to have inspired many a short-haired Sikh to take to the turban.

Sikh organizations from Vancouver to Melbourne are renewing efforts at prachar, or preaching, to the 3 million-strong Sikh diaspora.

Schools to teach young Sikhs how to tie a turban have opened in many cities, and an organization called Akal Purakh Ki Fauj has brought out "smart turban software" to help users identify the style of turban that would best suit them.

Turban-tying competitions are held across Punjab on Baisakhi, the Sikh New Year, and a Mr. Singh International contest is held for turbaned Sikhs every year — as all Sikh men use the surname 'Singh,' which means lion — in which participants get points on how well they tie their turbans.

Sikh clergy are to meet this week for an annual convention at which their battle plans will be refined in the escalating culture war to restore the turban to its place atop the head of the Sikh male.

[Picture: Young Indian Sikhs. Photo by Ajay Verma/Reuters].