By Milo Clark - Swans.com
March 13, 2006
(Swans - March 13, 2006) Sufism is often said to be the mysticism of Islam. Naqshbandi is a brand of Sufism. Few grok Sufism.
Leopold Kohr, a socio-economist philosopher, expounded the size theory of history. Smaller is better. Larger eventually implodes. Kohr may be described as a mystic of economics. Few grok Kohr.
Islam and Sufism incorporate strong requirements for belief. Naqshbandi (don't try to pronounce it, just accept a visualization based in the letters as given) is a belief system with a near thousand-year core.
A Naqshbandi Murshid will start you with simple instructions: With a broken shovel, empty the earth. With a leaky bucket, drain the oceans. With a direction, walk.
These essential instructions in faith are somewhat akin to grokking Zen's one hand clapping: you get it or you don't. Zen is a Japanese mysticism that sprung from the Chan Buddhisms of China. From small beginnings may come clarity.
My point here is to back quietly into the actuality that there are many mysticisms, many Islams, many Sufisms, just as there are many economics. All share degrees of arcane esoterica. The sauce is in the details. All open in small ways.
Certain Buddhist mysticisms evolved within the ancient Bon practices of the Tibetan plateau. The introduced Buddhisms came to overlay the indigenous Bon and thus Bon gave form to Tibetan Buddhisms. There are now several Bon/Buddhisms rampant within the Tibetan communities.
Sufisms, Buddhisms, and mysticisms have affinities for stark landscapes, rugged mountains, sere deserts. Wildness and winds create conditions testing human endurance as well as tending to keep people inside, separated, and alone for extended periods. Meditative, mindful, or mad by measures.
Disciplines virtually unknowable and unknown outside such regions evolve very strong people.
Outside Tibet, mystical whirlwinds affecting mind, body, and spirit have been unleashed by events since the 1959 invasion by the ChiComs of PRChina.
The Tibetans are upon us and personalized by the 14th Dalai Lama, Nobel Peace Laureate, et al. Rinpoches, Tulkus, and Lamas abound along with courses, retreats, seminars, workshops and immersions. Translations of texts and copies of thankas, mandalas, sutras, and mantras sprout like mushrooms in a fecund forest.
Bon/Buddhist practices involve elaborate visualizations of immensely complex details slammed into memories until integrated. Very unWestern in many ways. Their integration also provides definition for grok.
Similarly, yet very quietly by comparison, Sufi schools have come west. Given that Islam, per se, is a relatively recent monotheism, Sufi principles branching from Islam are also little more than seven to eight hundred years upon the spiritual landscape. Naqshbandi is one school that has expanded and enlisted Westerners.
All mysticisms appear to cover their core beliefs with elaborate processes that remain occult to the uninitiated, yet open up like a beautiful rose for those who will see. As Ram Das famously advocated, "Be Here Now!"
All mysticisms have a focus on breath as gateway to awareness of the moment. For Naqshbandi, awareness of breath in this moment is a first principle.
Leopold Kohr wrote a marvelous little book called The City of Man (The Duke of Buen Consejo). In its 70 pages, all that can be needed to plan vital communities is compacted in singing prose.
A city must breathe and exist now for those who choose it. Walking rather than riding opens the best of human processes and being. Shopkeepers with a personal investment in their premises and products are an inherent guide to quality. Human scale accommodations keep us close imbuing separations with inclusion. Fewer people lead to better acquaintance.
Kohr noted that a way to confront crisis was simply to step back, to regain perspective. Mysticisms lead us to confront through meditation. To see otherwise. Pythagoras, in Kohr's view, found the measure of all things in man as did Leonardo in his famous circle centered on the outreach of a man.
Kirkpatrick Sale, a small world protagonist, devotee of Kohr and Fritz Schumacher, wrote a wonderful volume on Human Scale.
Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger, of cats fame, wrote a small volume, What is Life? Which shows why things must be small. The bigger they are, the more they collide and impair freedom. By moving freely, new patterns and possibilities are always possible. Overcrowding, as proven by too many rats in a cage, leads to fighting, destruction, and implosion.
Taking Newton a step, Kohr says that everything, say potency, diminishes with the square of distance. The farther from seat of government, the less the authority and ability to compel much less administer, to follow rule of law. Thus, empires historically disintegrate at the fringes. To maintain control, bureaucracies flourish and military abounds, eventually imploding from lack of core. Feel like now, maybe?
Harbors, he says, provide shelter from uncontrollable oceans. Build harbors, create refuges, covet communities, give space to breathe, time to know awareness.
In smallness lies survival.
Breathe. And know that you are god
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
On a docu-film on Ustad Vilayat Khan: Interview
By Piyali Dasgupta - The Times of India - Straight Answers
Calcutta, Monday, 13 March, 2006
Zila Khan, Sufi singer, on making a documentary film on her father, Ustad Vilayat Khan.
You have made a docu-film on your father, Ustad Vilayat Khan...
I attribute my success to my late father, Ustad Vilayat Khan. It's his values that remain embedded in my heart. On his second death anniversary, I plan to release a docu-film called Spirit to Soul, which is a tribute to my father. It traces his life's journey and also talks about the inspiration that I continue to receive from him.
How did you feel when your father refused to let you sing in public?
At that time I was 12 and I asked my father's permission to sing on stage. He just refused. I belong to a conservative Muslim family in which women were not allowed to step out of their homes.
Singing in public was a complete no-no. I refused to consider that as the end of the road.
So how did your father finally agree?
I continued with my riyaz at home. In the meanwhile, I also got to assist my father in his concerts. When I came of age, my father decided it was time for me to get married. Actually, he was looking for a way out for me. So, he found me a boy Dr Khalim Anwar who wouldn't mind his wife singing on stage.
And then, just six days after my wedding, my father held a special ceremony, Gandha Bandhan, to make me his shaagird and told me to do 10 hours of riyaz everyday.
Calcutta, Monday, 13 March, 2006
Zila Khan, Sufi singer, on making a documentary film on her father, Ustad Vilayat Khan.
You have made a docu-film on your father, Ustad Vilayat Khan...
I attribute my success to my late father, Ustad Vilayat Khan. It's his values that remain embedded in my heart. On his second death anniversary, I plan to release a docu-film called Spirit to Soul, which is a tribute to my father. It traces his life's journey and also talks about the inspiration that I continue to receive from him.
How did you feel when your father refused to let you sing in public?
At that time I was 12 and I asked my father's permission to sing on stage. He just refused. I belong to a conservative Muslim family in which women were not allowed to step out of their homes.
Singing in public was a complete no-no. I refused to consider that as the end of the road.
So how did your father finally agree?
I continued with my riyaz at home. In the meanwhile, I also got to assist my father in his concerts. When I came of age, my father decided it was time for me to get married. Actually, he was looking for a way out for me. So, he found me a boy Dr Khalim Anwar who wouldn't mind his wife singing on stage.
And then, just six days after my wedding, my father held a special ceremony, Gandha Bandhan, to make me his shaagird and told me to do 10 hours of riyaz everyday.
Monday, October 09, 2006
On Baul and Sufi singing: Interview
By Reetu Joshi - The Times of India - Straight Answers
Sunday, 12 March, 2006
Baul Singer Parvathy Baul, on Baul and Sufi singing.
Tell us something about Baul singing?
Baul is one of the widely known and appreciated kinds of folk music in Bengal and believed to date back to the 15th century. It's not only a kind of music but also a Bengali religious sect.
The persons belonging to that sect are commonly referred to as Bauls and the songs they sing is Baul gaan. Baul gaans are allegorical in nature, describing the state of separation existing between the souls of men and the spiritual ground.
Is there any connection between Baul and Sufi singing?
Baul singing is different from Sufi singing only in terms of its origin. The latter is basically Islamic in origin while the former has its roots in Hindu tradition. The attributes of both art-forms are very much similar in nature.
Both are pure and refined. They penetrate deep into the heart and have a healing power. Singing the two provides spiritual satisfaction not only to the singer but also to the audience.
At present, Sufi songs are a rage in Bollywood movies. What are the reasons for this?
I guess pop music, jazz and rock songs can provide only momentary pleasures. But, the folk and Sufi songs give you innate pleasure and peace of mind. That's why the younger generation is increasingly taking to it. It's a welcome change. But the upcoming artistes must not use this art-form only to earn money.
With a change in the outlook of people, are you happy with the current state of folk artistes?
The responses are encouraging yet I am not completely satisfied with the state of folk artistes. Especially, Baul singers are still confined to Bengal only. There is no dearth of talented artistes in our country but there is no backing from government and sponsors.
Sunday, 12 March, 2006
Baul Singer Parvathy Baul, on Baul and Sufi singing.
Tell us something about Baul singing?
Baul is one of the widely known and appreciated kinds of folk music in Bengal and believed to date back to the 15th century. It's not only a kind of music but also a Bengali religious sect.
The persons belonging to that sect are commonly referred to as Bauls and the songs they sing is Baul gaan. Baul gaans are allegorical in nature, describing the state of separation existing between the souls of men and the spiritual ground.
Is there any connection between Baul and Sufi singing?
Baul singing is different from Sufi singing only in terms of its origin. The latter is basically Islamic in origin while the former has its roots in Hindu tradition. The attributes of both art-forms are very much similar in nature.
Both are pure and refined. They penetrate deep into the heart and have a healing power. Singing the two provides spiritual satisfaction not only to the singer but also to the audience.
At present, Sufi songs are a rage in Bollywood movies. What are the reasons for this?
I guess pop music, jazz and rock songs can provide only momentary pleasures. But, the folk and Sufi songs give you innate pleasure and peace of mind. That's why the younger generation is increasingly taking to it. It's a welcome change. But the upcoming artistes must not use this art-form only to earn money.
With a change in the outlook of people, are you happy with the current state of folk artistes?
The responses are encouraging yet I am not completely satisfied with the state of folk artistes. Especially, Baul singers are still confined to Bengal only. There is no dearth of talented artistes in our country but there is no backing from government and sponsors.
Feasting on colours
By Vimla Patil - Sunday Deccan Herald
Sunday, 12 March, 2006
Hori Khelat Nandalal Birajamein; Shyam Tose Hori Nahin Khelungi, Mori Angiya Bhigoi Deeni; Natkhat Sawariya, Rang Det Chunariya” – these and thousands of more similar ditties in the classical and folk music of India ring in the newly fragrant air when the first blossoms of spring begin to appear on trees and creepers in the gardens and forests across the country.
The coming of this procession of flowers is, in every Indian mind, likened to the coming of that inimitable God of love, Krishna, into the waiting hearts of all Indians, who display an unbeatable spirit of energy and flamboyance around this time! And thus, is the season of spring celebrated all over India. The Krishna and Holi theme not only pervades the music of India in every village, but also brings new life and deeper meaning to all spiritual thought and action.
The Holi theme also influences Indian classical and folk dance of all styles all over the country and has been responsible for the creation of some of the finest miniature paintings of several schools in North India and Tanjore paintings in South India. How did the theme of Holi become omnipresent in Indian life and art?
Many scholars believe that somewhere in the remote past, this celebration of the love of Radha and Krishna has a patina of Sufi thought. The Sufis came to India from the 11th century onwards and brought with them the refreshing philosophy that the devotee and God share the passionate relationship of two lovers.
Many of them believed in the beautiful concept of ‘raising the veil and seeing the luminescent face of the beloved’ and expressed this longing through their songs and dances. Sufi poetry and paintings naturally chose famous pair of lovers like Laila Majnu, Shirin Farhad and finally Radha and Krishna as their subjects.
The result was that the courts of nawabs and kings of all states in North India patronised artists, musicians and dancers who brought alive the Krishna-Radha romance theme in every art center.
Secondly, side by side with Sufism, the cult of Madhurabhakti grew in India during the middle ages. Many saints like Surdas, Chaintanya Mahaprabhu, Chandidas, Vidyapati, Meerabai and others composed love songs of Radha and Krishna and took the romance of the divine lovers to newer heights.
Holi thus became not only the festival of colours but also the celebration of love, passion and exuberance.
Sunday, 12 March, 2006
Hori Khelat Nandalal Birajamein; Shyam Tose Hori Nahin Khelungi, Mori Angiya Bhigoi Deeni; Natkhat Sawariya, Rang Det Chunariya” – these and thousands of more similar ditties in the classical and folk music of India ring in the newly fragrant air when the first blossoms of spring begin to appear on trees and creepers in the gardens and forests across the country.
The coming of this procession of flowers is, in every Indian mind, likened to the coming of that inimitable God of love, Krishna, into the waiting hearts of all Indians, who display an unbeatable spirit of energy and flamboyance around this time! And thus, is the season of spring celebrated all over India. The Krishna and Holi theme not only pervades the music of India in every village, but also brings new life and deeper meaning to all spiritual thought and action.
The Holi theme also influences Indian classical and folk dance of all styles all over the country and has been responsible for the creation of some of the finest miniature paintings of several schools in North India and Tanjore paintings in South India. How did the theme of Holi become omnipresent in Indian life and art?
Many scholars believe that somewhere in the remote past, this celebration of the love of Radha and Krishna has a patina of Sufi thought. The Sufis came to India from the 11th century onwards and brought with them the refreshing philosophy that the devotee and God share the passionate relationship of two lovers.
Many of them believed in the beautiful concept of ‘raising the veil and seeing the luminescent face of the beloved’ and expressed this longing through their songs and dances. Sufi poetry and paintings naturally chose famous pair of lovers like Laila Majnu, Shirin Farhad and finally Radha and Krishna as their subjects.
The result was that the courts of nawabs and kings of all states in North India patronised artists, musicians and dancers who brought alive the Krishna-Radha romance theme in every art center.
Secondly, side by side with Sufism, the cult of Madhurabhakti grew in India during the middle ages. Many saints like Surdas, Chaintanya Mahaprabhu, Chandidas, Vidyapati, Meerabai and others composed love songs of Radha and Krishna and took the romance of the divine lovers to newer heights.
Holi thus became not only the festival of colours but also the celebration of love, passion and exuberance.
Sharing the true values of Sharia
By Irfan Yusuf - ON LINE opinion - Australia
Friday, 10 March 2006
On Thursday, February 23, 2006 Treasurer and Prime Ministerial aspirant Peter Costello delivered a speech to an audience at the Sydney Institute. Mr Costello provided some personal reflections on Australia’s developing culture and citizenship. Within a few hours, a veritable media circus began.
Sadly, most migrant Muslim leaders bought into the circus, many expressing views on Mr Costello’s comments without having read his speech.
I read Mr Costello’s actual speech: Peter Costello said anyone who believes Sharia can co-exist with Australian law and Australian values should leave the country. But if one compares the five basic principles of Sharia to the six values espoused by Mr Costello, one finds they are virtually identical. Perhaps this is what Australian imams mean when they state in their sermons that Australia is a more Islamic country than most Muslim-majority states.
Some pseudo-conservative commentators present Sharia as a system of medieval criminal punishments. But for some 300,000 Australian Muslims, Sharia represents little more than ethics (including honesty and enterprise) and liturgy (how to perform prayers, weddings and funerals).
As shown above, the ethics of Sharia do not pose a problem for Australia. Further, Sharia liturgy has been practised in Australia for over a century. Indeed, Australia law allows a number of religious legal systems (such as Jewish religious law) to operate in the contexts of family law, estates and other areas.
Muslims believe the Prophet Mohammed brought Sharia as the outer manifestation of religious values. He also brought an inner manifestation, which has been given a variety of labels by Muslims but which is commonly known in the West as Sufism.
A tiny minority of Muslims seek to establish Sharia across the world without Sufism. They are the source of virtually all terrorist groups in the Muslim world. Their theology is regarded by mainstream Muslims as isolationist and fringe. They distort Sharia by imposing it on people without the inner discipline of Sufism. They are openly hostile to Sufi tradition.
These people seek to destroy Islam from within. They are arguably more of a threat to Muslims than non-Muslims. Hence, the majority of their victims are Muslims. Mr Costello would like to see such people leave Australia. Most Muslims, on the other hand, would prefer to see these people leave our planet. These people distort our perceptions about Sharia. Most Australians regard Sharia as purely consisting of draconian medieval punishments. Mr Costello’s own inaccurate comments about Sharia are a manifestation of distorted perceptions. Instead of criticising inevitable and understandable ignorance, Muslim leaders need to educate the community about their faith and values.
Friday, 10 March 2006
On Thursday, February 23, 2006 Treasurer and Prime Ministerial aspirant Peter Costello delivered a speech to an audience at the Sydney Institute. Mr Costello provided some personal reflections on Australia’s developing culture and citizenship. Within a few hours, a veritable media circus began.
Sadly, most migrant Muslim leaders bought into the circus, many expressing views on Mr Costello’s comments without having read his speech.
I read Mr Costello’s actual speech: Peter Costello said anyone who believes Sharia can co-exist with Australian law and Australian values should leave the country. But if one compares the five basic principles of Sharia to the six values espoused by Mr Costello, one finds they are virtually identical. Perhaps this is what Australian imams mean when they state in their sermons that Australia is a more Islamic country than most Muslim-majority states.
Some pseudo-conservative commentators present Sharia as a system of medieval criminal punishments. But for some 300,000 Australian Muslims, Sharia represents little more than ethics (including honesty and enterprise) and liturgy (how to perform prayers, weddings and funerals).
As shown above, the ethics of Sharia do not pose a problem for Australia. Further, Sharia liturgy has been practised in Australia for over a century. Indeed, Australia law allows a number of religious legal systems (such as Jewish religious law) to operate in the contexts of family law, estates and other areas.
Muslims believe the Prophet Mohammed brought Sharia as the outer manifestation of religious values. He also brought an inner manifestation, which has been given a variety of labels by Muslims but which is commonly known in the West as Sufism.
A tiny minority of Muslims seek to establish Sharia across the world without Sufism. They are the source of virtually all terrorist groups in the Muslim world. Their theology is regarded by mainstream Muslims as isolationist and fringe. They distort Sharia by imposing it on people without the inner discipline of Sufism. They are openly hostile to Sufi tradition.
These people seek to destroy Islam from within. They are arguably more of a threat to Muslims than non-Muslims. Hence, the majority of their victims are Muslims. Mr Costello would like to see such people leave Australia. Most Muslims, on the other hand, would prefer to see these people leave our planet. These people distort our perceptions about Sharia. Most Australians regard Sharia as purely consisting of draconian medieval punishments. Mr Costello’s own inaccurate comments about Sharia are a manifestation of distorted perceptions. Instead of criticising inevitable and understandable ignorance, Muslim leaders need to educate the community about their faith and values.
Sedaghat Jabbari Kalkhoran and the "Holy Names"
By Ershad Kamol - The Daily Star - Bangladesh
Saturday March 11, 2006
Iranian artist Sedaghat Jabbari Kalkhoran is one of the winners of the 'Grand Prize' at the 12th Asian Art Biennale, Bangladesh '06. He received the prestigious award for his mixed media work titled Holy Names.
Kalkhoran likes to portray the magnificence of Allah by decorating His names repeatedly on the canvas. In this sense his approach to art is a kind of 'Sufism'. He says, "I like to address spirituality by writing the 'Holy Names' repeatedly in different styles and shades. I never do any 'exercise' before my final work. It comes spontaneously and I won't be able to make copies of my work."
Saturday March 11, 2006
Iranian artist Sedaghat Jabbari Kalkhoran is one of the winners of the 'Grand Prize' at the 12th Asian Art Biennale, Bangladesh '06. He received the prestigious award for his mixed media work titled Holy Names.
Kalkhoran likes to portray the magnificence of Allah by decorating His names repeatedly on the canvas. In this sense his approach to art is a kind of 'Sufism'. He says, "I like to address spirituality by writing the 'Holy Names' repeatedly in different styles and shades. I never do any 'exercise' before my final work. It comes spontaneously and I won't be able to make copies of my work."
Radicalism and the construction of civilizations
By M Hilaly Basya - The Jakarta Post.com
Friday, March 10, 2006
The reconstruction of civilizations is meant to enable us to review the world-view of both Islam (the East) and the West. Some Western scholars have criticized and reconstructed the fundamentals of their civilization. The Post-modernist movement, represented by reconstructive thinkers such as Paul Ricouer, Gadamer, Fritchof Chapra, Gary Zukav, has made a significant contribution to that revision, but without a significant impact.
In Islam, we have to criticize "Islamic reason" (nalar Islam). It is meant as a deconstruction of "ancient reason" (nalar klasik), the epistemology that is used to construct Islamic teaching. Several prominent Islamic thinkers, such as Mohammad Abed Al-Jabiri, Mohammed Arkoun, Nashr Hamid Abu Zayd, Abdullahi Ahmed An-Naim, have promoted this movement. They have especially tried to reinterpret Islamic law, theology, Sufism and philosophy.
Friday, March 10, 2006
The reconstruction of civilizations is meant to enable us to review the world-view of both Islam (the East) and the West. Some Western scholars have criticized and reconstructed the fundamentals of their civilization. The Post-modernist movement, represented by reconstructive thinkers such as Paul Ricouer, Gadamer, Fritchof Chapra, Gary Zukav, has made a significant contribution to that revision, but without a significant impact.
In Islam, we have to criticize "Islamic reason" (nalar Islam). It is meant as a deconstruction of "ancient reason" (nalar klasik), the epistemology that is used to construct Islamic teaching. Several prominent Islamic thinkers, such as Mohammad Abed Al-Jabiri, Mohammed Arkoun, Nashr Hamid Abu Zayd, Abdullahi Ahmed An-Naim, have promoted this movement. They have especially tried to reinterpret Islamic law, theology, Sufism and philosophy.
Right Moves
By Sumati Mehrishi Sharma - Ahmedabad Newsline
cities.expressindia.com - Saturday, March 11, 2006
After performing to sufi chants, Bharatnatyam exponent Rama Vaidyanathan wants to experiment with thumris.
For a classical dancer, Rama Vaidyanathan doesn’t make quite the right moves sometimes. Like performing Bharatnatyam to sufi music or doing so wearing a black veil at the recent Jahen-e-Khusro Festival — the first exponent to do so. But then, this is what makes for a perfect profile if you are participating in the Seventh National Festival of New Choreography beginning on April 11 at the India Habitat Centre in Delhi.
“If you are intimidated by what others have to say about your imagination, you’ll never grow beyond the traditional idiom and nayikas. In that case, choreographies will not happen,” says Vaidyanathan, who believes that after a certain stage dancers should not hesitate to experiment.
cities.expressindia.com - Saturday, March 11, 2006
After performing to sufi chants, Bharatnatyam exponent Rama Vaidyanathan wants to experiment with thumris.
For a classical dancer, Rama Vaidyanathan doesn’t make quite the right moves sometimes. Like performing Bharatnatyam to sufi music or doing so wearing a black veil at the recent Jahen-e-Khusro Festival — the first exponent to do so. But then, this is what makes for a perfect profile if you are participating in the Seventh National Festival of New Choreography beginning on April 11 at the India Habitat Centre in Delhi.
“If you are intimidated by what others have to say about your imagination, you’ll never grow beyond the traditional idiom and nayikas. In that case, choreographies will not happen,” says Vaidyanathan, who believes that after a certain stage dancers should not hesitate to experiment.
Getting Intoxicated with The Love of God
Discourse: Avatar Meher Baba - The Times of India
Friday, 10 March 2006
Sufi poets often compare love with wine because both intoxicate. However, while wine causes self-forgetfulness, love leads to Self-realisation.
The behaviour of the intoxicated and the lover are similar; each disregards the world's standards of conduct and each is indiffe-rent to the opinion of the world.
But there is a world of difference between the course and the goal of the two: One leads to subterranean darkness and denial; the other, love, gives wings to the soul for its flight to freedom.
The drunkenness of the drunkard begins with a glass of wine which elates his spirit and loosens his inhibitions. It gives him a new view of life that promises forgetfulness from his daily worries. He goes on from one glass to two glasses, to a bottle; from companionship to isolation, from forgetfulness to oblivion which in reality, is the original state of God, but which, with the drunkard, is an empty stupor.
And he awakens in a dawn of futility, an object of disgust and ridicule. The lover's drunkenness begins with a drop of God's love which makes him forget the world.
The more he drinks the closer he draws to the Beloved, and the more unworthy he feels of the Beloved's love; and he longs to sacrifice his very life at his Beloved's feet.
He, too, does not know whether he sleeps on a bed or in a gutter, and becomes an object of ridicule; but he rests in bliss, and God the Beloved takes care of him. One out of many such lovers sees God face-to-face. His longing becomes infinite; he is like a fish thrown upon the beach, leaping and squirming to regain the ocean. He sees God everywhere and in everything, but he cannot find the gate of union.
The 'wine' that he drinks turns into 'fire' in which he continuously burns in blissful agony. And the fire eventually becomes the ocean of infinite consciousness in which he drowns.
In love there can never be satisfaction, for longing increases till it becomes an agony which ceases only in Union. Nothing but union with the Beloved can satisfy the lover.
The way of love is continual sacrifice; and what gets sacrificed are the lover's thoughts of 'I', until at last comes the time when the lover says, "O Beloved! Will I ever become one with you and so lose myself forever? But let this be only if it is your Will". This is the stage of love enlightened by obedience. Now the lover continuously witnesses the glory of the Beloved's will; and in the witnessing does not even think of union.
He willingly surrenders his entire being to the Beloved, and has no thought of self left. This is the stage when love is illumined by surrender. Out of millions, only one loves God; and out of millions of lovers, only one succeeds in obeying, and finally in surrendering his whole being to God the Beloved.
Greater than love is obedience. Greater than obedience is surrender. All three arise out of, and remain contained in, the ocean of divine love.
Friday, 10 March 2006
Sufi poets often compare love with wine because both intoxicate. However, while wine causes self-forgetfulness, love leads to Self-realisation.
The behaviour of the intoxicated and the lover are similar; each disregards the world's standards of conduct and each is indiffe-rent to the opinion of the world.
But there is a world of difference between the course and the goal of the two: One leads to subterranean darkness and denial; the other, love, gives wings to the soul for its flight to freedom.
The drunkenness of the drunkard begins with a glass of wine which elates his spirit and loosens his inhibitions. It gives him a new view of life that promises forgetfulness from his daily worries. He goes on from one glass to two glasses, to a bottle; from companionship to isolation, from forgetfulness to oblivion which in reality, is the original state of God, but which, with the drunkard, is an empty stupor.
And he awakens in a dawn of futility, an object of disgust and ridicule. The lover's drunkenness begins with a drop of God's love which makes him forget the world.
The more he drinks the closer he draws to the Beloved, and the more unworthy he feels of the Beloved's love; and he longs to sacrifice his very life at his Beloved's feet.
He, too, does not know whether he sleeps on a bed or in a gutter, and becomes an object of ridicule; but he rests in bliss, and God the Beloved takes care of him. One out of many such lovers sees God face-to-face. His longing becomes infinite; he is like a fish thrown upon the beach, leaping and squirming to regain the ocean. He sees God everywhere and in everything, but he cannot find the gate of union.
The 'wine' that he drinks turns into 'fire' in which he continuously burns in blissful agony. And the fire eventually becomes the ocean of infinite consciousness in which he drowns.
In love there can never be satisfaction, for longing increases till it becomes an agony which ceases only in Union. Nothing but union with the Beloved can satisfy the lover.
The way of love is continual sacrifice; and what gets sacrificed are the lover's thoughts of 'I', until at last comes the time when the lover says, "O Beloved! Will I ever become one with you and so lose myself forever? But let this be only if it is your Will". This is the stage of love enlightened by obedience. Now the lover continuously witnesses the glory of the Beloved's will; and in the witnessing does not even think of union.
He willingly surrenders his entire being to the Beloved, and has no thought of self left. This is the stage when love is illumined by surrender. Out of millions, only one loves God; and out of millions of lovers, only one succeeds in obeying, and finally in surrendering his whole being to God the Beloved.
Greater than love is obedience. Greater than obedience is surrender. All three arise out of, and remain contained in, the ocean of divine love.
Cal Performances offers one-world vision
By Sam Prestianni - Sentinel correspondent
Santa Cruz Sentinel - March 9, 2006
Cal Performances celebrates its 100th anniversary this year as one of the San Francisco Bay Area's top promoters of the performing arts. Since its inception with a high-profile benefit gig for victims of the 1906 earthquake, featuring the superstar French actress Sarah Bernhardt, the UC Berkeley-based presenting organization has advocated a global vision.
Today, this includes productions by musicians, dancers, writers and theatrical performers from every continent save Antarctica. Upcoming concerts by the Masters of Persian Classical Music, Cesaria Evora and Ladysmith Black Mambazo exemplify Cal Performances' commitment to showcasing the planet's dynamic music-making traditions.
The appearance of the Persian Masters, arguably Iran's premier cultural ambassadors to the United States, couldn't come at a more crucial time. After all, an ancient people's sacred art provides a welcome alternative to the chest-thumping politics of the day. The internationally renowned combo of Kayhan Kalhor on kamancheh spiked fiddle, Hossein Alizadeh on tar long-necked lute, Mohammad Reza Shajarian vocals, and his son Homayoun on tombak hand drum has already proven to be a hit among U.S. audiences: The quartet sold out a string of shows on the first leg of its recent Stateside tour and its two recordings, 2001's "Without You" and last year's "Faryad," were both nominated for Grammy awards.
Not unlike the Indian classical repertoire, traditional Persian music derives its power from improvisations on precise scales, rhythms, and phrases, which provide a common language pool for all the bandmates to draw from. The virtuosic instrumentalists of the Masters take their cues from the subtly shifting melodies of the singer Shajarian, who combines the rich meters and passionate verses of both ancient and modern Sufi poetry. Thus, the band's original voice is deeply tied to the mystic fringe of Islam in a spellbinding update on a very old-school sound.
Santa Cruz Sentinel - March 9, 2006
Cal Performances celebrates its 100th anniversary this year as one of the San Francisco Bay Area's top promoters of the performing arts. Since its inception with a high-profile benefit gig for victims of the 1906 earthquake, featuring the superstar French actress Sarah Bernhardt, the UC Berkeley-based presenting organization has advocated a global vision.
Today, this includes productions by musicians, dancers, writers and theatrical performers from every continent save Antarctica. Upcoming concerts by the Masters of Persian Classical Music, Cesaria Evora and Ladysmith Black Mambazo exemplify Cal Performances' commitment to showcasing the planet's dynamic music-making traditions.
The appearance of the Persian Masters, arguably Iran's premier cultural ambassadors to the United States, couldn't come at a more crucial time. After all, an ancient people's sacred art provides a welcome alternative to the chest-thumping politics of the day. The internationally renowned combo of Kayhan Kalhor on kamancheh spiked fiddle, Hossein Alizadeh on tar long-necked lute, Mohammad Reza Shajarian vocals, and his son Homayoun on tombak hand drum has already proven to be a hit among U.S. audiences: The quartet sold out a string of shows on the first leg of its recent Stateside tour and its two recordings, 2001's "Without You" and last year's "Faryad," were both nominated for Grammy awards.
Not unlike the Indian classical repertoire, traditional Persian music derives its power from improvisations on precise scales, rhythms, and phrases, which provide a common language pool for all the bandmates to draw from. The virtuosic instrumentalists of the Masters take their cues from the subtly shifting melodies of the singer Shajarian, who combines the rich meters and passionate verses of both ancient and modern Sufi poetry. Thus, the band's original voice is deeply tied to the mystic fringe of Islam in a spellbinding update on a very old-school sound.
The Stillness Of Sound
Rajiv Vijayakar - Screen India
Friday, March 10, 2006 - MUSIC REVIEWS
The Stillness Of Sound
Sony-BMG, Rs 299 (CD)
An outstanding Sufi album composed by Satish Sharma who writes four of the six songs too. Included are the much-used classics by Hazrat Amir Khusrau, ‘Chhap tilak...’ and ‘Piya ghar aaye...’. The vocals by Shujaat Khan are as spellbinding as his sitar. A must-buy.
Friday, March 10, 2006 - MUSIC REVIEWS
The Stillness Of Sound
Sony-BMG, Rs 299 (CD)
An outstanding Sufi album composed by Satish Sharma who writes four of the six songs too. Included are the much-used classics by Hazrat Amir Khusrau, ‘Chhap tilak...’ and ‘Piya ghar aaye...’. The vocals by Shujaat Khan are as spellbinding as his sitar. A must-buy.
My Spirits, My Cravings, My Garden, My Spring!
By Greg Burk - LAWeekly
Wednesday, March 8, 2006
Masters of Persian Music at UCLA - Transcendent sound is the rarest kind. Dedicated musicians are always striving to get past the body, above the mud, and have a cup of tea with the infinite. But transcendence doesn’t come cheap. First you need something to transcend.
Pain, that is. Like John Coltrane, playing through rotted teeth and liver failure on A Love Supreme. Or Charles Lloyd, who melted into advanced degrees of transparency in the ’90s following a near fatal illness. Or Leni Stern, who dodged cancer and found new heights/depths in her songs and sounds. Or Etta James in R&B, or Schubert in classical music, or keep listing till you’re tired.
The subject crops up because Masters of Persian Music are coming. These four pull off quite a feat: They tap and transcend the pain of a whole culture through modern interpretations of its classical tradition. You’d almost think they were present during the many centuries when Persia/Iran, formerly the world’s greatest empire, underwent its stages of enslavement and revival. Sufism flourished and was repressed and rose again; Arabs, Afghans and Mongols invaded; Western influences ebbed and flowed like an acid tide; respites from war were brief. How can musicians reflect all that?
Obviously they’ve got to be proficient, and the Masters aren’t called that for nothing. A tougher trick: They can’t sound slick. The lyrics of the Sufi poet Rumi (“My spirits and my cravings, my garden and my spring!”) gush from the heart, and vocalist Mohammad Reza Shajarian never comes off like a trained classical gymnast — he means it, man! On tombak, Homayoun Shajarian shoulders the roles of drum, foundation and unifier — one guy, slapping whole and solid. Kayhan Kalhor’s kamancheh (spike fiddle) must have gut strings, ’cause guts is what he’s got, delivering the grandeur with roughspun folkiness and genuine heat. And the great, great Hossein Alizadeh plucks his tar with a mixture of dynamism and passion that makes you forget how damn difficult his runs are; let’s hope he gets some serious solo space, because this blazer’s improvisations can get you crawling up your own spine.
Since the Iran-hatin’ pendulum has swung ’round again, it’s interesting to note that Alizadeh’s last album, Endless Vision, was denied release in his home country because a woman sang on it alongside men. Two years later, the decision was reversed. Iran, you see, experiences a range of opinions.
Iran’s classical repertoire runs intricate and deep, offering up its arabesque symmetries as an abstraction of emotion, a prayer for transcendence. One of these millennia, America will boast a classical tradition to match it. But before then, we’ll have to face a world of hurt.
Wednesday, March 8, 2006
Masters of Persian Music at UCLA - Transcendent sound is the rarest kind. Dedicated musicians are always striving to get past the body, above the mud, and have a cup of tea with the infinite. But transcendence doesn’t come cheap. First you need something to transcend.
Pain, that is. Like John Coltrane, playing through rotted teeth and liver failure on A Love Supreme. Or Charles Lloyd, who melted into advanced degrees of transparency in the ’90s following a near fatal illness. Or Leni Stern, who dodged cancer and found new heights/depths in her songs and sounds. Or Etta James in R&B, or Schubert in classical music, or keep listing till you’re tired.
The subject crops up because Masters of Persian Music are coming. These four pull off quite a feat: They tap and transcend the pain of a whole culture through modern interpretations of its classical tradition. You’d almost think they were present during the many centuries when Persia/Iran, formerly the world’s greatest empire, underwent its stages of enslavement and revival. Sufism flourished and was repressed and rose again; Arabs, Afghans and Mongols invaded; Western influences ebbed and flowed like an acid tide; respites from war were brief. How can musicians reflect all that?
Obviously they’ve got to be proficient, and the Masters aren’t called that for nothing. A tougher trick: They can’t sound slick. The lyrics of the Sufi poet Rumi (“My spirits and my cravings, my garden and my spring!”) gush from the heart, and vocalist Mohammad Reza Shajarian never comes off like a trained classical gymnast — he means it, man! On tombak, Homayoun Shajarian shoulders the roles of drum, foundation and unifier — one guy, slapping whole and solid. Kayhan Kalhor’s kamancheh (spike fiddle) must have gut strings, ’cause guts is what he’s got, delivering the grandeur with roughspun folkiness and genuine heat. And the great, great Hossein Alizadeh plucks his tar with a mixture of dynamism and passion that makes you forget how damn difficult his runs are; let’s hope he gets some serious solo space, because this blazer’s improvisations can get you crawling up your own spine.
Since the Iran-hatin’ pendulum has swung ’round again, it’s interesting to note that Alizadeh’s last album, Endless Vision, was denied release in his home country because a woman sang on it alongside men. Two years later, the decision was reversed. Iran, you see, experiences a range of opinions.
Iran’s classical repertoire runs intricate and deep, offering up its arabesque symmetries as an abstraction of emotion, a prayer for transcendence. One of these millennia, America will boast a classical tradition to match it. But before then, we’ll have to face a world of hurt.
In communion with God
Prof. Muhammad Ishaq Khan - Greater Kashmir online edition
Thu 09 March 2006
The tazkira literature in Sufism provides us an ample information about numerous Sufis of the subcontinent who performed Hajj in spite of the hazards of journey in medieval times. They undertook pilgrimage to Makkah not merely as a matter of religious duty, but, also, as seekers of exoteric and esoteric knowledge. My forthcoming Biographical Dictionary of Sufism in South Asia shows that in medieval times Makkah and Madina were not only great centres of Hadis learning but, also, hubs of Islamic spirituality (tasawwuf). Shaikh ‘Abdu’l-Haqq Muhaddis Dihlawi who spent considerable time in Makkah bears an elaborate testimony to the excellence of the learning of the Indian Sufi scholars, settled in Makkah, like Shaikh ‘Ali Mutaqqi and Shaikh ‘Abdu’l-Wahhab and their impact on the ‘ulama and masha’ikh of the Holy Land. Although Shaikh ‘Ali initially learnt at the feet of the acknowledged Arab scholar and theologian, Shaikh Ibn Hajar ‘Asqalani, later the latter himself took pride in calling himself a pupil of his erstwhile student. So much impressed was ‘Asqalani by the learning of his Indian born pupil that he enrolled himself as the disciple of Shaikh ‘Ali. Under the guidance of Shaikh ‘Abdu’l-Wahhab Muttaqi al-Qadiri al-Shazili in Makkah, Shaikh ‘Adu’l-Haqq not only mastered the Sahi Muslim and Sahih Bukhari, but, also, Sufism.
Although the serene intellectual and spiritual environment of Makkah suited the temperament of Abd’ul-Haqq, he was advised by his spiritual preceptor to return home, both on the grounds of his obligations to his family and India. He was advised not to be in a hurry to denounce a believer as “infidel or a heretic”, if, even while performing fundamental religious duties, the latter was apparently found guilty of violating the Shari‘ah.
Today, there is no scope for the dissemination of a true spiritual knowledge in Sa‘udi Arabia given the official attempts at promoting a superficial understanding of Tawhid. Gone are the days when the ‘ulama of Makkah and Madina sent ripples to the pilgrims with an insatiable quest for a true spiritual knowledge. Not only, Shaikh ‘Abdu’l-Haqq Muhaddis Dihlawi, but, later, Shah Waliu’llah, also, after their return from the Holy Land, proved themselves to be beacons of light in the profoundest sense of the term. They did not simply strengthen the roots of Islam in the subcontinent within the broader framework of Shari‘ah and Sufism, but, more importantly, contributed a great deal to the development of Hadis learning in the subcontinent. One may ask why Shah Waliu’llah, a contemporary of Muhammad bin ‘Abdu’l-Wahhab ___ whose sources of knowledge as well as a teacher were the same in the Holy Land - led their followers in two different directions. While Shah Waliu’llah, in the best tradition of the Hujjatu’l-Islam Imam-i Ghazzali, sought to reconcile Shari‘ah and Sufism, Muhammad bin ‘Abdu’l-Wahhab did not merely reject Sufism but even the recognized four schools of Islamic law. Notwithstanding the reformatory zeal of Muhammad bin ‘Abdu’l-Wahhab, his interpretation of Islam was mainly prompted by the exigencies of the atrophied social environment of Arabia of his time, rather than by spiritio-historical profundities of Islam.
Although there is no marked distinction between the so-called “Arab Islam” and “Sufi Islam”, nonetheless, the Sa‘udi version of Islam is devoid of a deeper sense of spirituality and history. True, Ka‘ba is central to their thinking; but I have earlier shown that millions of pilgrims are also deeply conscious of the centrality of the Ka‘ba. Why does the Sa‘udi government, then, make a fetish of Tawhid by underestimating the Tawhidic consciousness of the pilgrims with strong roots in Sufism? Is it that the antipathy of Muhammad bin Abdu’l-Wahhab and his followers to Sufism has produced such a mind-set?
Historically, it has been the solemn practice with most pilgrims not only to perform the fundamental duty of Hajj, but, also, to visit the heritage sites of spiritual and historical importance. This fact did not merely revitalize the faith of individual believers in the eternity of spiritual Truth, but also led to the development of spiritual knowledge on sound Quranic, Sunnatic and historical foundations. The profuse Sufi literature on the Oneness of Allah and veneration of Muhammad (PBUH) would not have been produced without the spiritual experiences of the Sufis in the wake of their meditations at the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in Madina or, for that matter, at other heritage sites of spiritual and historical importance. The Awrad-i Fathiyya of Mir Saiyid ‘Ali Hamadani, the most popular invocatory prayer in Kashmir for over six centuries, though for the most part, based on the Quranic verses and the prayers of the Prophet (PBUH), was, in essence, the product of the Sufi’s spiritual strivings elsewhere but, finally, in the Holy Land. Likewise, several other Sufis were directed by the Prophet (PBUH) to carry on the mission of ennobling human souls in different parts of the globe in various spiritual states of their communion with him.
