The Art of Writing

By Johannes Hillje, "Traditional art in a modern style" - Hürriyet Daily News - Turkey
Wednesday, April 8, 2009

The Rezan Has Museum opens a new exhibition today by well-known calligrapher Etem Çalışkan, an artist famous for rewriting the Nutuk, a 36-hour speech Atatürk delivered in 1927.

The exhibit includes 15 poems and 10 quotes from relevant historical figuresA new exhibition of work by the famous Turkish calligraphy artist Etem Çalışkan debuts today at Istanbul’s Rezan Has Museum at Kadir Has University.

The pieces will include visual interpretations of "the most beautiful poems by Istanbul’s most important poets," Çalışkan told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.

The Istanbul-based artist put verses by well-known Turkish poets, including Yayha Kemal Beyahtl, Nazım Hikmet and Talat Sait Halman, on paper in his unique writing style. The exhibit includes 15 poems and 10 quotes from relevant historical figures such as the Sufi mystic Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi.

Çalışkan, 81, became famous for rewriting the Nutuk, the 36-hour speech Mustafa Kemal Atatürk gave in 1927 at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.

The work on the Nutuk, which covers the events between the start of the Turkish War of Independence in 1919 and the foundation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, fills 900 pages and took Çalışkan about two years to complete.

It was published by the Turkish Ministry of Culture in 2000 and is displayed, in 17 books, at the Atatürk Museum in Ankara.

Major works
Two other major works that Çalışkan has illustrated are a Turkish translation of the Koran and a book by Sufi mystic Yunus Emre, making him the only person to ever rewrite all three important books. "I don’t think anyone else will ever do this again," he said.

Çalışkan was also hired to decorate Atatürk’s mausoleum in Ankara with sayings uttered by the founder of the Turkish Republic.

Çalışkan’s passion for calligraphy began during his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Istanbul, now part of Mimar Sinan University. He learned the art of writing from Emin Barin, an important calligrapher in the first half of the 20th century. After graduating in 1956, Çalışkan worked for various newspapers, including Yeni Sabah, Milliyet and Hürriyet.

Sales of Hürriyet skyrocketed the day Çalışkan’s version of Atatürk’s Gençliğe Hitabe, a speech addressing Turkish youth, was published.

His large portraits of Atatürk were printed in many newspapers and became very famous.

Today, Çalışkan is one of the only Turkish calligraphers writing in Latin letters. "People always connect calligraphy to Arabic letters and religion," he said. "If I wrote in Arabic, I would be rich by now."

He hopes Turks will learn that calligraphy can be also done in Latin letters and develop the art further. "Calligraphy is related to our culture; it was popular in the past, when paintings were forbidden," he said.

Calligraphers now face the challenge of preserving the art of writing, which was the main artistic discipline during the Ottoman Empire. "Nowadays, people prefer to write with computers, but computers cannot dream and create something new, because they don’t have a brain," he said.

Çalışkan thinks that schools should start teaching handwriting again. He is proud of his sole student, Seval Özcan, a young artist who shapes mirrors in calligraphy style. Çalışkan was also invited to a calligraphy symposium at Eskişehir University, which he says shows that young people are still interested in the art.

The new exhibition at Rezan Has Museum is the fifth collaboration between the artist and Kadir Has University.

The poetry-related works displayed in the exhibit are the start of a project Çalışkan is working on for Istanbul’s term as the European Capital of Culture in 2010.

[Picture from the Rezan Has Museum website. Visit the Rezan Has Museum in Istanbul http://www.rhm.org.tr/en/index.php].

Al-Wasadiyah

By Nur Kafi/HAN with Abdurahman M Abdullahi, "Somalia: Political Islam, It’s time for Strategic Engagements" - Geeska Africa - Nairobi, Kenya
Tuesday, April 7, 2009

‘Political Islam’ is a catchy expression that signifies many things to different people. In Western circles, political Islam is considered a reactionary ideology and an anti-Western movement; and is portrayed as a menace to their civilization, values and hegemony.

