Sufism, Leprosy, and Islamophobia

by Dr. Alan Godlas

I would argue that in the West today Muslims are treated by a majority or near majority of non-Muslims as though they were lepers; and Islam is the new leprosy.

Fortunately, for those living in the West who wish to imbibe the sweetness of Sufism, the genius of pioneers such as Hazrat Inayat Khan, Sufi Sam Lewis, Idris Shah, and Bulent Rauf (to name a few) continues to enable thirsty seekers to come to the Sufi tavern and, through the divine Mercy, get something intoxicating to drink without having to run the risk of getting infected with Islamic leprosy.

Nevertheless, sitting on the non-Islamic seats or Islamic leprosophobic stools at the bar will in most cases deprive one of (or at least make it very difficult to gain access to) the traditionally Qur'anic and Muhammadan hadith-infused Sufi hard liquors and spirits (like we can often find in Rumi's original Persian rather then translations diluted to suit the American palate, for example).

Among the factors that have contributed to the spread of the mental and emotional disease that has resulted in Islam becoming the new leprosy are the following: one factor is that a small minority of Muslims take pride in presenting Islam to the world as something that is conflict with the West and even disgusting to Westerners --these are both militant extremists and those simply trying to take pride in an Islamic identity that is resentful of and in opposition to the Western colonial and neo-colonial occupation of Muslim countries; a second factor is the propaganda of the leaders of the anti-Islamic polemic, which polemic is now reaching epidemic proportions.

Hence, in order to open up more seats in the Sufi tavern for those who are reluctant to contract what they fear is Islamic leprosy, I would like to share what so far is the clearest short expose of the anti-Islamic or Islamophobic polemic, the article "Jihad Against Islam," by Robert Steinback, published by the Southern Poverty Law Center (which is one of the organizations leading the fight against all forms of bigotry):
http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2011/summer/jihad-against-islam
(or of it breaks use http://tinyurl.com/3qsv2v8 ).