Against the background of sturdy spiritual and historical foundations of Sufism, several observations vis-à-vis orchestrated heresy (shirk) in several official booklets, published and distributed by Ministry of Islamic Affairs Endowments, Da‘wah and Guidance, Kingdom of Sa‘udi Arabia, sound hollow. First, shirk in the strictest Quranic sense is related to the Jahilliya belief in the tribal gods that the Ka‘ba housed. Second, the pilgrim’s veneration of Muhammad (PBUH) does not amount to shirk in the original sense of the word. No pilgrim consciously regards the Prophet as God or demi-god. Certainly, however, he is superbly aware of the eternal spiritual and historical role of the Prophet as the Grace of the Worlds. A believer with such supernal Quranic consciousness cannot be a robot but an elevated human soul with the never ceasing yearning for spiritio-historical unicity characterising the relationship between the Prophet (pbuh) and his followers. Equally important, therefore, are the ties of spiritual bonds between the Sufis and their adherents within the framework of the Qur’an and the Sunnah.
Notwithstanding the total neglect of the Sa‘udi government in preserving the cave of Hira as a heritage site, or, for that matter, several other places of spiritual and historical importance, the pilgrims with deep-rooted Sufi traditions, particularly, from Turkey and South Asia, throng Hira where the Prophet (PBUH) first received the Revelation. It was a heart-rending experience for me to see them burst into tears and loud cries while offering durud and salam to the Prophet (SAW) at Hira. What is more, the volitional acts of the pilgrims at Masjid-i Nabwi, Mazar-i Baq‘i, Jannatu’l-Mawa, Uhad and even at the site where the Prophet (PBUH) resided, testify to a certain kind of their abundant mystical love for the Prophet (PBUH), ahl-i bait, Companions, followers of the Companions and their followers. Such a phenomenon may be reprehensible to the Sa‘udis, but, by no stretch of the imagination, do the pilgrims with a burning love for Allah and His true servants dilute the essential spirit of Tawhid. Perhaps ‘Allama Iqbal in Asrar-i Khudi refers to such pilgrims of love in these words: (Translated by: Nicholson’s tr.)
“Be a lover constant in devotion to thy beloved,
That thou mayst cast thy noose and capture God.
Sojourn for a while on the Hira of the heart,
Abandon self and flee to God.
Strengthened by God, return to thy self
And break the heads of Lat and Uzza of sensuality.
By the might of Love evoke an army,
Reveal thyself on the Faran of Love,
That the Lord of the Ka‘bah may show thee favour
And interpret to thee the text, ‘Lo I will appoint a vicegerent on the earth’.”
Thu 09 March 2006
The tazkira literature in Sufism provides us an ample information about numerous Sufis of the subcontinent who performed Hajj in spite of the hazards of journey in medieval times. They undertook pilgrimage to Makkah not merely as a matter of religious duty, but, also, as seekers of exoteric and esoteric knowledge. My forthcoming Biographical Dictionary of Sufism in South Asia shows that in medieval times Makkah and Madina were not only great centres of Hadis learning but, also, hubs of Islamic spirituality (tasawwuf). Shaikh ‘Abdu’l-Haqq Muhaddis Dihlawi who spent considerable time in Makkah bears an elaborate testimony to the excellence of the learning of the Indian Sufi scholars, settled in Makkah, like Shaikh ‘Ali Mutaqqi and Shaikh ‘Abdu’l-Wahhab and their impact on the ‘ulama and masha’ikh of the Holy Land. Although Shaikh ‘Ali initially learnt at the feet of the acknowledged Arab scholar and theologian, Shaikh Ibn Hajar ‘Asqalani, later the latter himself took pride in calling himself a pupil of his erstwhile student. So much impressed was ‘Asqalani by the learning of his Indian born pupil that he enrolled himself as the disciple of Shaikh ‘Ali. Under the guidance of Shaikh ‘Abdu’l-Wahhab Muttaqi al-Qadiri al-Shazili in Makkah, Shaikh ‘Adu’l-Haqq not only mastered the Sahi Muslim and Sahih Bukhari, but, also, Sufism.
Although the serene intellectual and spiritual environment of Makkah suited the temperament of Abd’ul-Haqq, he was advised by his spiritual preceptor to return home, both on the grounds of his obligations to his family and India. He was advised not to be in a hurry to denounce a believer as “infidel or a heretic”, if, even while performing fundamental religious duties, the latter was apparently found guilty of violating the Shari‘ah.
Today, there is no scope for the dissemination of a true spiritual knowledge in Sa‘udi Arabia given the official attempts at promoting a superficial understanding of Tawhid. Gone are the days when the ‘ulama of Makkah and Madina sent ripples to the pilgrims with an insatiable quest for a true spiritual knowledge. Not only, Shaikh ‘Abdu’l-Haqq Muhaddis Dihlawi, but, later, Shah Waliu’llah, also, after their return from the Holy Land, proved themselves to be beacons of light in the profoundest sense of the term. They did not simply strengthen the roots of Islam in the subcontinent within the broader framework of Shari‘ah and Sufism, but, more importantly, contributed a great deal to the development of Hadis learning in the subcontinent. One may ask why Shah Waliu’llah, a contemporary of Muhammad bin ‘Abdu’l-Wahhab ___ whose sources of knowledge as well as a teacher were the same in the Holy Land - led their followers in two different directions. While Shah Waliu’llah, in the best tradition of the Hujjatu’l-Islam Imam-i Ghazzali, sought to reconcile Shari‘ah and Sufism, Muhammad bin ‘Abdu’l-Wahhab did not merely reject Sufism but even the recognized four schools of Islamic law. Notwithstanding the reformatory zeal of Muhammad bin ‘Abdu’l-Wahhab, his interpretation of Islam was mainly prompted by the exigencies of the atrophied social environment of Arabia of his time, rather than by spiritio-historical profundities of Islam.
Although there is no marked distinction between the so-called “Arab Islam” and “Sufi Islam”, nonetheless, the Sa‘udi version of Islam is devoid of a deeper sense of spirituality and history. True, Ka‘ba is central to their thinking; but I have earlier shown that millions of pilgrims are also deeply conscious of the centrality of the Ka‘ba. Why does the Sa‘udi government, then, make a fetish of Tawhid by underestimating the Tawhidic consciousness of the pilgrims with strong roots in Sufism? Is it that the antipathy of Muhammad bin Abdu’l-Wahhab and his followers to Sufism has produced such a mind-set?
Historically, it has been the solemn practice with most pilgrims not only to perform the fundamental duty of Hajj, but, also, to visit the heritage sites of spiritual and historical importance. This fact did not merely revitalize the faith of individual believers in the eternity of spiritual Truth, but also led to the development of spiritual knowledge on sound Quranic, Sunnatic and historical foundations. The profuse Sufi literature on the Oneness of Allah and veneration of Muhammad (PBUH) would not have been produced without the spiritual experiences of the Sufis in the wake of their meditations at the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in Madina or, for that matter, at other heritage sites of spiritual and historical importance. The Awrad-i Fathiyya of Mir Saiyid ‘Ali Hamadani, the most popular invocatory prayer in Kashmir for over six centuries, though for the most part, based on the Quranic verses and the prayers of the Prophet (PBUH), was, in essence, the product of the Sufi’s spiritual strivings elsewhere but, finally, in the Holy Land. Likewise, several other Sufis were directed by the Prophet (PBUH) to carry on the mission of ennobling human souls in different parts of the globe in various spiritual states of their communion with him.
Against the background of sturdy spiritual and historical foundations of Sufism, several observations vis-à-vis orchestrated heresy (shirk) in several official booklets, published and distributed by Ministry of Islamic Affairs Endowments, Da‘wah and Guidance, Kingdom of Sa‘udi Arabia, sound hollow. First, shirk in the strictest Quranic sense is related to the Jahilliya belief in the tribal gods that the Ka‘ba housed. Second, the pilgrim’s veneration of Muhammad (PBUH) does not amount to shirk in the original sense of the word. No pilgrim consciously regards the Prophet as God or demi-god. Certainly, however, he is superbly aware of the eternal spiritual and historical role of the Prophet as the Grace of the Worlds. A believer with such supernal Quranic consciousness cannot be a robot but an elevated human soul with the never ceasing yearning for spiritio-historical unicity characterising the relationship between the Prophet (pbuh) and his followers. Equally important, therefore, are the ties of spiritual bonds between the Sufis and their adherents within the framework of the Qur’an and the Sunnah.
Notwithstanding the total neglect of the Sa‘udi government in preserving the cave of Hira as a heritage site, or, for that matter, several other places of spiritual and historical importance, the pilgrims with deep-rooted Sufi traditions, particularly, from Turkey and South Asia, throng Hira where the Prophet (PBUH) first received the Revelation. It was a heart-rending experience for me to see them burst into tears and loud cries while offering durud and salam to the Prophet (SAW) at Hira. What is more, the volitional acts of the pilgrims at Masjid-i Nabwi, Mazar-i Baq‘i, Jannatu’l-Mawa, Uhad and even at the site where the Prophet (PBUH) resided, testify to a certain kind of their abundant mystical love for the Prophet (PBUH), ahl-i bait, Companions, followers of the Companions and their followers. Such a phenomenon may be reprehensible to the Sa‘udis, but, by no stretch of the imagination, do the pilgrims with a burning love for Allah and His true servants dilute the essential spirit of Tawhid. Perhaps ‘Allama Iqbal in Asrar-i Khudi refers to such pilgrims of love in these words: (Translated by: Nicholson’s tr.)
“Be a lover constant in devotion to thy beloved,
That thou mayst cast thy noose and capture God.
Sojourn for a while on the Hira of the heart,
Abandon self and flee to God.
Strengthened by God, return to thy self
And break the heads of Lat and Uzza of sensuality.
By the might of Love evoke an army,
Reveal thyself on the Faran of Love,
That the Lord of the Ka‘bah may show thee favour
And interpret to thee the text, ‘Lo I will appoint a vicegerent on the earth’.”
Sunday, October 08, 2006
No Strings Attached?
By GIULIANA VETRANO Contributing Writer
The Harvard Crimson - Wednesday, March 08, 2006
The Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (NELC) has its offices at the Semitic Museum on 6 Divinity Avenue, while the Center for Middle Eastern Studies are located at 1430 Mass. Ave., above CVS. A narrow corridor leads to closet-sized rooms just big enough to fit a professor and an FM reporter. Framed, dusty posters in Arabic from the eighties line the dull white walls, and the sounds of a Middle Eastern chant play softly from a distant corner.
This is where Harvard directs students interested in studying Islam.
Compared to the open atrium and plush conference rooms of, say, the Barker Center (where some NELC professors have attic offices), NELC’s space appears shabby and decrepit. And like its physical surroundings, the department itself could use an upgrade.
Funding for that improvement has arrived in the form of Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud’s $20 million gift announced this past November. The Saudi Arabian prince—also the world’s fifth richest man—designated the donation specifically for Islamic Studies. However, despite the improvement the gift guaranteed, critics inside and outside the Harvard community—still reeling from the events of Sept. 11, 2001—said they were suspicious of his background and presumed intentions and questioned whether or not the University should accept the donation.
While Harvard has received prior gifts from other Saudi Arabian and Middle Eastern donors, there is no common formula for accepting or rejecting a gift. Rather, Harvard has chosen to evaluate the gifts, in accordance with the University’s extensive gift policy, on a case-by-case basis.
The University has outlined the major goals of The Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Program for Islamic Studies, but deliberations continue as to the details of its structure and personnel. Faculty point-man Roy P. Mottahedeh, Gurney professor of history, will work along with the Office of Alumni Affairs and Development to advance the program.
Currently, Islamic Studies is mostly confined to the religious and historical aspects of the faith, and especially to Islam in the Middle East. At this point, undergrads study Islam through NELC or the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. Professors like Granara and Susan G. Miller, a senior lecturer in Islamic civilizations, stress the need for a more multidisciplinary program. “This is a disgrace,” says Granara. “Our field is vastly underrepresented...and increases [in funding] are very much necessary.” Ahmed points to Sufism, Islamic mysticism, as a key area in which Harvard has no specialist.
The Harvard Crimson - Wednesday, March 08, 2006
The Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (NELC) has its offices at the Semitic Museum on 6 Divinity Avenue, while the Center for Middle Eastern Studies are located at 1430 Mass. Ave., above CVS. A narrow corridor leads to closet-sized rooms just big enough to fit a professor and an FM reporter. Framed, dusty posters in Arabic from the eighties line the dull white walls, and the sounds of a Middle Eastern chant play softly from a distant corner.
This is where Harvard directs students interested in studying Islam.
Compared to the open atrium and plush conference rooms of, say, the Barker Center (where some NELC professors have attic offices), NELC’s space appears shabby and decrepit. And like its physical surroundings, the department itself could use an upgrade.
Funding for that improvement has arrived in the form of Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud’s $20 million gift announced this past November. The Saudi Arabian prince—also the world’s fifth richest man—designated the donation specifically for Islamic Studies. However, despite the improvement the gift guaranteed, critics inside and outside the Harvard community—still reeling from the events of Sept. 11, 2001—said they were suspicious of his background and presumed intentions and questioned whether or not the University should accept the donation.
While Harvard has received prior gifts from other Saudi Arabian and Middle Eastern donors, there is no common formula for accepting or rejecting a gift. Rather, Harvard has chosen to evaluate the gifts, in accordance with the University’s extensive gift policy, on a case-by-case basis.
The University has outlined the major goals of The Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Program for Islamic Studies, but deliberations continue as to the details of its structure and personnel. Faculty point-man Roy P. Mottahedeh, Gurney professor of history, will work along with the Office of Alumni Affairs and Development to advance the program.
Currently, Islamic Studies is mostly confined to the religious and historical aspects of the faith, and especially to Islam in the Middle East. At this point, undergrads study Islam through NELC or the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. Professors like Granara and Susan G. Miller, a senior lecturer in Islamic civilizations, stress the need for a more multidisciplinary program. “This is a disgrace,” says Granara. “Our field is vastly underrepresented...and increases [in funding] are very much necessary.” Ahmed points to Sufism, Islamic mysticism, as a key area in which Harvard has no specialist.
Whither ghazals of Ghalib?
The Daily Star - Cultural Correspondent
Thu. March 09, 2006
Enayat-e-Moula Jinnah, is a singer of ghazals and modern Bangla songs, apart from being a music director of the Shilpakala Academy for decades. Amplifying on the music scene, he says, "Ghazals, which have come down from Amir Khusru and Ghalib, are popular at clubs, and private houses. However, they are not heard on our local TV or radio. This also applies to Rabindra Sangeet that includes words referring to Hindu mythology."
At present Jinnah is an enlisted singer of Nazrul Sangeet, and modern Bangla songs on radio and TV. He had his initial training in music under Ustad Siddiqur Rahman and next with Ustad Saimud Ali Khan, of Banaras gharana, who himself was a student of Pandit Bishek Shebak Misra. He began with sargam, went into classical training and then progressed to Nazrul Sangeet. In Dinajpur, in his youth, he was attracted to the songs of Mehdi Hassan, which were popular in the homes of his friends of the then East Pakistan Rifles. This saw an ebb even though the ghazals originated from Mirza Ghalib and Bahadur Shah Zafar, who were from India.
Dwelling on this genre of songs, Jinnah says that these ghazals are a combination of Persian and Urdu. Today in India, he says, people sometimes confuse bhajans of Anup Jalota -- which include tales of Krishna and Ram, for ghazals. The famed ghazal writer, Amir Khusru, was originally Turkish. Mirza Ghalib's family, in India, too had its roots in Turkey. Ghalib combined Persian, Arabic and Urdu, he says. "Modern writers of this genre include Mazrul Sultanpuri and Javed Akhter from India. But these writers have not, in any way, been able to surpass Amir Khusru, Bahadur Shah Zafar. Mirza Ghalib or even Allama Iqbal. "I like the ghazals of Bahadur Shah Zafar best because of their poignancy and passion. Their lyricism and moving lines can't help but touch your heart. Their rhythm and clarity communicates with the listener without any effort," says Jinnah.
Ghazals, he says, are not necessarily love poems. "Like qawwalis, they were immersed in Sufism and had a religious nature, as in the case of the early ghazals of Amir Khusru," he says. "They were always based on a raga. In India they are confusing ghazals with bhajans and thumris, such as in the case of Bare Ghulam Ali's Ae na balam, keya kare sajni (a thumri) or Begum Akhter's Jochhona korechhi ari, asheyna amar bari (a dadra). Kazi Nazrul Islam also wrote a large number of Bangla ghazals," he adds.
Thu. March 09, 2006
Enayat-e-Moula Jinnah, is a singer of ghazals and modern Bangla songs, apart from being a music director of the Shilpakala Academy for decades. Amplifying on the music scene, he says, "Ghazals, which have come down from Amir Khusru and Ghalib, are popular at clubs, and private houses. However, they are not heard on our local TV or radio. This also applies to Rabindra Sangeet that includes words referring to Hindu mythology."
At present Jinnah is an enlisted singer of Nazrul Sangeet, and modern Bangla songs on radio and TV. He had his initial training in music under Ustad Siddiqur Rahman and next with Ustad Saimud Ali Khan, of Banaras gharana, who himself was a student of Pandit Bishek Shebak Misra. He began with sargam, went into classical training and then progressed to Nazrul Sangeet. In Dinajpur, in his youth, he was attracted to the songs of Mehdi Hassan, which were popular in the homes of his friends of the then East Pakistan Rifles. This saw an ebb even though the ghazals originated from Mirza Ghalib and Bahadur Shah Zafar, who were from India.
Dwelling on this genre of songs, Jinnah says that these ghazals are a combination of Persian and Urdu. Today in India, he says, people sometimes confuse bhajans of Anup Jalota -- which include tales of Krishna and Ram, for ghazals. The famed ghazal writer, Amir Khusru, was originally Turkish. Mirza Ghalib's family, in India, too had its roots in Turkey. Ghalib combined Persian, Arabic and Urdu, he says. "Modern writers of this genre include Mazrul Sultanpuri and Javed Akhter from India. But these writers have not, in any way, been able to surpass Amir Khusru, Bahadur Shah Zafar. Mirza Ghalib or even Allama Iqbal. "I like the ghazals of Bahadur Shah Zafar best because of their poignancy and passion. Their lyricism and moving lines can't help but touch your heart. Their rhythm and clarity communicates with the listener without any effort," says Jinnah.
Ghazals, he says, are not necessarily love poems. "Like qawwalis, they were immersed in Sufism and had a religious nature, as in the case of the early ghazals of Amir Khusru," he says. "They were always based on a raga. In India they are confusing ghazals with bhajans and thumris, such as in the case of Bare Ghulam Ali's Ae na balam, keya kare sajni (a thumri) or Begum Akhter's Jochhona korechhi ari, asheyna amar bari (a dadra). Kazi Nazrul Islam also wrote a large number of Bangla ghazals," he adds.
UNESCO to declare 2007 'The Year of Mevlana'
ANKARA - Turkish Daily News
Wednesday, March 8, 2006
A proposal by the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry to declare 2007 as the “The Year of Mevlana” to mark the 800th anniversary of Mevlana Jelaladdin Rumi's birth was accepted by UNESCO, the Anatolia news agency reported on Monday.
Culture and Tourism Ministry Undersecretary Mustafa İsen said 2007 was the 800th anniversary of the birth of famous Turkish philosopher and poet Mevlana, and therefore they submitted a proposal to UNESCO to officially declare 2007 as the “Year of Mevlana” to mark the 800th anniversary of his birth.
“UNESCO gave a positive response to our proposal and decided Mevlana to be commemorated next year in all countries. 2007 was declared as the Year of Mevlana,” he said.
Noting that they have intensified commemoration works after this decision, İsen said the commemoration activities to be held in Konya next year would be expanded throughout 2007 all over the world.
He also said they established a committee for organization of the commemorative events under the direction of the ministry and, likewise, some works were being conducted by the Konya Governor's Office and local municipalities.
Support from Iran and Afghanistan:
Meanwhile, International Mevlana Foundation Chairman Faruk Çelebi, who is Mevlana's 22nd generation grandchild, said he was pleased for the decision of UNESCO, which also had included Sufism culture into the world's cultural heritages.
He said they received great support from Iran and Afghanistan for the Year of Mevlana. “It is indeed a positive development for Mevlana culture to be protected and commemorated by UNESCO. Activities will be held worldwide throughout 2007 and Mevlana as well as his philosophy will be conveyed to all humanity in the proper sense.”
Associate Professor Nuri Şimşekler, Selçuk University's Mevlana Research Center director, said UNESCO's decision was an important step in terms of conveying Mevlana and his philosophy to the next generations without having it become degenerated.
Stating that 2007 will also be an important occasion in scientific examination of Mevlana and the related documents on his philosophy as well as introducing this wealth of knowledge to people in Turkey and all of humanity, Şimşekler said, “We will have an opportunity to exhibit the beauty of our religion to other people, highlighting the humanistic and peaceful aspects of Mevlana, who is considered to be one of the best interpreters of Islam, a religion wrongfully associated with terrorism.”
Wednesday, March 8, 2006
A proposal by the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry to declare 2007 as the “The Year of Mevlana” to mark the 800th anniversary of Mevlana Jelaladdin Rumi's birth was accepted by UNESCO, the Anatolia news agency reported on Monday.
Culture and Tourism Ministry Undersecretary Mustafa İsen said 2007 was the 800th anniversary of the birth of famous Turkish philosopher and poet Mevlana, and therefore they submitted a proposal to UNESCO to officially declare 2007 as the “Year of Mevlana” to mark the 800th anniversary of his birth.
“UNESCO gave a positive response to our proposal and decided Mevlana to be commemorated next year in all countries. 2007 was declared as the Year of Mevlana,” he said.
Noting that they have intensified commemoration works after this decision, İsen said the commemoration activities to be held in Konya next year would be expanded throughout 2007 all over the world.
He also said they established a committee for organization of the commemorative events under the direction of the ministry and, likewise, some works were being conducted by the Konya Governor's Office and local municipalities.
Support from Iran and Afghanistan:
Meanwhile, International Mevlana Foundation Chairman Faruk Çelebi, who is Mevlana's 22nd generation grandchild, said he was pleased for the decision of UNESCO, which also had included Sufism culture into the world's cultural heritages.
He said they received great support from Iran and Afghanistan for the Year of Mevlana. “It is indeed a positive development for Mevlana culture to be protected and commemorated by UNESCO. Activities will be held worldwide throughout 2007 and Mevlana as well as his philosophy will be conveyed to all humanity in the proper sense.”
Associate Professor Nuri Şimşekler, Selçuk University's Mevlana Research Center director, said UNESCO's decision was an important step in terms of conveying Mevlana and his philosophy to the next generations without having it become degenerated.
Stating that 2007 will also be an important occasion in scientific examination of Mevlana and the related documents on his philosophy as well as introducing this wealth of knowledge to people in Turkey and all of humanity, Şimşekler said, “We will have an opportunity to exhibit the beauty of our religion to other people, highlighting the humanistic and peaceful aspects of Mevlana, who is considered to be one of the best interpreters of Islam, a religion wrongfully associated with terrorism.”
ETC Punjabi to telecast live Music Awards 2006
Indiantelevision.com Team - Mumbai, 8 March 2006
With the live telecast of ETC Channel Punjabi Music Awards 2006, ETC is once again all set to enhance and applaud the efforts of musicians and their music through various categories including even Sufi and overseas Punjabi singers.
Badman of Bollywood Gulshan Grover will anchor the awards along with Rajeshwari Sachdev.
The awards show loaded with music, fun, dancing, dread, anticipation, joy and elation will be telecast live simultaneously on ETC Channel Punjabi, Zee Punjabi and Alpha ETC Punjabi on the evening of Saturday 18 March, states an official release.
ETC Channel Punjabi and Zee Punjabi president Rabindra Narayan and programming head Rajiee B. Shinde are confident of delivering another winning show for their viewers.
With the live telecast of ETC Channel Punjabi Music Awards 2006, ETC is once again all set to enhance and applaud the efforts of musicians and their music through various categories including even Sufi and overseas Punjabi singers.
Badman of Bollywood Gulshan Grover will anchor the awards along with Rajeshwari Sachdev.
The awards show loaded with music, fun, dancing, dread, anticipation, joy and elation will be telecast live simultaneously on ETC Channel Punjabi, Zee Punjabi and Alpha ETC Punjabi on the evening of Saturday 18 March, states an official release.
ETC Channel Punjabi and Zee Punjabi president Rabindra Narayan and programming head Rajiee B. Shinde are confident of delivering another winning show for their viewers.
Enjoy the Soothing Effect of Sufiana
By Syed Wajid Ali - The Times Of India
Mon 06 March, 2006
Sufism is a mystical dimension of Islam, transcending all religions. It is a way of experiencing truth and self-realisation and in the process takes the seeker on a path of serenity, piety and divinity by means of love and devotion to God.
Truth is the substance. Truth is the courage of each, it is the power of flight; some fly and some remain in the garden, some go beyond the stars.
Sufi music is evolved and illuminated. It is the enchanting outcome of the interface between Hinduism and Islam. The word ‘sufi’ comes from the Arabic word ‘suf’ which means pure.
Sufi music is all about the relationship between the moods of the lover-poet-saint and the beloved. Sufism originated with the foundation of the Chishti order in Khorasam, Persia. Sufi compositions contain effusive verses with an esoteric dimension written in an ornate language.
Sufi poetry has found expression in several languages like Persian, Arabic, Awadhi Bruj, Khariboli and Punjabi. Hazrat Amir Khusrau, Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi, Baba Bulle Shah, Ghulam Farid and Allama-Iqbal were some of the finest Sufi exponents.
Dargah Sharif at Ajmer resting place of Saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti is renowned for its qawwals and is a popular pilgrimage destination. It is where one can feel intensely the Sufi experience.
Particularly on Thursdays, the entire area of the Dargah Sharif is suffused with spirituality. Qawwalis, raga-based compositions, are sung in tandem with the combination of harmonium and tabla. This is followed by ecstatic and vigorous clapping, repetitive and forceful, making the listener experience a spiritual high.
Renowned qawwals like Farid and Chand Nizami, Ghulam and Sultan Hussain Niyazi and Hamsar from the Delhi Gharana display the art with perfect synchronisation of percussionists in a chorus, transporting the audience out of the world.
Experiencing limitlessness, participants and listeners sway some even announce that they are renouncing all possessions and relate to the beats of the chorus, a blending of sufi art and music, what is called sufiana.
Amir Khusrau’s poetry straddles the earthy Hindi, Bruj, and sophisticated Persian, unravelling layers of meaning and nuances. His poetry provides the base to thirsty wanderers, to rejoice and meditate on the fundamental mystery of life.
He created divine musical poetry that reached out to truth. His interest in Indian ragas created mesmeric blends of Arabic and Iranian compositions.
Sufism transcends all boundaries of language and religion. Sufi music has the power to heal and its philosophy has a soothing effect. Qawwali is an expression of love between the lover and the beloved that elevates the spirit, bringing God and performer together.
It deepens love and devotion to God, making the listener exalt in spiritual ecstasy and frenzy. In such exaltations, the listener could slip into a mystical trance.
Qawwali recitals whether of Qual, Basant, Rang, Kaafi, Hamd or Naat incorporate classical and folk music, borrowing from forms like tarana, dadra, thumri and khyal. The eclectic synthesis produces a mesmerising effect, generating a feeling of tranquillity.
Mon 06 March, 2006
Sufism is a mystical dimension of Islam, transcending all religions. It is a way of experiencing truth and self-realisation and in the process takes the seeker on a path of serenity, piety and divinity by means of love and devotion to God.
Truth is the substance. Truth is the courage of each, it is the power of flight; some fly and some remain in the garden, some go beyond the stars.
Sufi music is evolved and illuminated. It is the enchanting outcome of the interface between Hinduism and Islam. The word ‘sufi’ comes from the Arabic word ‘suf’ which means pure.
Sufi music is all about the relationship between the moods of the lover-poet-saint and the beloved. Sufism originated with the foundation of the Chishti order in Khorasam, Persia. Sufi compositions contain effusive verses with an esoteric dimension written in an ornate language.
Sufi poetry has found expression in several languages like Persian, Arabic, Awadhi Bruj, Khariboli and Punjabi. Hazrat Amir Khusrau, Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi, Baba Bulle Shah, Ghulam Farid and Allama-Iqbal were some of the finest Sufi exponents.
Dargah Sharif at Ajmer resting place of Saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti is renowned for its qawwals and is a popular pilgrimage destination. It is where one can feel intensely the Sufi experience.
Particularly on Thursdays, the entire area of the Dargah Sharif is suffused with spirituality. Qawwalis, raga-based compositions, are sung in tandem with the combination of harmonium and tabla. This is followed by ecstatic and vigorous clapping, repetitive and forceful, making the listener experience a spiritual high.
Renowned qawwals like Farid and Chand Nizami, Ghulam and Sultan Hussain Niyazi and Hamsar from the Delhi Gharana display the art with perfect synchronisation of percussionists in a chorus, transporting the audience out of the world.
Experiencing limitlessness, participants and listeners sway some even announce that they are renouncing all possessions and relate to the beats of the chorus, a blending of sufi art and music, what is called sufiana.
Amir Khusrau’s poetry straddles the earthy Hindi, Bruj, and sophisticated Persian, unravelling layers of meaning and nuances. His poetry provides the base to thirsty wanderers, to rejoice and meditate on the fundamental mystery of life.
He created divine musical poetry that reached out to truth. His interest in Indian ragas created mesmeric blends of Arabic and Iranian compositions.
Sufism transcends all boundaries of language and religion. Sufi music has the power to heal and its philosophy has a soothing effect. Qawwali is an expression of love between the lover and the beloved that elevates the spirit, bringing God and performer together.
It deepens love and devotion to God, making the listener exalt in spiritual ecstasy and frenzy. In such exaltations, the listener could slip into a mystical trance.
Qawwali recitals whether of Qual, Basant, Rang, Kaafi, Hamd or Naat incorporate classical and folk music, borrowing from forms like tarana, dadra, thumri and khyal. The eclectic synthesis produces a mesmerising effect, generating a feeling of tranquillity.
N.Y. State Tries To Close TriBeCa Bars For Being Too Close to a Mosque
By DAVID LOMBINO - Staff Reporter of the Sun
The New York Sun, March 7, 2006
Some established TriBeCa bar owners are scrambling to find a legal loophole that will allow them to hold onto their liquor licenses after the State Liquor Authority moved to revoke the licenses upon learning that the bars are within 200 feet of a mosque.
The neighbors who informed the State Liquor Authority about the mosque's presence, Peter and Janna Townsend, are owners and residents of the building at 1 White St., a four-story townhouse about a half a block from the mosque, surrounded by bars and restaurants. The Townsends discovered the state's 200-foot regulation on the Internet as they were mounting a challenge to the Liquor Store Bar, which was seeking a license to reopen nearby. Its application was rejected by the state, and the bar now sits dark and empty despite a costly interior renovation.
Ms. Townsend defended her actions. "I want this to be about quality of life in a neighborhood that is mixed use. There are businesses here and residents here. There needs to be a balance of uses. Those of us that need to sleep here should be able to sleep here," she said.
As part of the process of applying for a liquor license, prospective bar owners must assert that they are in compliance with the law. The owner of the Bubble Lounge, a 10-year old bar whose license is being challenged, Eric Benn, said his establishment is 192 feet from the mosque. Mr. Benn said his business is in jeopardy.
"We're looking forward to the government getting off our case. It's getting to be rather repetitive - they take a great deal of money from us and then we get harassment," Mr. Benn said. "It is impossible to detect that there is a mosque there; not even the Community Board knew."
Since 1990, the two-story white-painted building at 245 West Broadway with drawn Venetian blinds and a locked gate has housed the Sufi mosque, Masjid al-Farah. The gold lettering on the front door does not contain the word "mosque," but it is registered as a religious not-for-profit corporation with the state and federal government.
An administrator for the mosque, Kris Jones, said a lawyer representing the mosque submitted a letter to the state clarifying the uses of the building. She said that in addition to being a place of worship, the building serves as a space to feed the homeless and host interfaith meetings.
"We don't have a dispute with any of the neighbors. We are here to support them. Our main thing is to be neutral," Ms. Jones told The New York Sun. "We don't want anyone to lose their jobs."
The state also moved to revoke the license of Cercle Rouge, a French bistro that shares a wall with the mosque. There are mixed reports about whether the state also issued a summons to Tribeca Tavern. The highly rated restaurant Montrachet did not receive a summons because it predates the mosque.
The New York Sun, March 7, 2006
Some established TriBeCa bar owners are scrambling to find a legal loophole that will allow them to hold onto their liquor licenses after the State Liquor Authority moved to revoke the licenses upon learning that the bars are within 200 feet of a mosque.
The neighbors who informed the State Liquor Authority about the mosque's presence, Peter and Janna Townsend, are owners and residents of the building at 1 White St., a four-story townhouse about a half a block from the mosque, surrounded by bars and restaurants. The Townsends discovered the state's 200-foot regulation on the Internet as they were mounting a challenge to the Liquor Store Bar, which was seeking a license to reopen nearby. Its application was rejected by the state, and the bar now sits dark and empty despite a costly interior renovation.
Ms. Townsend defended her actions. "I want this to be about quality of life in a neighborhood that is mixed use. There are businesses here and residents here. There needs to be a balance of uses. Those of us that need to sleep here should be able to sleep here," she said.
As part of the process of applying for a liquor license, prospective bar owners must assert that they are in compliance with the law. The owner of the Bubble Lounge, a 10-year old bar whose license is being challenged, Eric Benn, said his establishment is 192 feet from the mosque. Mr. Benn said his business is in jeopardy.
"We're looking forward to the government getting off our case. It's getting to be rather repetitive - they take a great deal of money from us and then we get harassment," Mr. Benn said. "It is impossible to detect that there is a mosque there; not even the Community Board knew."
Since 1990, the two-story white-painted building at 245 West Broadway with drawn Venetian blinds and a locked gate has housed the Sufi mosque, Masjid al-Farah. The gold lettering on the front door does not contain the word "mosque," but it is registered as a religious not-for-profit corporation with the state and federal government.
An administrator for the mosque, Kris Jones, said a lawyer representing the mosque submitted a letter to the state clarifying the uses of the building. She said that in addition to being a place of worship, the building serves as a space to feed the homeless and host interfaith meetings.
"We don't have a dispute with any of the neighbors. We are here to support them. Our main thing is to be neutral," Ms. Jones told The New York Sun. "We don't want anyone to lose their jobs."
The state also moved to revoke the license of Cercle Rouge, a French bistro that shares a wall with the mosque. There are mixed reports about whether the state also issued a summons to Tribeca Tavern. The highly rated restaurant Montrachet did not receive a summons because it predates the mosque.
Eastern Sudan tempts Darfurian fate
By ISN Security Watch staff in Nairobi and Khartoum (07/03/06)
International Relations and Security Network - Zurich - Switzerland
With conflict rife in Sudan’s troubled Darfur, and peace still tenuous in the south, another of Sudan’s marginalized regions could be set to erupt. Eastern Sudan ostensibly exhibits many of the same traits that led to war in Darfur since 2003 and in southern Sudan from 1983-2005.
On 24 January 2005, three weeks after the Sudanese government and the southern-based Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), the Sudanese army opened fire on a demonstration in the eastern city of Port Sudan, on the Red Sea coast. At least 20 people were killed.
This incident plus the ongoing government clampdown, tensions both generated and exacerbated by the signing of the CPA, and the potent example of government tactics in Darfur all contributed to the formation of the Eastern Front in February 2005. The newly formed and relatively unexamined movement promises to forcibly resist Khartoum’s likely attempt to retake the Hameshkoreb enclave in eastern Sudan, near the Eritrean border, once the former SPLM/A withdraws.
Eastern Sudan comprises three states: Kassala, Gedaref, and Red Sea State. It has a population of around four million people. The main ethnic groups are the Beja and the Rashaida. The Beja are the largest group in the region, comprising numerous subdivisions. Indigenous to the area, they adhere to a Sufi brand of Islam that fits uneasily with the Wahhabite-influenced National Islamic Front (NIF), which forms the backbone of the National Congress Party (NCP) elite that now dominates the Khartoum government.
The Beja Congress is an established political-military force in eastern Sudan, contesting elections in the post-independence era, but mostly losing out locally to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which is the political front for the local Sufi Khatmiyya sect to which most Beja adhere.
The Rashaida are nomadic descendants of Bedouin immigrants into the area from the Arabian Peninsula in the 19th Century. Retaining links to the Gulf and adhering to their traditional lifestyle, the relatively wealthy group remains simultaneously more marginalized, as government agricultural and pipeline policies cut into the land used for nomadic lifestyle. The Rashaida Free Lions, the other constituent part of the Eastern Front, is a relatively new entity.
Local grievances can be traced directly back to the aftermath of the 1989 NIF coup in Khartoum. Land expropriation in the name of larger agricultural schemes has seen many Beja move to the slums of Kassala and Port Sudan. Much of the land was given over to local and River Nile-based elites linked to the ruling regime.
In 1990, the extrajudicial execution of Mohammed Karrar, the Beja governor of the region, was seen as a direct attack on Beja consciousness and lay at the backdrop of a Beja Congress decision to join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) armed struggle, linking northern opposition groups to the southern rebellion led by the SPLM/A. The Beja Congress joined the NDA in 1995 as it saw the need to push for greater self-rule for the Beja in particular and the east in general.
International Relations and Security Network - Zurich - Switzerland
With conflict rife in Sudan’s troubled Darfur, and peace still tenuous in the south, another of Sudan’s marginalized regions could be set to erupt. Eastern Sudan ostensibly exhibits many of the same traits that led to war in Darfur since 2003 and in southern Sudan from 1983-2005.
On 24 January 2005, three weeks after the Sudanese government and the southern-based Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), the Sudanese army opened fire on a demonstration in the eastern city of Port Sudan, on the Red Sea coast. At least 20 people were killed.
This incident plus the ongoing government clampdown, tensions both generated and exacerbated by the signing of the CPA, and the potent example of government tactics in Darfur all contributed to the formation of the Eastern Front in February 2005. The newly formed and relatively unexamined movement promises to forcibly resist Khartoum’s likely attempt to retake the Hameshkoreb enclave in eastern Sudan, near the Eritrean border, once the former SPLM/A withdraws.
Eastern Sudan comprises three states: Kassala, Gedaref, and Red Sea State. It has a population of around four million people. The main ethnic groups are the Beja and the Rashaida. The Beja are the largest group in the region, comprising numerous subdivisions. Indigenous to the area, they adhere to a Sufi brand of Islam that fits uneasily with the Wahhabite-influenced National Islamic Front (NIF), which forms the backbone of the National Congress Party (NCP) elite that now dominates the Khartoum government.
The Beja Congress is an established political-military force in eastern Sudan, contesting elections in the post-independence era, but mostly losing out locally to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which is the political front for the local Sufi Khatmiyya sect to which most Beja adhere.
The Rashaida are nomadic descendants of Bedouin immigrants into the area from the Arabian Peninsula in the 19th Century. Retaining links to the Gulf and adhering to their traditional lifestyle, the relatively wealthy group remains simultaneously more marginalized, as government agricultural and pipeline policies cut into the land used for nomadic lifestyle. The Rashaida Free Lions, the other constituent part of the Eastern Front, is a relatively new entity.
Local grievances can be traced directly back to the aftermath of the 1989 NIF coup in Khartoum. Land expropriation in the name of larger agricultural schemes has seen many Beja move to the slums of Kassala and Port Sudan. Much of the land was given over to local and River Nile-based elites linked to the ruling regime.
In 1990, the extrajudicial execution of Mohammed Karrar, the Beja governor of the region, was seen as a direct attack on Beja consciousness and lay at the backdrop of a Beja Congress decision to join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) armed struggle, linking northern opposition groups to the southern rebellion led by the SPLM/A. The Beja Congress joined the NDA in 1995 as it saw the need to push for greater self-rule for the Beja in particular and the east in general.
Sufi shrine damaged
Bahrain News Agency - date: 07 03, 2006
Baghdad , March . 7 (BNA)
Yesterday night an explosive device damaged the Sufi shrine of Mahdi al-Jabr on in the north Iraqi city of Tikrit. No injuries were reported.
Baghdad , March . 7 (BNA)
Yesterday night an explosive device damaged the Sufi shrine of Mahdi al-Jabr on in the north Iraqi city of Tikrit. No injuries were reported.
Demystifying Islam
Beth Ashley - Marin Independent Journal - marinij.com
March 7, 2006
At 1 p.m. on a recent afternoon, 20 men came one by one into the brown stucco Islamic Center on a side street in Mill Valley and silently prostrated themselves on a huge red carpet in the otherwise barren main room.
Later, the men stood quietly in front of their imam, listening to his prayers.
Ten minutes later, they were gone. Many would return for evening prayer in the late afternoon, part of their five-times-a-day commitment to prayer.
Islam may seem like a "foreign" religion to some, but it's a way of life for hundreds of people in Marin. Several of them will discuss their beliefs Saturday in a daylong symposium at Dominican University called "Understanding Islam." The conference is open to the public.
Ebrahim Nana, who is on the board of directors of the Islamic Center, will discuss Islam's basic beliefs.
Ali Kianfar, co-director and co-founder of the International Association of Sufism (headquarters are in Novato), will talk about the "message" of Islam, which directs his religious practice.
Arthur Kane Scott, a professor at Dominican University, will discuss the mysticism of Islam, which was what drew him to Islamic studies eight years ago and sent him - impatiently, he says - on a quest to find his true self.
They will be joined by other lecturers, discussing women in Islam, civil rights in Islam and Islamic architecture.