In the Muslim world, despotic governments perceive political Islam as a competing oppositional ideology that threatens their political power and economic privileges. Both the West and these despotic Muslim governments agree on the necessity for its containment, even if this involves the violation of human rights and the abortion of democracy. Conversely, the Muslim masses longing for change consider political Islam to be a hope for possible cultural revival, economic prosperity and liberation from Western domination. However, the vicious extremism committed in the name of Islam on 9/11 and after, and the violent reaction of the US and other countries to this, has embarrassed Muslims everywhere. Somalis in particular are shocked at the unprecedented violence carried out in the name of Islam, such as suicide bombings, random assassinations and the wrecking of Islamic scholars’ tombs.

This is not the kind of Islam that Somalis have practiced for centuries and they ask themselves, “what type of religion is this?”

Many varieties of terminology have been used to signify this phenomenon. Proponents of political Islam prefer words such as ‘Islamic movement’, ‘Islamic awakening’ and ‘Islamic revival’. Opponents use offensive words, like ‘Islamic fundamentalism’, ‘Islamic terrorism’, ‘Islamic radicalism’ and so on.

The terms ‘political Islam,’ or ‘Islamism,’ emphasize the resurgence of political aspects of Islam weakened after Western domination, and also the revitalizing of other aspects. They signify active movements striving to make Islam the definitive reference for the state and society. However, these active movements are not a single group; they comprise diverse parties and ideologies covering both extremists and moderates.

All forms of extremism: ghuluw (excessiveness), tanattu' (meticulous religiosity) and tashdid (strictness), are disapproved of, while moderation or balance, “al-wasadiyah,” is the fundamental marker of Islam. Religious extremism leading to political extremism has been known in Muslim history since the Kharijites rebelled against Imam Ali bin Abidalib, which is why the term neo-Kharijites (Khawarij al-Casr) is sometimes employed to signify an armed rebellion claiming Islamic righteousness that is directed against legitimate government in Muslim countries.

In Somalia, in the aftermath of the collapse of the state in 1991, local identity politics based on clanism and political Islam have emerged forcefully. As a result, Somalia has become a theatre for international and regional interventions, and is currently caught up in a bizarre assortment of Islamic insurgencies, piracy and weak state institutions.

It is the collapse of the state, along with successive failures of transitional governments, that has ushered in a stronger political Islam, which has become more militant since the Global War on Terrorism after 9/11, the rise of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) in 2006 and Ethiopian military intervention. Recently, a reconciliation agreement was concluded in Djibouti, producing a national unity government comprised of the Alliance of Re-liberation (ARS) and the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). However, al-Shabab and Hizb-al-Islam (formerly members of UIC and ARS) are fighting the new government headed by the former chairman of UIC and ARS, and the incumbent President Sheikh Sharif.

To understand this phenomenon, it has to be placed in the Somali historical context. Islam has been used as a strong mobilizing ideology in anti-colonial responses and nationalist struggles. The first modern organization in the name of Islam was formed by Haji Farah Omar in Aden in 1925. However, it was banned because of its political activities. The second attempt occurred after the return of Italian rule under UN trusteeship in the 1950s, when the Somali Islamic League was formed in Mogadishu. It set out to promote education in the Arabic language, and lobbied Egypt to open Arabic schools that would be comparable with the Italian school networks.

After independence in 1960, some students who had graduated from Arab universities held modern Islamic ideas and introduced them to Somalia. These Islamic scholars were inspired by the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the Salafia (Wahabi School) of Saudi Arabia. The process started with the formation of Al-Nahda (the Renaissance) in Mogadishu (1967), Wahadat al-Shabab al-Islami (the Union of Young Muslims) in Hargeysa (1969) and Al-Ahli (the native) student organizations in Mogadishu (1970). The military regime of 1969, however, abolished Islamic societies and banned all non-state institutions. So Islamic activism operated underground and had by the 1970s taken greater strides, in reaction to the military regimes’ espousal of Marxist ideology.