All three men say Marin is unusually accepting of the Muslim faith - "Marin is probably the most liberal county in the country," says Nana - but all say the conference will help clear up what Scott calls "a great deal of confusion and misunderstanding.
Sufism, a branch of Islam, is thriving in Marin, too. Kianfar estimates there are more than 1,000 practicing Sufis in Marin, and he emphasizes that their faith centers on a personal journey rather than any partisan, sectarian view of Islam.
It was the variety of practice among Sufis that led him to found the international organization that now holds an annual convention in the Bay Area of Sufi groups from around the world. Kianfar came to Marin from his native Iran in 1987. He runs a print shop in San Rafael.
Followers of Sufism focus on their individual experiences and look inside to find who they truly are - apart from their names, jobs, language, personality and Social Security numbers, says Scott.
Kianfar sees Islam as a religion of peace. "If a man's religion becomes a cause for differences, I prefer not to call him a religious person."
Nana, who was born in India, grew up in Thailand and came here in 1969, says the masjid (place of worship) in Mill Valley has a Sufi imam, but Shi'ites and believers of all kinds are welcome, including Christians or Jews who just want to meditate.
"It is a returning to our own heart, where the deeper reality lies."
Scott, who was raised a Catholic, explored Buddhism and Hinduism before he found Kianfar and Sufism eight years ago. "I knew right away I was at home." Now he incorporates a spiritual perspective into his Dominican University classes in history, sociology, anthropology and religion. "My students are hungry for this information." He says his quest for his inner truth - his "purity" - is ongoing.
Students meet with Kianfar twice a month in group meetings, have individual consultations, and "do a lot of things together." Kianfar says he is on a journey of exploration that never ends.
"We are all passengers to eternity," he says. "We have to prepare for a long, long journey."
March 7, 2006
At 1 p.m. on a recent afternoon, 20 men came one by one into the brown stucco Islamic Center on a side street in Mill Valley and silently prostrated themselves on a huge red carpet in the otherwise barren main room.
Later, the men stood quietly in front of their imam, listening to his prayers.
Ten minutes later, they were gone. Many would return for evening prayer in the late afternoon, part of their five-times-a-day commitment to prayer.
Islam may seem like a "foreign" religion to some, but it's a way of life for hundreds of people in Marin. Several of them will discuss their beliefs Saturday in a daylong symposium at Dominican University called "Understanding Islam." The conference is open to the public.
Ebrahim Nana, who is on the board of directors of the Islamic Center, will discuss Islam's basic beliefs.
Ali Kianfar, co-director and co-founder of the International Association of Sufism (headquarters are in Novato), will talk about the "message" of Islam, which directs his religious practice.
Arthur Kane Scott, a professor at Dominican University, will discuss the mysticism of Islam, which was what drew him to Islamic studies eight years ago and sent him - impatiently, he says - on a quest to find his true self.
They will be joined by other lecturers, discussing women in Islam, civil rights in Islam and Islamic architecture.
All three men say Marin is unusually accepting of the Muslim faith - "Marin is probably the most liberal county in the country," says Nana - but all say the conference will help clear up what Scott calls "a great deal of confusion and misunderstanding.
Sufism, a branch of Islam, is thriving in Marin, too. Kianfar estimates there are more than 1,000 practicing Sufis in Marin, and he emphasizes that their faith centers on a personal journey rather than any partisan, sectarian view of Islam.
It was the variety of practice among Sufis that led him to found the international organization that now holds an annual convention in the Bay Area of Sufi groups from around the world. Kianfar came to Marin from his native Iran in 1987. He runs a print shop in San Rafael.
Followers of Sufism focus on their individual experiences and look inside to find who they truly are - apart from their names, jobs, language, personality and Social Security numbers, says Scott.
Kianfar sees Islam as a religion of peace. "If a man's religion becomes a cause for differences, I prefer not to call him a religious person."
Nana, who was born in India, grew up in Thailand and came here in 1969, says the masjid (place of worship) in Mill Valley has a Sufi imam, but Shi'ites and believers of all kinds are welcome, including Christians or Jews who just want to meditate.
"It is a returning to our own heart, where the deeper reality lies."
Scott, who was raised a Catholic, explored Buddhism and Hinduism before he found Kianfar and Sufism eight years ago. "I knew right away I was at home." Now he incorporates a spiritual perspective into his Dominican University classes in history, sociology, anthropology and religion. "My students are hungry for this information." He says his quest for his inner truth - his "purity" - is ongoing.
Students meet with Kianfar twice a month in group meetings, have individual consultations, and "do a lot of things together." Kianfar says he is on a journey of exploration that never ends.
"We are all passengers to eternity," he says. "We have to prepare for a long, long journey."
Because sufism sells
By JYOTHI PRABHAKAR - The Times of India
6 Mar 2006
Thanks to fusion bands, sufi music is a rage these days. From college-goers to the chic socialite, everyone's tuning in.
Attend a sufi music concert - just understanding the rhythm will do, no need to understand every word of what the singer on stage is singing. And just like that, you've arrived. "Sufism has, over the years, become like a popular bestseller that everyone wants to read. Not because you like the author, or even the genre, but because you don't want to be the only one to be left out of conversations over coffee,"says well-known sufi singer Shafqat Ali Khan.
So today, sufi music can join the upmarket, elite bracket of a U2 best seller album, or a Robbie Williams live concert.
As Neeraj Saha, who manages a popular music store says, "These days, everyone wants sufi music CDs. And they usually end up buying Pakistani fusion bands, whose music seems to be quite popular."Agrees Abida Parveen, the Pakistani sufi singer, "The demand for sufi music concerts has grown over the last few years.
Ever since the legendary Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan became popular because he mixed his classical renditions with modern instruments, everyone wants to listen to this kind of music."
But then, there are people who argue that it is the music per se, and not the attached snob value that attracts listeners. According to singer Daler Mehndi, sufi music is becoming popular "thanks to many fusion bands who have made sufi very rhythm-friendly.
Those 'into' sufi music argue their case differently. Muzzafar Ali, who's done a lot in popularising pure forms of sufi music says, "You don't need a trained ear to listen to a sufi rendition, just a heart full of music.
Adds designer Puja Nayyar who listens to sufi music, "I love its folksy abandon. I do not understand the language much, nor do I have a classical ear. But still, it attracts me." However, Shafqat Ali Khan cautions, "These days, everything sells under the 'sufi fusion' label. Fusion does not mean that you add two western guitars to your troupe, or have a singer who is clad in a kurta pyjama, and another who sports jeans.
In fact, the minute sufism became a money spinner, it lost all its original tenets - that of commitment, purity of thought and action, and a total abandon from selfish motives."
6 Mar 2006
Thanks to fusion bands, sufi music is a rage these days. From college-goers to the chic socialite, everyone's tuning in.
Attend a sufi music concert - just understanding the rhythm will do, no need to understand every word of what the singer on stage is singing. And just like that, you've arrived. "Sufism has, over the years, become like a popular bestseller that everyone wants to read. Not because you like the author, or even the genre, but because you don't want to be the only one to be left out of conversations over coffee,"says well-known sufi singer Shafqat Ali Khan.
So today, sufi music can join the upmarket, elite bracket of a U2 best seller album, or a Robbie Williams live concert.
As Neeraj Saha, who manages a popular music store says, "These days, everyone wants sufi music CDs. And they usually end up buying Pakistani fusion bands, whose music seems to be quite popular."Agrees Abida Parveen, the Pakistani sufi singer, "The demand for sufi music concerts has grown over the last few years.
Ever since the legendary Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan became popular because he mixed his classical renditions with modern instruments, everyone wants to listen to this kind of music."
But then, there are people who argue that it is the music per se, and not the attached snob value that attracts listeners. According to singer Daler Mehndi, sufi music is becoming popular "thanks to many fusion bands who have made sufi very rhythm-friendly.
Those 'into' sufi music argue their case differently. Muzzafar Ali, who's done a lot in popularising pure forms of sufi music says, "You don't need a trained ear to listen to a sufi rendition, just a heart full of music.
Adds designer Puja Nayyar who listens to sufi music, "I love its folksy abandon. I do not understand the language much, nor do I have a classical ear. But still, it attracts me." However, Shafqat Ali Khan cautions, "These days, everything sells under the 'sufi fusion' label. Fusion does not mean that you add two western guitars to your troupe, or have a singer who is clad in a kurta pyjama, and another who sports jeans.
In fact, the minute sufism became a money spinner, it lost all its original tenets - that of commitment, purity of thought and action, and a total abandon from selfish motives."
Bhaskar Bhattacharyya
Telegraph.co.uk. - 06/03/2006
Bhaskar Bhattacharyya, who has drowned aged 56 while swimming off the coast of Chennai (formerly Madras), was a documentary film-maker, a consultant to musicians and film crews working in India and a scholar of Hindu and Sufi mysticism.
An adviser on several British television series set in India, including The Jewel in the Crown (1984) and Great Railway Journeys of the World (1989), Bhattacharyya inspired many young Indian film-makers. As director of programmes for the Business India channel he was able to help many of them further their careers.
His technical knowledge of film-making was worn as lightly as his understanding of ancient mystics and shamanism; he was chiefly noticeable for his infectious laugh and enthusiasm for the diverse culture of his birthplace.
Bhaskar Bhattacharyya was born in Darjeeling on June 4 1950, the son of two school-teachers. When young Bhaskar was five, his parents left India for Kampala, Uganda, where they lived for the next 11 years before moving to London, where he took his A levels and read Physics at City University.
year into the course, however, he dropped out of university. After a spell spent living in squats in north London, he joined the hippy trail, travelling through Europe, Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan, finally ending up in India.
For the next six years he lived among the sadhus (holy men) and shamans, befriending the Baul musicians and going on to study Sanskrit at Vanarisi (Benares) on the banks of the Ganges. During this period he collaborated with the film-maker George Lunneau, after which Bhattacharyya went on to form his own production company.
In 1976 he returned to London to continue his academic exploration of Hindu and Sufi mysticism. By the 1980s he had built up a reputation as a respected adviser and facilitator for western media in India.
Bhattacharyya made a number of documentaries about Indian culture and wrote articles for the Independent, The Times of India and the South China Morning Post. In 1993 he published a collection of 84 Baul song lyrics, The Path of the Mystic Lover: Baul songs of passion and ecstasy (co-written with Nik Douglas). At the time of his death he was working on a novel about the poet Shelley, with whom he felt a great affinity.
Bhattacharyya, who died on February 10 while on a film shoot for Channel 4, married Rohini Pathania in 1988. She survives him with their son.
Bhaskar Bhattacharyya, who has drowned aged 56 while swimming off the coast of Chennai (formerly Madras), was a documentary film-maker, a consultant to musicians and film crews working in India and a scholar of Hindu and Sufi mysticism.
An adviser on several British television series set in India, including The Jewel in the Crown (1984) and Great Railway Journeys of the World (1989), Bhattacharyya inspired many young Indian film-makers. As director of programmes for the Business India channel he was able to help many of them further their careers.
His technical knowledge of film-making was worn as lightly as his understanding of ancient mystics and shamanism; he was chiefly noticeable for his infectious laugh and enthusiasm for the diverse culture of his birthplace.
Bhaskar Bhattacharyya was born in Darjeeling on June 4 1950, the son of two school-teachers. When young Bhaskar was five, his parents left India for Kampala, Uganda, where they lived for the next 11 years before moving to London, where he took his A levels and read Physics at City University.
year into the course, however, he dropped out of university. After a spell spent living in squats in north London, he joined the hippy trail, travelling through Europe, Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan, finally ending up in India.
For the next six years he lived among the sadhus (holy men) and shamans, befriending the Baul musicians and going on to study Sanskrit at Vanarisi (Benares) on the banks of the Ganges. During this period he collaborated with the film-maker George Lunneau, after which Bhattacharyya went on to form his own production company.
In 1976 he returned to London to continue his academic exploration of Hindu and Sufi mysticism. By the 1980s he had built up a reputation as a respected adviser and facilitator for western media in India.
Bhattacharyya made a number of documentaries about Indian culture and wrote articles for the Independent, The Times of India and the South China Morning Post. In 1993 he published a collection of 84 Baul song lyrics, The Path of the Mystic Lover: Baul songs of passion and ecstasy (co-written with Nik Douglas). At the time of his death he was working on a novel about the poet Shelley, with whom he felt a great affinity.
Bhattacharyya, who died on February 10 while on a film shoot for Channel 4, married Rohini Pathania in 1988. She survives him with their son.
Public Lesson
Source: Delhi Newsline - Sunday, March 5, 2006
by Sumati Mehrishi Sharma
New Delhi, March 4: Uzbek singer Yulchieva Munojatkhon is more than a background buzz. She is one of Uzbekistan’s most popular singers, yet she rarely gives solo performances. That’s because, unlike musicians from elsewhere in the world, Uzbek artistes prefer to perform with their teachers — as accompanists — even when they can command an audience on their own merit.
Like Yulchieva Munojatkhon. She is famous. She has an evergreen voice melodious enough to cut a meteoric career in the commercial music firmament. But for several years, she has been turning down offers from the Uzbek film industry. That’s because her Tashkent-based teacher, Shavqat Mirza, does not approve of film songs.
He believes that a true classical musician must never succumb to commercial pressure. According to him, I am at the peak of my singing career and that I must not waste my talent by singing film songs.”
But Delhi’ites can take heart. The 46-year-old Munojatkhon will perform today, at Jahan-e-Khusrau, the sixth International Sufi Music Festival, where she will dazzle the crowd with Persian Sufi songs. And this time, her teacher will take the seat to play the kamancha, a Persian stringed instrument.
Uzbek music, as she points out, is close to Kashmiri sufi music, even though it shares more similarities with melodies from Kazakhistan. Her songs are overtly spiritual, drawing inspiration from Sufi philosophy. And she has dedicated several of her compositions to the 15th century Uzbek writer, Ali Sher Nawoi. “He is to Uzbekistan what the Sufi and Bhakti saints are to India,” she explains. Given the revered guru-shishya relationship Uzbek musicians share, it isn’t surprising that filmmaker Muzaffar Ali, who organises the festival in the capital every year, took two years to convince her to come to India.
The artiste attended Shavqat’s conservatory after completing school in the Uzbek capital. “I was not born in a family of musicians,” says the artiste. So she worked hard to master her lessons and was soon making her own compositions. “Theory is important, but my teacher is particular about pronunciation and a knowledge of the Urdu language helps.”
Uzbekistan follows two paths of Sufism — the Yehsavi and the Nakshbandi. “The Yehsavi philosophy believes that God created us and we should all return to him as soon as possible. The Nakshbandi, on the other hand relates more to this world. It says that though we belong to God, we should be committed to our work. Nakshbands offer their heart and soul to God.”
by Sumati Mehrishi Sharma
New Delhi, March 4: Uzbek singer Yulchieva Munojatkhon is more than a background buzz. She is one of Uzbekistan’s most popular singers, yet she rarely gives solo performances. That’s because, unlike musicians from elsewhere in the world, Uzbek artistes prefer to perform with their teachers — as accompanists — even when they can command an audience on their own merit.
Like Yulchieva Munojatkhon. She is famous. She has an evergreen voice melodious enough to cut a meteoric career in the commercial music firmament. But for several years, she has been turning down offers from the Uzbek film industry. That’s because her Tashkent-based teacher, Shavqat Mirza, does not approve of film songs.
He believes that a true classical musician must never succumb to commercial pressure. According to him, I am at the peak of my singing career and that I must not waste my talent by singing film songs.”
But Delhi’ites can take heart. The 46-year-old Munojatkhon will perform today, at Jahan-e-Khusrau, the sixth International Sufi Music Festival, where she will dazzle the crowd with Persian Sufi songs. And this time, her teacher will take the seat to play the kamancha, a Persian stringed instrument.
Uzbek music, as she points out, is close to Kashmiri sufi music, even though it shares more similarities with melodies from Kazakhistan. Her songs are overtly spiritual, drawing inspiration from Sufi philosophy. And she has dedicated several of her compositions to the 15th century Uzbek writer, Ali Sher Nawoi. “He is to Uzbekistan what the Sufi and Bhakti saints are to India,” she explains. Given the revered guru-shishya relationship Uzbek musicians share, it isn’t surprising that filmmaker Muzaffar Ali, who organises the festival in the capital every year, took two years to convince her to come to India.
The artiste attended Shavqat’s conservatory after completing school in the Uzbek capital. “I was not born in a family of musicians,” says the artiste. So she worked hard to master her lessons and was soon making her own compositions. “Theory is important, but my teacher is particular about pronunciation and a knowledge of the Urdu language helps.”
Uzbekistan follows two paths of Sufism — the Yehsavi and the Nakshbandi. “The Yehsavi philosophy believes that God created us and we should all return to him as soon as possible. The Nakshbandi, on the other hand relates more to this world. It says that though we belong to God, we should be committed to our work. Nakshbands offer their heart and soul to God.”
A Voice for Peace
By Hadia Mostafa - Egypt Today
Saturday, 04 Mar 2006
With God in his heart and the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) at his side, British-born singing sensation Sami Yusuf is taking the world by storm — and even has non-Muslims humming his tunes — but don’t make the mistake of calling the widely acclaimed ‘King of Islamic Pop’ a preacher.
HE HAS THE GOOD looks, chart-topping music and stylish video clips of a bona fide pop star, but sings about God, the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) and the inherently peaceful message of Islam. In 2005, his website, www.samiyusuf.com, recorded more than 2 million visitors. Children love his catchy tunes, parents applaud his integrity, and the teenagers and twenty-somethings who make up the bulk of his fan base have taken Yusuf as their new role model.
“I do not come from an excessively religious family, though. I had a very normal Islamic upbringing and graduated from a normal public school in England. I used to pray on and off until I became ‘more practicing’ at the age of 16. My father was always very spiritual and a great lover of the Qur’an and the writings of Sufi poets such as Rumi, so the spiritual influence was always there,” says Yusuf.
Al-Mu’allim’s anasheed-style music and lyrics have a clear Sufi feel throughout, particularly on tracks such as “Allahu.”
“I wouldn’t label myself as a Sufi, but if you look at the historical context of spirituality and Sufism, you will find that they play a huge part in our faith. The greatest of sahaba (companions of the Prophet (PBUH)) and the greatest of Muslims were Sufis in the proper understanding of the term. Tasawuf (Sufism) definitely plays an important part of my life, but so do other things.”
Saturday, 04 Mar 2006
With God in his heart and the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) at his side, British-born singing sensation Sami Yusuf is taking the world by storm — and even has non-Muslims humming his tunes — but don’t make the mistake of calling the widely acclaimed ‘King of Islamic Pop’ a preacher.
HE HAS THE GOOD looks, chart-topping music and stylish video clips of a bona fide pop star, but sings about God, the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) and the inherently peaceful message of Islam. In 2005, his website, www.samiyusuf.com, recorded more than 2 million visitors. Children love his catchy tunes, parents applaud his integrity, and the teenagers and twenty-somethings who make up the bulk of his fan base have taken Yusuf as their new role model.
“I do not come from an excessively religious family, though. I had a very normal Islamic upbringing and graduated from a normal public school in England. I used to pray on and off until I became ‘more practicing’ at the age of 16. My father was always very spiritual and a great lover of the Qur’an and the writings of Sufi poets such as Rumi, so the spiritual influence was always there,” says Yusuf.
Al-Mu’allim’s anasheed-style music and lyrics have a clear Sufi feel throughout, particularly on tracks such as “Allahu.”
“I wouldn’t label myself as a Sufi, but if you look at the historical context of spirituality and Sufism, you will find that they play a huge part in our faith. The greatest of sahaba (companions of the Prophet (PBUH)) and the greatest of Muslims were Sufis in the proper understanding of the term. Tasawuf (Sufism) definitely plays an important part of my life, but so do other things.”
Remnants of Buddhist culture found in Khorasan Razavi
MehrNews - RM/HG
Sunday, March 4, 2006
TEHRAN, Mar. 4 (MNA) -- A team of Iranian and Japanese experts have discovered remnants of Buddhist culture at a site near Sabzevar, Khorasan Razavi Province, the Persian service of CHN reported on Saturday.
The team, which began their research work last year, believes that they will find a Buddhist temple at the site. The Iranian director of the team, Hamid Fahimi, said that nineteen sites in the provinces of Zanjan, West Azerbaijan, Central, Kurdestan, Hamedan, and Khorasan Razavi were studied, and the Pirestir site near Sabzevar was the location where Buddhist ruins were discovered. According to Fahimi, architectural ruins, historical documents, and the local oral history have provided more evidence that Buddhists lived at the site in the late Sassanid and early Islamic eras.
Fahimi believes that Sufism is influenced by the Buddhist religion and that there are many Iranian stories which came from Buddhism where only the names have been changed.
The Japanese team is directed by Tsuchi Hashirikobe and the experts come from NIFS (Japan’s Nara International Foundation) a public-service corporation established by the governor of Nara prefecture in July 1989, aims to develop Nara into a center for historical and cultural research on the Silk Road, based on the achievements of the Silk Road Exposition of 1988.
Sunday, March 4, 2006
TEHRAN, Mar. 4 (MNA) -- A team of Iranian and Japanese experts have discovered remnants of Buddhist culture at a site near Sabzevar, Khorasan Razavi Province, the Persian service of CHN reported on Saturday.
The team, which began their research work last year, believes that they will find a Buddhist temple at the site. The Iranian director of the team, Hamid Fahimi, said that nineteen sites in the provinces of Zanjan, West Azerbaijan, Central, Kurdestan, Hamedan, and Khorasan Razavi were studied, and the Pirestir site near Sabzevar was the location where Buddhist ruins were discovered. According to Fahimi, architectural ruins, historical documents, and the local oral history have provided more evidence that Buddhists lived at the site in the late Sassanid and early Islamic eras.
Fahimi believes that Sufism is influenced by the Buddhist religion and that there are many Iranian stories which came from Buddhism where only the names have been changed.
The Japanese team is directed by Tsuchi Hashirikobe and the experts come from NIFS (Japan’s Nara International Foundation) a public-service corporation established by the governor of Nara prefecture in July 1989, aims to develop Nara into a center for historical and cultural research on the Silk Road, based on the achievements of the Silk Road Exposition of 1988.
Yearning for God is a New and Different Feeling for Westerners
ZAMAN ONLINE - zaman.com
By MINE CAKAR Thursday, March 02, 2006
Mevlana Jalaladdin Rumi is a river flowing strongly for centuries… This river, whose love surpasses centuries and whose call of truth exceeds borders, remains a fountain for burning hearts.
Mevlana and his philosophy of Sufism, known as "Rumi" in the West, are becoming more popular as sales of his books pass that of Shakespeare in America. What is the motive behind these developing dynamics in the West? Why does this wisdom tree rooted in the East bear fruits in the lives of Westerners? Does it migrate from ungrateful lands to the places where it will be appreciated, as the truth cannot disappear?
American Mawlavi Sheikh Kabir Helsinki draws our attention to the fact that Rumi's harmonizing of human nature with spirituality is a new phenomenon for Westerners, as they tend to adopt the opposite. The Sheikh explains the origins of his interest in Rumi: "Rumi adopts humanity in all his attitudes. Islamic Sufism handles the human being with his misery and sorrow, as well as his craving for God; and this feature enables growth. Rumi is the voice of fascination and universal love. This passion and energy is very new for the West because spiritual tendencies are considered against and rejecting of life. However, Rumi is a great believer in life. Rumi represents a healing power and repairs the broken human heart, enabling us to feel close to God and human at the same time."
Mawlawi Dargah has 200 dervishes worldwide, with 25 in California under Sheikh Helminski. There are Muslims from countries such as Turkey, Iran, and Indonesia in the group formed by Americans. Helminski says: "We have studied the Quran in addition to the works of Rumi for 25 years. We are trying to think, worship and withdraw into solitude, along with trying to form suitable relationships and associations. We conduct our daily tasks such as cooking, cleaning and serving guests besides spiritual education. We become more important in our love for God through our hopes; being awake, alert and conscious. Rumi is a great teacher and this kind of education nourishes the heart. It is an ever-lasting and a never-ending education. We are all students and there is no end to learning, it keeps improving our souls." Helminski compares Rumi to a river and says we are carried by its flow, where this power can create miracles.
Helminski says some people have a vague understanding of Rumi, and lists ways to help to understand him: “You cannot understand Rumi unless you make sacrifices and adapt yourself to a discipline to transform the self. No matter whether you are in the US or Turkey shallow thinking stays with you. We should awaken ourselves and begin on the road to spiritual development. This cannot be achieved by alone. It can be achieved through tradition and organized activities, which contain disciplines and are instructor-controlled, because it is difficult to maintain the promises alone and keep the intention alive. We should find those with same intention, work, and be part of a school of love.” Helminski stresses that Rumi cannot be separated from the Quran and Islamic tradition, and says, they do not have coercive attitudes, like making demands on those who attend their meetings.
By MINE CAKAR Thursday, March 02, 2006
Mevlana Jalaladdin Rumi is a river flowing strongly for centuries… This river, whose love surpasses centuries and whose call of truth exceeds borders, remains a fountain for burning hearts.
Mevlana and his philosophy of Sufism, known as "Rumi" in the West, are becoming more popular as sales of his books pass that of Shakespeare in America. What is the motive behind these developing dynamics in the West? Why does this wisdom tree rooted in the East bear fruits in the lives of Westerners? Does it migrate from ungrateful lands to the places where it will be appreciated, as the truth cannot disappear?
American Mawlavi Sheikh Kabir Helsinki draws our attention to the fact that Rumi's harmonizing of human nature with spirituality is a new phenomenon for Westerners, as they tend to adopt the opposite. The Sheikh explains the origins of his interest in Rumi: "Rumi adopts humanity in all his attitudes. Islamic Sufism handles the human being with his misery and sorrow, as well as his craving for God; and this feature enables growth. Rumi is the voice of fascination and universal love. This passion and energy is very new for the West because spiritual tendencies are considered against and rejecting of life. However, Rumi is a great believer in life. Rumi represents a healing power and repairs the broken human heart, enabling us to feel close to God and human at the same time."
Mawlawi Dargah has 200 dervishes worldwide, with 25 in California under Sheikh Helminski. There are Muslims from countries such as Turkey, Iran, and Indonesia in the group formed by Americans. Helminski says: "We have studied the Quran in addition to the works of Rumi for 25 years. We are trying to think, worship and withdraw into solitude, along with trying to form suitable relationships and associations. We conduct our daily tasks such as cooking, cleaning and serving guests besides spiritual education. We become more important in our love for God through our hopes; being awake, alert and conscious. Rumi is a great teacher and this kind of education nourishes the heart. It is an ever-lasting and a never-ending education. We are all students and there is no end to learning, it keeps improving our souls." Helminski compares Rumi to a river and says we are carried by its flow, where this power can create miracles.
Helminski says some people have a vague understanding of Rumi, and lists ways to help to understand him: “You cannot understand Rumi unless you make sacrifices and adapt yourself to a discipline to transform the self. No matter whether you are in the US or Turkey shallow thinking stays with you. We should awaken ourselves and begin on the road to spiritual development. This cannot be achieved by alone. It can be achieved through tradition and organized activities, which contain disciplines and are instructor-controlled, because it is difficult to maintain the promises alone and keep the intention alive. We should find those with same intention, work, and be part of a school of love.” Helminski stresses that Rumi cannot be separated from the Quran and Islamic tradition, and says, they do not have coercive attitudes, like making demands on those who attend their meetings.
Bharatnatyam is flavour of Sufi festival this year
Source: Delhi News Line
by Sumati Mehrishi Sharma - New Delhi, March 1, 2006:
KATHAK has always been the perfect partner for Sufi whirls, but now it’s Bharatnatyam’s turn.
At this year’s Jahan-e-Khusrau festival, an annual Sufi music event, Bharatnatyam artiste Rama Vaidyanathan will perform with an ensemble directed by Carnatic flautist G.S. Rajan.
Rajan, from the group The Malabarians, will use the Carnatic raag, Kirvani, which he says is apparently reflected in the aazan. However, Vaidyanathan will don white for this performance instead of a traditional costume.
Pakistani Sufi legend Abida Parveen is already in the Capital to participate at the sixth edition of the festival, jointly organised by filmmaker and designer Muzaffar Ali and Delhi Tourism. Parveen has been a regular at the festival since 2000— when it started.
Popular for bringing together Sufi dervishes from West Asian countries and Indian qawwals in the previous years, the festival has now opened to Bollywood playback singers Daler Mehndi and Sukhwinder Singh.
Ali feels it will help popularise this form of music among youth. ‘‘We are open to artistes from all backgrounds— even from Hollywood. But the Sufi spirit should be common,’’ he says.
Other performers at Jahan-e-Khusrau include the Rumi group from Iran, Yulchieva Munojatkhon from Uzbekistan, Ustad Shafqat Ali Khan and Amaan and Ayaan Ali Khan Bangash.
by Sumati Mehrishi Sharma - New Delhi, March 1, 2006:
KATHAK has always been the perfect partner for Sufi whirls, but now it’s Bharatnatyam’s turn.
At this year’s Jahan-e-Khusrau festival, an annual Sufi music event, Bharatnatyam artiste Rama Vaidyanathan will perform with an ensemble directed by Carnatic flautist G.S. Rajan.
Rajan, from the group The Malabarians, will use the Carnatic raag, Kirvani, which he says is apparently reflected in the aazan. However, Vaidyanathan will don white for this performance instead of a traditional costume.
Pakistani Sufi legend Abida Parveen is already in the Capital to participate at the sixth edition of the festival, jointly organised by filmmaker and designer Muzaffar Ali and Delhi Tourism. Parveen has been a regular at the festival since 2000— when it started.
Popular for bringing together Sufi dervishes from West Asian countries and Indian qawwals in the previous years, the festival has now opened to Bollywood playback singers Daler Mehndi and Sukhwinder Singh.
Ali feels it will help popularise this form of music among youth. ‘‘We are open to artistes from all backgrounds— even from Hollywood. But the Sufi spirit should be common,’’ he says.
Other performers at Jahan-e-Khusrau include the Rumi group from Iran, Yulchieva Munojatkhon from Uzbekistan, Ustad Shafqat Ali Khan and Amaan and Ayaan Ali Khan Bangash.
Pakistani radios charm Jammu residents
Pakistani radios charm Jammu residents
Frederick Noronha (FN) Indo-Asian News Service
Jammu, March 1 (IANS) No Indian FM radio covers Jammu and Kashmir but people in this region have three Pakistani FM radio channels to tune in to. The Pakistani radios provide a wide range of programmes from Sufi music to pop and from fashion tips to guides on staying healthy.
Jammu, less than 50 km from the Pakistani border, receives clear signals of Radio Burrak 104, Awaz 105 and Awaz 106.
Frederick Noronha (FN) Indo-Asian News Service
Jammu, March 1 (IANS) No Indian FM radio covers Jammu and Kashmir but people in this region have three Pakistani FM radio channels to tune in to. The Pakistani radios provide a wide range of programmes from Sufi music to pop and from fashion tips to guides on staying healthy.
Jammu, less than 50 km from the Pakistani border, receives clear signals of Radio Burrak 104, Awaz 105 and Awaz 106.
International Seminar on Amir Khusrau to be Held in India
Pendar - Persian Independent Media
2006-2-28 - 21:42 - CHN
Tehran, 28 February 2006 (CHN) -- An International Seminar on Amir Khusrau, great philosopher and poet of the 13th century AD, will be held early March this year at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi to commemorate his 701 death anniversary. The seminar will be organized jointly by Department of Persian Language, Faculty of Humanities and Languages, Jamia Millia Islamia and Persian Scholars Association.
The title of this seminar is “A Delineator of Strong Culture Bond of India with Afghanistan, Central Asia and Iran.”
Amir Khusrau is known as a Sufi, poet, reformer and courtier. His contribution to the world of knowledge and wisdom will be highlighted in this seminar. Intellectuals and scholars throughout the world will participate in the seminar, which will cover works and contributions of Amir Khusrau to humanity.
Amir Khusrau’s life and work in chronological order reveals that he gradually acquired a consciousness which is reflected in his intellectual dynamism and literary accomplishments. His attitude towards life, society, culture, and art has been constantly changing and expanding conically. He got his observations and experiences as well as the continual specialty of the conflict of human ideas and cruel facts of life from his learned patrons and friends.
Eminent scholars are invited from all over the world; university students and professors and Persian lovers will be among the audience. The press will also be invited for the coverage of the news.
Researchers are supposed to present their studies with topics including Amir Khusrau a poet among Indian people; Amir Khusrau, and the culture and civilization of India; Indian parrot, the pioneer of cultural variety; Amir Khusrau and Sufism; Amir Khusrau and Indian-Iranian traditional literature; Amir Khusrau and beautiful arts; Amir Khusrau’s influence on Indian literature; Amir Khusrau and folkloric literature; Amir Khusrau beyond the Indian borders; Amir Khusrau and his contemporaries; Amir Khusrau hand scripts; Translation of Amir Khusrau works; Political and cultural relations between Iran and India and Central Asia during 13 and 14 centuries AD; and Amir Khusrau as a historian.
Esfandiar Rahim Mashayi, Director of Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization will also attend this 5-day international seminar.
Amir Khusrau (1253-1325 AD) is one of the prominent figures in the cultural history of India. He was a creative classical poet associated with royal courts of more than seven rulers of the Delhi Sultanate. He is also popular in much of North Indian and Pakistan, because of many playful riddles, songs and legends attributed to him. He wrote both in Persian and Hindustani. His poetry is still sing in today’s Sufi shrines throughout Pakistan and India. Amir Khusrau was the author of a Khamsa which emulated that of the earlier Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi. His work is considered one of the greatest pieces of Persian classic poetry during the Timurid period (1370–1506 AD) in Transoxiana.
2006-2-28 - 21:42 - CHN
Tehran, 28 February 2006 (CHN) -- An International Seminar on Amir Khusrau, great philosopher and poet of the 13th century AD, will be held early March this year at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi to commemorate his 701 death anniversary. The seminar will be organized jointly by Department of Persian Language, Faculty of Humanities and Languages, Jamia Millia Islamia and Persian Scholars Association.
The title of this seminar is “A Delineator of Strong Culture Bond of India with Afghanistan, Central Asia and Iran.”
Amir Khusrau is known as a Sufi, poet, reformer and courtier. His contribution to the world of knowledge and wisdom will be highlighted in this seminar. Intellectuals and scholars throughout the world will participate in the seminar, which will cover works and contributions of Amir Khusrau to humanity.
Amir Khusrau’s life and work in chronological order reveals that he gradually acquired a consciousness which is reflected in his intellectual dynamism and literary accomplishments. His attitude towards life, society, culture, and art has been constantly changing and expanding conically. He got his observations and experiences as well as the continual specialty of the conflict of human ideas and cruel facts of life from his learned patrons and friends.
Eminent scholars are invited from all over the world; university students and professors and Persian lovers will be among the audience. The press will also be invited for the coverage of the news.
Researchers are supposed to present their studies with topics including Amir Khusrau a poet among Indian people; Amir Khusrau, and the culture and civilization of India; Indian parrot, the pioneer of cultural variety; Amir Khusrau and Sufism; Amir Khusrau and Indian-Iranian traditional literature; Amir Khusrau and beautiful arts; Amir Khusrau’s influence on Indian literature; Amir Khusrau and folkloric literature; Amir Khusrau beyond the Indian borders; Amir Khusrau and his contemporaries; Amir Khusrau hand scripts; Translation of Amir Khusrau works; Political and cultural relations between Iran and India and Central Asia during 13 and 14 centuries AD; and Amir Khusrau as a historian.
Esfandiar Rahim Mashayi, Director of Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization will also attend this 5-day international seminar.
Amir Khusrau (1253-1325 AD) is one of the prominent figures in the cultural history of India. He was a creative classical poet associated with royal courts of more than seven rulers of the Delhi Sultanate. He is also popular in much of North Indian and Pakistan, because of many playful riddles, songs and legends attributed to him. He wrote both in Persian and Hindustani. His poetry is still sing in today’s Sufi shrines throughout Pakistan and India. Amir Khusrau was the author of a Khamsa which emulated that of the earlier Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi. His work is considered one of the greatest pieces of Persian classic poetry during the Timurid period (1370–1506 AD) in Transoxiana.
Concert spotlights Persian poet
Show promotes cultural exchange
By Dean Calbreath
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
February 28, 2006
In the past decade, the works of medieval Persian poet Jelaluddin Rumi have been resurrected in many forums, from readings by the likes of Madonna and Goldie Hawn to an operatic extravaganza by composer Philip Glass.
Iranian-Kurdish singer Shahram Nazeri performed his son, Hafez's, composition "In the Steps of Rumi" - a melding of Western and Persian themes.
In a break from tradition, the Nazeris have developed an interpretation of Rumi's work that melds classical Western music with the traditional music of Iran, blending the sounds of the viola and cello with such ancient Persian instruments as the daf and setar. Hafez Nazeri, who composed the work, hopes this combination of Western and Persian traditions might serve as a model for both sides to learn from each other.
“The idea is to embrace change while remaining true to your own culture and the traditions of the past,” Hafez said. “That's vital for the health of Persian music – and the health of Persian culture as a whole.”
The composition, “In the Steps of Rumi,” resonated with the 1,000 or so Iranians and Kurds who heard the Nazeris perform at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido on Friday. They tapped their feet and clapped along with some of the livelier pieces – folk tunes from Shahram Nazeri's hometown of Kermanshah – and gave the troupe no fewer than four standing ovations.
Rumi was a natural choice for an intercultural composition. In his day, the Sufi Muslim's ruminations on the nature of love struck a chord among listeners from the Buddhists of China to the Christians of Europe.
In the 1990s, Rumi had a revival in the West. An English translation of his poems sold more than 100,000 copies – a decent run for 800-year-old poetry. Bill Moyers featured a show on Rumi in his PBS poetry series “Language of Life.” Madonna, Hawn and the late civil-rights activist Rosa Parks were among the voices on a CD of Rumi's poetry. Deepak Chopra set Rumi's poems to music.
But in Iran, the most popular settings of Rumi's poetry were the strictly traditional interpretations of Shahram Nazeri, a Kurdish singer who has spent the past 35 years reviving ancient traditions in Persian music.
Five years ago, Shahram's son, Hafez, who was then 21, put together the Rumi Ensemble, a troupe that toured 20 cities in Iran with a slightly modernized take on the age-old music. One performance in Tehran drew 140,000 people – one of the biggest concerts ever in the Middle East.
With encouragement from his father, Hafez moved to New York to study Western composition at the Mannes College of Music. While reading Franz Kafka's “Metamorphosis,” he decided to create a piece of music that would reflect a cultural metamorphosis by intertwining the classical strains of Persia and Europe.
Unlike classical Persian music, in which individual pieces stay within the same musical scale, Hafez used the broader Western range of multiple keys. He kept the quarter-tones found in Near Eastern scales, but melded them into Western harmonic structures.
In Friday's performance, Hafez played the Persian setar, similar to the Indian sitar, as his father sang. Hafez's cousin, Siavash Nazeri – who is moving to San Diego – played the daf, a Persian drum so versatile that it had the power of a small percussion ensemble.
Taiwan-born Liuh-Wen Ting, who is more accustomed to accompanying Broadway musicals than medieval Persian music, played the viola. Peter Wyrick, associate principal cellist of the San Francisco Symphony, played the cello. Salar Nadar, an Afhgan from Germany, played tabla, bongo-like drums from Northern India.
By Dean Calbreath
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
February 28, 2006
In the past decade, the works of medieval Persian poet Jelaluddin Rumi have been resurrected in many forums, from readings by the likes of Madonna and Goldie Hawn to an operatic extravaganza by composer Philip Glass.
Iranian-Kurdish singer Shahram Nazeri performed his son, Hafez's, composition "In the Steps of Rumi" - a melding of Western and Persian themes.
In a break from tradition, the Nazeris have developed an interpretation of Rumi's work that melds classical Western music with the traditional music of Iran, blending the sounds of the viola and cello with such ancient Persian instruments as the daf and setar. Hafez Nazeri, who composed the work, hopes this combination of Western and Persian traditions might serve as a model for both sides to learn from each other.
“The idea is to embrace change while remaining true to your own culture and the traditions of the past,” Hafez said. “That's vital for the health of Persian music – and the health of Persian culture as a whole.”
The composition, “In the Steps of Rumi,” resonated with the 1,000 or so Iranians and Kurds who heard the Nazeris perform at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido on Friday. They tapped their feet and clapped along with some of the livelier pieces – folk tunes from Shahram Nazeri's hometown of Kermanshah – and gave the troupe no fewer than four standing ovations.
Rumi was a natural choice for an intercultural composition. In his day, the Sufi Muslim's ruminations on the nature of love struck a chord among listeners from the Buddhists of China to the Christians of Europe.
In the 1990s, Rumi had a revival in the West. An English translation of his poems sold more than 100,000 copies – a decent run for 800-year-old poetry. Bill Moyers featured a show on Rumi in his PBS poetry series “Language of Life.” Madonna, Hawn and the late civil-rights activist Rosa Parks were among the voices on a CD of Rumi's poetry. Deepak Chopra set Rumi's poems to music.
But in Iran, the most popular settings of Rumi's poetry were the strictly traditional interpretations of Shahram Nazeri, a Kurdish singer who has spent the past 35 years reviving ancient traditions in Persian music.
Five years ago, Shahram's son, Hafez, who was then 21, put together the Rumi Ensemble, a troupe that toured 20 cities in Iran with a slightly modernized take on the age-old music. One performance in Tehran drew 140,000 people – one of the biggest concerts ever in the Middle East.
With encouragement from his father, Hafez moved to New York to study Western composition at the Mannes College of Music. While reading Franz Kafka's “Metamorphosis,” he decided to create a piece of music that would reflect a cultural metamorphosis by intertwining the classical strains of Persia and Europe.
Unlike classical Persian music, in which individual pieces stay within the same musical scale, Hafez used the broader Western range of multiple keys. He kept the quarter-tones found in Near Eastern scales, but melded them into Western harmonic structures.
In Friday's performance, Hafez played the Persian setar, similar to the Indian sitar, as his father sang. Hafez's cousin, Siavash Nazeri – who is moving to San Diego – played the daf, a Persian drum so versatile that it had the power of a small percussion ensemble.
Taiwan-born Liuh-Wen Ting, who is more accustomed to accompanying Broadway musicals than medieval Persian music, played the viola. Peter Wyrick, associate principal cellist of the San Francisco Symphony, played the cello. Salar Nadar, an Afhgan from Germany, played tabla, bongo-like drums from Northern India.
Chechens: A Handbook
Chechens: A Handbook - by Amjad Jaimoukha
publisher: Routledge, February 2004
price: $135.00
Source: Transitions Online
The ancient Chechen nation has been living in its idyllic homeland in the North Caucasus for thousands of years, building states and forging relations and interacting with other Caucasian and Near Eastern civilizations. The Chechens are thought to be related to the Hurrians and Urartians, builders of seminal civilizations in the Near East, and they themselves established a civilization whose relics can still be come across, especially in the ancient Pantheon.
This book provides a ready introduction, and practical guide to the Chechen people and some little-known and rarely-considered aspects of Chechen culture, including customs and traditions, folklore, arts and architecture, music, and literature. It also narrates Chechen history from ancient times and provides sketches of archaic religions and civilizations. Amjad Jaimoukha reveals the esoteric social structure and the peculiar brand of Chechen Sufism, as well as the present political situation in Chechnya.
This handbook also includes:
· Analysis of Chechen media development since the early twentieth century
· Images of the Chechens carried by Russian and Western medias
· Sketches of the short-lived Chechen film industry
· A proverbs and sayings section
· Appendices detailing social structure, the native Pantheon, bibliographies and periodicals pertaining to the Chechens and Chechnya, and a lexicographic listing
· A comprehensive bibliography, with many entries in English, for further reading
As the only comprehensive guide available in English, this book is an indispensable and accessible resource for all those with an interest in Chechnya.
publisher: Routledge, February 2004
price: $135.00
Source: Transitions Online
The ancient Chechen nation has been living in its idyllic homeland in the North Caucasus for thousands of years, building states and forging relations and interacting with other Caucasian and Near Eastern civilizations. The Chechens are thought to be related to the Hurrians and Urartians, builders of seminal civilizations in the Near East, and they themselves established a civilization whose relics can still be come across, especially in the ancient Pantheon.
This book provides a ready introduction, and practical guide to the Chechen people and some little-known and rarely-considered aspects of Chechen culture, including customs and traditions, folklore, arts and architecture, music, and literature. It also narrates Chechen history from ancient times and provides sketches of archaic religions and civilizations. Amjad Jaimoukha reveals the esoteric social structure and the peculiar brand of Chechen Sufism, as well as the present political situation in Chechnya.
This handbook also includes:
· Analysis of Chechen media development since the early twentieth century
· Images of the Chechens carried by Russian and Western medias
· Sketches of the short-lived Chechen film industry
· A proverbs and sayings section
· Appendices detailing social structure, the native Pantheon, bibliographies and periodicals pertaining to the Chechens and Chechnya, and a lexicographic listing
· A comprehensive bibliography, with many entries in English, for further reading
As the only comprehensive guide available in English, this book is an indispensable and accessible resource for all those with an interest in Chechnya.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Thaw In The Thar: New Train
By Yoginder Sikand - Countercurrents.org
20 February, 2006
Cries of 'Long Live India-Pakistan Friendship' rend the air as the Thar Express streams out of the Jodhpur railway station on the evening of the 17th of February, heading for the Pakistan border. The next afternoon, a train bearing the same name crosses into India from Mirpur Khas in Sindh and chugs into Munabao, a desert settlement in Rajasthan's Barmer district, barely two kilometers from the border, being warmly welcomed by an enthusiastic crowd of several thousand people. 'May the Thar Express become the Yar (Friendship) Express bringing India and Pakistan ever closer than before', exclaims the compare of the function held by the Indian Railways to inaugurate the resumption of the railway link between Rajasthan and Sindh, which was terminated in the wake of the 1965 India-Pakistan war.
Many of the passengers on board the Thar Express to Pakistan have relatives across the border whom they have not met for decades. An elderly Muslim man from Barmer tells me about his grand-daughter in Sindh whom he has never seen although she is twenty now. 'I'm going to attend her wedding', he beams with excitement. 'Had it not been for this train I would not have been able to travel to Pakistan, because the other route--through Punjab--is simply unaffordable for a poor peasant like me'. A middle-aged Hindu woman, who migrated to India from Sindh twenty-five years ago, says she's going back to her village to meet her son whom she has not met ever since she left Pakistan. Another Sindhi Hindu, who now lives in Rajasthan, tells me he is going to meet his guru in Sindh, whom he saw for the last time fifteen years ago.
At the railway station in Jodhpur and in Munabao activists of the Jodhpur-based Seemant Lok Sangathan ('Border Peoples' Organisation') distribute leaflets hailing the train as a major landmark in promoting people-to-people contacts between India and Pakistan. Says Hindu Singh Sodha, President of the Sangathan and himself a migrant from Thar Parkar in Sindh, 'Rajasthan and Sindh have had close historical, cultural, religious and trade links and the resumption of the train service will once again bring these two regions close to each other'.
An elaborate cultural programme presented by employees of the North-Western Railways outside Munabao station drives home the same message of communal harmony, uniting Hindus and Muslims, Indians and Pakistanis. A traditional Rajasthani dance drama depicts a local folk hero, venerated by Hindus as Ramdev and by Muslims as Ram Shah Pir. This is followed by a musical recital of verses composed by Sindh's most well-known Sufi poet, Shah Abdul Latif. And to further stress this plea for Indo-Pak bonhomie, the official compare of the function piously announces, as the train from Pakistan trundles into Munabao station, the noble goal of 'uniting the message of the Gita and the Quran'.
20 February, 2006
Cries of 'Long Live India-Pakistan Friendship' rend the air as the Thar Express streams out of the Jodhpur railway station on the evening of the 17th of February, heading for the Pakistan border. The next afternoon, a train bearing the same name crosses into India from Mirpur Khas in Sindh and chugs into Munabao, a desert settlement in Rajasthan's Barmer district, barely two kilometers from the border, being warmly welcomed by an enthusiastic crowd of several thousand people. 'May the Thar Express become the Yar (Friendship) Express bringing India and Pakistan ever closer than before', exclaims the compare of the function held by the Indian Railways to inaugurate the resumption of the railway link between Rajasthan and Sindh, which was terminated in the wake of the 1965 India-Pakistan war.
Many of the passengers on board the Thar Express to Pakistan have relatives across the border whom they have not met for decades. An elderly Muslim man from Barmer tells me about his grand-daughter in Sindh whom he has never seen although she is twenty now. 'I'm going to attend her wedding', he beams with excitement. 'Had it not been for this train I would not have been able to travel to Pakistan, because the other route--through Punjab--is simply unaffordable for a poor peasant like me'. A middle-aged Hindu woman, who migrated to India from Sindh twenty-five years ago, says she's going back to her village to meet her son whom she has not met ever since she left Pakistan. Another Sindhi Hindu, who now lives in Rajasthan, tells me he is going to meet his guru in Sindh, whom he saw for the last time fifteen years ago.
At the railway station in Jodhpur and in Munabao activists of the Jodhpur-based Seemant Lok Sangathan ('Border Peoples' Organisation') distribute leaflets hailing the train as a major landmark in promoting people-to-people contacts between India and Pakistan. Says Hindu Singh Sodha, President of the Sangathan and himself a migrant from Thar Parkar in Sindh, 'Rajasthan and Sindh have had close historical, cultural, religious and trade links and the resumption of the train service will once again bring these two regions close to each other'.
An elaborate cultural programme presented by employees of the North-Western Railways outside Munabao station drives home the same message of communal harmony, uniting Hindus and Muslims, Indians and Pakistanis. A traditional Rajasthani dance drama depicts a local folk hero, venerated by Hindus as Ramdev and by Muslims as Ram Shah Pir. This is followed by a musical recital of verses composed by Sindh's most well-known Sufi poet, Shah Abdul Latif. And to further stress this plea for Indo-Pak bonhomie, the official compare of the function piously announces, as the train from Pakistan trundles into Munabao station, the noble goal of 'uniting the message of the Gita and the Quran'.
Iran cracks down on Sufis: hundreds remain jailed
Iran Focus - Sun. 19 Feb 2006
Tehran, Iran, Feb. 19 – Iran Focus has obtained a partial list of names of Islamic mystics arrested during a protest in the holy city of Qom, south of Tehran, earlier this week. The partial list of those arrested was provided to Iran Focus from a reliable source in Qom.
Islamic mystics, or Sufis, focus on the direct perception of Truth or God through mystic practices based on divine love. Sufism, common to both Sunni and Shiite sects of Islam, has its roots in Iran. Its followers oppose Iran’s ruling theocracy on spiritual grounds.
Police arrested some one thousand Sufis as clashes broke out after the place of worship used by the mystics was demolished Tuesday on government orders.
Hundreds were injured during the clashes after police fired teargas and used truncheons to attack the demonstrating Sufis.
Tehran, Iran, Feb. 19 – Iran Focus has obtained a partial list of names of Islamic mystics arrested during a protest in the holy city of Qom, south of Tehran, earlier this week. The partial list of those arrested was provided to Iran Focus from a reliable source in Qom.
Islamic mystics, or Sufis, focus on the direct perception of Truth or God through mystic practices based on divine love. Sufism, common to both Sunni and Shiite sects of Islam, has its roots in Iran. Its followers oppose Iran’s ruling theocracy on spiritual grounds.
Police arrested some one thousand Sufis as clashes broke out after the place of worship used by the mystics was demolished Tuesday on government orders.
Hundreds were injured during the clashes after police fired teargas and used truncheons to attack the demonstrating Sufis.
Sufi poet, mystic and a planetary healer
BY MATEIN KHALID - Khaleej Times Online
Dubai, 18 February 2006
THE clash of civilisation has now turned ghoulish. An imbecilic newspaper cartoon in Copenhagen triggered riots in Pakistan, gutted Danish embassies in Beirut and Damascus, deepened the chasm between the West and the Islamic world, inspired geopolitical accusations in the White House and the Shia seminaries of Qom.
Amid this surreal nightmare, the miasma of evil and suspicion that now seems to have swept this world, I seek refuge in the transcendent poetry of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi, the Sufi mystic poet who is probably the most sympathetic Muslim figure in the West, a spiritual New Age icon.
“The sounds of prayer drifts across the dawn. It is Muslim, Jew and Christian, all merged together” Rumi wrote 700 years ago, a message alien to venomous fanatics in the Middle East who preach jehad against the West (or anybody else who does not share their cosmology of hate). There is a gentle, syncretic tradition in Islam whose nuances the shrill hacks at Fox News and the Islamophobe oracles of Western culture know nothing about. The voice of Osama bin Laden and the sectarian mullahs of Iran has mesmerised the West after the horror of 9/11. Yet, there is another gentler, far wiser voice steeped in the Islamic past. The voice of Rumi, the spiritual healer whose poetry of anguish and sorrow can help us find the compassion and empathy to build bridges, to heal wounds that, if untreated, could mean that the ultimate act of violence in the Middle East will be a nuclear Armageddon. We need to recreate the song of the nightingale.
“When the rose is gone and the garden fades, you will no longer hear the nightingale.” This is vintage Rumi in his ‘Masnavi’, arguably the most seminal book in the Islamic world after the Holy Quran. It is impossible to overstate the Sage of Konya’s influence on the consciousness of generations of people in the Islamic world, on the literary traditions of Turkish, Persian and Urdu. The world of the Middle East was so different and yet so eerily similar to our own in the age of Rumi (1206-1273 AD). The Abbasid Empire in Baghdad was in its death throes. The Mongol terror had decimated Islamic civilisation, forced the Valad family (Rumi’s Dad was the scholar Bahuddin) to flee their native Balkh for Baghdad and settle in the Anatolian town of Konya, a spiritual entrepot where his garden tomb now is one of the greatest tourist pilgrimages in Turkey.
In the sixth century of the Hijra, the twelfth century after Christ, Persia’s population was staunchly Sunni and the Shia (Ismaili) Fatimid caliphs ruled Egypt. The Anatolian heartland was still Seljuk, although the House of Osman would catapult itself into the centrestage of the Islamic and world history a mere generation after Rumi’s death. Andalusia was the only haven of religious tolerance in Christian Europe but the tolerant courts of Cordoba, Sevilla and Grenada, the fabled ornament of the world, were living on borrowed time as the dark shadow of the Reconquista and the Holy Inquisition loomed nearer.
In Levant, the Crusader kingdom was still in a permanent state of war, assisted by its Maronite vassals in Lebanon with the Ayyubid princes of Syria, the sons and grandsons of Sultan Salahuddin, the Kurdish warrior who had beaten the Franks at Hittin Cross to take Jerusalem. It was the world of itinerant Muslim scholars (the medival Internet), the assassins of Alamut (the prototype of Al Qaeda’s suicide killers), the Silk Road (the globalisation wave), of madrassas and Sufi lodges and warrior kings and magnificent empires and epic sword battles.
Why does Rumi evoke such a visceral empathy, touch the souls so many millions who know nothing of the Persian poetic tradition, let alone the history or laws of Islam? I believe the story of the Mewlana’s life is an inspiration, an antidote to the rat race, the rapid materialism that celebrates shopping malls as the new cathedrals of culture. Rumi’s anguish for his murdered beloved Shams of Tabriz, the humble dervish who ignited his mystical imagination, for whom he renounced his academic chair, is so universal. Yet anguish, sorrow and loss enables Rumi to penetrate the ‘veil of the soul’, to grasp that ultimate divine reality that Muslims call the ‘nur’, the light that is the grace of Allah.
The Mevlevi Sufi lodge founded by Rumi’s son Sultan Valad was a major force in Ottoman culture and politics. Khalil Pasha, the agha of the Janissaries, visited the tomb of the Mevlana in Konya three centuries after his death and introduced the Mevlevi order’s sheikhs to the Sublime Porte. Centuries later, Sultan Selim III, a fellow poet and mystic, was a member of the Mevlevi order of Galata. Kemal Ataturk banned the Mevlevi order to erase its Ottoman roots. In Iran, Rumi is venerated by the young and the ‘avant garde’, though the Shia establishment of Qom and Mashad tried to camouflage his Sunni heritage. In Mughal India, where Arabic was the language of the legal scholars, but Persian was the language of the emperors, descendants of the same Genghis Khan whose Mongol hordes (ironically, the linguistic origin of the word ‘Urdu’ a language that so venerates Rumi) forced Rumi’s family to flee for their lives from Khorasan. Iqbal, possibly the greatest poet of modern Islam and the literary founding father of Pakistan, admired Rumi. In Iqbal’s ‘Javidnama’, the Book of Eternity, Maulana Rumi guides the Sialkoti Cambridge educated on mysticism on his cosmic journey. Bahaullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, borrows from Rumi. Even Emperor Aurangzeb, the symbol of austere Sunni orthodoxy, was moved to tears by Rumi’s couplets, as were Hegel, Goethe, Schimmel, Arberry and generations of Persian scholars and Sufi poets.
The genius of Rumi was that he was a spiritual alchemist, a symbol of the human spirit that transcends all barriers of race, sect and tribe. He is a planetary healer, a reminder that Islam was once a gentle, tolerant civilisation that united, not divided the world. He teaches us to love, to forgive, to fear not even death, to abandon the illusion of ego and embrace all the beauty and pain of human existence. Beyond dogma or theology, Rumi’s paeans of love swirl across time to heal my wounded soul.
Matein Khalid is a Dubai based investment banker
Dubai, 18 February 2006
THE clash of civilisation has now turned ghoulish. An imbecilic newspaper cartoon in Copenhagen triggered riots in Pakistan, gutted Danish embassies in Beirut and Damascus, deepened the chasm between the West and the Islamic world, inspired geopolitical accusations in the White House and the Shia seminaries of Qom.
Amid this surreal nightmare, the miasma of evil and suspicion that now seems to have swept this world, I seek refuge in the transcendent poetry of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi, the Sufi mystic poet who is probably the most sympathetic Muslim figure in the West, a spiritual New Age icon.
“The sounds of prayer drifts across the dawn. It is Muslim, Jew and Christian, all merged together” Rumi wrote 700 years ago, a message alien to venomous fanatics in the Middle East who preach jehad against the West (or anybody else who does not share their cosmology of hate). There is a gentle, syncretic tradition in Islam whose nuances the shrill hacks at Fox News and the Islamophobe oracles of Western culture know nothing about. The voice of Osama bin Laden and the sectarian mullahs of Iran has mesmerised the West after the horror of 9/11. Yet, there is another gentler, far wiser voice steeped in the Islamic past. The voice of Rumi, the spiritual healer whose poetry of anguish and sorrow can help us find the compassion and empathy to build bridges, to heal wounds that, if untreated, could mean that the ultimate act of violence in the Middle East will be a nuclear Armageddon. We need to recreate the song of the nightingale.
“When the rose is gone and the garden fades, you will no longer hear the nightingale.” This is vintage Rumi in his ‘Masnavi’, arguably the most seminal book in the Islamic world after the Holy Quran. It is impossible to overstate the Sage of Konya’s influence on the consciousness of generations of people in the Islamic world, on the literary traditions of Turkish, Persian and Urdu. The world of the Middle East was so different and yet so eerily similar to our own in the age of Rumi (1206-1273 AD). The Abbasid Empire in Baghdad was in its death throes. The Mongol terror had decimated Islamic civilisation, forced the Valad family (Rumi’s Dad was the scholar Bahuddin) to flee their native Balkh for Baghdad and settle in the Anatolian town of Konya, a spiritual entrepot where his garden tomb now is one of the greatest tourist pilgrimages in Turkey.
In the sixth century of the Hijra, the twelfth century after Christ, Persia’s population was staunchly Sunni and the Shia (Ismaili) Fatimid caliphs ruled Egypt. The Anatolian heartland was still Seljuk, although the House of Osman would catapult itself into the centrestage of the Islamic and world history a mere generation after Rumi’s death. Andalusia was the only haven of religious tolerance in Christian Europe but the tolerant courts of Cordoba, Sevilla and Grenada, the fabled ornament of the world, were living on borrowed time as the dark shadow of the Reconquista and the Holy Inquisition loomed nearer.
In Levant, the Crusader kingdom was still in a permanent state of war, assisted by its Maronite vassals in Lebanon with the Ayyubid princes of Syria, the sons and grandsons of Sultan Salahuddin, the Kurdish warrior who had beaten the Franks at Hittin Cross to take Jerusalem. It was the world of itinerant Muslim scholars (the medival Internet), the assassins of Alamut (the prototype of Al Qaeda’s suicide killers), the Silk Road (the globalisation wave), of madrassas and Sufi lodges and warrior kings and magnificent empires and epic sword battles.
Why does Rumi evoke such a visceral empathy, touch the souls so many millions who know nothing of the Persian poetic tradition, let alone the history or laws of Islam? I believe the story of the Mewlana’s life is an inspiration, an antidote to the rat race, the rapid materialism that celebrates shopping malls as the new cathedrals of culture. Rumi’s anguish for his murdered beloved Shams of Tabriz, the humble dervish who ignited his mystical imagination, for whom he renounced his academic chair, is so universal. Yet anguish, sorrow and loss enables Rumi to penetrate the ‘veil of the soul’, to grasp that ultimate divine reality that Muslims call the ‘nur’, the light that is the grace of Allah.
The Mevlevi Sufi lodge founded by Rumi’s son Sultan Valad was a major force in Ottoman culture and politics. Khalil Pasha, the agha of the Janissaries, visited the tomb of the Mevlana in Konya three centuries after his death and introduced the Mevlevi order’s sheikhs to the Sublime Porte. Centuries later, Sultan Selim III, a fellow poet and mystic, was a member of the Mevlevi order of Galata. Kemal Ataturk banned the Mevlevi order to erase its Ottoman roots. In Iran, Rumi is venerated by the young and the ‘avant garde’, though the Shia establishment of Qom and Mashad tried to camouflage his Sunni heritage. In Mughal India, where Arabic was the language of the legal scholars, but Persian was the language of the emperors, descendants of the same Genghis Khan whose Mongol hordes (ironically, the linguistic origin of the word ‘Urdu’ a language that so venerates Rumi) forced Rumi’s family to flee for their lives from Khorasan. Iqbal, possibly the greatest poet of modern Islam and the literary founding father of Pakistan, admired Rumi. In Iqbal’s ‘Javidnama’, the Book of Eternity, Maulana Rumi guides the Sialkoti Cambridge educated on mysticism on his cosmic journey. Bahaullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, borrows from Rumi. Even Emperor Aurangzeb, the symbol of austere Sunni orthodoxy, was moved to tears by Rumi’s couplets, as were Hegel, Goethe, Schimmel, Arberry and generations of Persian scholars and Sufi poets.
The genius of Rumi was that he was a spiritual alchemist, a symbol of the human spirit that transcends all barriers of race, sect and tribe. He is a planetary healer, a reminder that Islam was once a gentle, tolerant civilisation that united, not divided the world. He teaches us to love, to forgive, to fear not even death, to abandon the illusion of ego and embrace all the beauty and pain of human existence. Beyond dogma or theology, Rumi’s paeans of love swirl across time to heal my wounded soul.
Matein Khalid is a Dubai based investment banker
Iran: Qom Authorities Crack Down On Sufis
By Golnaz Esfandiari - Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Human rights activists have expressed concern over the arrest on 13 February of some 1,000 Sufi worshippers in the Iranian holy city of Qom. The arrests followed clashes between the police and members of a Sufi group over the closure of a house of worship used by the Sufi Muslims. Observers say the scale and violence of the crackdown on the Sufis is unprecedented in the Islamic Republic. Officials say the Sufis had illegally turned a residential building into a center of worship and had refused to evacuate it. They have also said that some of the dervishes were armed. But representatives of the dervishes deny the charges and say they are being targeted due to an increasing popularity of Sufism.
PRAGUE, 16 February 2006 (RFE/RL) -- In what human rights observers say is unprecedented, authorities in the city of Qom have arrested more than 1,000 followers of the mystical Sufi tradition of Islam.
The Iranian government had been showing signs of increasing antipathy towards Iran's Sufi community, but experts say the scale and violence of the clashes on 13 November is unheard of.
The deputy governor of Qom, Ahmad Hajizadeh, said 1,200 worshippers -- also known as dervishes -- were arrested as police sought to close a Sufi house of worship.
Hajizadeh said 100 people, including more than 30 police officers, were injured in the clashes.
"More than before, people are running away from a totalitarian interpretation of the religion."Qom officials say the Sufis had illegally turned a presidential building into a center of worship and had refused to leave it.
Some of the dervishes were armed, they add.
Representatives of the dervishes deny the charges and say they are being targeted due to the increasing popularity of Sufism.
Figures produced by sources close to the Sufi groups and human rights activists also differ from official accounts. They put the number of the arrests at 2,000 and say that 350 people were injured.
Following the clashes, the authorities demolished the house of worship as well as the homes of two leaders of the group.
Clash Between 'Dervishes And Fanatics' Entering A New Phase?
Sufism is based on the pursuit of mystical truth and Sufis believe that mystical practices involving dance, music, and the recitation of Allah's divine names can give them direct perception of God.
Although Sufi Muslims strictly observe Islamic practices and beliefs, some conservative Muslim clerics see it as a danger to Islam. Some even argue that Sufism is a deviation of Islam.
In Iran, there have been always some tensions between Sufism and more orthodox traditions of Islam.
However, observers say these tensions have worsened since the establishment of an Islamic republic, some 27 years ago, and state tolerance for Sufi groups has diminished.
Never before, though, has there been an attack as strong as seen this week, says Abdol-Karim Lahidji, vice president of the Paris-based International Federation of Human Rights.
"Unfortunately under the years of the rule of the Islamic government we have seen limitations on non-Muslims -- above all, Baha'is, Jews, and also Christians -- and on Sufi groups, and their meetings have been disrupted," says Lahidji, but "it is unprecedented in the modern history of Iran that a Sufi group should be treated" as it was in Qom.
Seyed Mostafa Azmayesh, a Paris-based scholar who specializes in Sufism, says that the Qom clashes mark "a new phase…between dervishes and fanatics -- a phase of violent encounter -- because until now only the leaders of [Sufi] groups were under pressure. Now, though, there is a confrontation with ordinary people who are facing pressure merely because they are dervishes."
Qom Not A New Target
The Qom worshippers belong to the Nematollahi Gonabadi order of Sufism, one of the largest Sufi groups in Iran and a strand of Sufism that Azmayesh represents outside Iran.
Azmayesh says that pressure on Sufis -- and "especially on the Nematollahi Gonabadi order" -- has increased "a lot" since the hard-liner Mahmud Ahamdinejad succeeded Hojatoleslam Mohammad Khatami as Iran's president in June 2005.
Sufism is based on the pursuit of mystical truth and Sufis believe that mystical practices involving dance, music, and the recitation of Allah's divine names can give them direct perception of God. Although Sufi Muslims strictly observe Islamic practices and beliefs, some conservative Muslim clerics see it as a danger to Islam. Some even argue that Sufism is a deviation of Islam.
"Now unfortunately, when the pressure groups and fanatics want to repress the Sufis, those who enforce the laws are not stopping them," says Azamayesh.
Several anti-Sufi books have been published in Iran over the past year and several clerics have also harshly condemned Sufism, Azamayesh says, noting that the recent clashes in Qom erupted after a speech by a cleric, who blasted Sufism and called for restrictions on the Sufi community.
Iran's hard-line daily "Kayhan" on 14 February quoted senior clerics in Qom as saying that Sufism should be eradicated in the city, while the Reuters news agency reported that in September one of Iran's hard-line clerics, Grand Ayatollah Hussein Nuri-Hamedani, called for a clampdown on Sufis in Qom.
Qom is considered to be one of the centers of Shi'a Islam.
The governor of Qom, Abbas Mohtaj, has reportedly accused the dervishes of having links to foreign countries.
However, Azmayesh believes that Sufis are being targeted because of their "more open interpretation of Islam" and also because Sufism is picking up more followers.
"More than before, people are running away from a totalitarian interpretation of the religion, they are having doubts, and they have lost faith in the work of those who consider themselves custodians of religion," he maintains. "By contrast, they feel very close to the Sufi teachings and its customs, which are based on love."
Azmayesh says there is currently an "inverse trend" in Iran. "As mosques empty," he says, "[Sufi houses of worship] are expanding and being filled."
Iranian officials have said that the arrested dervishes will be interrogated and those who were not among the "main elements and instigators" will gradually be released. Some have already been freed, many of them women.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Human rights activists have expressed concern over the arrest on 13 February of some 1,000 Sufi worshippers in the Iranian holy city of Qom. The arrests followed clashes between the police and members of a Sufi group over the closure of a house of worship used by the Sufi Muslims. Observers say the scale and violence of the crackdown on the Sufis is unprecedented in the Islamic Republic. Officials say the Sufis had illegally turned a residential building into a center of worship and had refused to evacuate it. They have also said that some of the dervishes were armed. But representatives of the dervishes deny the charges and say they are being targeted due to an increasing popularity of Sufism.
PRAGUE, 16 February 2006 (RFE/RL) -- In what human rights observers say is unprecedented, authorities in the city of Qom have arrested more than 1,000 followers of the mystical Sufi tradition of Islam.
The Iranian government had been showing signs of increasing antipathy towards Iran's Sufi community, but experts say the scale and violence of the clashes on 13 November is unheard of.
The deputy governor of Qom, Ahmad Hajizadeh, said 1,200 worshippers -- also known as dervishes -- were arrested as police sought to close a Sufi house of worship.
Hajizadeh said 100 people, including more than 30 police officers, were injured in the clashes.
"More than before, people are running away from a totalitarian interpretation of the religion."Qom officials say the Sufis had illegally turned a presidential building into a center of worship and had refused to leave it.
Some of the dervishes were armed, they add.
Representatives of the dervishes deny the charges and say they are being targeted due to the increasing popularity of Sufism.
Figures produced by sources close to the Sufi groups and human rights activists also differ from official accounts. They put the number of the arrests at 2,000 and say that 350 people were injured.
Following the clashes, the authorities demolished the house of worship as well as the homes of two leaders of the group.
Clash Between 'Dervishes And Fanatics' Entering A New Phase?
Sufism is based on the pursuit of mystical truth and Sufis believe that mystical practices involving dance, music, and the recitation of Allah's divine names can give them direct perception of God.
Although Sufi Muslims strictly observe Islamic practices and beliefs, some conservative Muslim clerics see it as a danger to Islam. Some even argue that Sufism is a deviation of Islam.
In Iran, there have been always some tensions between Sufism and more orthodox traditions of Islam.
However, observers say these tensions have worsened since the establishment of an Islamic republic, some 27 years ago, and state tolerance for Sufi groups has diminished.
Never before, though, has there been an attack as strong as seen this week, says Abdol-Karim Lahidji, vice president of the Paris-based International Federation of Human Rights.
"Unfortunately under the years of the rule of the Islamic government we have seen limitations on non-Muslims -- above all, Baha'is, Jews, and also Christians -- and on Sufi groups, and their meetings have been disrupted," says Lahidji, but "it is unprecedented in the modern history of Iran that a Sufi group should be treated" as it was in Qom.
Seyed Mostafa Azmayesh, a Paris-based scholar who specializes in Sufism, says that the Qom clashes mark "a new phase…between dervishes and fanatics -- a phase of violent encounter -- because until now only the leaders of [Sufi] groups were under pressure. Now, though, there is a confrontation with ordinary people who are facing pressure merely because they are dervishes."
Qom Not A New Target
The Qom worshippers belong to the Nematollahi Gonabadi order of Sufism, one of the largest Sufi groups in Iran and a strand of Sufism that Azmayesh represents outside Iran.
Azmayesh says that pressure on Sufis -- and "especially on the Nematollahi Gonabadi order" -- has increased "a lot" since the hard-liner Mahmud Ahamdinejad succeeded Hojatoleslam Mohammad Khatami as Iran's president in June 2005.
Sufism is based on the pursuit of mystical truth and Sufis believe that mystical practices involving dance, music, and the recitation of Allah's divine names can give them direct perception of God. Although Sufi Muslims strictly observe Islamic practices and beliefs, some conservative Muslim clerics see it as a danger to Islam. Some even argue that Sufism is a deviation of Islam.
"Now unfortunately, when the pressure groups and fanatics want to repress the Sufis, those who enforce the laws are not stopping them," says Azamayesh.
Several anti-Sufi books have been published in Iran over the past year and several clerics have also harshly condemned Sufism, Azamayesh says, noting that the recent clashes in Qom erupted after a speech by a cleric, who blasted Sufism and called for restrictions on the Sufi community.
Iran's hard-line daily "Kayhan" on 14 February quoted senior clerics in Qom as saying that Sufism should be eradicated in the city, while the Reuters news agency reported that in September one of Iran's hard-line clerics, Grand Ayatollah Hussein Nuri-Hamedani, called for a clampdown on Sufis in Qom.
Qom is considered to be one of the centers of Shi'a Islam.
The governor of Qom, Abbas Mohtaj, has reportedly accused the dervishes of having links to foreign countries.
However, Azmayesh believes that Sufis are being targeted because of their "more open interpretation of Islam" and also because Sufism is picking up more followers.
"More than before, people are running away from a totalitarian interpretation of the religion, they are having doubts, and they have lost faith in the work of those who consider themselves custodians of religion," he maintains. "By contrast, they feel very close to the Sufi teachings and its customs, which are based on love."
Azmayesh says there is currently an "inverse trend" in Iran. "As mosques empty," he says, "[Sufi houses of worship] are expanding and being filled."
Iranian officials have said that the arrested dervishes will be interrogated and those who were not among the "main elements and instigators" will gradually be released. Some have already been freed, many of them women.
Soul food of the best kind
By Joel Pereira 2006-02-16 Source: Moneycontrol.com
There is so much sound and so much clutter in the music space. So if you want to listen to the grooviest and hippest tracks across genres, then here is what I recommend: reviewed this week is the latest from the late great, sufi singer Pankaj Awasthi.
Pankaj Awasthi is one of the new wave of Indian singers, like Himesh Reshamiya or Kunal Ganjawala, breaking away from nasal, saccharine strains of the previous male vocal favourites like Kumar Sanu or Sonu Nigam.
After feeling some of the success of 'Karam', Pankaj breaks away from the music directors and goes his own way with his solo album, simply titled 'Nine'. The album is an interesting mix of Pankaj's Sufi singing style and a distinctly acid-rock fusion backdrop. All tracks are eminently listenable, but the best are 'Duniya', 'The Last Beat' and the first single, 'Khuda Ka Wasta'.
So what's the verdict on Pankaj Awasthi? I would rate him 3.5 out of 5, and if you're going to buy an Indi pop album this week, this should be it.
Joel Pereira
There is so much sound and so much clutter in the music space. So if you want to listen to the grooviest and hippest tracks across genres, then here is what I recommend: reviewed this week is the latest from the late great, sufi singer Pankaj Awasthi.
Pankaj Awasthi is one of the new wave of Indian singers, like Himesh Reshamiya or Kunal Ganjawala, breaking away from nasal, saccharine strains of the previous male vocal favourites like Kumar Sanu or Sonu Nigam.
After feeling some of the success of 'Karam', Pankaj breaks away from the music directors and goes his own way with his solo album, simply titled 'Nine'. The album is an interesting mix of Pankaj's Sufi singing style and a distinctly acid-rock fusion backdrop. All tracks are eminently listenable, but the best are 'Duniya', 'The Last Beat' and the first single, 'Khuda Ka Wasta'.
So what's the verdict on Pankaj Awasthi? I would rate him 3.5 out of 5, and if you're going to buy an Indi pop album this week, this should be it.
Joel Pereira
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Sufi music festival
Source: THE HINDU Monday, Feb 13, 2006
Sufi music is not about entertainment; it is more about spirituality. Its powerful lyrics talk about reaching the divine by spreading love and harmony. With tension and turmoil all around today, the works of Sufi saints and mystics are more relevant than ever.
Ruhaniyat, the annual Sufi and Mystic Music Festival of Banyan Tree Events held in Mumbai and Hyderabad, is being organised in Chennai on February 18 (6.30 p.m.) at the Madras Race Club Lawns, Guindy. Each year the event strives to promote rare Indian performing arts by bringing together master-artistes and discerning listeners.
The Ruhaniyat festival will feature Zikr-e-Rifayi — Fakirs (Hyderabad), Sufi songs by Nanak and Manak Brothers (Punjab), Drums of Kerala - Ensemble of mystic drums, Baul songs by Parvathy Baul and Madan Vairagya (Bengal), Sufi Kalam and Mystic compositions by Kachra Khan, Padmaram, Mamma and Rana Khan and others (Rajasthan) and Qawwals Sarfaraz Chisti (Muradabad). Donor cards for Rs. 250 are available at Landmark (Spencer Plaza), Odyssey (Adyar and Anna Nagar). For details call 98210 25891 or 022-30972584.
Sufi music is not about entertainment; it is more about spirituality. Its powerful lyrics talk about reaching the divine by spreading love and harmony. With tension and turmoil all around today, the works of Sufi saints and mystics are more relevant than ever.
Ruhaniyat, the annual Sufi and Mystic Music Festival of Banyan Tree Events held in Mumbai and Hyderabad, is being organised in Chennai on February 18 (6.30 p.m.) at the Madras Race Club Lawns, Guindy. Each year the event strives to promote rare Indian performing arts by bringing together master-artistes and discerning listeners.
The Ruhaniyat festival will feature Zikr-e-Rifayi — Fakirs (Hyderabad), Sufi songs by Nanak and Manak Brothers (Punjab), Drums of Kerala - Ensemble of mystic drums, Baul songs by Parvathy Baul and Madan Vairagya (Bengal), Sufi Kalam and Mystic compositions by Kachra Khan, Padmaram, Mamma and Rana Khan and others (Rajasthan) and Qawwals Sarfaraz Chisti (Muradabad). Donor cards for Rs. 250 are available at Landmark (Spencer Plaza), Odyssey (Adyar and Anna Nagar). For details call 98210 25891 or 022-30972584.
Sufis, Iranian Police Clash in Holy City: Report
LONDON, February 14 (IranMania) - Clashes broke out Monday between members of the Sufi sect and Iranian police in the Shiite Muslim holy city of Qom, the semi-official Fars news agency and websites reported.
Fars said some 50 Sufis demonstrated against the closure of their place of worship in Qom. "There was some violence," it said, without elaborating.
The website Baztab, which is close to the conservative camp in Iran, said the security forces used tear gas to break up the protest after local authorities decided to close the Sufi centre.
The protesters hurled stones from the rooftop, said Baztab, which published a photograph of hundreds of people gathered in a Qom street as plumes of smoke rose into the air.
Sufism is a mystical sect of Islam that is regarded with suspicion by many Shiite and Sunni Muslims.
Fars said some 50 Sufis demonstrated against the closure of their place of worship in Qom. "There was some violence," it said, without elaborating.
The website Baztab, which is close to the conservative camp in Iran, said the security forces used tear gas to break up the protest after local authorities decided to close the Sufi centre.
The protesters hurled stones from the rooftop, said Baztab, which published a photograph of hundreds of people gathered in a Qom street as plumes of smoke rose into the air.
Sufism is a mystical sect of Islam that is regarded with suspicion by many Shiite and Sunni Muslims.
Muharram Teaches Us Values Like Sacrifice, Patience: Soomro
Source: International News Network/Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Senate Chairman Mohammedmian Soomro has said that holy month of Muharram reminds us of the greatest Islamic human values like sacrifice, patience and determination.
He stated this while talking to the 12 member delegation of Markazi Imam Hussain Council (MIHC) led by its Chairman Dr. Ghazanfer Mehdi which called on him here on Tuesday.
He told the delegation that Sufis were a source of moral enlightenment and that the philosophy of Sufism aimed at inculcating the spirit of tolerance, peace and love among the people. He said that these basic values were ordained by Islam.
The Chairman MIHC informed the Chairman senate that the council has been endeavoring for the unity Ummah since its inception 27 year ago.
It was also suggested in the meeting that an advisory board having representatives of the ministries of education, religious affairs, culture and the four provincial Auqafs be constituted and the board be entrusted the task of preparing a viable plan to curb the menace of sectarianism and terrorism from society.
ISLAMABAD: Senate Chairman Mohammedmian Soomro has said that holy month of Muharram reminds us of the greatest Islamic human values like sacrifice, patience and determination.
He stated this while talking to the 12 member delegation of Markazi Imam Hussain Council (MIHC) led by its Chairman Dr. Ghazanfer Mehdi which called on him here on Tuesday.
He told the delegation that Sufis were a source of moral enlightenment and that the philosophy of Sufism aimed at inculcating the spirit of tolerance, peace and love among the people. He said that these basic values were ordained by Islam.
The Chairman MIHC informed the Chairman senate that the council has been endeavoring for the unity Ummah since its inception 27 year ago.
It was also suggested in the meeting that an advisory board having representatives of the ministries of education, religious affairs, culture and the four provincial Auqafs be constituted and the board be entrusted the task of preparing a viable plan to curb the menace of sectarianism and terrorism from society.
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Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Naqshbandi and Kohr
By Milo Clark - Swans.com
March 13, 2006
(Swans - March 13, 2006) Sufism is often said to be the mysticism of Islam. Naqshbandi is a brand of Sufism. Few grok Sufism.
Leopold Kohr, a socio-economist philosopher, expounded the size theory of history. Smaller is better. Larger eventually implodes. Kohr may be described as a mystic of economics. Few grok Kohr.
Islam and Sufism incorporate strong requirements for belief. Naqshbandi (don't try to pronounce it, just accept a visualization based in the letters as given) is a belief system with a near thousand-year core.
A Naqshbandi Murshid will start you with simple instructions: With a broken shovel, empty the earth. With a leaky bucket, drain the oceans. With a direction, walk.
These essential instructions in faith are somewhat akin to grokking Zen's one hand clapping: you get it or you don't. Zen is a Japanese mysticism that sprung from the Chan Buddhisms of China. From small beginnings may come clarity.
My point here is to back quietly into the actuality that there are many mysticisms, many Islams, many Sufisms, just as there are many economics. All share degrees of arcane esoterica. The sauce is in the details. All open in small ways.
Certain Buddhist mysticisms evolved within the ancient Bon practices of the Tibetan plateau. The introduced Buddhisms came to overlay the indigenous Bon and thus Bon gave form to Tibetan Buddhisms. There are now several Bon/Buddhisms rampant within the Tibetan communities.
Sufisms, Buddhisms, and mysticisms have affinities for stark landscapes, rugged mountains, sere deserts. Wildness and winds create conditions testing human endurance as well as tending to keep people inside, separated, and alone for extended periods. Meditative, mindful, or mad by measures.
Disciplines virtually unknowable and unknown outside such regions evolve very strong people.
Outside Tibet, mystical whirlwinds affecting mind, body, and spirit have been unleashed by events since the 1959 invasion by the ChiComs of PRChina.
The Tibetans are upon us and personalized by the 14th Dalai Lama, Nobel Peace Laureate, et al. Rinpoches, Tulkus, and Lamas abound along with courses, retreats, seminars, workshops and immersions. Translations of texts and copies of thankas, mandalas, sutras, and mantras sprout like mushrooms in a fecund forest.
Bon/Buddhist practices involve elaborate visualizations of immensely complex details slammed into memories until integrated. Very unWestern in many ways. Their integration also provides definition for grok.