The organizations al-Ahli, Al-Wahda and al-Nahda were coordinating stiff resistance to the socialist ideology. Initially, they all claimed affinity to the Muslim Brotherhood, but that situation had changed by 1975 after the execution of 10 Islamic scholars who opposed secularized family law. Young Islamic activists fled to Sudan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and made contact with different aspects of political Islam. Eventually, besides traditional Sufis and Shafi’i jurists, four Islamic affiliations emerged in Somalia: the Muslim Brotherhood, Salafia and its derivatives, Takfir (declaring unbeliever groups) and Tablighi Jama’a (conveying group).

All modern organizations in Somalia are rooted in one of these four schools. For instance, Al-Shabab and Hizb al-Islam claim affinity to the Salafia movements. The complexity of Somali political Islam is such that even traditional Sufis known for their focus on the spiritual aspect of Islam are becoming more political and militant. The organization Ahlu-Sunna wa al-Jama’a is reacting in military ways to the destruction of the tombs of Sufi Sheikhs by the Shabab. In the final analysis, these organizations agree only on the principle of adopting Islam as the ultimate reference for the state and society. Beyond that, they disagree on political views, being influenced by socio-economic conditions, global politics and regional conflicts.

Political Islam has been approached from the perspective of those modernist theories that consider that traditions, including religion, are destined to decline, due to the rise of secular nationalism and nation-state institutions. Based on this assumption, Islamic movements are treated as presenting a threat to world order and as security challenges for the 21st century. This notion and the policies built upon it have contributed to further antagonizing and radicalizing many groups within political Islam, both in Somalia and worldwide.

In Somalia, tremendous changes have happened over the last 20 years and the political setting has shifted towards political Islam. Certainty, the period of Western projected dominance of secularism, and the state that it represented, collapsed in 1991. Political Islam emerged from its ashes and is now digging itself a strategic position in the realms of the state. Moreover, the people of Somalia are looking to Islam as an alternative salvation and solution. They believe that Islam is capable of diluting radical clanism and reconstituting the state. However, that form of Islam should be authentic and moderate; it should not be based on an extremist interpretation that preaches relentless violence.

Currently, the choice is either ruthless extremism or participatory moderation. The question is: which one of these two Islamic banners prevails? Which one would the Somali people choose and support? Which one should the international community accept and work with?

Political Islam has been approached from the perspective of those modernist theories that consider that traditions, including religion, are destined to decline, due to the rise of secular nationalism and nation-state institutions. Based on this assumption, Islamic movements are treated as presenting a threat to world order and as security challenges for the 21st century. This notion and the policies built upon it have contributed to further antagonizing and radicalizing many groups within political Islam, both in Somalia and worldwide.

In Somalia, tremendous changes have happened over the last 20 years and the political setting has shifted towards political Islam.

Certainty, the period of Western projected dominance of secularism, and the state that it represented, collapsed in 1991. Political Islam emerged from its ashes and is now digging itself a strategic position in the realms of the state. Moreover, the people of Somalia are looking to Islam as an alternative salvation and solution. They believe that Islam is capable of diluting radical clanism and reconstituting the state. However, that form of Islam should be authentic and moderate; it should not be based on an extremist interpretation that preaches relentless violence.

Currently, the choice is either ruthless extremism or participatory moderation. The question is: which one of these two Islamic banners prevails? Which one would the Somali people choose and support? Which one should the international community accept and work with?

To begin with, Somali intellectuals are required to re-evaluate political reality in Somalia and realize that the choice is between Islamic extremism and moderation. Thus, non-Islamists should make strategic engagement with Islamic moderation. On their part, moderate Islamists have to welcome the participation of all parties in the rebuilding of the state.