Similarly, yet very quietly by comparison, Sufi schools have come west. Given that Islam, per se, is a relatively recent monotheism, Sufi principles branching from Islam are also little more than seven to eight hundred years upon the spiritual landscape. Naqshbandi is one school that has expanded and enlisted Westerners.
All mysticisms appear to cover their core beliefs with elaborate processes that remain occult to the uninitiated, yet open up like a beautiful rose for those who will see. As Ram Das famously advocated, "Be Here Now!"
All mysticisms have a focus on breath as gateway to awareness of the moment. For Naqshbandi, awareness of breath in this moment is a first principle.
Leopold Kohr wrote a marvelous little book called The City of Man (The Duke of Buen Consejo). In its 70 pages, all that can be needed to plan vital communities is compacted in singing prose.
A city must breathe and exist now for those who choose it. Walking rather than riding opens the best of human processes and being. Shopkeepers with a personal investment in their premises and products are an inherent guide to quality. Human scale accommodations keep us close imbuing separations with inclusion. Fewer people lead to better acquaintance.
Kohr noted that a way to confront crisis was simply to step back, to regain perspective. Mysticisms lead us to confront through meditation. To see otherwise. Pythagoras, in Kohr's view, found the measure of all things in man as did Leonardo in his famous circle centered on the outreach of a man.
Kirkpatrick Sale, a small world protagonist, devotee of Kohr and Fritz Schumacher, wrote a wonderful volume on Human Scale.
Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger, of cats fame, wrote a small volume, What is Life? Which shows why things must be small. The bigger they are, the more they collide and impair freedom. By moving freely, new patterns and possibilities are always possible. Overcrowding, as proven by too many rats in a cage, leads to fighting, destruction, and implosion.
Taking Newton a step, Kohr says that everything, say potency, diminishes with the square of distance. The farther from seat of government, the less the authority and ability to compel much less administer, to follow rule of law. Thus, empires historically disintegrate at the fringes. To maintain control, bureaucracies flourish and military abounds, eventually imploding from lack of core. Feel like now, maybe?
Harbors, he says, provide shelter from uncontrollable oceans. Build harbors, create refuges, covet communities, give space to breathe, time to know awareness.
In smallness lies survival.
Breathe. And know that you are god
Read More
March 13, 2006
(Swans - March 13, 2006) Sufism is often said to be the mysticism of Islam. Naqshbandi is a brand of Sufism. Few grok Sufism.
Leopold Kohr, a socio-economist philosopher, expounded the size theory of history. Smaller is better. Larger eventually implodes. Kohr may be described as a mystic of economics. Few grok Kohr.
Islam and Sufism incorporate strong requirements for belief. Naqshbandi (don't try to pronounce it, just accept a visualization based in the letters as given) is a belief system with a near thousand-year core.
A Naqshbandi Murshid will start you with simple instructions: With a broken shovel, empty the earth. With a leaky bucket, drain the oceans. With a direction, walk.
These essential instructions in faith are somewhat akin to grokking Zen's one hand clapping: you get it or you don't. Zen is a Japanese mysticism that sprung from the Chan Buddhisms of China. From small beginnings may come clarity.
My point here is to back quietly into the actuality that there are many mysticisms, many Islams, many Sufisms, just as there are many economics. All share degrees of arcane esoterica. The sauce is in the details. All open in small ways.
Certain Buddhist mysticisms evolved within the ancient Bon practices of the Tibetan plateau. The introduced Buddhisms came to overlay the indigenous Bon and thus Bon gave form to Tibetan Buddhisms. There are now several Bon/Buddhisms rampant within the Tibetan communities.
Sufisms, Buddhisms, and mysticisms have affinities for stark landscapes, rugged mountains, sere deserts. Wildness and winds create conditions testing human endurance as well as tending to keep people inside, separated, and alone for extended periods. Meditative, mindful, or mad by measures.
Disciplines virtually unknowable and unknown outside such regions evolve very strong people.
Outside Tibet, mystical whirlwinds affecting mind, body, and spirit have been unleashed by events since the 1959 invasion by the ChiComs of PRChina.
The Tibetans are upon us and personalized by the 14th Dalai Lama, Nobel Peace Laureate, et al. Rinpoches, Tulkus, and Lamas abound along with courses, retreats, seminars, workshops and immersions. Translations of texts and copies of thankas, mandalas, sutras, and mantras sprout like mushrooms in a fecund forest.
Bon/Buddhist practices involve elaborate visualizations of immensely complex details slammed into memories until integrated. Very unWestern in many ways. Their integration also provides definition for grok.
Similarly, yet very quietly by comparison, Sufi schools have come west. Given that Islam, per se, is a relatively recent monotheism, Sufi principles branching from Islam are also little more than seven to eight hundred years upon the spiritual landscape. Naqshbandi is one school that has expanded and enlisted Westerners.
All mysticisms appear to cover their core beliefs with elaborate processes that remain occult to the uninitiated, yet open up like a beautiful rose for those who will see. As Ram Das famously advocated, "Be Here Now!"
All mysticisms have a focus on breath as gateway to awareness of the moment. For Naqshbandi, awareness of breath in this moment is a first principle.
Leopold Kohr wrote a marvelous little book called The City of Man (The Duke of Buen Consejo). In its 70 pages, all that can be needed to plan vital communities is compacted in singing prose.
A city must breathe and exist now for those who choose it. Walking rather than riding opens the best of human processes and being. Shopkeepers with a personal investment in their premises and products are an inherent guide to quality. Human scale accommodations keep us close imbuing separations with inclusion. Fewer people lead to better acquaintance.
Kohr noted that a way to confront crisis was simply to step back, to regain perspective. Mysticisms lead us to confront through meditation. To see otherwise. Pythagoras, in Kohr's view, found the measure of all things in man as did Leonardo in his famous circle centered on the outreach of a man.
Kirkpatrick Sale, a small world protagonist, devotee of Kohr and Fritz Schumacher, wrote a wonderful volume on Human Scale.
Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger, of cats fame, wrote a small volume, What is Life? Which shows why things must be small. The bigger they are, the more they collide and impair freedom. By moving freely, new patterns and possibilities are always possible. Overcrowding, as proven by too many rats in a cage, leads to fighting, destruction, and implosion.
Taking Newton a step, Kohr says that everything, say potency, diminishes with the square of distance. The farther from seat of government, the less the authority and ability to compel much less administer, to follow rule of law. Thus, empires historically disintegrate at the fringes. To maintain control, bureaucracies flourish and military abounds, eventually imploding from lack of core. Feel like now, maybe?
Harbors, he says, provide shelter from uncontrollable oceans. Build harbors, create refuges, covet communities, give space to breathe, time to know awareness.
In smallness lies survival.
Breathe. And know that you are god
On a docu-film on Ustad Vilayat Khan: Interview
By Piyali Dasgupta - The Times of India - Straight Answers
Calcutta, Monday, 13 March, 2006
Zila Khan, Sufi singer, on making a documentary film on her father, Ustad Vilayat Khan.
You have made a docu-film on your father, Ustad Vilayat Khan...
I attribute my success to my late father, Ustad Vilayat Khan. It's his values that remain embedded in my heart. On his second death anniversary, I plan to release a docu-film called Spirit to Soul, which is a tribute to my father. It traces his life's journey and also talks about the inspiration that I continue to receive from him.
How did you feel when your father refused to let you sing in public?
At that time I was 12 and I asked my father's permission to sing on stage. He just refused. I belong to a conservative Muslim family in which women were not allowed to step out of their homes.
Singing in public was a complete no-no. I refused to consider that as the end of the road.
So how did your father finally agree?
I continued with my riyaz at home. In the meanwhile, I also got to assist my father in his concerts. When I came of age, my father decided it was time for me to get married. Actually, he was looking for a way out for me. So, he found me a boy Dr Khalim Anwar who wouldn't mind his wife singing on stage.
And then, just six days after my wedding, my father held a special ceremony, Gandha Bandhan, to make me his shaagird and told me to do 10 hours of riyaz everyday.
Read More
Calcutta, Monday, 13 March, 2006
Zila Khan, Sufi singer, on making a documentary film on her father, Ustad Vilayat Khan.
You have made a docu-film on your father, Ustad Vilayat Khan...
I attribute my success to my late father, Ustad Vilayat Khan. It's his values that remain embedded in my heart. On his second death anniversary, I plan to release a docu-film called Spirit to Soul, which is a tribute to my father. It traces his life's journey and also talks about the inspiration that I continue to receive from him.
How did you feel when your father refused to let you sing in public?
At that time I was 12 and I asked my father's permission to sing on stage. He just refused. I belong to a conservative Muslim family in which women were not allowed to step out of their homes.
Singing in public was a complete no-no. I refused to consider that as the end of the road.
So how did your father finally agree?
I continued with my riyaz at home. In the meanwhile, I also got to assist my father in his concerts. When I came of age, my father decided it was time for me to get married. Actually, he was looking for a way out for me. So, he found me a boy Dr Khalim Anwar who wouldn't mind his wife singing on stage.
And then, just six days after my wedding, my father held a special ceremony, Gandha Bandhan, to make me his shaagird and told me to do 10 hours of riyaz everyday.
Monday, October 09, 2006
On Baul and Sufi singing: Interview
By Reetu Joshi - The Times of India - Straight Answers
Sunday, 12 March, 2006
Baul Singer Parvathy Baul, on Baul and Sufi singing.
Tell us something about Baul singing?
Baul is one of the widely known and appreciated kinds of folk music in Bengal and believed to date back to the 15th century. It's not only a kind of music but also a Bengali religious sect.
The persons belonging to that sect are commonly referred to as Bauls and the songs they sing is Baul gaan. Baul gaans are allegorical in nature, describing the state of separation existing between the souls of men and the spiritual ground.
Is there any connection between Baul and Sufi singing?
Baul singing is different from Sufi singing only in terms of its origin. The latter is basically Islamic in origin while the former has its roots in Hindu tradition. The attributes of both art-forms are very much similar in nature.
Both are pure and refined. They penetrate deep into the heart and have a healing power. Singing the two provides spiritual satisfaction not only to the singer but also to the audience.
At present, Sufi songs are a rage in Bollywood movies. What are the reasons for this?
I guess pop music, jazz and rock songs can provide only momentary pleasures. But, the folk and Sufi songs give you innate pleasure and peace of mind. That's why the younger generation is increasingly taking to it. It's a welcome change. But the upcoming artistes must not use this art-form only to earn money.
With a change in the outlook of people, are you happy with the current state of folk artistes?
The responses are encouraging yet I am not completely satisfied with the state of folk artistes. Especially, Baul singers are still confined to Bengal only. There is no dearth of talented artistes in our country but there is no backing from government and sponsors.
Read More
Sunday, 12 March, 2006
Baul Singer Parvathy Baul, on Baul and Sufi singing.
Tell us something about Baul singing?
Baul is one of the widely known and appreciated kinds of folk music in Bengal and believed to date back to the 15th century. It's not only a kind of music but also a Bengali religious sect.
The persons belonging to that sect are commonly referred to as Bauls and the songs they sing is Baul gaan. Baul gaans are allegorical in nature, describing the state of separation existing between the souls of men and the spiritual ground.
Is there any connection between Baul and Sufi singing?
Baul singing is different from Sufi singing only in terms of its origin. The latter is basically Islamic in origin while the former has its roots in Hindu tradition. The attributes of both art-forms are very much similar in nature.
Both are pure and refined. They penetrate deep into the heart and have a healing power. Singing the two provides spiritual satisfaction not only to the singer but also to the audience.
At present, Sufi songs are a rage in Bollywood movies. What are the reasons for this?
I guess pop music, jazz and rock songs can provide only momentary pleasures. But, the folk and Sufi songs give you innate pleasure and peace of mind. That's why the younger generation is increasingly taking to it. It's a welcome change. But the upcoming artistes must not use this art-form only to earn money.
With a change in the outlook of people, are you happy with the current state of folk artistes?
The responses are encouraging yet I am not completely satisfied with the state of folk artistes. Especially, Baul singers are still confined to Bengal only. There is no dearth of talented artistes in our country but there is no backing from government and sponsors.
Feasting on colours
By Vimla Patil - Sunday Deccan Herald
Sunday, 12 March, 2006
Hori Khelat Nandalal Birajamein; Shyam Tose Hori Nahin Khelungi, Mori Angiya Bhigoi Deeni; Natkhat Sawariya, Rang Det Chunariya” – these and thousands of more similar ditties in the classical and folk music of India ring in the newly fragrant air when the first blossoms of spring begin to appear on trees and creepers in the gardens and forests across the country.
The coming of this procession of flowers is, in every Indian mind, likened to the coming of that inimitable God of love, Krishna, into the waiting hearts of all Indians, who display an unbeatable spirit of energy and flamboyance around this time! And thus, is the season of spring celebrated all over India. The Krishna and Holi theme not only pervades the music of India in every village, but also brings new life and deeper meaning to all spiritual thought and action.
The Holi theme also influences Indian classical and folk dance of all styles all over the country and has been responsible for the creation of some of the finest miniature paintings of several schools in North India and Tanjore paintings in South India. How did the theme of Holi become omnipresent in Indian life and art?
Many scholars believe that somewhere in the remote past, this celebration of the love of Radha and Krishna has a patina of Sufi thought. The Sufis came to India from the 11th century onwards and brought with them the refreshing philosophy that the devotee and God share the passionate relationship of two lovers.
Many of them believed in the beautiful concept of ‘raising the veil and seeing the luminescent face of the beloved’ and expressed this longing through their songs and dances. Sufi poetry and paintings naturally chose famous pair of lovers like Laila Majnu, Shirin Farhad and finally Radha and Krishna as their subjects.
The result was that the courts of nawabs and kings of all states in North India patronised artists, musicians and dancers who brought alive the Krishna-Radha romance theme in every art center.
Secondly, side by side with Sufism, the cult of Madhurabhakti grew in India during the middle ages. Many saints like Surdas, Chaintanya Mahaprabhu, Chandidas, Vidyapati, Meerabai and others composed love songs of Radha and Krishna and took the romance of the divine lovers to newer heights.
Holi thus became not only the festival of colours but also the celebration of love, passion and exuberance.
Read More
Sunday, 12 March, 2006
Hori Khelat Nandalal Birajamein; Shyam Tose Hori Nahin Khelungi, Mori Angiya Bhigoi Deeni; Natkhat Sawariya, Rang Det Chunariya” – these and thousands of more similar ditties in the classical and folk music of India ring in the newly fragrant air when the first blossoms of spring begin to appear on trees and creepers in the gardens and forests across the country.
The coming of this procession of flowers is, in every Indian mind, likened to the coming of that inimitable God of love, Krishna, into the waiting hearts of all Indians, who display an unbeatable spirit of energy and flamboyance around this time! And thus, is the season of spring celebrated all over India. The Krishna and Holi theme not only pervades the music of India in every village, but also brings new life and deeper meaning to all spiritual thought and action.
The Holi theme also influences Indian classical and folk dance of all styles all over the country and has been responsible for the creation of some of the finest miniature paintings of several schools in North India and Tanjore paintings in South India. How did the theme of Holi become omnipresent in Indian life and art?
Many scholars believe that somewhere in the remote past, this celebration of the love of Radha and Krishna has a patina of Sufi thought. The Sufis came to India from the 11th century onwards and brought with them the refreshing philosophy that the devotee and God share the passionate relationship of two lovers.
Many of them believed in the beautiful concept of ‘raising the veil and seeing the luminescent face of the beloved’ and expressed this longing through their songs and dances. Sufi poetry and paintings naturally chose famous pair of lovers like Laila Majnu, Shirin Farhad and finally Radha and Krishna as their subjects.
The result was that the courts of nawabs and kings of all states in North India patronised artists, musicians and dancers who brought alive the Krishna-Radha romance theme in every art center.
Secondly, side by side with Sufism, the cult of Madhurabhakti grew in India during the middle ages. Many saints like Surdas, Chaintanya Mahaprabhu, Chandidas, Vidyapati, Meerabai and others composed love songs of Radha and Krishna and took the romance of the divine lovers to newer heights.
Holi thus became not only the festival of colours but also the celebration of love, passion and exuberance.
Sharing the true values of Sharia
By Irfan Yusuf - ON LINE opinion - Australia
Friday, 10 March 2006
On Thursday, February 23, 2006 Treasurer and Prime Ministerial aspirant Peter Costello delivered a speech to an audience at the Sydney Institute. Mr Costello provided some personal reflections on Australia’s developing culture and citizenship. Within a few hours, a veritable media circus began.
Sadly, most migrant Muslim leaders bought into the circus, many expressing views on Mr Costello’s comments without having read his speech.
I read Mr Costello’s actual speech: Peter Costello said anyone who believes Sharia can co-exist with Australian law and Australian values should leave the country. But if one compares the five basic principles of Sharia to the six values espoused by Mr Costello, one finds they are virtually identical. Perhaps this is what Australian imams mean when they state in their sermons that Australia is a more Islamic country than most Muslim-majority states.
Some pseudo-conservative commentators present Sharia as a system of medieval criminal punishments. But for some 300,000 Australian Muslims, Sharia represents little more than ethics (including honesty and enterprise) and liturgy (how to perform prayers, weddings and funerals).
As shown above, the ethics of Sharia do not pose a problem for Australia. Further, Sharia liturgy has been practised in Australia for over a century. Indeed, Australia law allows a number of religious legal systems (such as Jewish religious law) to operate in the contexts of family law, estates and other areas.
Muslims believe the Prophet Mohammed brought Sharia as the outer manifestation of religious values. He also brought an inner manifestation, which has been given a variety of labels by Muslims but which is commonly known in the West as Sufism.
A tiny minority of Muslims seek to establish Sharia across the world without Sufism. They are the source of virtually all terrorist groups in the Muslim world. Their theology is regarded by mainstream Muslims as isolationist and fringe. They distort Sharia by imposing it on people without the inner discipline of Sufism. They are openly hostile to Sufi tradition.
These people seek to destroy Islam from within. They are arguably more of a threat to Muslims than non-Muslims. Hence, the majority of their victims are Muslims. Mr Costello would like to see such people leave Australia. Most Muslims, on the other hand, would prefer to see these people leave our planet. These people distort our perceptions about Sharia. Most Australians regard Sharia as purely consisting of draconian medieval punishments. Mr Costello’s own inaccurate comments about Sharia are a manifestation of distorted perceptions. Instead of criticising inevitable and understandable ignorance, Muslim leaders need to educate the community about their faith and values.
Read More
Friday, 10 March 2006
On Thursday, February 23, 2006 Treasurer and Prime Ministerial aspirant Peter Costello delivered a speech to an audience at the Sydney Institute. Mr Costello provided some personal reflections on Australia’s developing culture and citizenship. Within a few hours, a veritable media circus began.
Sadly, most migrant Muslim leaders bought into the circus, many expressing views on Mr Costello’s comments without having read his speech.
I read Mr Costello’s actual speech: Peter Costello said anyone who believes Sharia can co-exist with Australian law and Australian values should leave the country. But if one compares the five basic principles of Sharia to the six values espoused by Mr Costello, one finds they are virtually identical. Perhaps this is what Australian imams mean when they state in their sermons that Australia is a more Islamic country than most Muslim-majority states.
Some pseudo-conservative commentators present Sharia as a system of medieval criminal punishments. But for some 300,000 Australian Muslims, Sharia represents little more than ethics (including honesty and enterprise) and liturgy (how to perform prayers, weddings and funerals).
As shown above, the ethics of Sharia do not pose a problem for Australia. Further, Sharia liturgy has been practised in Australia for over a century. Indeed, Australia law allows a number of religious legal systems (such as Jewish religious law) to operate in the contexts of family law, estates and other areas.
Muslims believe the Prophet Mohammed brought Sharia as the outer manifestation of religious values. He also brought an inner manifestation, which has been given a variety of labels by Muslims but which is commonly known in the West as Sufism.
A tiny minority of Muslims seek to establish Sharia across the world without Sufism. They are the source of virtually all terrorist groups in the Muslim world. Their theology is regarded by mainstream Muslims as isolationist and fringe. They distort Sharia by imposing it on people without the inner discipline of Sufism. They are openly hostile to Sufi tradition.
These people seek to destroy Islam from within. They are arguably more of a threat to Muslims than non-Muslims. Hence, the majority of their victims are Muslims. Mr Costello would like to see such people leave Australia. Most Muslims, on the other hand, would prefer to see these people leave our planet. These people distort our perceptions about Sharia. Most Australians regard Sharia as purely consisting of draconian medieval punishments. Mr Costello’s own inaccurate comments about Sharia are a manifestation of distorted perceptions. Instead of criticising inevitable and understandable ignorance, Muslim leaders need to educate the community about their faith and values.
Sedaghat Jabbari Kalkhoran and the "Holy Names"
By Ershad Kamol - The Daily Star - Bangladesh
Saturday March 11, 2006
Iranian artist Sedaghat Jabbari Kalkhoran is one of the winners of the 'Grand Prize' at the 12th Asian Art Biennale, Bangladesh '06. He received the prestigious award for his mixed media work titled Holy Names.
Kalkhoran likes to portray the magnificence of Allah by decorating His names repeatedly on the canvas. In this sense his approach to art is a kind of 'Sufism'. He says, "I like to address spirituality by writing the 'Holy Names' repeatedly in different styles and shades. I never do any 'exercise' before my final work. It comes spontaneously and I won't be able to make copies of my work."
Read More
Saturday March 11, 2006
Iranian artist Sedaghat Jabbari Kalkhoran is one of the winners of the 'Grand Prize' at the 12th Asian Art Biennale, Bangladesh '06. He received the prestigious award for his mixed media work titled Holy Names.
Kalkhoran likes to portray the magnificence of Allah by decorating His names repeatedly on the canvas. In this sense his approach to art is a kind of 'Sufism'. He says, "I like to address spirituality by writing the 'Holy Names' repeatedly in different styles and shades. I never do any 'exercise' before my final work. It comes spontaneously and I won't be able to make copies of my work."
Radicalism and the construction of civilizations
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politics
By M Hilaly Basya - The Jakarta Post.com
Friday, March 10, 2006
The reconstruction of civilizations is meant to enable us to review the world-view of both Islam (the East) and the West. Some Western scholars have criticized and reconstructed the fundamentals of their civilization. The Post-modernist movement, represented by reconstructive thinkers such as Paul Ricouer, Gadamer, Fritchof Chapra, Gary Zukav, has made a significant contribution to that revision, but without a significant impact.
In Islam, we have to criticize "Islamic reason" (nalar Islam). It is meant as a deconstruction of "ancient reason" (nalar klasik), the epistemology that is used to construct Islamic teaching. Several prominent Islamic thinkers, such as Mohammad Abed Al-Jabiri, Mohammed Arkoun, Nashr Hamid Abu Zayd, Abdullahi Ahmed An-Naim, have promoted this movement. They have especially tried to reinterpret Islamic law, theology, Sufism and philosophy.
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Friday, March 10, 2006
The reconstruction of civilizations is meant to enable us to review the world-view of both Islam (the East) and the West. Some Western scholars have criticized and reconstructed the fundamentals of their civilization. The Post-modernist movement, represented by reconstructive thinkers such as Paul Ricouer, Gadamer, Fritchof Chapra, Gary Zukav, has made a significant contribution to that revision, but without a significant impact.
In Islam, we have to criticize "Islamic reason" (nalar Islam). It is meant as a deconstruction of "ancient reason" (nalar klasik), the epistemology that is used to construct Islamic teaching. Several prominent Islamic thinkers, such as Mohammad Abed Al-Jabiri, Mohammed Arkoun, Nashr Hamid Abu Zayd, Abdullahi Ahmed An-Naim, have promoted this movement. They have especially tried to reinterpret Islamic law, theology, Sufism and philosophy.
Right Moves
By Sumati Mehrishi Sharma - Ahmedabad Newsline
cities.expressindia.com - Saturday, March 11, 2006
After performing to sufi chants, Bharatnatyam exponent Rama Vaidyanathan wants to experiment with thumris.
For a classical dancer, Rama Vaidyanathan doesn’t make quite the right moves sometimes. Like performing Bharatnatyam to sufi music or doing so wearing a black veil at the recent Jahen-e-Khusro Festival — the first exponent to do so. But then, this is what makes for a perfect profile if you are participating in the Seventh National Festival of New Choreography beginning on April 11 at the India Habitat Centre in Delhi.
“If you are intimidated by what others have to say about your imagination, you’ll never grow beyond the traditional idiom and nayikas. In that case, choreographies will not happen,” says Vaidyanathan, who believes that after a certain stage dancers should not hesitate to experiment.
Read More
cities.expressindia.com - Saturday, March 11, 2006
After performing to sufi chants, Bharatnatyam exponent Rama Vaidyanathan wants to experiment with thumris.
For a classical dancer, Rama Vaidyanathan doesn’t make quite the right moves sometimes. Like performing Bharatnatyam to sufi music or doing so wearing a black veil at the recent Jahen-e-Khusro Festival — the first exponent to do so. But then, this is what makes for a perfect profile if you are participating in the Seventh National Festival of New Choreography beginning on April 11 at the India Habitat Centre in Delhi.
“If you are intimidated by what others have to say about your imagination, you’ll never grow beyond the traditional idiom and nayikas. In that case, choreographies will not happen,” says Vaidyanathan, who believes that after a certain stage dancers should not hesitate to experiment.
Getting Intoxicated with The Love of God
Discourse: Avatar Meher Baba - The Times of India
Friday, 10 March 2006
Sufi poets often compare love with wine because both intoxicate. However, while wine causes self-forgetfulness, love leads to Self-realisation.
The behaviour of the intoxicated and the lover are similar; each disregards the world's standards of conduct and each is indiffe-rent to the opinion of the world.
But there is a world of difference between the course and the goal of the two: One leads to subterranean darkness and denial; the other, love, gives wings to the soul for its flight to freedom.
The drunkenness of the drunkard begins with a glass of wine which elates his spirit and loosens his inhibitions. It gives him a new view of life that promises forgetfulness from his daily worries. He goes on from one glass to two glasses, to a bottle; from companionship to isolation, from forgetfulness to oblivion which in reality, is the original state of God, but which, with the drunkard, is an empty stupor.
And he awakens in a dawn of futility, an object of disgust and ridicule. The lover's drunkenness begins with a drop of God's love which makes him forget the world.
The more he drinks the closer he draws to the Beloved, and the more unworthy he feels of the Beloved's love; and he longs to sacrifice his very life at his Beloved's feet.
He, too, does not know whether he sleeps on a bed or in a gutter, and becomes an object of ridicule; but he rests in bliss, and God the Beloved takes care of him. One out of many such lovers sees God face-to-face. His longing becomes infinite; he is like a fish thrown upon the beach, leaping and squirming to regain the ocean. He sees God everywhere and in everything, but he cannot find the gate of union.
The 'wine' that he drinks turns into 'fire' in which he continuously burns in blissful agony. And the fire eventually becomes the ocean of infinite consciousness in which he drowns.
In love there can never be satisfaction, for longing increases till it becomes an agony which ceases only in Union. Nothing but union with the Beloved can satisfy the lover.
The way of love is continual sacrifice; and what gets sacrificed are the lover's thoughts of 'I', until at last comes the time when the lover says, "O Beloved! Will I ever become one with you and so lose myself forever? But let this be only if it is your Will". This is the stage of love enlightened by obedience. Now the lover continuously witnesses the glory of the Beloved's will; and in the witnessing does not even think of union.
He willingly surrenders his entire being to the Beloved, and has no thought of self left. This is the stage when love is illumined by surrender. Out of millions, only one loves God; and out of millions of lovers, only one succeeds in obeying, and finally in surrendering his whole being to God the Beloved.
Greater than love is obedience. Greater than obedience is surrender. All three arise out of, and remain contained in, the ocean of divine love.
Read More
Friday, 10 March 2006
Sufi poets often compare love with wine because both intoxicate. However, while wine causes self-forgetfulness, love leads to Self-realisation.
The behaviour of the intoxicated and the lover are similar; each disregards the world's standards of conduct and each is indiffe-rent to the opinion of the world.
But there is a world of difference between the course and the goal of the two: One leads to subterranean darkness and denial; the other, love, gives wings to the soul for its flight to freedom.
The drunkenness of the drunkard begins with a glass of wine which elates his spirit and loosens his inhibitions. It gives him a new view of life that promises forgetfulness from his daily worries. He goes on from one glass to two glasses, to a bottle; from companionship to isolation, from forgetfulness to oblivion which in reality, is the original state of God, but which, with the drunkard, is an empty stupor.
And he awakens in a dawn of futility, an object of disgust and ridicule. The lover's drunkenness begins with a drop of God's love which makes him forget the world.
The more he drinks the closer he draws to the Beloved, and the more unworthy he feels of the Beloved's love; and he longs to sacrifice his very life at his Beloved's feet.
He, too, does not know whether he sleeps on a bed or in a gutter, and becomes an object of ridicule; but he rests in bliss, and God the Beloved takes care of him. One out of many such lovers sees God face-to-face. His longing becomes infinite; he is like a fish thrown upon the beach, leaping and squirming to regain the ocean. He sees God everywhere and in everything, but he cannot find the gate of union.
The 'wine' that he drinks turns into 'fire' in which he continuously burns in blissful agony. And the fire eventually becomes the ocean of infinite consciousness in which he drowns.
In love there can never be satisfaction, for longing increases till it becomes an agony which ceases only in Union. Nothing but union with the Beloved can satisfy the lover.
The way of love is continual sacrifice; and what gets sacrificed are the lover's thoughts of 'I', until at last comes the time when the lover says, "O Beloved! Will I ever become one with you and so lose myself forever? But let this be only if it is your Will". This is the stage of love enlightened by obedience. Now the lover continuously witnesses the glory of the Beloved's will; and in the witnessing does not even think of union.
He willingly surrenders his entire being to the Beloved, and has no thought of self left. This is the stage when love is illumined by surrender. Out of millions, only one loves God; and out of millions of lovers, only one succeeds in obeying, and finally in surrendering his whole being to God the Beloved.
Greater than love is obedience. Greater than obedience is surrender. All three arise out of, and remain contained in, the ocean of divine love.
Cal Performances offers one-world vision
By Sam Prestianni - Sentinel correspondent
Santa Cruz Sentinel - March 9, 2006
Cal Performances celebrates its 100th anniversary this year as one of the San Francisco Bay Area's top promoters of the performing arts. Since its inception with a high-profile benefit gig for victims of the 1906 earthquake, featuring the superstar French actress Sarah Bernhardt, the UC Berkeley-based presenting organization has advocated a global vision.
Today, this includes productions by musicians, dancers, writers and theatrical performers from every continent save Antarctica. Upcoming concerts by the Masters of Persian Classical Music, Cesaria Evora and Ladysmith Black Mambazo exemplify Cal Performances' commitment to showcasing the planet's dynamic music-making traditions.
The appearance of the Persian Masters, arguably Iran's premier cultural ambassadors to the United States, couldn't come at a more crucial time. After all, an ancient people's sacred art provides a welcome alternative to the chest-thumping politics of the day. The internationally renowned combo of Kayhan Kalhor on kamancheh spiked fiddle, Hossein Alizadeh on tar long-necked lute, Mohammad Reza Shajarian vocals, and his son Homayoun on tombak hand drum has already proven to be a hit among U.S. audiences: The quartet sold out a string of shows on the first leg of its recent Stateside tour and its two recordings, 2001's "Without You" and last year's "Faryad," were both nominated for Grammy awards.
Not unlike the Indian classical repertoire, traditional Persian music derives its power from improvisations on precise scales, rhythms, and phrases, which provide a common language pool for all the bandmates to draw from. The virtuosic instrumentalists of the Masters take their cues from the subtly shifting melodies of the singer Shajarian, who combines the rich meters and passionate verses of both ancient and modern Sufi poetry. Thus, the band's original voice is deeply tied to the mystic fringe of Islam in a spellbinding update on a very old-school sound.
Read More
Santa Cruz Sentinel - March 9, 2006
Cal Performances celebrates its 100th anniversary this year as one of the San Francisco Bay Area's top promoters of the performing arts. Since its inception with a high-profile benefit gig for victims of the 1906 earthquake, featuring the superstar French actress Sarah Bernhardt, the UC Berkeley-based presenting organization has advocated a global vision.
Today, this includes productions by musicians, dancers, writers and theatrical performers from every continent save Antarctica. Upcoming concerts by the Masters of Persian Classical Music, Cesaria Evora and Ladysmith Black Mambazo exemplify Cal Performances' commitment to showcasing the planet's dynamic music-making traditions.
The appearance of the Persian Masters, arguably Iran's premier cultural ambassadors to the United States, couldn't come at a more crucial time. After all, an ancient people's sacred art provides a welcome alternative to the chest-thumping politics of the day. The internationally renowned combo of Kayhan Kalhor on kamancheh spiked fiddle, Hossein Alizadeh on tar long-necked lute, Mohammad Reza Shajarian vocals, and his son Homayoun on tombak hand drum has already proven to be a hit among U.S. audiences: The quartet sold out a string of shows on the first leg of its recent Stateside tour and its two recordings, 2001's "Without You" and last year's "Faryad," were both nominated for Grammy awards.
Not unlike the Indian classical repertoire, traditional Persian music derives its power from improvisations on precise scales, rhythms, and phrases, which provide a common language pool for all the bandmates to draw from. The virtuosic instrumentalists of the Masters take their cues from the subtly shifting melodies of the singer Shajarian, who combines the rich meters and passionate verses of both ancient and modern Sufi poetry. Thus, the band's original voice is deeply tied to the mystic fringe of Islam in a spellbinding update on a very old-school sound.
The Stillness Of Sound
Rajiv Vijayakar - Screen India
Friday, March 10, 2006 - MUSIC REVIEWS
The Stillness Of Sound
Sony-BMG, Rs 299 (CD)
An outstanding Sufi album composed by Satish Sharma who writes four of the six songs too. Included are the much-used classics by Hazrat Amir Khusrau, ‘Chhap tilak...’ and ‘Piya ghar aaye...’. The vocals by Shujaat Khan are as spellbinding as his sitar. A must-buy.
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Friday, March 10, 2006 - MUSIC REVIEWS
The Stillness Of Sound
Sony-BMG, Rs 299 (CD)
An outstanding Sufi album composed by Satish Sharma who writes four of the six songs too. Included are the much-used classics by Hazrat Amir Khusrau, ‘Chhap tilak...’ and ‘Piya ghar aaye...’. The vocals by Shujaat Khan are as spellbinding as his sitar. A must-buy.
My Spirits, My Cravings, My Garden, My Spring!
By Greg Burk - LAWeekly
Wednesday, March 8, 2006
Masters of Persian Music at UCLA - Transcendent sound is the rarest kind. Dedicated musicians are always striving to get past the body, above the mud, and have a cup of tea with the infinite. But transcendence doesn’t come cheap. First you need something to transcend.
Pain, that is. Like John Coltrane, playing through rotted teeth and liver failure on A Love Supreme. Or Charles Lloyd, who melted into advanced degrees of transparency in the ’90s following a near fatal illness. Or Leni Stern, who dodged cancer and found new heights/depths in her songs and sounds. Or Etta James in R&B, or Schubert in classical music, or keep listing till you’re tired.
The subject crops up because Masters of Persian Music are coming. These four pull off quite a feat: They tap and transcend the pain of a whole culture through modern interpretations of its classical tradition. You’d almost think they were present during the many centuries when Persia/Iran, formerly the world’s greatest empire, underwent its stages of enslavement and revival. Sufism flourished and was repressed and rose again; Arabs, Afghans and Mongols invaded; Western influences ebbed and flowed like an acid tide; respites from war were brief. How can musicians reflect all that?
Obviously they’ve got to be proficient, and the Masters aren’t called that for nothing. A tougher trick: They can’t sound slick. The lyrics of the Sufi poet Rumi (“My spirits and my cravings, my garden and my spring!”) gush from the heart, and vocalist Mohammad Reza Shajarian never comes off like a trained classical gymnast — he means it, man! On tombak, Homayoun Shajarian shoulders the roles of drum, foundation and unifier — one guy, slapping whole and solid. Kayhan Kalhor’s kamancheh (spike fiddle) must have gut strings, ’cause guts is what he’s got, delivering the grandeur with roughspun folkiness and genuine heat. And the great, great Hossein Alizadeh plucks his tar with a mixture of dynamism and passion that makes you forget how damn difficult his runs are; let’s hope he gets some serious solo space, because this blazer’s improvisations can get you crawling up your own spine.
Since the Iran-hatin’ pendulum has swung ’round again, it’s interesting to note that Alizadeh’s last album, Endless Vision, was denied release in his home country because a woman sang on it alongside men. Two years later, the decision was reversed. Iran, you see, experiences a range of opinions.
Iran’s classical repertoire runs intricate and deep, offering up its arabesque symmetries as an abstraction of emotion, a prayer for transcendence. One of these millennia, America will boast a classical tradition to match it. But before then, we’ll have to face a world of hurt.
Read More
Wednesday, March 8, 2006
Masters of Persian Music at UCLA - Transcendent sound is the rarest kind. Dedicated musicians are always striving to get past the body, above the mud, and have a cup of tea with the infinite. But transcendence doesn’t come cheap. First you need something to transcend.
Pain, that is. Like John Coltrane, playing through rotted teeth and liver failure on A Love Supreme. Or Charles Lloyd, who melted into advanced degrees of transparency in the ’90s following a near fatal illness. Or Leni Stern, who dodged cancer and found new heights/depths in her songs and sounds. Or Etta James in R&B, or Schubert in classical music, or keep listing till you’re tired.
The subject crops up because Masters of Persian Music are coming. These four pull off quite a feat: They tap and transcend the pain of a whole culture through modern interpretations of its classical tradition. You’d almost think they were present during the many centuries when Persia/Iran, formerly the world’s greatest empire, underwent its stages of enslavement and revival. Sufism flourished and was repressed and rose again; Arabs, Afghans and Mongols invaded; Western influences ebbed and flowed like an acid tide; respites from war were brief. How can musicians reflect all that?
Obviously they’ve got to be proficient, and the Masters aren’t called that for nothing. A tougher trick: They can’t sound slick. The lyrics of the Sufi poet Rumi (“My spirits and my cravings, my garden and my spring!”) gush from the heart, and vocalist Mohammad Reza Shajarian never comes off like a trained classical gymnast — he means it, man! On tombak, Homayoun Shajarian shoulders the roles of drum, foundation and unifier — one guy, slapping whole and solid. Kayhan Kalhor’s kamancheh (spike fiddle) must have gut strings, ’cause guts is what he’s got, delivering the grandeur with roughspun folkiness and genuine heat. And the great, great Hossein Alizadeh plucks his tar with a mixture of dynamism and passion that makes you forget how damn difficult his runs are; let’s hope he gets some serious solo space, because this blazer’s improvisations can get you crawling up your own spine.
Since the Iran-hatin’ pendulum has swung ’round again, it’s interesting to note that Alizadeh’s last album, Endless Vision, was denied release in his home country because a woman sang on it alongside men. Two years later, the decision was reversed. Iran, you see, experiences a range of opinions.
Iran’s classical repertoire runs intricate and deep, offering up its arabesque symmetries as an abstraction of emotion, a prayer for transcendence. One of these millennia, America will boast a classical tradition to match it. But before then, we’ll have to face a world of hurt.
In communion with God
Prof. Muhammad Ishaq Khan - Greater Kashmir online edition
Thu 09 March 2006
The tazkira literature in Sufism provides us an ample information about numerous Sufis of the subcontinent who performed Hajj in spite of the hazards of journey in medieval times. They undertook pilgrimage to Makkah not merely as a matter of religious duty, but, also, as seekers of exoteric and esoteric knowledge. My forthcoming Biographical Dictionary of Sufism in South Asia shows that in medieval times Makkah and Madina were not only great centres of Hadis learning but, also, hubs of Islamic spirituality (tasawwuf). Shaikh ‘Abdu’l-Haqq Muhaddis Dihlawi who spent considerable time in Makkah bears an elaborate testimony to the excellence of the learning of the Indian Sufi scholars, settled in Makkah, like Shaikh ‘Ali Mutaqqi and Shaikh ‘Abdu’l-Wahhab and their impact on the ‘ulama and masha’ikh of the Holy Land. Although Shaikh ‘Ali initially learnt at the feet of the acknowledged Arab scholar and theologian, Shaikh Ibn Hajar ‘Asqalani, later the latter himself took pride in calling himself a pupil of his erstwhile student. So much impressed was ‘Asqalani by the learning of his Indian born pupil that he enrolled himself as the disciple of Shaikh ‘Ali. Under the guidance of Shaikh ‘Abdu’l-Wahhab Muttaqi al-Qadiri al-Shazili in Makkah, Shaikh ‘Adu’l-Haqq not only mastered the Sahi Muslim and Sahih Bukhari, but, also, Sufism.
Although the serene intellectual and spiritual environment of Makkah suited the temperament of Abd’ul-Haqq, he was advised by his spiritual preceptor to return home, both on the grounds of his obligations to his family and India. He was advised not to be in a hurry to denounce a believer as “infidel or a heretic”, if, even while performing fundamental religious duties, the latter was apparently found guilty of violating the Shari‘ah.
Today, there is no scope for the dissemination of a true spiritual knowledge in Sa‘udi Arabia given the official attempts at promoting a superficial understanding of Tawhid. Gone are the days when the ‘ulama of Makkah and Madina sent ripples to the pilgrims with an insatiable quest for a true spiritual knowledge. Not only, Shaikh ‘Abdu’l-Haqq Muhaddis Dihlawi, but, later, Shah Waliu’llah, also, after their return from the Holy Land, proved themselves to be beacons of light in the profoundest sense of the term. They did not simply strengthen the roots of Islam in the subcontinent within the broader framework of Shari‘ah and Sufism, but, more importantly, contributed a great deal to the development of Hadis learning in the subcontinent. One may ask why Shah Waliu’llah, a contemporary of Muhammad bin ‘Abdu’l-Wahhab ___ whose sources of knowledge as well as a teacher were the same in the Holy Land - led their followers in two different directions. While Shah Waliu’llah, in the best tradition of the Hujjatu’l-Islam Imam-i Ghazzali, sought to reconcile Shari‘ah and Sufism, Muhammad bin ‘Abdu’l-Wahhab did not merely reject Sufism but even the recognized four schools of Islamic law. Notwithstanding the reformatory zeal of Muhammad bin ‘Abdu’l-Wahhab, his interpretation of Islam was mainly prompted by the exigencies of the atrophied social environment of Arabia of his time, rather than by spiritio-historical profundities of Islam.