All moderate Islamic scholars should realize that the country is in peril and should stand up and articulate the true nature of Islam. All Somalis have to reawaken their natural religiosity and reassert their mobilizing capacity for exceptional solidarity, as brothers and sisters. Moderate Islamists have to show that Islam accepts political participation and plurality for all the citizens. They have to demonstrate that Islam protects human rights and freedom of expression. They have to reconfirm their commitment to peace and regional security. In so doing, they have to convince the international community and regional states that the new Somalia will be a bastion of peace and an icon and hub for development and regional cooperation.

Finally, the external actors involved in Somalia should realize that the Somali political landscape is changing.

The current unity government headed by moderate Islamist President Sheikh Sharif and the Shari’a bill endorsed by the Council of Ministers shows the trail in that direction. Therefore, moderate political Islam should no longer be eschewed but accepted as an alternative political reality.

In particular, neighbouring Ethiopia should be convinced to refrain from its subversive policies and develop an alternative strategy, based on dealing with moderate Islamists. Moreover, the Egyptian regime, in its entanglements with its rising Islamic opposition, should not obstruct the emergence of Islamism in Somalia. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia and Yemen should realize that their national security is at stake if extremism prevails in Somalia.

Eventually, if Islamic moderation does not take centre stage in Somalia, extremism will emerge as a triumphant ideology, hence the strategic choice of all concerned parties must be to join with the new government against rising extremism – and the government should combine clemency with resolve and take the path of state reconstitution seriously.

Et de Trois!

[From the French language press]:

Et de trois pour le Festival soufi ! Le compte à rebours a commencé. Outre les festivaliers, artistes, poètes, sociologues et autres seront de la partie.

Par Houda Belabd, "Et de trois pour le Festival soufi !" - le Matin - Maroc
Dimanche 29 mars, 2009

And three for the Sufi Festival! The countdown has begun.

In addition to the festival people, artists, poets, sociologists and others will participate.

This Festival speaks of a living culture, a culture that changes with time and place, but whose ultimate goal is to be an expression of universal values. Because the Sufi path teaches and vehicles each time, every place, how it is possible to bring the highest levels of our human -individual or social- achievements.

[Visit Par Chemins, the Festival Cultural Engineering Agency's website http://www.par-chemins.com/]

[Read also THE VIEW FROM FEZ http://tinyurl.com/c73m3r ].

Where the Two Halves Join

By Bindu Chawla, "Dialogue of beloveds, raga, anuraga" - The Times of India - India
Saturday, April 4, 2009

The word raga means 'to love'. All Hindustani ragas are scientifically structured and as you proceed to sing them, and you unfold their grammar, you also come to reveal hidden principles of cosmic love.

The raga divides itself into two equal halves, in which each note of one half has a corresponding answering note in the second half. And yet, in terms of melody, neither of the two halves can stand alone.

The melody gets created only at the exact meeting point of the two halves, at the specific point where the two halves join. The group of notes that create the junction are also known as the 'pakar' or haunt, of the raga. Throughout its rendering or exposition, the raga is the interplay of a musical dialogue between these two halves, virtually the 'beloveds'.

The pakar is the raga's spiritual fountain; no amount of singing will slake the raga's thirst. It is the flower's inner honey; no amount of sucking will quench the hunger of the bee.

It is said that in the days of yore, the musicians would forget to eat, drink and bathe, as they were caught in the haunt of a raga. Such can be its spiritual hold. All ragas have nyas or pause notes, points of rest in this 'haunt', which are actually emphasised more than others, and ultimately turn it into a lullaby, a song on the lip. Yet the raga is the most grammarised thing going.

It works through symmetrical musical movements of the two halves. The smallest microtone of one half must have its parallel in place in the other half, the nuance of a note of one half answered just as it should be in the other half, or else another raga's haunt will creep in and 'interfere' with the grand design.

And yet, it is this very methodology, of working the raga's yin and yang, that will turn its very love-haunt into the gateway of cosmic love.