Although there is no marked distinction between the so-called “Arab Islam” and “Sufi Islam”, nonetheless, the Sa‘udi version of Islam is devoid of a deeper sense of spirituality and history. True, Ka‘ba is central to their thinking; but I have earlier shown that millions of pilgrims are also deeply conscious of the centrality of the Ka‘ba. Why does the Sa‘udi government, then, make a fetish of Tawhid by underestimating the Tawhidic consciousness of the pilgrims with strong roots in Sufism? Is it that the antipathy of Muhammad bin Abdu’l-Wahhab and his followers to Sufism has produced such a mind-set?
Historically, it has been the solemn practice with most pilgrims not only to perform the fundamental duty of Hajj, but, also, to visit the heritage sites of spiritual and historical importance. This fact did not merely revitalize the faith of individual believers in the eternity of spiritual Truth, but also led to the development of spiritual knowledge on sound Quranic, Sunnatic and historical foundations. The profuse Sufi literature on the Oneness of Allah and veneration of Muhammad (PBUH) would not have been produced without the spiritual experiences of the Sufis in the wake of their meditations at the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in Madina or, for that matter, at other heritage sites of spiritual and historical importance. The Awrad-i Fathiyya of Mir Saiyid ‘Ali Hamadani, the most popular invocatory prayer in Kashmir for over six centuries, though for the most part, based on the Quranic verses and the prayers of the Prophet (PBUH), was, in essence, the product of the Sufi’s spiritual strivings elsewhere but, finally, in the Holy Land. Likewise, several other Sufis were directed by the Prophet (PBUH) to carry on the mission of ennobling human souls in different parts of the globe in various spiritual states of their communion with him.
Against the background of sturdy spiritual and historical foundations of Sufism, several observations vis-à-vis orchestrated heresy (shirk) in several official booklets, published and distributed by Ministry of Islamic Affairs Endowments, Da‘wah and Guidance, Kingdom of Sa‘udi Arabia, sound hollow. First, shirk in the strictest Quranic sense is related to the Jahilliya belief in the tribal gods that the Ka‘ba housed. Second, the pilgrim’s veneration of Muhammad (PBUH) does not amount to shirk in the original sense of the word. No pilgrim consciously regards the Prophet as God or demi-god. Certainly, however, he is superbly aware of the eternal spiritual and historical role of the Prophet as the Grace of the Worlds. A believer with such supernal Quranic consciousness cannot be a robot but an elevated human soul with the never ceasing yearning for spiritio-historical unicity characterising the relationship between the Prophet (pbuh) and his followers. Equally important, therefore, are the ties of spiritual bonds between the Sufis and their adherents within the framework of the Qur’an and the Sunnah.
Notwithstanding the total neglect of the Sa‘udi government in preserving the cave of Hira as a heritage site, or, for that matter, several other places of spiritual and historical importance, the pilgrims with deep-rooted Sufi traditions, particularly, from Turkey and South Asia, throng Hira where the Prophet (PBUH) first received the Revelation. It was a heart-rending experience for me to see them burst into tears and loud cries while offering durud and salam to the Prophet (SAW) at Hira. What is more, the volitional acts of the pilgrims at Masjid-i Nabwi, Mazar-i Baq‘i, Jannatu’l-Mawa, Uhad and even at the site where the Prophet (PBUH) resided, testify to a certain kind of their abundant mystical love for the Prophet (PBUH), ahl-i bait, Companions, followers of the Companions and their followers. Such a phenomenon may be reprehensible to the Sa‘udis, but, by no stretch of the imagination, do the pilgrims with a burning love for Allah and His true servants dilute the essential spirit of Tawhid. Perhaps ‘Allama Iqbal in Asrar-i Khudi refers to such pilgrims of love in these words: (Translated by: Nicholson’s tr.)
“Be a lover constant in devotion to thy beloved,
That thou mayst cast thy noose and capture God.
Sojourn for a while on the Hira of the heart,
Abandon self and flee to God.
Strengthened by God, return to thy self
And break the heads of Lat and Uzza of sensuality.
By the might of Love evoke an army,
Reveal thyself on the Faran of Love,
That the Lord of the Ka‘bah may show thee favour
And interpret to thee the text, ‘Lo I will appoint a vicegerent on the earth’.”
Read More
Thu 09 March 2006
The tazkira literature in Sufism provides us an ample information about numerous Sufis of the subcontinent who performed Hajj in spite of the hazards of journey in medieval times. They undertook pilgrimage to Makkah not merely as a matter of religious duty, but, also, as seekers of exoteric and esoteric knowledge. My forthcoming Biographical Dictionary of Sufism in South Asia shows that in medieval times Makkah and Madina were not only great centres of Hadis learning but, also, hubs of Islamic spirituality (tasawwuf). Shaikh ‘Abdu’l-Haqq Muhaddis Dihlawi who spent considerable time in Makkah bears an elaborate testimony to the excellence of the learning of the Indian Sufi scholars, settled in Makkah, like Shaikh ‘Ali Mutaqqi and Shaikh ‘Abdu’l-Wahhab and their impact on the ‘ulama and masha’ikh of the Holy Land. Although Shaikh ‘Ali initially learnt at the feet of the acknowledged Arab scholar and theologian, Shaikh Ibn Hajar ‘Asqalani, later the latter himself took pride in calling himself a pupil of his erstwhile student. So much impressed was ‘Asqalani by the learning of his Indian born pupil that he enrolled himself as the disciple of Shaikh ‘Ali. Under the guidance of Shaikh ‘Abdu’l-Wahhab Muttaqi al-Qadiri al-Shazili in Makkah, Shaikh ‘Adu’l-Haqq not only mastered the Sahi Muslim and Sahih Bukhari, but, also, Sufism.
Although the serene intellectual and spiritual environment of Makkah suited the temperament of Abd’ul-Haqq, he was advised by his spiritual preceptor to return home, both on the grounds of his obligations to his family and India. He was advised not to be in a hurry to denounce a believer as “infidel or a heretic”, if, even while performing fundamental religious duties, the latter was apparently found guilty of violating the Shari‘ah.
Today, there is no scope for the dissemination of a true spiritual knowledge in Sa‘udi Arabia given the official attempts at promoting a superficial understanding of Tawhid. Gone are the days when the ‘ulama of Makkah and Madina sent ripples to the pilgrims with an insatiable quest for a true spiritual knowledge. Not only, Shaikh ‘Abdu’l-Haqq Muhaddis Dihlawi, but, later, Shah Waliu’llah, also, after their return from the Holy Land, proved themselves to be beacons of light in the profoundest sense of the term. They did not simply strengthen the roots of Islam in the subcontinent within the broader framework of Shari‘ah and Sufism, but, more importantly, contributed a great deal to the development of Hadis learning in the subcontinent. One may ask why Shah Waliu’llah, a contemporary of Muhammad bin ‘Abdu’l-Wahhab ___ whose sources of knowledge as well as a teacher were the same in the Holy Land - led their followers in two different directions. While Shah Waliu’llah, in the best tradition of the Hujjatu’l-Islam Imam-i Ghazzali, sought to reconcile Shari‘ah and Sufism, Muhammad bin ‘Abdu’l-Wahhab did not merely reject Sufism but even the recognized four schools of Islamic law. Notwithstanding the reformatory zeal of Muhammad bin ‘Abdu’l-Wahhab, his interpretation of Islam was mainly prompted by the exigencies of the atrophied social environment of Arabia of his time, rather than by spiritio-historical profundities of Islam.
Although there is no marked distinction between the so-called “Arab Islam” and “Sufi Islam”, nonetheless, the Sa‘udi version of Islam is devoid of a deeper sense of spirituality and history. True, Ka‘ba is central to their thinking; but I have earlier shown that millions of pilgrims are also deeply conscious of the centrality of the Ka‘ba. Why does the Sa‘udi government, then, make a fetish of Tawhid by underestimating the Tawhidic consciousness of the pilgrims with strong roots in Sufism? Is it that the antipathy of Muhammad bin Abdu’l-Wahhab and his followers to Sufism has produced such a mind-set?
Historically, it has been the solemn practice with most pilgrims not only to perform the fundamental duty of Hajj, but, also, to visit the heritage sites of spiritual and historical importance. This fact did not merely revitalize the faith of individual believers in the eternity of spiritual Truth, but also led to the development of spiritual knowledge on sound Quranic, Sunnatic and historical foundations. The profuse Sufi literature on the Oneness of Allah and veneration of Muhammad (PBUH) would not have been produced without the spiritual experiences of the Sufis in the wake of their meditations at the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in Madina or, for that matter, at other heritage sites of spiritual and historical importance. The Awrad-i Fathiyya of Mir Saiyid ‘Ali Hamadani, the most popular invocatory prayer in Kashmir for over six centuries, though for the most part, based on the Quranic verses and the prayers of the Prophet (PBUH), was, in essence, the product of the Sufi’s spiritual strivings elsewhere but, finally, in the Holy Land. Likewise, several other Sufis were directed by the Prophet (PBUH) to carry on the mission of ennobling human souls in different parts of the globe in various spiritual states of their communion with him.
Against the background of sturdy spiritual and historical foundations of Sufism, several observations vis-à-vis orchestrated heresy (shirk) in several official booklets, published and distributed by Ministry of Islamic Affairs Endowments, Da‘wah and Guidance, Kingdom of Sa‘udi Arabia, sound hollow. First, shirk in the strictest Quranic sense is related to the Jahilliya belief in the tribal gods that the Ka‘ba housed. Second, the pilgrim’s veneration of Muhammad (PBUH) does not amount to shirk in the original sense of the word. No pilgrim consciously regards the Prophet as God or demi-god. Certainly, however, he is superbly aware of the eternal spiritual and historical role of the Prophet as the Grace of the Worlds. A believer with such supernal Quranic consciousness cannot be a robot but an elevated human soul with the never ceasing yearning for spiritio-historical unicity characterising the relationship between the Prophet (pbuh) and his followers. Equally important, therefore, are the ties of spiritual bonds between the Sufis and their adherents within the framework of the Qur’an and the Sunnah.
Notwithstanding the total neglect of the Sa‘udi government in preserving the cave of Hira as a heritage site, or, for that matter, several other places of spiritual and historical importance, the pilgrims with deep-rooted Sufi traditions, particularly, from Turkey and South Asia, throng Hira where the Prophet (PBUH) first received the Revelation. It was a heart-rending experience for me to see them burst into tears and loud cries while offering durud and salam to the Prophet (SAW) at Hira. What is more, the volitional acts of the pilgrims at Masjid-i Nabwi, Mazar-i Baq‘i, Jannatu’l-Mawa, Uhad and even at the site where the Prophet (PBUH) resided, testify to a certain kind of their abundant mystical love for the Prophet (PBUH), ahl-i bait, Companions, followers of the Companions and their followers. Such a phenomenon may be reprehensible to the Sa‘udis, but, by no stretch of the imagination, do the pilgrims with a burning love for Allah and His true servants dilute the essential spirit of Tawhid. Perhaps ‘Allama Iqbal in Asrar-i Khudi refers to such pilgrims of love in these words: (Translated by: Nicholson’s tr.)
“Be a lover constant in devotion to thy beloved,
That thou mayst cast thy noose and capture God.
Sojourn for a while on the Hira of the heart,
Abandon self and flee to God.
Strengthened by God, return to thy self
And break the heads of Lat and Uzza of sensuality.
By the might of Love evoke an army,
Reveal thyself on the Faran of Love,
That the Lord of the Ka‘bah may show thee favour
And interpret to thee the text, ‘Lo I will appoint a vicegerent on the earth’.”
Sunday, October 08, 2006
No Strings Attached?
By GIULIANA VETRANO Contributing Writer
The Harvard Crimson - Wednesday, March 08, 2006
The Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (NELC) has its offices at the Semitic Museum on 6 Divinity Avenue, while the Center for Middle Eastern Studies are located at 1430 Mass. Ave., above CVS. A narrow corridor leads to closet-sized rooms just big enough to fit a professor and an FM reporter. Framed, dusty posters in Arabic from the eighties line the dull white walls, and the sounds of a Middle Eastern chant play softly from a distant corner.
This is where Harvard directs students interested in studying Islam.
Compared to the open atrium and plush conference rooms of, say, the Barker Center (where some NELC professors have attic offices), NELC’s space appears shabby and decrepit. And like its physical surroundings, the department itself could use an upgrade.
Funding for that improvement has arrived in the form of Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud’s $20 million gift announced this past November. The Saudi Arabian prince—also the world’s fifth richest man—designated the donation specifically for Islamic Studies. However, despite the improvement the gift guaranteed, critics inside and outside the Harvard community—still reeling from the events of Sept. 11, 2001—said they were suspicious of his background and presumed intentions and questioned whether or not the University should accept the donation.
While Harvard has received prior gifts from other Saudi Arabian and Middle Eastern donors, there is no common formula for accepting or rejecting a gift. Rather, Harvard has chosen to evaluate the gifts, in accordance with the University’s extensive gift policy, on a case-by-case basis.
The University has outlined the major goals of The Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Program for Islamic Studies, but deliberations continue as to the details of its structure and personnel. Faculty point-man Roy P. Mottahedeh, Gurney professor of history, will work along with the Office of Alumni Affairs and Development to advance the program.
Currently, Islamic Studies is mostly confined to the religious and historical aspects of the faith, and especially to Islam in the Middle East. At this point, undergrads study Islam through NELC or the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. Professors like Granara and Susan G. Miller, a senior lecturer in Islamic civilizations, stress the need for a more multidisciplinary program. “This is a disgrace,” says Granara. “Our field is vastly underrepresented...and increases [in funding] are very much necessary.” Ahmed points to Sufism, Islamic mysticism, as a key area in which Harvard has no specialist.
Read More
The Harvard Crimson - Wednesday, March 08, 2006
The Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (NELC) has its offices at the Semitic Museum on 6 Divinity Avenue, while the Center for Middle Eastern Studies are located at 1430 Mass. Ave., above CVS. A narrow corridor leads to closet-sized rooms just big enough to fit a professor and an FM reporter. Framed, dusty posters in Arabic from the eighties line the dull white walls, and the sounds of a Middle Eastern chant play softly from a distant corner.
This is where Harvard directs students interested in studying Islam.
Compared to the open atrium and plush conference rooms of, say, the Barker Center (where some NELC professors have attic offices), NELC’s space appears shabby and decrepit. And like its physical surroundings, the department itself could use an upgrade.
Funding for that improvement has arrived in the form of Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud’s $20 million gift announced this past November. The Saudi Arabian prince—also the world’s fifth richest man—designated the donation specifically for Islamic Studies. However, despite the improvement the gift guaranteed, critics inside and outside the Harvard community—still reeling from the events of Sept. 11, 2001—said they were suspicious of his background and presumed intentions and questioned whether or not the University should accept the donation.
While Harvard has received prior gifts from other Saudi Arabian and Middle Eastern donors, there is no common formula for accepting or rejecting a gift. Rather, Harvard has chosen to evaluate the gifts, in accordance with the University’s extensive gift policy, on a case-by-case basis.
The University has outlined the major goals of The Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Program for Islamic Studies, but deliberations continue as to the details of its structure and personnel. Faculty point-man Roy P. Mottahedeh, Gurney professor of history, will work along with the Office of Alumni Affairs and Development to advance the program.
Currently, Islamic Studies is mostly confined to the religious and historical aspects of the faith, and especially to Islam in the Middle East. At this point, undergrads study Islam through NELC or the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. Professors like Granara and Susan G. Miller, a senior lecturer in Islamic civilizations, stress the need for a more multidisciplinary program. “This is a disgrace,” says Granara. “Our field is vastly underrepresented...and increases [in funding] are very much necessary.” Ahmed points to Sufism, Islamic mysticism, as a key area in which Harvard has no specialist.
Whither ghazals of Ghalib?
The Daily Star - Cultural Correspondent
Thu. March 09, 2006
Enayat-e-Moula Jinnah, is a singer of ghazals and modern Bangla songs, apart from being a music director of the Shilpakala Academy for decades. Amplifying on the music scene, he says, "Ghazals, which have come down from Amir Khusru and Ghalib, are popular at clubs, and private houses. However, they are not heard on our local TV or radio. This also applies to Rabindra Sangeet that includes words referring to Hindu mythology."
At present Jinnah is an enlisted singer of Nazrul Sangeet, and modern Bangla songs on radio and TV. He had his initial training in music under Ustad Siddiqur Rahman and next with Ustad Saimud Ali Khan, of Banaras gharana, who himself was a student of Pandit Bishek Shebak Misra. He began with sargam, went into classical training and then progressed to Nazrul Sangeet. In Dinajpur, in his youth, he was attracted to the songs of Mehdi Hassan, which were popular in the homes of his friends of the then East Pakistan Rifles. This saw an ebb even though the ghazals originated from Mirza Ghalib and Bahadur Shah Zafar, who were from India.
Dwelling on this genre of songs, Jinnah says that these ghazals are a combination of Persian and Urdu. Today in India, he says, people sometimes confuse bhajans of Anup Jalota -- which include tales of Krishna and Ram, for ghazals. The famed ghazal writer, Amir Khusru, was originally Turkish. Mirza Ghalib's family, in India, too had its roots in Turkey. Ghalib combined Persian, Arabic and Urdu, he says. "Modern writers of this genre include Mazrul Sultanpuri and Javed Akhter from India. But these writers have not, in any way, been able to surpass Amir Khusru, Bahadur Shah Zafar. Mirza Ghalib or even Allama Iqbal. "I like the ghazals of Bahadur Shah Zafar best because of their poignancy and passion. Their lyricism and moving lines can't help but touch your heart. Their rhythm and clarity communicates with the listener without any effort," says Jinnah.
Ghazals, he says, are not necessarily love poems. "Like qawwalis, they were immersed in Sufism and had a religious nature, as in the case of the early ghazals of Amir Khusru," he says. "They were always based on a raga. In India they are confusing ghazals with bhajans and thumris, such as in the case of Bare Ghulam Ali's Ae na balam, keya kare sajni (a thumri) or Begum Akhter's Jochhona korechhi ari, asheyna amar bari (a dadra). Kazi Nazrul Islam also wrote a large number of Bangla ghazals," he adds.
Read More
Thu. March 09, 2006
Enayat-e-Moula Jinnah, is a singer of ghazals and modern Bangla songs, apart from being a music director of the Shilpakala Academy for decades. Amplifying on the music scene, he says, "Ghazals, which have come down from Amir Khusru and Ghalib, are popular at clubs, and private houses. However, they are not heard on our local TV or radio. This also applies to Rabindra Sangeet that includes words referring to Hindu mythology."
At present Jinnah is an enlisted singer of Nazrul Sangeet, and modern Bangla songs on radio and TV. He had his initial training in music under Ustad Siddiqur Rahman and next with Ustad Saimud Ali Khan, of Banaras gharana, who himself was a student of Pandit Bishek Shebak Misra. He began with sargam, went into classical training and then progressed to Nazrul Sangeet. In Dinajpur, in his youth, he was attracted to the songs of Mehdi Hassan, which were popular in the homes of his friends of the then East Pakistan Rifles. This saw an ebb even though the ghazals originated from Mirza Ghalib and Bahadur Shah Zafar, who were from India.
Dwelling on this genre of songs, Jinnah says that these ghazals are a combination of Persian and Urdu. Today in India, he says, people sometimes confuse bhajans of Anup Jalota -- which include tales of Krishna and Ram, for ghazals. The famed ghazal writer, Amir Khusru, was originally Turkish. Mirza Ghalib's family, in India, too had its roots in Turkey. Ghalib combined Persian, Arabic and Urdu, he says. "Modern writers of this genre include Mazrul Sultanpuri and Javed Akhter from India. But these writers have not, in any way, been able to surpass Amir Khusru, Bahadur Shah Zafar. Mirza Ghalib or even Allama Iqbal. "I like the ghazals of Bahadur Shah Zafar best because of their poignancy and passion. Their lyricism and moving lines can't help but touch your heart. Their rhythm and clarity communicates with the listener without any effort," says Jinnah.
Ghazals, he says, are not necessarily love poems. "Like qawwalis, they were immersed in Sufism and had a religious nature, as in the case of the early ghazals of Amir Khusru," he says. "They were always based on a raga. In India they are confusing ghazals with bhajans and thumris, such as in the case of Bare Ghulam Ali's Ae na balam, keya kare sajni (a thumri) or Begum Akhter's Jochhona korechhi ari, asheyna amar bari (a dadra). Kazi Nazrul Islam also wrote a large number of Bangla ghazals," he adds.
UNESCO to declare 2007 'The Year of Mevlana'
ANKARA - Turkish Daily News
Wednesday, March 8, 2006
A proposal by the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry to declare 2007 as the “The Year of Mevlana” to mark the 800th anniversary of Mevlana Jelaladdin Rumi's birth was accepted by UNESCO, the Anatolia news agency reported on Monday.
Culture and Tourism Ministry Undersecretary Mustafa İsen said 2007 was the 800th anniversary of the birth of famous Turkish philosopher and poet Mevlana, and therefore they submitted a proposal to UNESCO to officially declare 2007 as the “Year of Mevlana” to mark the 800th anniversary of his birth.
“UNESCO gave a positive response to our proposal and decided Mevlana to be commemorated next year in all countries. 2007 was declared as the Year of Mevlana,” he said.
Noting that they have intensified commemoration works after this decision, İsen said the commemoration activities to be held in Konya next year would be expanded throughout 2007 all over the world.
He also said they established a committee for organization of the commemorative events under the direction of the ministry and, likewise, some works were being conducted by the Konya Governor's Office and local municipalities.
Support from Iran and Afghanistan:
Meanwhile, International Mevlana Foundation Chairman Faruk Çelebi, who is Mevlana's 22nd generation grandchild, said he was pleased for the decision of UNESCO, which also had included Sufism culture into the world's cultural heritages.
He said they received great support from Iran and Afghanistan for the Year of Mevlana. “It is indeed a positive development for Mevlana culture to be protected and commemorated by UNESCO. Activities will be held worldwide throughout 2007 and Mevlana as well as his philosophy will be conveyed to all humanity in the proper sense.”
Associate Professor Nuri Şimşekler, Selçuk University's Mevlana Research Center director, said UNESCO's decision was an important step in terms of conveying Mevlana and his philosophy to the next generations without having it become degenerated.
Stating that 2007 will also be an important occasion in scientific examination of Mevlana and the related documents on his philosophy as well as introducing this wealth of knowledge to people in Turkey and all of humanity, Şimşekler said, “We will have an opportunity to exhibit the beauty of our religion to other people, highlighting the humanistic and peaceful aspects of Mevlana, who is considered to be one of the best interpreters of Islam, a religion wrongfully associated with terrorism.”
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Wednesday, March 8, 2006
A proposal by the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry to declare 2007 as the “The Year of Mevlana” to mark the 800th anniversary of Mevlana Jelaladdin Rumi's birth was accepted by UNESCO, the Anatolia news agency reported on Monday.
Culture and Tourism Ministry Undersecretary Mustafa İsen said 2007 was the 800th anniversary of the birth of famous Turkish philosopher and poet Mevlana, and therefore they submitted a proposal to UNESCO to officially declare 2007 as the “Year of Mevlana” to mark the 800th anniversary of his birth.
“UNESCO gave a positive response to our proposal and decided Mevlana to be commemorated next year in all countries. 2007 was declared as the Year of Mevlana,” he said.
Noting that they have intensified commemoration works after this decision, İsen said the commemoration activities to be held in Konya next year would be expanded throughout 2007 all over the world.
He also said they established a committee for organization of the commemorative events under the direction of the ministry and, likewise, some works were being conducted by the Konya Governor's Office and local municipalities.
Support from Iran and Afghanistan:
Meanwhile, International Mevlana Foundation Chairman Faruk Çelebi, who is Mevlana's 22nd generation grandchild, said he was pleased for the decision of UNESCO, which also had included Sufism culture into the world's cultural heritages.
He said they received great support from Iran and Afghanistan for the Year of Mevlana. “It is indeed a positive development for Mevlana culture to be protected and commemorated by UNESCO. Activities will be held worldwide throughout 2007 and Mevlana as well as his philosophy will be conveyed to all humanity in the proper sense.”
Associate Professor Nuri Şimşekler, Selçuk University's Mevlana Research Center director, said UNESCO's decision was an important step in terms of conveying Mevlana and his philosophy to the next generations without having it become degenerated.
Stating that 2007 will also be an important occasion in scientific examination of Mevlana and the related documents on his philosophy as well as introducing this wealth of knowledge to people in Turkey and all of humanity, Şimşekler said, “We will have an opportunity to exhibit the beauty of our religion to other people, highlighting the humanistic and peaceful aspects of Mevlana, who is considered to be one of the best interpreters of Islam, a religion wrongfully associated with terrorism.”
ETC Punjabi to telecast live Music Awards 2006
Indiantelevision.com Team - Mumbai, 8 March 2006
With the live telecast of ETC Channel Punjabi Music Awards 2006, ETC is once again all set to enhance and applaud the efforts of musicians and their music through various categories including even Sufi and overseas Punjabi singers.
Badman of Bollywood Gulshan Grover will anchor the awards along with Rajeshwari Sachdev.
The awards show loaded with music, fun, dancing, dread, anticipation, joy and elation will be telecast live simultaneously on ETC Channel Punjabi, Zee Punjabi and Alpha ETC Punjabi on the evening of Saturday 18 March, states an official release.
ETC Channel Punjabi and Zee Punjabi president Rabindra Narayan and programming head Rajiee B. Shinde are confident of delivering another winning show for their viewers.
Read More
With the live telecast of ETC Channel Punjabi Music Awards 2006, ETC is once again all set to enhance and applaud the efforts of musicians and their music through various categories including even Sufi and overseas Punjabi singers.
Badman of Bollywood Gulshan Grover will anchor the awards along with Rajeshwari Sachdev.
The awards show loaded with music, fun, dancing, dread, anticipation, joy and elation will be telecast live simultaneously on ETC Channel Punjabi, Zee Punjabi and Alpha ETC Punjabi on the evening of Saturday 18 March, states an official release.
ETC Channel Punjabi and Zee Punjabi president Rabindra Narayan and programming head Rajiee B. Shinde are confident of delivering another winning show for their viewers.
Enjoy the Soothing Effect of Sufiana
By Syed Wajid Ali - The Times Of India
Mon 06 March, 2006
Sufism is a mystical dimension of Islam, transcending all religions. It is a way of experiencing truth and self-realisation and in the process takes the seeker on a path of serenity, piety and divinity by means of love and devotion to God.
Truth is the substance. Truth is the courage of each, it is the power of flight; some fly and some remain in the garden, some go beyond the stars.
Sufi music is evolved and illuminated. It is the enchanting outcome of the interface between Hinduism and Islam. The word ‘sufi’ comes from the Arabic word ‘suf’ which means pure.
Sufi music is all about the relationship between the moods of the lover-poet-saint and the beloved. Sufism originated with the foundation of the Chishti order in Khorasam, Persia. Sufi compositions contain effusive verses with an esoteric dimension written in an ornate language.
Sufi poetry has found expression in several languages like Persian, Arabic, Awadhi Bruj, Khariboli and Punjabi. Hazrat Amir Khusrau, Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi, Baba Bulle Shah, Ghulam Farid and Allama-Iqbal were some of the finest Sufi exponents.
Dargah Sharif at Ajmer resting place of Saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti is renowned for its qawwals and is a popular pilgrimage destination. It is where one can feel intensely the Sufi experience.
Particularly on Thursdays, the entire area of the Dargah Sharif is suffused with spirituality. Qawwalis, raga-based compositions, are sung in tandem with the combination of harmonium and tabla. This is followed by ecstatic and vigorous clapping, repetitive and forceful, making the listener experience a spiritual high.
Renowned qawwals like Farid and Chand Nizami, Ghulam and Sultan Hussain Niyazi and Hamsar from the Delhi Gharana display the art with perfect synchronisation of percussionists in a chorus, transporting the audience out of the world.
Experiencing limitlessness, participants and listeners sway some even announce that they are renouncing all possessions and relate to the beats of the chorus, a blending of sufi art and music, what is called sufiana.
Amir Khusrau’s poetry straddles the earthy Hindi, Bruj, and sophisticated Persian, unravelling layers of meaning and nuances. His poetry provides the base to thirsty wanderers, to rejoice and meditate on the fundamental mystery of life.
He created divine musical poetry that reached out to truth. His interest in Indian ragas created mesmeric blends of Arabic and Iranian compositions.
Sufism transcends all boundaries of language and religion. Sufi music has the power to heal and its philosophy has a soothing effect. Qawwali is an expression of love between the lover and the beloved that elevates the spirit, bringing God and performer together.
It deepens love and devotion to God, making the listener exalt in spiritual ecstasy and frenzy. In such exaltations, the listener could slip into a mystical trance.
Qawwali recitals whether of Qual, Basant, Rang, Kaafi, Hamd or Naat incorporate classical and folk music, borrowing from forms like tarana, dadra, thumri and khyal. The eclectic synthesis produces a mesmerising effect, generating a feeling of tranquillity.
Read More
Mon 06 March, 2006
Sufism is a mystical dimension of Islam, transcending all religions. It is a way of experiencing truth and self-realisation and in the process takes the seeker on a path of serenity, piety and divinity by means of love and devotion to God.
Truth is the substance. Truth is the courage of each, it is the power of flight; some fly and some remain in the garden, some go beyond the stars.
Sufi music is evolved and illuminated. It is the enchanting outcome of the interface between Hinduism and Islam. The word ‘sufi’ comes from the Arabic word ‘suf’ which means pure.
Sufi music is all about the relationship between the moods of the lover-poet-saint and the beloved. Sufism originated with the foundation of the Chishti order in Khorasam, Persia. Sufi compositions contain effusive verses with an esoteric dimension written in an ornate language.
Sufi poetry has found expression in several languages like Persian, Arabic, Awadhi Bruj, Khariboli and Punjabi. Hazrat Amir Khusrau, Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi, Baba Bulle Shah, Ghulam Farid and Allama-Iqbal were some of the finest Sufi exponents.
Dargah Sharif at Ajmer resting place of Saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti is renowned for its qawwals and is a popular pilgrimage destination. It is where one can feel intensely the Sufi experience.
Particularly on Thursdays, the entire area of the Dargah Sharif is suffused with spirituality. Qawwalis, raga-based compositions, are sung in tandem with the combination of harmonium and tabla. This is followed by ecstatic and vigorous clapping, repetitive and forceful, making the listener experience a spiritual high.
Renowned qawwals like Farid and Chand Nizami, Ghulam and Sultan Hussain Niyazi and Hamsar from the Delhi Gharana display the art with perfect synchronisation of percussionists in a chorus, transporting the audience out of the world.
Experiencing limitlessness, participants and listeners sway some even announce that they are renouncing all possessions and relate to the beats of the chorus, a blending of sufi art and music, what is called sufiana.
Amir Khusrau’s poetry straddles the earthy Hindi, Bruj, and sophisticated Persian, unravelling layers of meaning and nuances. His poetry provides the base to thirsty wanderers, to rejoice and meditate on the fundamental mystery of life.
He created divine musical poetry that reached out to truth. His interest in Indian ragas created mesmeric blends of Arabic and Iranian compositions.
Sufism transcends all boundaries of language and religion. Sufi music has the power to heal and its philosophy has a soothing effect. Qawwali is an expression of love between the lover and the beloved that elevates the spirit, bringing God and performer together.
It deepens love and devotion to God, making the listener exalt in spiritual ecstasy and frenzy. In such exaltations, the listener could slip into a mystical trance.
Qawwali recitals whether of Qual, Basant, Rang, Kaafi, Hamd or Naat incorporate classical and folk music, borrowing from forms like tarana, dadra, thumri and khyal. The eclectic synthesis produces a mesmerising effect, generating a feeling of tranquillity.
N.Y. State Tries To Close TriBeCa Bars For Being Too Close to a Mosque
By DAVID LOMBINO - Staff Reporter of the Sun
The New York Sun, March 7, 2006
Some established TriBeCa bar owners are scrambling to find a legal loophole that will allow them to hold onto their liquor licenses after the State Liquor Authority moved to revoke the licenses upon learning that the bars are within 200 feet of a mosque.
The neighbors who informed the State Liquor Authority about the mosque's presence, Peter and Janna Townsend, are owners and residents of the building at 1 White St., a four-story townhouse about a half a block from the mosque, surrounded by bars and restaurants. The Townsends discovered the state's 200-foot regulation on the Internet as they were mounting a challenge to the Liquor Store Bar, which was seeking a license to reopen nearby. Its application was rejected by the state, and the bar now sits dark and empty despite a costly interior renovation.
Ms. Townsend defended her actions. "I want this to be about quality of life in a neighborhood that is mixed use. There are businesses here and residents here. There needs to be a balance of uses. Those of us that need to sleep here should be able to sleep here," she said.
As part of the process of applying for a liquor license, prospective bar owners must assert that they are in compliance with the law. The owner of the Bubble Lounge, a 10-year old bar whose license is being challenged, Eric Benn, said his establishment is 192 feet from the mosque. Mr. Benn said his business is in jeopardy.
"We're looking forward to the government getting off our case. It's getting to be rather repetitive - they take a great deal of money from us and then we get harassment," Mr. Benn said. "It is impossible to detect that there is a mosque there; not even the Community Board knew."
Since 1990, the two-story white-painted building at 245 West Broadway with drawn Venetian blinds and a locked gate has housed the Sufi mosque, Masjid al-Farah. The gold lettering on the front door does not contain the word "mosque," but it is registered as a religious not-for-profit corporation with the state and federal government.
An administrator for the mosque, Kris Jones, said a lawyer representing the mosque submitted a letter to the state clarifying the uses of the building. She said that in addition to being a place of worship, the building serves as a space to feed the homeless and host interfaith meetings.
"We don't have a dispute with any of the neighbors. We are here to support them. Our main thing is to be neutral," Ms. Jones told The New York Sun. "We don't want anyone to lose their jobs."
The state also moved to revoke the license of Cercle Rouge, a French bistro that shares a wall with the mosque. There are mixed reports about whether the state also issued a summons to Tribeca Tavern. The highly rated restaurant Montrachet did not receive a summons because it predates the mosque.
Read More
The New York Sun, March 7, 2006
Some established TriBeCa bar owners are scrambling to find a legal loophole that will allow them to hold onto their liquor licenses after the State Liquor Authority moved to revoke the licenses upon learning that the bars are within 200 feet of a mosque.
The neighbors who informed the State Liquor Authority about the mosque's presence, Peter and Janna Townsend, are owners and residents of the building at 1 White St., a four-story townhouse about a half a block from the mosque, surrounded by bars and restaurants. The Townsends discovered the state's 200-foot regulation on the Internet as they were mounting a challenge to the Liquor Store Bar, which was seeking a license to reopen nearby. Its application was rejected by the state, and the bar now sits dark and empty despite a costly interior renovation.
Ms. Townsend defended her actions. "I want this to be about quality of life in a neighborhood that is mixed use. There are businesses here and residents here. There needs to be a balance of uses. Those of us that need to sleep here should be able to sleep here," she said.
As part of the process of applying for a liquor license, prospective bar owners must assert that they are in compliance with the law. The owner of the Bubble Lounge, a 10-year old bar whose license is being challenged, Eric Benn, said his establishment is 192 feet from the mosque. Mr. Benn said his business is in jeopardy.
"We're looking forward to the government getting off our case. It's getting to be rather repetitive - they take a great deal of money from us and then we get harassment," Mr. Benn said. "It is impossible to detect that there is a mosque there; not even the Community Board knew."
Since 1990, the two-story white-painted building at 245 West Broadway with drawn Venetian blinds and a locked gate has housed the Sufi mosque, Masjid al-Farah. The gold lettering on the front door does not contain the word "mosque," but it is registered as a religious not-for-profit corporation with the state and federal government.
An administrator for the mosque, Kris Jones, said a lawyer representing the mosque submitted a letter to the state clarifying the uses of the building. She said that in addition to being a place of worship, the building serves as a space to feed the homeless and host interfaith meetings.
"We don't have a dispute with any of the neighbors. We are here to support them. Our main thing is to be neutral," Ms. Jones told The New York Sun. "We don't want anyone to lose their jobs."
The state also moved to revoke the license of Cercle Rouge, a French bistro that shares a wall with the mosque. There are mixed reports about whether the state also issued a summons to Tribeca Tavern. The highly rated restaurant Montrachet did not receive a summons because it predates the mosque.
Eastern Sudan tempts Darfurian fate
By ISN Security Watch staff in Nairobi and Khartoum (07/03/06)
International Relations and Security Network - Zurich - Switzerland
With conflict rife in Sudan’s troubled Darfur, and peace still tenuous in the south, another of Sudan’s marginalized regions could be set to erupt. Eastern Sudan ostensibly exhibits many of the same traits that led to war in Darfur since 2003 and in southern Sudan from 1983-2005.
On 24 January 2005, three weeks after the Sudanese government and the southern-based Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), the Sudanese army opened fire on a demonstration in the eastern city of Port Sudan, on the Red Sea coast. At least 20 people were killed.
This incident plus the ongoing government clampdown, tensions both generated and exacerbated by the signing of the CPA, and the potent example of government tactics in Darfur all contributed to the formation of the Eastern Front in February 2005. The newly formed and relatively unexamined movement promises to forcibly resist Khartoum’s likely attempt to retake the Hameshkoreb enclave in eastern Sudan, near the Eritrean border, once the former SPLM/A withdraws.
Eastern Sudan comprises three states: Kassala, Gedaref, and Red Sea State. It has a population of around four million people. The main ethnic groups are the Beja and the Rashaida. The Beja are the largest group in the region, comprising numerous subdivisions. Indigenous to the area, they adhere to a Sufi brand of Islam that fits uneasily with the Wahhabite-influenced National Islamic Front (NIF), which forms the backbone of the National Congress Party (NCP) elite that now dominates the Khartoum government.
The Beja Congress is an established political-military force in eastern Sudan, contesting elections in the post-independence era, but mostly losing out locally to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which is the political front for the local Sufi Khatmiyya sect to which most Beja adhere.
The Rashaida are nomadic descendants of Bedouin immigrants into the area from the Arabian Peninsula in the 19th Century. Retaining links to the Gulf and adhering to their traditional lifestyle, the relatively wealthy group remains simultaneously more marginalized, as government agricultural and pipeline policies cut into the land used for nomadic lifestyle. The Rashaida Free Lions, the other constituent part of the Eastern Front, is a relatively new entity.
Local grievances can be traced directly back to the aftermath of the 1989 NIF coup in Khartoum. Land expropriation in the name of larger agricultural schemes has seen many Beja move to the slums of Kassala and Port Sudan. Much of the land was given over to local and River Nile-based elites linked to the ruling regime.
In 1990, the extrajudicial execution of Mohammed Karrar, the Beja governor of the region, was seen as a direct attack on Beja consciousness and lay at the backdrop of a Beja Congress decision to join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) armed struggle, linking northern opposition groups to the southern rebellion led by the SPLM/A. The Beja Congress joined the NDA in 1995 as it saw the need to push for greater self-rule for the Beja in particular and the east in general.
Read More
International Relations and Security Network - Zurich - Switzerland
With conflict rife in Sudan’s troubled Darfur, and peace still tenuous in the south, another of Sudan’s marginalized regions could be set to erupt. Eastern Sudan ostensibly exhibits many of the same traits that led to war in Darfur since 2003 and in southern Sudan from 1983-2005.
On 24 January 2005, three weeks after the Sudanese government and the southern-based Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), the Sudanese army opened fire on a demonstration in the eastern city of Port Sudan, on the Red Sea coast. At least 20 people were killed.
This incident plus the ongoing government clampdown, tensions both generated and exacerbated by the signing of the CPA, and the potent example of government tactics in Darfur all contributed to the formation of the Eastern Front in February 2005. The newly formed and relatively unexamined movement promises to forcibly resist Khartoum’s likely attempt to retake the Hameshkoreb enclave in eastern Sudan, near the Eritrean border, once the former SPLM/A withdraws.
Eastern Sudan comprises three states: Kassala, Gedaref, and Red Sea State. It has a population of around four million people. The main ethnic groups are the Beja and the Rashaida. The Beja are the largest group in the region, comprising numerous subdivisions. Indigenous to the area, they adhere to a Sufi brand of Islam that fits uneasily with the Wahhabite-influenced National Islamic Front (NIF), which forms the backbone of the National Congress Party (NCP) elite that now dominates the Khartoum government.
The Beja Congress is an established political-military force in eastern Sudan, contesting elections in the post-independence era, but mostly losing out locally to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which is the political front for the local Sufi Khatmiyya sect to which most Beja adhere.
The Rashaida are nomadic descendants of Bedouin immigrants into the area from the Arabian Peninsula in the 19th Century. Retaining links to the Gulf and adhering to their traditional lifestyle, the relatively wealthy group remains simultaneously more marginalized, as government agricultural and pipeline policies cut into the land used for nomadic lifestyle. The Rashaida Free Lions, the other constituent part of the Eastern Front, is a relatively new entity.
Local grievances can be traced directly back to the aftermath of the 1989 NIF coup in Khartoum. Land expropriation in the name of larger agricultural schemes has seen many Beja move to the slums of Kassala and Port Sudan. Much of the land was given over to local and River Nile-based elites linked to the ruling regime.
In 1990, the extrajudicial execution of Mohammed Karrar, the Beja governor of the region, was seen as a direct attack on Beja consciousness and lay at the backdrop of a Beja Congress decision to join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) armed struggle, linking northern opposition groups to the southern rebellion led by the SPLM/A. The Beja Congress joined the NDA in 1995 as it saw the need to push for greater self-rule for the Beja in particular and the east in general.
Sufi shrine damaged
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politics
Bahrain News Agency - date: 07 03, 2006
Baghdad , March . 7 (BNA)
Yesterday night an explosive device damaged the Sufi shrine of Mahdi al-Jabr on in the north Iraqi city of Tikrit. No injuries were reported.
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Baghdad , March . 7 (BNA)
Yesterday night an explosive device damaged the Sufi shrine of Mahdi al-Jabr on in the north Iraqi city of Tikrit. No injuries were reported.
Demystifying Islam
Beth Ashley - Marin Independent Journal - marinij.com
March 7, 2006
At 1 p.m. on a recent afternoon, 20 men came one by one into the brown stucco Islamic Center on a side street in Mill Valley and silently prostrated themselves on a huge red carpet in the otherwise barren main room.
Later, the men stood quietly in front of their imam, listening to his prayers.
Ten minutes later, they were gone. Many would return for evening prayer in the late afternoon, part of their five-times-a-day commitment to prayer.
Islam may seem like a "foreign" religion to some, but it's a way of life for hundreds of people in Marin. Several of them will discuss their beliefs Saturday in a daylong symposium at Dominican University called "Understanding Islam." The conference is open to the public.
Ebrahim Nana, who is on the board of directors of the Islamic Center, will discuss Islam's basic beliefs.
Ali Kianfar, co-director and co-founder of the International Association of Sufism (headquarters are in Novato), will talk about the "message" of Islam, which directs his religious practice.
Arthur Kane Scott, a professor at Dominican University, will discuss the mysticism of Islam, which was what drew him to Islamic studies eight years ago and sent him - impatiently, he says - on a quest to find his true self.
They will be joined by other lecturers, discussing women in Islam, civil rights in Islam and Islamic architecture.
All three men say Marin is unusually accepting of the Muslim faith - "Marin is probably the most liberal county in the country," says Nana - but all say the conference will help clear up what Scott calls "a great deal of confusion and misunderstanding.
Sufism, a branch of Islam, is thriving in Marin, too. Kianfar estimates there are more than 1,000 practicing Sufis in Marin, and he emphasizes that their faith centers on a personal journey rather than any partisan, sectarian view of Islam.
It was the variety of practice among Sufis that led him to found the international organization that now holds an annual convention in the Bay Area of Sufi groups from around the world. Kianfar came to Marin from his native Iran in 1987. He runs a print shop in San Rafael.
Followers of Sufism focus on their individual experiences and look inside to find who they truly are - apart from their names, jobs, language, personality and Social Security numbers, says Scott.
Kianfar sees Islam as a religion of peace. "If a man's religion becomes a cause for differences, I prefer not to call him a religious person."
Nana, who was born in India, grew up in Thailand and came here in 1969, says the masjid (place of worship) in Mill Valley has a Sufi imam, but Shi'ites and believers of all kinds are welcome, including Christians or Jews who just want to meditate.
"It is a returning to our own heart, where the deeper reality lies."
Scott, who was raised a Catholic, explored Buddhism and Hinduism before he found Kianfar and Sufism eight years ago. "I knew right away I was at home." Now he incorporates a spiritual perspective into his Dominican University classes in history, sociology, anthropology and religion. "My students are hungry for this information." He says his quest for his inner truth - his "purity" - is ongoing.
Students meet with Kianfar twice a month in group meetings, have individual consultations, and "do a lot of things together." Kianfar says he is on a journey of exploration that never ends.
"We are all passengers to eternity," he says. "We have to prepare for a long, long journey."
Read More
March 7, 2006
At 1 p.m. on a recent afternoon, 20 men came one by one into the brown stucco Islamic Center on a side street in Mill Valley and silently prostrated themselves on a huge red carpet in the otherwise barren main room.
Later, the men stood quietly in front of their imam, listening to his prayers.
Ten minutes later, they were gone. Many would return for evening prayer in the late afternoon, part of their five-times-a-day commitment to prayer.
Islam may seem like a "foreign" religion to some, but it's a way of life for hundreds of people in Marin. Several of them will discuss their beliefs Saturday in a daylong symposium at Dominican University called "Understanding Islam." The conference is open to the public.
Ebrahim Nana, who is on the board of directors of the Islamic Center, will discuss Islam's basic beliefs.
Ali Kianfar, co-director and co-founder of the International Association of Sufism (headquarters are in Novato), will talk about the "message" of Islam, which directs his religious practice.
Arthur Kane Scott, a professor at Dominican University, will discuss the mysticism of Islam, which was what drew him to Islamic studies eight years ago and sent him - impatiently, he says - on a quest to find his true self.
They will be joined by other lecturers, discussing women in Islam, civil rights in Islam and Islamic architecture.
All three men say Marin is unusually accepting of the Muslim faith - "Marin is probably the most liberal county in the country," says Nana - but all say the conference will help clear up what Scott calls "a great deal of confusion and misunderstanding.
Sufism, a branch of Islam, is thriving in Marin, too. Kianfar estimates there are more than 1,000 practicing Sufis in Marin, and he emphasizes that their faith centers on a personal journey rather than any partisan, sectarian view of Islam.
It was the variety of practice among Sufis that led him to found the international organization that now holds an annual convention in the Bay Area of Sufi groups from around the world. Kianfar came to Marin from his native Iran in 1987. He runs a print shop in San Rafael.
Followers of Sufism focus on their individual experiences and look inside to find who they truly are - apart from their names, jobs, language, personality and Social Security numbers, says Scott.
Kianfar sees Islam as a religion of peace. "If a man's religion becomes a cause for differences, I prefer not to call him a religious person."
Nana, who was born in India, grew up in Thailand and came here in 1969, says the masjid (place of worship) in Mill Valley has a Sufi imam, but Shi'ites and believers of all kinds are welcome, including Christians or Jews who just want to meditate.
"It is a returning to our own heart, where the deeper reality lies."
Scott, who was raised a Catholic, explored Buddhism and Hinduism before he found Kianfar and Sufism eight years ago. "I knew right away I was at home." Now he incorporates a spiritual perspective into his Dominican University classes in history, sociology, anthropology and religion. "My students are hungry for this information." He says his quest for his inner truth - his "purity" - is ongoing.
Students meet with Kianfar twice a month in group meetings, have individual consultations, and "do a lot of things together." Kianfar says he is on a journey of exploration that never ends.
"We are all passengers to eternity," he says. "We have to prepare for a long, long journey."
Because sufism sells
By JYOTHI PRABHAKAR - The Times of India
6 Mar 2006
Thanks to fusion bands, sufi music is a rage these days. From college-goers to the chic socialite, everyone's tuning in.
Attend a sufi music concert - just understanding the rhythm will do, no need to understand every word of what the singer on stage is singing. And just like that, you've arrived. "Sufism has, over the years, become like a popular bestseller that everyone wants to read. Not because you like the author, or even the genre, but because you don't want to be the only one to be left out of conversations over coffee,"says well-known sufi singer Shafqat Ali Khan.
So today, sufi music can join the upmarket, elite bracket of a U2 best seller album, or a Robbie Williams live concert.
As Neeraj Saha, who manages a popular music store says, "These days, everyone wants sufi music CDs. And they usually end up buying Pakistani fusion bands, whose music seems to be quite popular."Agrees Abida Parveen, the Pakistani sufi singer, "The demand for sufi music concerts has grown over the last few years.
Ever since the legendary Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan became popular because he mixed his classical renditions with modern instruments, everyone wants to listen to this kind of music."
But then, there are people who argue that it is the music per se, and not the attached snob value that attracts listeners. According to singer Daler Mehndi, sufi music is becoming popular "thanks to many fusion bands who have made sufi very rhythm-friendly.
Those 'into' sufi music argue their case differently. Muzzafar Ali, who's done a lot in popularising pure forms of sufi music says, "You don't need a trained ear to listen to a sufi rendition, just a heart full of music.
Adds designer Puja Nayyar who listens to sufi music, "I love its folksy abandon. I do not understand the language much, nor do I have a classical ear. But still, it attracts me." However, Shafqat Ali Khan cautions, "These days, everything sells under the 'sufi fusion' label. Fusion does not mean that you add two western guitars to your troupe, or have a singer who is clad in a kurta pyjama, and another who sports jeans.
In fact, the minute sufism became a money spinner, it lost all its original tenets - that of commitment, purity of thought and action, and a total abandon from selfish motives."
Read More
6 Mar 2006
Thanks to fusion bands, sufi music is a rage these days. From college-goers to the chic socialite, everyone's tuning in.
Attend a sufi music concert - just understanding the rhythm will do, no need to understand every word of what the singer on stage is singing. And just like that, you've arrived. "Sufism has, over the years, become like a popular bestseller that everyone wants to read. Not because you like the author, or even the genre, but because you don't want to be the only one to be left out of conversations over coffee,"says well-known sufi singer Shafqat Ali Khan.
So today, sufi music can join the upmarket, elite bracket of a U2 best seller album, or a Robbie Williams live concert.
As Neeraj Saha, who manages a popular music store says, "These days, everyone wants sufi music CDs. And they usually end up buying Pakistani fusion bands, whose music seems to be quite popular."Agrees Abida Parveen, the Pakistani sufi singer, "The demand for sufi music concerts has grown over the last few years.
Ever since the legendary Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan became popular because he mixed his classical renditions with modern instruments, everyone wants to listen to this kind of music."
But then, there are people who argue that it is the music per se, and not the attached snob value that attracts listeners. According to singer Daler Mehndi, sufi music is becoming popular "thanks to many fusion bands who have made sufi very rhythm-friendly.
Those 'into' sufi music argue their case differently. Muzzafar Ali, who's done a lot in popularising pure forms of sufi music says, "You don't need a trained ear to listen to a sufi rendition, just a heart full of music.
Adds designer Puja Nayyar who listens to sufi music, "I love its folksy abandon. I do not understand the language much, nor do I have a classical ear. But still, it attracts me." However, Shafqat Ali Khan cautions, "These days, everything sells under the 'sufi fusion' label. Fusion does not mean that you add two western guitars to your troupe, or have a singer who is clad in a kurta pyjama, and another who sports jeans.
In fact, the minute sufism became a money spinner, it lost all its original tenets - that of commitment, purity of thought and action, and a total abandon from selfish motives."
Bhaskar Bhattacharyya
Telegraph.co.uk. - 06/03/2006
Bhaskar Bhattacharyya, who has drowned aged 56 while swimming off the coast of Chennai (formerly Madras), was a documentary film-maker, a consultant to musicians and film crews working in India and a scholar of Hindu and Sufi mysticism.
An adviser on several British television series set in India, including The Jewel in the Crown (1984) and Great Railway Journeys of the World (1989), Bhattacharyya inspired many young Indian film-makers. As director of programmes for the Business India channel he was able to help many of them further their careers.
His technical knowledge of film-making was worn as lightly as his understanding of ancient mystics and shamanism; he was chiefly noticeable for his infectious laugh and enthusiasm for the diverse culture of his birthplace.
Bhaskar Bhattacharyya was born in Darjeeling on June 4 1950, the son of two school-teachers. When young Bhaskar was five, his parents left India for Kampala, Uganda, where they lived for the next 11 years before moving to London, where he took his A levels and read Physics at City University.
year into the course, however, he dropped out of university. After a spell spent living in squats in north London, he joined the hippy trail, travelling through Europe, Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan, finally ending up in India.
For the next six years he lived among the sadhus (holy men) and shamans, befriending the Baul musicians and going on to study Sanskrit at Vanarisi (Benares) on the banks of the Ganges. During this period he collaborated with the film-maker George Lunneau, after which Bhattacharyya went on to form his own production company.
In 1976 he returned to London to continue his academic exploration of Hindu and Sufi mysticism. By the 1980s he had built up a reputation as a respected adviser and facilitator for western media in India.
Bhattacharyya made a number of documentaries about Indian culture and wrote articles for the Independent, The Times of India and the South China Morning Post. In 1993 he published a collection of 84 Baul song lyrics, The Path of the Mystic Lover: Baul songs of passion and ecstasy (co-written with Nik Douglas). At the time of his death he was working on a novel about the poet Shelley, with whom he felt a great affinity.
Bhattacharyya, who died on February 10 while on a film shoot for Channel 4, married Rohini Pathania in 1988. She survives him with their son.
Read More
Bhaskar Bhattacharyya, who has drowned aged 56 while swimming off the coast of Chennai (formerly Madras), was a documentary film-maker, a consultant to musicians and film crews working in India and a scholar of Hindu and Sufi mysticism.
An adviser on several British television series set in India, including The Jewel in the Crown (1984) and Great Railway Journeys of the World (1989), Bhattacharyya inspired many young Indian film-makers. As director of programmes for the Business India channel he was able to help many of them further their careers.
His technical knowledge of film-making was worn as lightly as his understanding of ancient mystics and shamanism; he was chiefly noticeable for his infectious laugh and enthusiasm for the diverse culture of his birthplace.
Bhaskar Bhattacharyya was born in Darjeeling on June 4 1950, the son of two school-teachers. When young Bhaskar was five, his parents left India for Kampala, Uganda, where they lived for the next 11 years before moving to London, where he took his A levels and read Physics at City University.
year into the course, however, he dropped out of university. After a spell spent living in squats in north London, he joined the hippy trail, travelling through Europe, Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan, finally ending up in India.
For the next six years he lived among the sadhus (holy men) and shamans, befriending the Baul musicians and going on to study Sanskrit at Vanarisi (Benares) on the banks of the Ganges. During this period he collaborated with the film-maker George Lunneau, after which Bhattacharyya went on to form his own production company.
In 1976 he returned to London to continue his academic exploration of Hindu and Sufi mysticism. By the 1980s he had built up a reputation as a respected adviser and facilitator for western media in India.
Bhattacharyya made a number of documentaries about Indian culture and wrote articles for the Independent, The Times of India and the South China Morning Post. In 1993 he published a collection of 84 Baul song lyrics, The Path of the Mystic Lover: Baul songs of passion and ecstasy (co-written with Nik Douglas). At the time of his death he was working on a novel about the poet Shelley, with whom he felt a great affinity.
Bhattacharyya, who died on February 10 while on a film shoot for Channel 4, married Rohini Pathania in 1988. She survives him with their son.
Public Lesson
Source: Delhi Newsline - Sunday, March 5, 2006
by Sumati Mehrishi Sharma
New Delhi, March 4: Uzbek singer Yulchieva Munojatkhon is more than a background buzz. She is one of Uzbekistan’s most popular singers, yet she rarely gives solo performances. That’s because, unlike musicians from elsewhere in the world, Uzbek artistes prefer to perform with their teachers — as accompanists — even when they can command an audience on their own merit.
Like Yulchieva Munojatkhon. She is famous. She has an evergreen voice melodious enough to cut a meteoric career in the commercial music firmament. But for several years, she has been turning down offers from the Uzbek film industry. That’s because her Tashkent-based teacher, Shavqat Mirza, does not approve of film songs.
He believes that a true classical musician must never succumb to commercial pressure. According to him, I am at the peak of my singing career and that I must not waste my talent by singing film songs.”
But Delhi’ites can take heart. The 46-year-old Munojatkhon will perform today, at Jahan-e-Khusrau, the sixth International Sufi Music Festival, where she will dazzle the crowd with Persian Sufi songs. And this time, her teacher will take the seat to play the kamancha, a Persian stringed instrument.
Uzbek music, as she points out, is close to Kashmiri sufi music, even though it shares more similarities with melodies from Kazakhistan. Her songs are overtly spiritual, drawing inspiration from Sufi philosophy. And she has dedicated several of her compositions to the 15th century Uzbek writer, Ali Sher Nawoi. “He is to Uzbekistan what the Sufi and Bhakti saints are to India,” she explains. Given the revered guru-shishya relationship Uzbek musicians share, it isn’t surprising that filmmaker Muzaffar Ali, who organises the festival in the capital every year, took two years to convince her to come to India.
The artiste attended Shavqat’s conservatory after completing school in the Uzbek capital. “I was not born in a family of musicians,” says the artiste. So she worked hard to master her lessons and was soon making her own compositions. “Theory is important, but my teacher is particular about pronunciation and a knowledge of the Urdu language helps.”
Uzbekistan follows two paths of Sufism — the Yehsavi and the Nakshbandi. “The Yehsavi philosophy believes that God created us and we should all return to him as soon as possible. The Nakshbandi, on the other hand relates more to this world. It says that though we belong to God, we should be committed to our work. Nakshbands offer their heart and soul to God.”
Read More
by Sumati Mehrishi Sharma
New Delhi, March 4: Uzbek singer Yulchieva Munojatkhon is more than a background buzz. She is one of Uzbekistan’s most popular singers, yet she rarely gives solo performances. That’s because, unlike musicians from elsewhere in the world, Uzbek artistes prefer to perform with their teachers — as accompanists — even when they can command an audience on their own merit.
Like Yulchieva Munojatkhon. She is famous. She has an evergreen voice melodious enough to cut a meteoric career in the commercial music firmament. But for several years, she has been turning down offers from the Uzbek film industry. That’s because her Tashkent-based teacher, Shavqat Mirza, does not approve of film songs.
He believes that a true classical musician must never succumb to commercial pressure. According to him, I am at the peak of my singing career and that I must not waste my talent by singing film songs.”
But Delhi’ites can take heart. The 46-year-old Munojatkhon will perform today, at Jahan-e-Khusrau, the sixth International Sufi Music Festival, where she will dazzle the crowd with Persian Sufi songs. And this time, her teacher will take the seat to play the kamancha, a Persian stringed instrument.
Uzbek music, as she points out, is close to Kashmiri sufi music, even though it shares more similarities with melodies from Kazakhistan. Her songs are overtly spiritual, drawing inspiration from Sufi philosophy. And she has dedicated several of her compositions to the 15th century Uzbek writer, Ali Sher Nawoi. “He is to Uzbekistan what the Sufi and Bhakti saints are to India,” she explains. Given the revered guru-shishya relationship Uzbek musicians share, it isn’t surprising that filmmaker Muzaffar Ali, who organises the festival in the capital every year, took two years to convince her to come to India.
The artiste attended Shavqat’s conservatory after completing school in the Uzbek capital. “I was not born in a family of musicians,” says the artiste. So she worked hard to master her lessons and was soon making her own compositions. “Theory is important, but my teacher is particular about pronunciation and a knowledge of the Urdu language helps.”
Uzbekistan follows two paths of Sufism — the Yehsavi and the Nakshbandi. “The Yehsavi philosophy believes that God created us and we should all return to him as soon as possible. The Nakshbandi, on the other hand relates more to this world. It says that though we belong to God, we should be committed to our work. Nakshbands offer their heart and soul to God.”
A Voice for Peace
By Hadia Mostafa - Egypt Today
Saturday, 04 Mar 2006
With God in his heart and the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) at his side, British-born singing sensation Sami Yusuf is taking the world by storm — and even has non-Muslims humming his tunes — but don’t make the mistake of calling the widely acclaimed ‘King of Islamic Pop’ a preacher.
HE HAS THE GOOD looks, chart-topping music and stylish video clips of a bona fide pop star, but sings about God, the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) and the inherently peaceful message of Islam. In 2005, his website, www.samiyusuf.com, recorded more than 2 million visitors. Children love his catchy tunes, parents applaud his integrity, and the teenagers and twenty-somethings who make up the bulk of his fan base have taken Yusuf as their new role model.
“I do not come from an excessively religious family, though. I had a very normal Islamic upbringing and graduated from a normal public school in England. I used to pray on and off until I became ‘more practicing’ at the age of 16. My father was always very spiritual and a great lover of the Qur’an and the writings of Sufi poets such as Rumi, so the spiritual influence was always there,” says Yusuf.
Al-Mu’allim’s anasheed-style music and lyrics have a clear Sufi feel throughout, particularly on tracks such as “Allahu.”
“I wouldn’t label myself as a Sufi, but if you look at the historical context of spirituality and Sufism, you will find that they play a huge part in our faith. The greatest of sahaba (companions of the Prophet (PBUH)) and the greatest of Muslims were Sufis in the proper understanding of the term. Tasawuf (Sufism) definitely plays an important part of my life, but so do other things.”
Read More
Saturday, 04 Mar 2006
With God in his heart and the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) at his side, British-born singing sensation Sami Yusuf is taking the world by storm — and even has non-Muslims humming his tunes — but don’t make the mistake of calling the widely acclaimed ‘King of Islamic Pop’ a preacher.
HE HAS THE GOOD looks, chart-topping music and stylish video clips of a bona fide pop star, but sings about God, the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) and the inherently peaceful message of Islam. In 2005, his website, www.samiyusuf.com, recorded more than 2 million visitors. Children love his catchy tunes, parents applaud his integrity, and the teenagers and twenty-somethings who make up the bulk of his fan base have taken Yusuf as their new role model.
“I do not come from an excessively religious family, though. I had a very normal Islamic upbringing and graduated from a normal public school in England. I used to pray on and off until I became ‘more practicing’ at the age of 16. My father was always very spiritual and a great lover of the Qur’an and the writings of Sufi poets such as Rumi, so the spiritual influence was always there,” says Yusuf.
Al-Mu’allim’s anasheed-style music and lyrics have a clear Sufi feel throughout, particularly on tracks such as “Allahu.”
“I wouldn’t label myself as a Sufi, but if you look at the historical context of spirituality and Sufism, you will find that they play a huge part in our faith. The greatest of sahaba (companions of the Prophet (PBUH)) and the greatest of Muslims were Sufis in the proper understanding of the term. Tasawuf (Sufism) definitely plays an important part of my life, but so do other things.”
Remnants of Buddhist culture found in Khorasan Razavi
MehrNews - RM/HG
Sunday, March 4, 2006
TEHRAN, Mar. 4 (MNA) -- A team of Iranian and Japanese experts have discovered remnants of Buddhist culture at a site near Sabzevar, Khorasan Razavi Province, the Persian service of CHN reported on Saturday.
The team, which began their research work last year, believes that they will find a Buddhist temple at the site. The Iranian director of the team, Hamid Fahimi, said that nineteen sites in the provinces of Zanjan, West Azerbaijan, Central, Kurdestan, Hamedan, and Khorasan Razavi were studied, and the Pirestir site near Sabzevar was the location where Buddhist ruins were discovered. According to Fahimi, architectural ruins, historical documents, and the local oral history have provided more evidence that Buddhists lived at the site in the late Sassanid and early Islamic eras.
Fahimi believes that Sufism is influenced by the Buddhist religion and that there are many Iranian stories which came from Buddhism where only the names have been changed.
The Japanese team is directed by Tsuchi Hashirikobe and the experts come from NIFS (Japan’s Nara International Foundation) a public-service corporation established by the governor of Nara prefecture in July 1989, aims to develop Nara into a center for historical and cultural research on the Silk Road, based on the achievements of the Silk Road Exposition of 1988.
Read More
Sunday, March 4, 2006
TEHRAN, Mar. 4 (MNA) -- A team of Iranian and Japanese experts have discovered remnants of Buddhist culture at a site near Sabzevar, Khorasan Razavi Province, the Persian service of CHN reported on Saturday.
The team, which began their research work last year, believes that they will find a Buddhist temple at the site. The Iranian director of the team, Hamid Fahimi, said that nineteen sites in the provinces of Zanjan, West Azerbaijan, Central, Kurdestan, Hamedan, and Khorasan Razavi were studied, and the Pirestir site near Sabzevar was the location where Buddhist ruins were discovered. According to Fahimi, architectural ruins, historical documents, and the local oral history have provided more evidence that Buddhists lived at the site in the late Sassanid and early Islamic eras.
Fahimi believes that Sufism is influenced by the Buddhist religion and that there are many Iranian stories which came from Buddhism where only the names have been changed.
The Japanese team is directed by Tsuchi Hashirikobe and the experts come from NIFS (Japan’s Nara International Foundation) a public-service corporation established by the governor of Nara prefecture in July 1989, aims to develop Nara into a center for historical and cultural research on the Silk Road, based on the achievements of the Silk Road Exposition of 1988.
Yearning for God is a New and Different Feeling for Westerners
ZAMAN ONLINE - zaman.com
By MINE CAKAR Thursday, March 02, 2006
Mevlana Jalaladdin Rumi is a river flowing strongly for centuries… This river, whose love surpasses centuries and whose call of truth exceeds borders, remains a fountain for burning hearts.
Mevlana and his philosophy of Sufism, known as "Rumi" in the West, are becoming more popular as sales of his books pass that of Shakespeare in America. What is the motive behind these developing dynamics in the West? Why does this wisdom tree rooted in the East bear fruits in the lives of Westerners? Does it migrate from ungrateful lands to the places where it will be appreciated, as the truth cannot disappear?
American Mawlavi Sheikh Kabir Helsinki draws our attention to the fact that Rumi's harmonizing of human nature with spirituality is a new phenomenon for Westerners, as they tend to adopt the opposite. The Sheikh explains the origins of his interest in Rumi: "Rumi adopts humanity in all his attitudes. Islamic Sufism handles the human being with his misery and sorrow, as well as his craving for God; and this feature enables growth. Rumi is the voice of fascination and universal love. This passion and energy is very new for the West because spiritual tendencies are considered against and rejecting of life. However, Rumi is a great believer in life. Rumi represents a healing power and repairs the broken human heart, enabling us to feel close to God and human at the same time."
Mawlawi Dargah has 200 dervishes worldwide, with 25 in California under Sheikh Helminski. There are Muslims from countries such as Turkey, Iran, and Indonesia in the group formed by Americans. Helminski says: "We have studied the Quran in addition to the works of Rumi for 25 years. We are trying to think, worship and withdraw into solitude, along with trying to form suitable relationships and associations. We conduct our daily tasks such as cooking, cleaning and serving guests besides spiritual education. We become more important in our love for God through our hopes; being awake, alert and conscious. Rumi is a great teacher and this kind of education nourishes the heart. It is an ever-lasting and a never-ending education. We are all students and there is no end to learning, it keeps improving our souls." Helminski compares Rumi to a river and says we are carried by its flow, where this power can create miracles.
Helminski says some people have a vague understanding of Rumi, and lists ways to help to understand him: “You cannot understand Rumi unless you make sacrifices and adapt yourself to a discipline to transform the self. No matter whether you are in the US or Turkey shallow thinking stays with you. We should awaken ourselves and begin on the road to spiritual development. This cannot be achieved by alone. It can be achieved through tradition and organized activities, which contain disciplines and are instructor-controlled, because it is difficult to maintain the promises alone and keep the intention alive. We should find those with same intention, work, and be part of a school of love.” Helminski stresses that Rumi cannot be separated from the Quran and Islamic tradition, and says, they do not have coercive attitudes, like making demands on those who attend their meetings.
Read More
By MINE CAKAR Thursday, March 02, 2006
Mevlana Jalaladdin Rumi is a river flowing strongly for centuries… This river, whose love surpasses centuries and whose call of truth exceeds borders, remains a fountain for burning hearts.
Mevlana and his philosophy of Sufism, known as "Rumi" in the West, are becoming more popular as sales of his books pass that of Shakespeare in America. What is the motive behind these developing dynamics in the West? Why does this wisdom tree rooted in the East bear fruits in the lives of Westerners? Does it migrate from ungrateful lands to the places where it will be appreciated, as the truth cannot disappear?
American Mawlavi Sheikh Kabir Helsinki draws our attention to the fact that Rumi's harmonizing of human nature with spirituality is a new phenomenon for Westerners, as they tend to adopt the opposite. The Sheikh explains the origins of his interest in Rumi: "Rumi adopts humanity in all his attitudes. Islamic Sufism handles the human being with his misery and sorrow, as well as his craving for God; and this feature enables growth. Rumi is the voice of fascination and universal love. This passion and energy is very new for the West because spiritual tendencies are considered against and rejecting of life. However, Rumi is a great believer in life. Rumi represents a healing power and repairs the broken human heart, enabling us to feel close to God and human at the same time."
Mawlawi Dargah has 200 dervishes worldwide, with 25 in California under Sheikh Helminski. There are Muslims from countries such as Turkey, Iran, and Indonesia in the group formed by Americans. Helminski says: "We have studied the Quran in addition to the works of Rumi for 25 years. We are trying to think, worship and withdraw into solitude, along with trying to form suitable relationships and associations. We conduct our daily tasks such as cooking, cleaning and serving guests besides spiritual education. We become more important in our love for God through our hopes; being awake, alert and conscious. Rumi is a great teacher and this kind of education nourishes the heart. It is an ever-lasting and a never-ending education. We are all students and there is no end to learning, it keeps improving our souls." Helminski compares Rumi to a river and says we are carried by its flow, where this power can create miracles.
Helminski says some people have a vague understanding of Rumi, and lists ways to help to understand him: “You cannot understand Rumi unless you make sacrifices and adapt yourself to a discipline to transform the self. No matter whether you are in the US or Turkey shallow thinking stays with you. We should awaken ourselves and begin on the road to spiritual development. This cannot be achieved by alone. It can be achieved through tradition and organized activities, which contain disciplines and are instructor-controlled, because it is difficult to maintain the promises alone and keep the intention alive. We should find those with same intention, work, and be part of a school of love.” Helminski stresses that Rumi cannot be separated from the Quran and Islamic tradition, and says, they do not have coercive attitudes, like making demands on those who attend their meetings.
Bharatnatyam is flavour of Sufi festival this year
Source: Delhi News Line
by Sumati Mehrishi Sharma - New Delhi, March 1, 2006:
KATHAK has always been the perfect partner for Sufi whirls, but now it’s Bharatnatyam’s turn.
At this year’s Jahan-e-Khusrau festival, an annual Sufi music event, Bharatnatyam artiste Rama Vaidyanathan will perform with an ensemble directed by Carnatic flautist G.S. Rajan.
Rajan, from the group The Malabarians, will use the Carnatic raag, Kirvani, which he says is apparently reflected in the aazan. However, Vaidyanathan will don white for this performance instead of a traditional costume.
Pakistani Sufi legend Abida Parveen is already in the Capital to participate at the sixth edition of the festival, jointly organised by filmmaker and designer Muzaffar Ali and Delhi Tourism. Parveen has been a regular at the festival since 2000— when it started.
Popular for bringing together Sufi dervishes from West Asian countries and Indian qawwals in the previous years, the festival has now opened to Bollywood playback singers Daler Mehndi and Sukhwinder Singh.
Ali feels it will help popularise this form of music among youth. ‘‘We are open to artistes from all backgrounds— even from Hollywood. But the Sufi spirit should be common,’’ he says.
Other performers at Jahan-e-Khusrau include the Rumi group from Iran, Yulchieva Munojatkhon from Uzbekistan, Ustad Shafqat Ali Khan and Amaan and Ayaan Ali Khan Bangash.
Read More
by Sumati Mehrishi Sharma - New Delhi, March 1, 2006:
KATHAK has always been the perfect partner for Sufi whirls, but now it’s Bharatnatyam’s turn.
At this year’s Jahan-e-Khusrau festival, an annual Sufi music event, Bharatnatyam artiste Rama Vaidyanathan will perform with an ensemble directed by Carnatic flautist G.S. Rajan.
Rajan, from the group The Malabarians, will use the Carnatic raag, Kirvani, which he says is apparently reflected in the aazan. However, Vaidyanathan will don white for this performance instead of a traditional costume.
Pakistani Sufi legend Abida Parveen is already in the Capital to participate at the sixth edition of the festival, jointly organised by filmmaker and designer Muzaffar Ali and Delhi Tourism. Parveen has been a regular at the festival since 2000— when it started.
Popular for bringing together Sufi dervishes from West Asian countries and Indian qawwals in the previous years, the festival has now opened to Bollywood playback singers Daler Mehndi and Sukhwinder Singh.
Ali feels it will help popularise this form of music among youth. ‘‘We are open to artistes from all backgrounds— even from Hollywood. But the Sufi spirit should be common,’’ he says.
Other performers at Jahan-e-Khusrau include the Rumi group from Iran, Yulchieva Munojatkhon from Uzbekistan, Ustad Shafqat Ali Khan and Amaan and Ayaan Ali Khan Bangash.
Pakistani radios charm Jammu residents
Pakistani radios charm Jammu residents
Frederick Noronha (FN) Indo-Asian News Service
Jammu, March 1 (IANS) No Indian FM radio covers Jammu and Kashmir but people in this region have three Pakistani FM radio channels to tune in to. The Pakistani radios provide a wide range of programmes from Sufi music to pop and from fashion tips to guides on staying healthy.
Jammu, less than 50 km from the Pakistani border, receives clear signals of Radio Burrak 104, Awaz 105 and Awaz 106.
Read More
Frederick Noronha (FN) Indo-Asian News Service
Jammu, March 1 (IANS) No Indian FM radio covers Jammu and Kashmir but people in this region have three Pakistani FM radio channels to tune in to. The Pakistani radios provide a wide range of programmes from Sufi music to pop and from fashion tips to guides on staying healthy.
Jammu, less than 50 km from the Pakistani border, receives clear signals of Radio Burrak 104, Awaz 105 and Awaz 106.
International Seminar on Amir Khusrau to be Held in India
Pendar - Persian Independent Media
2006-2-28 - 21:42 - CHN
Tehran, 28 February 2006 (CHN) -- An International Seminar on Amir Khusrau, great philosopher and poet of the 13th century AD, will be held early March this year at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi to commemorate his 701 death anniversary. The seminar will be organized jointly by Department of Persian Language, Faculty of Humanities and Languages, Jamia Millia Islamia and Persian Scholars Association.
The title of this seminar is “A Delineator of Strong Culture Bond of India with Afghanistan, Central Asia and Iran.”
Amir Khusrau is known as a Sufi, poet, reformer and courtier. His contribution to the world of knowledge and wisdom will be highlighted in this seminar. Intellectuals and scholars throughout the world will participate in the seminar, which will cover works and contributions of Amir Khusrau to humanity.
Amir Khusrau’s life and work in chronological order reveals that he gradually acquired a consciousness which is reflected in his intellectual dynamism and literary accomplishments. His attitude towards life, society, culture, and art has been constantly changing and expanding conically. He got his observations and experiences as well as the continual specialty of the conflict of human ideas and cruel facts of life from his learned patrons and friends.
Eminent scholars are invited from all over the world; university students and professors and Persian lovers will be among the audience. The press will also be invited for the coverage of the news.
Researchers are supposed to present their studies with topics including Amir Khusrau a poet among Indian people; Amir Khusrau, and the culture and civilization of India; Indian parrot, the pioneer of cultural variety; Amir Khusrau and Sufism; Amir Khusrau and Indian-Iranian traditional literature; Amir Khusrau and beautiful arts; Amir Khusrau’s influence on Indian literature; Amir Khusrau and folkloric literature; Amir Khusrau beyond the Indian borders; Amir Khusrau and his contemporaries; Amir Khusrau hand scripts; Translation of Amir Khusrau works; Political and cultural relations between Iran and India and Central Asia during 13 and 14 centuries AD; and Amir Khusrau as a historian.
Esfandiar Rahim Mashayi, Director of Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization will also attend this 5-day international seminar.
Amir Khusrau (1253-1325 AD) is one of the prominent figures in the cultural history of India. He was a creative classical poet associated with royal courts of more than seven rulers of the Delhi Sultanate. He is also popular in much of North Indian and Pakistan, because of many playful riddles, songs and legends attributed to him. He wrote both in Persian and Hindustani. His poetry is still sing in today’s Sufi shrines throughout Pakistan and India. Amir Khusrau was the author of a Khamsa which emulated that of the earlier Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi. His work is considered one of the greatest pieces of Persian classic poetry during the Timurid period (1370–1506 AD) in Transoxiana.
Read More
2006-2-28 - 21:42 - CHN
Tehran, 28 February 2006 (CHN) -- An International Seminar on Amir Khusrau, great philosopher and poet of the 13th century AD, will be held early March this year at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi to commemorate his 701 death anniversary. The seminar will be organized jointly by Department of Persian Language, Faculty of Humanities and Languages, Jamia Millia Islamia and Persian Scholars Association.
The title of this seminar is “A Delineator of Strong Culture Bond of India with Afghanistan, Central Asia and Iran.”
Amir Khusrau is known as a Sufi, poet, reformer and courtier. His contribution to the world of knowledge and wisdom will be highlighted in this seminar. Intellectuals and scholars throughout the world will participate in the seminar, which will cover works and contributions of Amir Khusrau to humanity.
Amir Khusrau’s life and work in chronological order reveals that he gradually acquired a consciousness which is reflected in his intellectual dynamism and literary accomplishments. His attitude towards life, society, culture, and art has been constantly changing and expanding conically. He got his observations and experiences as well as the continual specialty of the conflict of human ideas and cruel facts of life from his learned patrons and friends.
Eminent scholars are invited from all over the world; university students and professors and Persian lovers will be among the audience. The press will also be invited for the coverage of the news.
Researchers are supposed to present their studies with topics including Amir Khusrau a poet among Indian people; Amir Khusrau, and the culture and civilization of India; Indian parrot, the pioneer of cultural variety; Amir Khusrau and Sufism; Amir Khusrau and Indian-Iranian traditional literature; Amir Khusrau and beautiful arts; Amir Khusrau’s influence on Indian literature; Amir Khusrau and folkloric literature; Amir Khusrau beyond the Indian borders; Amir Khusrau and his contemporaries; Amir Khusrau hand scripts; Translation of Amir Khusrau works; Political and cultural relations between Iran and India and Central Asia during 13 and 14 centuries AD; and Amir Khusrau as a historian.
Esfandiar Rahim Mashayi, Director of Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization will also attend this 5-day international seminar.
Amir Khusrau (1253-1325 AD) is one of the prominent figures in the cultural history of India. He was a creative classical poet associated with royal courts of more than seven rulers of the Delhi Sultanate. He is also popular in much of North Indian and Pakistan, because of many playful riddles, songs and legends attributed to him. He wrote both in Persian and Hindustani. His poetry is still sing in today’s Sufi shrines throughout Pakistan and India. Amir Khusrau was the author of a Khamsa which emulated that of the earlier Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi. His work is considered one of the greatest pieces of Persian classic poetry during the Timurid period (1370–1506 AD) in Transoxiana.
Concert spotlights Persian poet
Show promotes cultural exchange
By Dean Calbreath
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
February 28, 2006
In the past decade, the works of medieval Persian poet Jelaluddin Rumi have been resurrected in many forums, from readings by the likes of Madonna and Goldie Hawn to an operatic extravaganza by composer Philip Glass.
Iranian-Kurdish singer Shahram Nazeri performed his son, Hafez's, composition "In the Steps of Rumi" - a melding of Western and Persian themes.
In a break from tradition, the Nazeris have developed an interpretation of Rumi's work that melds classical Western music with the traditional music of Iran, blending the sounds of the viola and cello with such ancient Persian instruments as the daf and setar. Hafez Nazeri, who composed the work, hopes this combination of Western and Persian traditions might serve as a model for both sides to learn from each other.
“The idea is to embrace change while remaining true to your own culture and the traditions of the past,” Hafez said. “That's vital for the health of Persian music – and the health of Persian culture as a whole.”
The composition, “In the Steps of Rumi,” resonated with the 1,000 or so Iranians and Kurds who heard the Nazeris perform at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido on Friday. They tapped their feet and clapped along with some of the livelier pieces – folk tunes from Shahram Nazeri's hometown of Kermanshah – and gave the troupe no fewer than four standing ovations.
Rumi was a natural choice for an intercultural composition. In his day, the Sufi Muslim's ruminations on the nature of love struck a chord among listeners from the Buddhists of China to the Christians of Europe.
In the 1990s, Rumi had a revival in the West. An English translation of his poems sold more than 100,000 copies – a decent run for 800-year-old poetry. Bill Moyers featured a show on Rumi in his PBS poetry series “Language of Life.” Madonna, Hawn and the late civil-rights activist Rosa Parks were among the voices on a CD of Rumi's poetry. Deepak Chopra set Rumi's poems to music.
But in Iran, the most popular settings of Rumi's poetry were the strictly traditional interpretations of Shahram Nazeri, a Kurdish singer who has spent the past 35 years reviving ancient traditions in Persian music.
Five years ago, Shahram's son, Hafez, who was then 21, put together the Rumi Ensemble, a troupe that toured 20 cities in Iran with a slightly modernized take on the age-old music. One performance in Tehran drew 140,000 people – one of the biggest concerts ever in the Middle East.
With encouragement from his father, Hafez moved to New York to study Western composition at the Mannes College of Music. While reading Franz Kafka's “Metamorphosis,” he decided to create a piece of music that would reflect a cultural metamorphosis by intertwining the classical strains of Persia and Europe.
Unlike classical Persian music, in which individual pieces stay within the same musical scale, Hafez used the broader Western range of multiple keys. He kept the quarter-tones found in Near Eastern scales, but melded them into Western harmonic structures.
In Friday's performance, Hafez played the Persian setar, similar to the Indian sitar, as his father sang. Hafez's cousin, Siavash Nazeri – who is moving to San Diego – played the daf, a Persian drum so versatile that it had the power of a small percussion ensemble.
Taiwan-born Liuh-Wen Ting, who is more accustomed to accompanying Broadway musicals than medieval Persian music, played the viola. Peter Wyrick, associate principal cellist of the San Francisco Symphony, played the cello. Salar Nadar, an Afhgan from Germany, played tabla, bongo-like drums from Northern India.
Read More
By Dean Calbreath
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
February 28, 2006
In the past decade, the works of medieval Persian poet Jelaluddin Rumi have been resurrected in many forums, from readings by the likes of Madonna and Goldie Hawn to an operatic extravaganza by composer Philip Glass.
Iranian-Kurdish singer Shahram Nazeri performed his son, Hafez's, composition "In the Steps of Rumi" - a melding of Western and Persian themes.
In a break from tradition, the Nazeris have developed an interpretation of Rumi's work that melds classical Western music with the traditional music of Iran, blending the sounds of the viola and cello with such ancient Persian instruments as the daf and setar. Hafez Nazeri, who composed the work, hopes this combination of Western and Persian traditions might serve as a model for both sides to learn from each other.
“The idea is to embrace change while remaining true to your own culture and the traditions of the past,” Hafez said. “That's vital for the health of Persian music – and the health of Persian culture as a whole.”
The composition, “In the Steps of Rumi,” resonated with the 1,000 or so Iranians and Kurds who heard the Nazeris perform at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido on Friday. They tapped their feet and clapped along with some of the livelier pieces – folk tunes from Shahram Nazeri's hometown of Kermanshah – and gave the troupe no fewer than four standing ovations.
Rumi was a natural choice for an intercultural composition. In his day, the Sufi Muslim's ruminations on the nature of love struck a chord among listeners from the Buddhists of China to the Christians of Europe.
In the 1990s, Rumi had a revival in the West. An English translation of his poems sold more than 100,000 copies – a decent run for 800-year-old poetry. Bill Moyers featured a show on Rumi in his PBS poetry series “Language of Life.” Madonna, Hawn and the late civil-rights activist Rosa Parks were among the voices on a CD of Rumi's poetry. Deepak Chopra set Rumi's poems to music.
But in Iran, the most popular settings of Rumi's poetry were the strictly traditional interpretations of Shahram Nazeri, a Kurdish singer who has spent the past 35 years reviving ancient traditions in Persian music.
Five years ago, Shahram's son, Hafez, who was then 21, put together the Rumi Ensemble, a troupe that toured 20 cities in Iran with a slightly modernized take on the age-old music. One performance in Tehran drew 140,000 people – one of the biggest concerts ever in the Middle East.
With encouragement from his father, Hafez moved to New York to study Western composition at the Mannes College of Music. While reading Franz Kafka's “Metamorphosis,” he decided to create a piece of music that would reflect a cultural metamorphosis by intertwining the classical strains of Persia and Europe.
Unlike classical Persian music, in which individual pieces stay within the same musical scale, Hafez used the broader Western range of multiple keys. He kept the quarter-tones found in Near Eastern scales, but melded them into Western harmonic structures.
In Friday's performance, Hafez played the Persian setar, similar to the Indian sitar, as his father sang. Hafez's cousin, Siavash Nazeri – who is moving to San Diego – played the daf, a Persian drum so versatile that it had the power of a small percussion ensemble.
Taiwan-born Liuh-Wen Ting, who is more accustomed to accompanying Broadway musicals than medieval Persian music, played the viola. Peter Wyrick, associate principal cellist of the San Francisco Symphony, played the cello. Salar Nadar, an Afhgan from Germany, played tabla, bongo-like drums from Northern India.
Chechens: A Handbook
Chechens: A Handbook - by Amjad Jaimoukha
publisher: Routledge, February 2004
price: $135.00
Source: Transitions Online
The ancient Chechen nation has been living in its idyllic homeland in the North Caucasus for thousands of years, building states and forging relations and interacting with other Caucasian and Near Eastern civilizations. The Chechens are thought to be related to the Hurrians and Urartians, builders of seminal civilizations in the Near East, and they themselves established a civilization whose relics can still be come across, especially in the ancient Pantheon.
This book provides a ready introduction, and practical guide to the Chechen people and some little-known and rarely-considered aspects of Chechen culture, including customs and traditions, folklore, arts and architecture, music, and literature. It also narrates Chechen history from ancient times and provides sketches of archaic religions and civilizations. Amjad Jaimoukha reveals the esoteric social structure and the peculiar brand of Chechen Sufism, as well as the present political situation in Chechnya.
This handbook also includes:
· Analysis of Chechen media development since the early twentieth century
· Images of the Chechens carried by Russian and Western medias
· Sketches of the short-lived Chechen film industry
· A proverbs and sayings section
· Appendices detailing social structure, the native Pantheon, bibliographies and periodicals pertaining to the Chechens and Chechnya, and a lexicographic listing
· A comprehensive bibliography, with many entries in English, for further reading
As the only comprehensive guide available in English, this book is an indispensable and accessible resource for all those with an interest in Chechnya.
Read More
publisher: Routledge, February 2004
price: $135.00
Source: Transitions Online
The ancient Chechen nation has been living in its idyllic homeland in the North Caucasus for thousands of years, building states and forging relations and interacting with other Caucasian and Near Eastern civilizations. The Chechens are thought to be related to the Hurrians and Urartians, builders of seminal civilizations in the Near East, and they themselves established a civilization whose relics can still be come across, especially in the ancient Pantheon.
This book provides a ready introduction, and practical guide to the Chechen people and some little-known and rarely-considered aspects of Chechen culture, including customs and traditions, folklore, arts and architecture, music, and literature. It also narrates Chechen history from ancient times and provides sketches of archaic religions and civilizations. Amjad Jaimoukha reveals the esoteric social structure and the peculiar brand of Chechen Sufism, as well as the present political situation in Chechnya.
This handbook also includes:
· Analysis of Chechen media development since the early twentieth century
· Images of the Chechens carried by Russian and Western medias
· Sketches of the short-lived Chechen film industry
· A proverbs and sayings section
· Appendices detailing social structure, the native Pantheon, bibliographies and periodicals pertaining to the Chechens and Chechnya, and a lexicographic listing
· A comprehensive bibliography, with many entries in English, for further reading
As the only comprehensive guide available in English, this book is an indispensable and accessible resource for all those with an interest in Chechnya.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Thaw In The Thar: New Train
By Yoginder Sikand - Countercurrents.org
20 February, 2006
Cries of 'Long Live India-Pakistan Friendship' rend the air as the Thar Express streams out of the Jodhpur railway station on the evening of the 17th of February, heading for the Pakistan border. The next afternoon, a train bearing the same name crosses into India from Mirpur Khas in Sindh and chugs into Munabao, a desert settlement in Rajasthan's Barmer district, barely two kilometers from the border, being warmly welcomed by an enthusiastic crowd of several thousand people. 'May the Thar Express become the Yar (Friendship) Express bringing India and Pakistan ever closer than before', exclaims the compare of the function held by the Indian Railways to inaugurate the resumption of the railway link between Rajasthan and Sindh, which was terminated in the wake of the 1965 India-Pakistan war.
Many of the passengers on board the Thar Express to Pakistan have relatives across the border whom they have not met for decades. An elderly Muslim man from Barmer tells me about his grand-daughter in Sindh whom he has never seen although she is twenty now. 'I'm going to attend her wedding', he beams with excitement. 'Had it not been for this train I would not have been able to travel to Pakistan, because the other route--through Punjab--is simply unaffordable for a poor peasant like me'. A middle-aged Hindu woman, who migrated to India from Sindh twenty-five years ago, says she's going back to her village to meet her son whom she has not met ever since she left Pakistan. Another Sindhi Hindu, who now lives in Rajasthan, tells me he is going to meet his guru in Sindh, whom he saw for the last time fifteen years ago.
At the railway station in Jodhpur and in Munabao activists of the Jodhpur-based Seemant Lok Sangathan ('Border Peoples' Organisation') distribute leaflets hailing the train as a major landmark in promoting people-to-people contacts between India and Pakistan. Says Hindu Singh Sodha, President of the Sangathan and himself a migrant from Thar Parkar in Sindh, 'Rajasthan and Sindh have had close historical, cultural, religious and trade links and the resumption of the train service will once again bring these two regions close to each other'.
An elaborate cultural programme presented by employees of the North-Western Railways outside Munabao station drives home the same message of communal harmony, uniting Hindus and Muslims, Indians and Pakistanis. A traditional Rajasthani dance drama depicts a local folk hero, venerated by Hindus as Ramdev and by Muslims as Ram Shah Pir. This is followed by a musical recital of verses composed by Sindh's most well-known Sufi poet, Shah Abdul Latif. And to further stress this plea for Indo-Pak bonhomie, the official compare of the function piously announces, as the train from Pakistan trundles into Munabao station, the noble goal of 'uniting the message of the Gita and the Quran'.
Read More
20 February, 2006
Cries of 'Long Live India-Pakistan Friendship' rend the air as the Thar Express streams out of the Jodhpur railway station on the evening of the 17th of February, heading for the Pakistan border. The next afternoon, a train bearing the same name crosses into India from Mirpur Khas in Sindh and chugs into Munabao, a desert settlement in Rajasthan's Barmer district, barely two kilometers from the border, being warmly welcomed by an enthusiastic crowd of several thousand people. 'May the Thar Express become the Yar (Friendship) Express bringing India and Pakistan ever closer than before', exclaims the compare of the function held by the Indian Railways to inaugurate the resumption of the railway link between Rajasthan and Sindh, which was terminated in the wake of the 1965 India-Pakistan war.
Many of the passengers on board the Thar Express to Pakistan have relatives across the border whom they have not met for decades. An elderly Muslim man from Barmer tells me about his grand-daughter in Sindh whom he has never seen although she is twenty now. 'I'm going to attend her wedding', he beams with excitement. 'Had it not been for this train I would not have been able to travel to Pakistan, because the other route--through Punjab--is simply unaffordable for a poor peasant like me'. A middle-aged Hindu woman, who migrated to India from Sindh twenty-five years ago, says she's going back to her village to meet her son whom she has not met ever since she left Pakistan. Another Sindhi Hindu, who now lives in Rajasthan, tells me he is going to meet his guru in Sindh, whom he saw for the last time fifteen years ago.
At the railway station in Jodhpur and in Munabao activists of the Jodhpur-based Seemant Lok Sangathan ('Border Peoples' Organisation') distribute leaflets hailing the train as a major landmark in promoting people-to-people contacts between India and Pakistan. Says Hindu Singh Sodha, President of the Sangathan and himself a migrant from Thar Parkar in Sindh, 'Rajasthan and Sindh have had close historical, cultural, religious and trade links and the resumption of the train service will once again bring these two regions close to each other'.
An elaborate cultural programme presented by employees of the North-Western Railways outside Munabao station drives home the same message of communal harmony, uniting Hindus and Muslims, Indians and Pakistanis. A traditional Rajasthani dance drama depicts a local folk hero, venerated by Hindus as Ramdev and by Muslims as Ram Shah Pir. This is followed by a musical recital of verses composed by Sindh's most well-known Sufi poet, Shah Abdul Latif. And to further stress this plea for Indo-Pak bonhomie, the official compare of the function piously announces, as the train from Pakistan trundles into Munabao station, the noble goal of 'uniting the message of the Gita and the Quran'.
Iran cracks down on Sufis: hundreds remain jailed
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Iran Focus - Sun. 19 Feb 2006
Tehran, Iran, Feb. 19 – Iran Focus has obtained a partial list of names of Islamic mystics arrested during a protest in the holy city of Qom, south of Tehran, earlier this week. The partial list of those arrested was provided to Iran Focus from a reliable source in Qom.
Islamic mystics, or Sufis, focus on the direct perception of Truth or God through mystic practices based on divine love. Sufism, common to both Sunni and Shiite sects of Islam, has its roots in Iran. Its followers oppose Iran’s ruling theocracy on spiritual grounds.
Police arrested some one thousand Sufis as clashes broke out after the place of worship used by the mystics was demolished Tuesday on government orders.
Hundreds were injured during the clashes after police fired teargas and used truncheons to attack the demonstrating Sufis.
Read More
Tehran, Iran, Feb. 19 – Iran Focus has obtained a partial list of names of Islamic mystics arrested during a protest in the holy city of Qom, south of Tehran, earlier this week. The partial list of those arrested was provided to Iran Focus from a reliable source in Qom.
Islamic mystics, or Sufis, focus on the direct perception of Truth or God through mystic practices based on divine love. Sufism, common to both Sunni and Shiite sects of Islam, has its roots in Iran. Its followers oppose Iran’s ruling theocracy on spiritual grounds.
Police arrested some one thousand Sufis as clashes broke out after the place of worship used by the mystics was demolished Tuesday on government orders.
Hundreds were injured during the clashes after police fired teargas and used truncheons to attack the demonstrating Sufis.
Sufi poet, mystic and a planetary healer
BY MATEIN KHALID - Khaleej Times Online
Dubai, 18 February 2006
THE clash of civilisation has now turned ghoulish. An imbecilic newspaper cartoon in Copenhagen triggered riots in Pakistan, gutted Danish embassies in Beirut and Damascus, deepened the chasm between the West and the Islamic world, inspired geopolitical accusations in the White House and the Shia seminaries of Qom.
Amid this surreal nightmare, the miasma of evil and suspicion that now seems to have swept this world, I seek refuge in the transcendent poetry of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi, the Sufi mystic poet who is probably the most sympathetic Muslim figure in the West, a spiritual New Age icon.
“The sounds of prayer drifts across the dawn. It is Muslim, Jew and Christian, all merged together” Rumi wrote 700 years ago, a message alien to venomous fanatics in the Middle East who preach jehad against the West (or anybody else who does not share their cosmology of hate). There is a gentle, syncretic tradition in Islam whose nuances the shrill hacks at Fox News and the Islamophobe oracles of Western culture know nothing about. The voice of Osama bin Laden and the sectarian mullahs of Iran has mesmerised the West after the horror of 9/11. Yet, there is another gentler, far wiser voice steeped in the Islamic past. The voice of Rumi, the spiritual healer whose poetry of anguish and sorrow can help us find the compassion and empathy to build bridges, to heal wounds that, if untreated, could mean that the ultimate act of violence in the Middle East will be a nuclear Armageddon. We need to recreate the song of the nightingale.
“When the rose is gone and the garden fades, you will no longer hear the nightingale.” This is vintage Rumi in his ‘Masnavi’, arguably the most seminal book in the Islamic world after the Holy Quran. It is impossible to overstate the Sage of Konya’s influence on the consciousness of generations of people in the Islamic world, on the literary traditions of Turkish, Persian and Urdu. The world of the Middle East was so different and yet so eerily similar to our own in the age of Rumi (1206-1273 AD). The Abbasid Empire in Baghdad was in its death throes. The Mongol terror had decimated Islamic civilisation, forced the Valad family (Rumi’s Dad was the scholar Bahuddin) to flee their native Balkh for Baghdad and settle in the Anatolian town of Konya, a spiritual entrepot where his garden tomb now is one of the greatest tourist pilgrimages in Turkey.
In the sixth century of the Hijra, the twelfth century after Christ, Persia’s population was staunchly Sunni and the Shia (Ismaili) Fatimid caliphs ruled Egypt. The Anatolian heartland was still Seljuk, although the House of Osman would catapult itself into the centrestage of the Islamic and world history a mere generation after Rumi’s death. Andalusia was the only haven of religious tolerance in Christian Europe but the tolerant courts of Cordoba, Sevilla and Grenada, the fabled ornament of the world, were living on borrowed time as the dark shadow of the Reconquista and the Holy Inquisition loomed nearer.
In Levant, the Crusader kingdom was still in a permanent state of war, assisted by its Maronite vassals in Lebanon with the Ayyubid princes of Syria, the sons and grandsons of Sultan Salahuddin, the Kurdish warrior who had beaten the Franks at Hittin Cross to take Jerusalem. It was the world of itinerant Muslim scholars (the medival Internet), the assassins of Alamut (the prototype of Al Qaeda’s suicide killers), the Silk Road (the globalisation wave), of madrassas and Sufi lodges and warrior kings and magnificent empires and epic sword battles.
Why does Rumi evoke such a visceral empathy, touch the souls so many millions who know nothing of the Persian poetic tradition, let alone the history or laws of Islam? I believe the story of the Mewlana’s life is an inspiration, an antidote to the rat race, the rapid materialism that celebrates shopping malls as the new cathedrals of culture. Rumi’s anguish for his murdered beloved Shams of Tabriz, the humble dervish who ignited his mystical imagination, for whom he renounced his academic chair, is so universal. Yet anguish, sorrow and loss enables Rumi to penetrate the ‘veil of the soul’, to grasp that ultimate divine reality that Muslims call the ‘nur’, the light that is the grace of Allah.
The Mevlevi Sufi lodge founded by Rumi’s son Sultan Valad was a major force in Ottoman culture and politics. Khalil Pasha, the agha of the Janissaries, visited the tomb of the Mevlana in Konya three centuries after his death and introduced the Mevlevi order’s sheikhs to the Sublime Porte. Centuries later, Sultan Selim III, a fellow poet and mystic, was a member of the Mevlevi order of Galata. Kemal Ataturk banned the Mevlevi order to erase its Ottoman roots. In Iran, Rumi is venerated by the young and the ‘avant garde’, though the Shia establishment of Qom and Mashad tried to camouflage his Sunni heritage. In Mughal India, where Arabic was the language of the legal scholars, but Persian was the language of the emperors, descendants of the same Genghis Khan whose Mongol hordes (ironically, the linguistic origin of the word ‘Urdu’ a language that so venerates Rumi) forced Rumi’s family to flee for their lives from Khorasan. Iqbal, possibly the greatest poet of modern Islam and the literary founding father of Pakistan, admired Rumi. In Iqbal’s ‘Javidnama’, the Book of Eternity, Maulana Rumi guides the Sialkoti Cambridge educated on mysticism on his cosmic journey. Bahaullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, borrows from Rumi. Even Emperor Aurangzeb, the symbol of austere Sunni orthodoxy, was moved to tears by Rumi’s couplets, as were Hegel, Goethe, Schimmel, Arberry and generations of Persian scholars and Sufi poets.
The genius of Rumi was that he was a spiritual alchemist, a symbol of the human spirit that transcends all barriers of race, sect and tribe. He is a planetary healer, a reminder that Islam was once a gentle, tolerant civilisation that united, not divided the world. He teaches us to love, to forgive, to fear not even death, to abandon the illusion of ego and embrace all the beauty and pain of human existence. Beyond dogma or theology, Rumi’s paeans of love swirl across time to heal my wounded soul.
Matein Khalid is a Dubai based investment banker
Read More
Dubai, 18 February 2006
THE clash of civilisation has now turned ghoulish. An imbecilic newspaper cartoon in Copenhagen triggered riots in Pakistan, gutted Danish embassies in Beirut and Damascus, deepened the chasm between the West and the Islamic world, inspired geopolitical accusations in the White House and the Shia seminaries of Qom.
Amid this surreal nightmare, the miasma of evil and suspicion that now seems to have swept this world, I seek refuge in the transcendent poetry of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi, the Sufi mystic poet who is probably the most sympathetic Muslim figure in the West, a spiritual New Age icon.
“The sounds of prayer drifts across the dawn. It is Muslim, Jew and Christian, all merged together” Rumi wrote 700 years ago, a message alien to venomous fanatics in the Middle East who preach jehad against the West (or anybody else who does not share their cosmology of hate). There is a gentle, syncretic tradition in Islam whose nuances the shrill hacks at Fox News and the Islamophobe oracles of Western culture know nothing about. The voice of Osama bin Laden and the sectarian mullahs of Iran has mesmerised the West after the horror of 9/11. Yet, there is another gentler, far wiser voice steeped in the Islamic past. The voice of Rumi, the spiritual healer whose poetry of anguish and sorrow can help us find the compassion and empathy to build bridges, to heal wounds that, if untreated, could mean that the ultimate act of violence in the Middle East will be a nuclear Armageddon. We need to recreate the song of the nightingale.
“When the rose is gone and the garden fades, you will no longer hear the nightingale.” This is vintage Rumi in his ‘Masnavi’, arguably the most seminal book in the Islamic world after the Holy Quran. It is impossible to overstate the Sage of Konya’s influence on the consciousness of generations of people in the Islamic world, on the literary traditions of Turkish, Persian and Urdu. The world of the Middle East was so different and yet so eerily similar to our own in the age of Rumi (1206-1273 AD). The Abbasid Empire in Baghdad was in its death throes. The Mongol terror had decimated Islamic civilisation, forced the Valad family (Rumi’s Dad was the scholar Bahuddin) to flee their native Balkh for Baghdad and settle in the Anatolian town of Konya, a spiritual entrepot where his garden tomb now is one of the greatest tourist pilgrimages in Turkey.
In the sixth century of the Hijra, the twelfth century after Christ, Persia’s population was staunchly Sunni and the Shia (Ismaili) Fatimid caliphs ruled Egypt. The Anatolian heartland was still Seljuk, although the House of Osman would catapult itself into the centrestage of the Islamic and world history a mere generation after Rumi’s death. Andalusia was the only haven of religious tolerance in Christian Europe but the tolerant courts of Cordoba, Sevilla and Grenada, the fabled ornament of the world, were living on borrowed time as the dark shadow of the Reconquista and the Holy Inquisition loomed nearer.
In Levant, the Crusader kingdom was still in a permanent state of war, assisted by its Maronite vassals in Lebanon with the Ayyubid princes of Syria, the sons and grandsons of Sultan Salahuddin, the Kurdish warrior who had beaten the Franks at Hittin Cross to take Jerusalem. It was the world of itinerant Muslim scholars (the medival Internet), the assassins of Alamut (the prototype of Al Qaeda’s suicide killers), the Silk Road (the globalisation wave), of madrassas and Sufi lodges and warrior kings and magnificent empires and epic sword battles.
Why does Rumi evoke such a visceral empathy, touch the souls so many millions who know nothing of the Persian poetic tradition, let alone the history or laws of Islam? I believe the story of the Mewlana’s life is an inspiration, an antidote to the rat race, the rapid materialism that celebrates shopping malls as the new cathedrals of culture. Rumi’s anguish for his murdered beloved Shams of Tabriz, the humble dervish who ignited his mystical imagination, for whom he renounced his academic chair, is so universal. Yet anguish, sorrow and loss enables Rumi to penetrate the ‘veil of the soul’, to grasp that ultimate divine reality that Muslims call the ‘nur’, the light that is the grace of Allah.
The Mevlevi Sufi lodge founded by Rumi’s son Sultan Valad was a major force in Ottoman culture and politics. Khalil Pasha, the agha of the Janissaries, visited the tomb of the Mevlana in Konya three centuries after his death and introduced the Mevlevi order’s sheikhs to the Sublime Porte. Centuries later, Sultan Selim III, a fellow poet and mystic, was a member of the Mevlevi order of Galata. Kemal Ataturk banned the Mevlevi order to erase its Ottoman roots. In Iran, Rumi is venerated by the young and the ‘avant garde’, though the Shia establishment of Qom and Mashad tried to camouflage his Sunni heritage. In Mughal India, where Arabic was the language of the legal scholars, but Persian was the language of the emperors, descendants of the same Genghis Khan whose Mongol hordes (ironically, the linguistic origin of the word ‘Urdu’ a language that so venerates Rumi) forced Rumi’s family to flee for their lives from Khorasan. Iqbal, possibly the greatest poet of modern Islam and the literary founding father of Pakistan, admired Rumi. In Iqbal’s ‘Javidnama’, the Book of Eternity, Maulana Rumi guides the Sialkoti Cambridge educated on mysticism on his cosmic journey. Bahaullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, borrows from Rumi. Even Emperor Aurangzeb, the symbol of austere Sunni orthodoxy, was moved to tears by Rumi’s couplets, as were Hegel, Goethe, Schimmel, Arberry and generations of Persian scholars and Sufi poets.
The genius of Rumi was that he was a spiritual alchemist, a symbol of the human spirit that transcends all barriers of race, sect and tribe. He is a planetary healer, a reminder that Islam was once a gentle, tolerant civilisation that united, not divided the world. He teaches us to love, to forgive, to fear not even death, to abandon the illusion of ego and embrace all the beauty and pain of human existence. Beyond dogma or theology, Rumi’s paeans of love swirl across time to heal my wounded soul.
Matein Khalid is a Dubai based investment banker
Iran: Qom Authorities Crack Down On Sufis
By Golnaz Esfandiari - Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Human rights activists have expressed concern over the arrest on 13 February of some 1,000 Sufi worshippers in the Iranian holy city of Qom. The arrests followed clashes between the police and members of a Sufi group over the closure of a house of worship used by the Sufi Muslims. Observers say the scale and violence of the crackdown on the Sufis is unprecedented in the Islamic Republic. Officials say the Sufis had illegally turned a residential building into a center of worship and had refused to evacuate it. They have also said that some of the dervishes were armed. But representatives of the dervishes deny the charges and say they are being targeted due to an increasing popularity of Sufism.
PRAGUE, 16 February 2006 (RFE/RL) -- In what human rights observers say is unprecedented, authorities in the city of Qom have arrested more than 1,000 followers of the mystical Sufi tradition of Islam.
The Iranian government had been showing signs of increasing antipathy towards Iran's Sufi community, but experts say the scale and violence of the clashes on 13 November is unheard of.
The deputy governor of Qom, Ahmad Hajizadeh, said 1,200 worshippers -- also known as dervishes -- were arrested as police sought to close a Sufi house of worship.
Hajizadeh said 100 people, including more than 30 police officers, were injured in the clashes.
"More than before, people are running away from a totalitarian interpretation of the religion."Qom officials say the Sufis had illegally turned a presidential building into a center of worship and had refused to leave it.
Some of the dervishes were armed, they add.
Representatives of the dervishes deny the charges and say they are being targeted due to the increasing popularity of Sufism.
Figures produced by sources close to the Sufi groups and human rights activists also differ from official accounts. They put the number of the arrests at 2,000 and say that 350 people were injured.
Following the clashes, the authorities demolished the house of worship as well as the homes of two leaders of the group.
Clash Between 'Dervishes And Fanatics' Entering A New Phase?
Sufism is based on the pursuit of mystical truth and Sufis believe that mystical practices involving dance, music, and the recitation of Allah's divine names can give them direct perception of God.
Although Sufi Muslims strictly observe Islamic practices and beliefs, some conservative Muslim clerics see it as a danger to Islam. Some even argue that Sufism is a deviation of Islam.
In Iran, there have been always some tensions between Sufism and more orthodox traditions of Islam.
However, observers say these tensions have worsened since the establishment of an Islamic republic, some 27 years ago, and state tolerance for Sufi groups has diminished.
Never before, though, has there been an attack as strong as seen this week, says Abdol-Karim Lahidji, vice president of the Paris-based International Federation of Human Rights.
"Unfortunately under the years of the rule of the Islamic government we have seen limitations on non-Muslims -- above all, Baha'is, Jews, and also Christians -- and on Sufi groups, and their meetings have been disrupted," says Lahidji, but "it is unprecedented in the modern history of Iran that a Sufi group should be treated" as it was in Qom.
Seyed Mostafa Azmayesh, a Paris-based scholar who specializes in Sufism, says that the Qom clashes mark "a new phase…between dervishes and fanatics -- a phase of violent encounter -- because until now only the leaders of [Sufi] groups were under pressure. Now, though, there is a confrontation with ordinary people who are facing pressure merely because they are dervishes."
Qom Not A New Target
The Qom worshippers belong to the Nematollahi Gonabadi order of Sufism, one of the largest Sufi groups in Iran and a strand of Sufism that Azmayesh represents outside Iran.
Azmayesh says that pressure on Sufis -- and "especially on the Nematollahi Gonabadi order" -- has increased "a lot" since the hard-liner Mahmud Ahamdinejad succeeded Hojatoleslam Mohammad Khatami as Iran's president in June 2005.
Sufism is based on the pursuit of mystical truth and Sufis believe that mystical practices involving dance, music, and the recitation of Allah's divine names can give them direct perception of God. Although Sufi Muslims strictly observe Islamic practices and beliefs, some conservative Muslim clerics see it as a danger to Islam. Some even argue that Sufism is a deviation of Islam.
"Now unfortunately, when the pressure groups and fanatics want to repress the Sufis, those who enforce the laws are not stopping them," says Azamayesh.
Several anti-Sufi books have been published in Iran over the past year and several clerics have also harshly condemned Sufism, Azamayesh says, noting that the recent clashes in Qom erupted after a speech by a cleric, who blasted Sufism and called for restrictions on the Sufi community.
Iran's hard-line daily "Kayhan" on 14 February quoted senior clerics in Qom as saying that Sufism should be eradicated in the city, while the Reuters news agency reported that in September one of Iran's hard-line clerics, Grand Ayatollah Hussein Nuri-Hamedani, called for a clampdown on Sufis in Qom.
Qom is considered to be one of the centers of Shi'a Islam.
The governor of Qom, Abbas Mohtaj, has reportedly accused the dervishes of having links to foreign countries.
However, Azmayesh believes that Sufis are being targeted because of their "more open interpretation of Islam" and also because Sufism is picking up more followers.
"More than before, people are running away from a totalitarian interpretation of the religion, they are having doubts, and they have lost faith in the work of those who consider themselves custodians of religion," he maintains. "By contrast, they feel very close to the Sufi teachings and its customs, which are based on love."
Azmayesh says there is currently an "inverse trend" in Iran. "As mosques empty," he says, "[Sufi houses of worship] are expanding and being filled."
Iranian officials have said that the arrested dervishes will be interrogated and those who were not among the "main elements and instigators" will gradually be released. Some have already been freed, many of them women.
Read More
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Human rights activists have expressed concern over the arrest on 13 February of some 1,000 Sufi worshippers in the Iranian holy city of Qom. The arrests followed clashes between the police and members of a Sufi group over the closure of a house of worship used by the Sufi Muslims. Observers say the scale and violence of the crackdown on the Sufis is unprecedented in the Islamic Republic. Officials say the Sufis had illegally turned a residential building into a center of worship and had refused to evacuate it. They have also said that some of the dervishes were armed. But representatives of the dervishes deny the charges and say they are being targeted due to an increasing popularity of Sufism.
PRAGUE, 16 February 2006 (RFE/RL) -- In what human rights observers say is unprecedented, authorities in the city of Qom have arrested more than 1,000 followers of the mystical Sufi tradition of Islam.
The Iranian government had been showing signs of increasing antipathy towards Iran's Sufi community, but experts say the scale and violence of the clashes on 13 November is unheard of.
The deputy governor of Qom, Ahmad Hajizadeh, said 1,200 worshippers -- also known as dervishes -- were arrested as police sought to close a Sufi house of worship.
Hajizadeh said 100 people, including more than 30 police officers, were injured in the clashes.
"More than before, people are running away from a totalitarian interpretation of the religion."Qom officials say the Sufis had illegally turned a presidential building into a center of worship and had refused to leave it.
Some of the dervishes were armed, they add.
Representatives of the dervishes deny the charges and say they are being targeted due to the increasing popularity of Sufism.
Figures produced by sources close to the Sufi groups and human rights activists also differ from official accounts. They put the number of the arrests at 2,000 and say that 350 people were injured.
Following the clashes, the authorities demolished the house of worship as well as the homes of two leaders of the group.
Clash Between 'Dervishes And Fanatics' Entering A New Phase?
Sufism is based on the pursuit of mystical truth and Sufis believe that mystical practices involving dance, music, and the recitation of Allah's divine names can give them direct perception of God.
Although Sufi Muslims strictly observe Islamic practices and beliefs, some conservative Muslim clerics see it as a danger to Islam. Some even argue that Sufism is a deviation of Islam.
In Iran, there have been always some tensions between Sufism and more orthodox traditions of Islam.
However, observers say these tensions have worsened since the establishment of an Islamic republic, some 27 years ago, and state tolerance for Sufi groups has diminished.
Never before, though, has there been an attack as strong as seen this week, says Abdol-Karim Lahidji, vice president of the Paris-based International Federation of Human Rights.
"Unfortunately under the years of the rule of the Islamic government we have seen limitations on non-Muslims -- above all, Baha'is, Jews, and also Christians -- and on Sufi groups, and their meetings have been disrupted," says Lahidji, but "it is unprecedented in the modern history of Iran that a Sufi group should be treated" as it was in Qom.
Seyed Mostafa Azmayesh, a Paris-based scholar who specializes in Sufism, says that the Qom clashes mark "a new phase…between dervishes and fanatics -- a phase of violent encounter -- because until now only the leaders of [Sufi] groups were under pressure. Now, though, there is a confrontation with ordinary people who are facing pressure merely because they are dervishes."
Qom Not A New Target
The Qom worshippers belong to the Nematollahi Gonabadi order of Sufism, one of the largest Sufi groups in Iran and a strand of Sufism that Azmayesh represents outside Iran.
Azmayesh says that pressure on Sufis -- and "especially on the Nematollahi Gonabadi order" -- has increased "a lot" since the hard-liner Mahmud Ahamdinejad succeeded Hojatoleslam Mohammad Khatami as Iran's president in June 2005.
Sufism is based on the pursuit of mystical truth and Sufis believe that mystical practices involving dance, music, and the recitation of Allah's divine names can give them direct perception of God. Although Sufi Muslims strictly observe Islamic practices and beliefs, some conservative Muslim clerics see it as a danger to Islam. Some even argue that Sufism is a deviation of Islam.
"Now unfortunately, when the pressure groups and fanatics want to repress the Sufis, those who enforce the laws are not stopping them," says Azamayesh.
Several anti-Sufi books have been published in Iran over the past year and several clerics have also harshly condemned Sufism, Azamayesh says, noting that the recent clashes in Qom erupted after a speech by a cleric, who blasted Sufism and called for restrictions on the Sufi community.
Iran's hard-line daily "Kayhan" on 14 February quoted senior clerics in Qom as saying that Sufism should be eradicated in the city, while the Reuters news agency reported that in September one of Iran's hard-line clerics, Grand Ayatollah Hussein Nuri-Hamedani, called for a clampdown on Sufis in Qom.
Qom is considered to be one of the centers of Shi'a Islam.
The governor of Qom, Abbas Mohtaj, has reportedly accused the dervishes of having links to foreign countries.
However, Azmayesh believes that Sufis are being targeted because of their "more open interpretation of Islam" and also because Sufism is picking up more followers.
"More than before, people are running away from a totalitarian interpretation of the religion, they are having doubts, and they have lost faith in the work of those who consider themselves custodians of religion," he maintains. "By contrast, they feel very close to the Sufi teachings and its customs, which are based on love."
Azmayesh says there is currently an "inverse trend" in Iran. "As mosques empty," he says, "[Sufi houses of worship] are expanding and being filled."
Iranian officials have said that the arrested dervishes will be interrogated and those who were not among the "main elements and instigators" will gradually be released. Some have already been freed, many of them women.
Soul food of the best kind
By Joel Pereira 2006-02-16 Source: Moneycontrol.com
There is so much sound and so much clutter in the music space. So if you want to listen to the grooviest and hippest tracks across genres, then here is what I recommend: reviewed this week is the latest from the late great, sufi singer Pankaj Awasthi.
Pankaj Awasthi is one of the new wave of Indian singers, like Himesh Reshamiya or Kunal Ganjawala, breaking away from nasal, saccharine strains of the previous male vocal favourites like Kumar Sanu or Sonu Nigam.
After feeling some of the success of 'Karam', Pankaj breaks away from the music directors and goes his own way with his solo album, simply titled 'Nine'. The album is an interesting mix of Pankaj's Sufi singing style and a distinctly acid-rock fusion backdrop. All tracks are eminently listenable, but the best are 'Duniya', 'The Last Beat' and the first single, 'Khuda Ka Wasta'.
So what's the verdict on Pankaj Awasthi? I would rate him 3.5 out of 5, and if you're going to buy an Indi pop album this week, this should be it.
Joel Pereira
Read More
There is so much sound and so much clutter in the music space. So if you want to listen to the grooviest and hippest tracks across genres, then here is what I recommend: reviewed this week is the latest from the late great, sufi singer Pankaj Awasthi.
Pankaj Awasthi is one of the new wave of Indian singers, like Himesh Reshamiya or Kunal Ganjawala, breaking away from nasal, saccharine strains of the previous male vocal favourites like Kumar Sanu or Sonu Nigam.
After feeling some of the success of 'Karam', Pankaj breaks away from the music directors and goes his own way with his solo album, simply titled 'Nine'. The album is an interesting mix of Pankaj's Sufi singing style and a distinctly acid-rock fusion backdrop. All tracks are eminently listenable, but the best are 'Duniya', 'The Last Beat' and the first single, 'Khuda Ka Wasta'.
So what's the verdict on Pankaj Awasthi? I would rate him 3.5 out of 5, and if you're going to buy an Indi pop album this week, this should be it.
Joel Pereira
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Sufi music festival
Source: THE HINDU Monday, Feb 13, 2006
Sufi music is not about entertainment; it is more about spirituality. Its powerful lyrics talk about reaching the divine by spreading love and harmony. With tension and turmoil all around today, the works of Sufi saints and mystics are more relevant than ever.
Ruhaniyat, the annual Sufi and Mystic Music Festival of Banyan Tree Events held in Mumbai and Hyderabad, is being organised in Chennai on February 18 (6.30 p.m.) at the Madras Race Club Lawns, Guindy. Each year the event strives to promote rare Indian performing arts by bringing together master-artistes and discerning listeners.
The Ruhaniyat festival will feature Zikr-e-Rifayi — Fakirs (Hyderabad), Sufi songs by Nanak and Manak Brothers (Punjab), Drums of Kerala - Ensemble of mystic drums, Baul songs by Parvathy Baul and Madan Vairagya (Bengal), Sufi Kalam and Mystic compositions by Kachra Khan, Padmaram, Mamma and Rana Khan and others (Rajasthan) and Qawwals Sarfaraz Chisti (Muradabad). Donor cards for Rs. 250 are available at Landmark (Spencer Plaza), Odyssey (Adyar and Anna Nagar). For details call 98210 25891 or 022-30972584.
Read More
Sufi music is not about entertainment; it is more about spirituality. Its powerful lyrics talk about reaching the divine by spreading love and harmony. With tension and turmoil all around today, the works of Sufi saints and mystics are more relevant than ever.
Ruhaniyat, the annual Sufi and Mystic Music Festival of Banyan Tree Events held in Mumbai and Hyderabad, is being organised in Chennai on February 18 (6.30 p.m.) at the Madras Race Club Lawns, Guindy. Each year the event strives to promote rare Indian performing arts by bringing together master-artistes and discerning listeners.
The Ruhaniyat festival will feature Zikr-e-Rifayi — Fakirs (Hyderabad), Sufi songs by Nanak and Manak Brothers (Punjab), Drums of Kerala - Ensemble of mystic drums, Baul songs by Parvathy Baul and Madan Vairagya (Bengal), Sufi Kalam and Mystic compositions by Kachra Khan, Padmaram, Mamma and Rana Khan and others (Rajasthan) and Qawwals Sarfaraz Chisti (Muradabad). Donor cards for Rs. 250 are available at Landmark (Spencer Plaza), Odyssey (Adyar and Anna Nagar). For details call 98210 25891 or 022-30972584.
Sufis, Iranian Police Clash in Holy City: Report
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Labels:
politics
LONDON, February 14 (IranMania) - Clashes broke out Monday between members of the Sufi sect and Iranian police in the Shiite Muslim holy city of Qom, the semi-official Fars news agency and websites reported.
Fars said some 50 Sufis demonstrated against the closure of their place of worship in Qom. "There was some violence," it said, without elaborating.
The website Baztab, which is close to the conservative camp in Iran, said the security forces used tear gas to break up the protest after local authorities decided to close the Sufi centre.
The protesters hurled stones from the rooftop, said Baztab, which published a photograph of hundreds of people gathered in a Qom street as plumes of smoke rose into the air.
Sufism is a mystical sect of Islam that is regarded with suspicion by many Shiite and Sunni Muslims.
Read More
Fars said some 50 Sufis demonstrated against the closure of their place of worship in Qom. "There was some violence," it said, without elaborating.
The website Baztab, which is close to the conservative camp in Iran, said the security forces used tear gas to break up the protest after local authorities decided to close the Sufi centre.
The protesters hurled stones from the rooftop, said Baztab, which published a photograph of hundreds of people gathered in a Qom street as plumes of smoke rose into the air.
Sufism is a mystical sect of Islam that is regarded with suspicion by many Shiite and Sunni Muslims.
Muharram Teaches Us Values Like Sacrifice, Patience: Soomro
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Labels:
spiritual ecology
Source: International News Network/Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Senate Chairman Mohammedmian Soomro has said that holy month of Muharram reminds us of the greatest Islamic human values like sacrifice, patience and determination.
He stated this while talking to the 12 member delegation of Markazi Imam Hussain Council (MIHC) led by its Chairman Dr. Ghazanfer Mehdi which called on him here on Tuesday.
He told the delegation that Sufis were a source of moral enlightenment and that the philosophy of Sufism aimed at inculcating the spirit of tolerance, peace and love among the people. He said that these basic values were ordained by Islam.
The Chairman MIHC informed the Chairman senate that the council has been endeavoring for the unity Ummah since its inception 27 year ago.
It was also suggested in the meeting that an advisory board having representatives of the ministries of education, religious affairs, culture and the four provincial Auqafs be constituted and the board be entrusted the task of preparing a viable plan to curb the menace of sectarianism and terrorism from society.
Read More
ISLAMABAD: Senate Chairman Mohammedmian Soomro has said that holy month of Muharram reminds us of the greatest Islamic human values like sacrifice, patience and determination.
He stated this while talking to the 12 member delegation of Markazi Imam Hussain Council (MIHC) led by its Chairman Dr. Ghazanfer Mehdi which called on him here on Tuesday.
He told the delegation that Sufis were a source of moral enlightenment and that the philosophy of Sufism aimed at inculcating the spirit of tolerance, peace and love among the people. He said that these basic values were ordained by Islam.
The Chairman MIHC informed the Chairman senate that the council has been endeavoring for the unity Ummah since its inception 27 year ago.
It was also suggested in the meeting that an advisory board having representatives of the ministries of education, religious affairs, culture and the four provincial Auqafs be constituted and the board be entrusted the task of preparing a viable plan to curb the menace of sectarianism and terrorism from society.
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