Pandit Amarnath of the Indore gharana would say that the word raga means 'to love', but the completion of this lies in the set of words 'raga-anuraga', which mean 'to love and to be loved' in return. The import of this is that the musician sings his song of love, but it is when the cosmos returns his love that the cycle is said to be complete. This is the Sufi way.

The raga's yin and yang, male and female, become alaf and meem, main aur Allah; I the beloved of Allah and Allah, my beloved, till there is no difference between the two. Ultimately all becomes Allah, and I drop away. I becomes fanaa, or extinct. All that remains is Allah.

In a beautiful bandish for the raga Brindabani Sarang Pandit Amarnath says:

"O heart, stay true to yourself,
The soul is the very Oversoul
Mitu-rang, finding the Oversoul is like
water finding Water, and sky, Sky.
O heart, stay true to yourself."

The story of finding the Water and Sky is the story of finding the raga's anuraga . The love of the beloved is akin to the love of Allah. And the love of Allah is akin to the love of the beloved.

In another bandish in the raga Sawani, Pandit Amarnath says:

"Beloved, my destiny is with you.
May I receive your love in all our lives,
And may you remain eternal...
The light of my heart is to think of you,
The life of my body to see you,
The vermilion on my forehead is your love.
Beloved, my destiny is with you."

Picture: Feel the pulse of spiritual music. Photo: TOI/Getty Images.

Within Six Months

By Qaiser Khan Afridi, "Cultural event at Rahman Baba’s shrine postponed" - The News International - Karachi, Pakistan
Friday, April 3, 2009

Peshawar: Keeping in view the severe damage caused to the shrine of Pashto Sufi poet Abdur Rahman Baba in the recent bombing, the Rahman Baba Adabi Jirga has announced postponement of the grand cultural festival, saying it will be held once the government repairs the shrine.

Every year in April, fans of Rahman Baba organise a grand cultural festival at the shrine. Poets, writers and lovers of Rahman Baba from Afghanistan and Pakistan come together to celebrate the festival. This time, the festival was scheduled for April 5.

Addressing a press conference here, Rahman Baba Adabi Jirga President Yousuf Ali Dilsoz said that since 1962, they had been holding the festival regularly as per the Jirga’s constitution, but, unfortunately, for the first time, they would not be able to hold the four-day event owing to the damage caused to the shrine.

Jirga Patron-in-Chief Sultan Muhammad Darwesh, Vice-President Abdul Jalil Sabir and Finance Secretary Malik Waris were also present on the occasion. “At first, we decided to hold the event, but after consulting our elders and other 125 members of the Jirga, we agreed to postpone the festival, as the provincial government has displayed banners right outside the shrine, stating the building is dilapidated and could crumble anytime,” Dilsoz said, adding that they would hold the event once the government repaired the building within six months, as promised.

Lauding Afghan President Hamid Karzai for promising reconstruction of Rehman Baba’s shrine, he said a representative of the Afghan government visited the shrine and offered to build it completely.

“The federal and provincial governments have also vowed to reconstruct the shrine within six months,” he said, demanding of the government to equip the Rahman Baba auditorium with the latest facilities by providing chairs and installing a sound system.

[Picture: Rahman Baba's Shrine. Photo from http://en.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-310/_nr-632/i.html].

Music Is the Medium

By Karan Kapoor (ANI), "Sufi singers want Sufism to live forever in the hearts of people" - Newstrack India - India
Thursday, April 2, 2009

Ludhiana: For centuries, Sufism has spread a unique meaning of love to the mankind through soulful renditions in the praise of God. But today several Sufi singers believe that there is need to keep it alive.

To preserve the tradition of Sufi singing- various artists, intellectuals and poets recently converged here.

A discussion was held on 'Sufism' and what should be done to prevent it from fading into history. Punjab Sahitya Akademi invited noted Sufi artists and scholars who touched upon various aspects of traditional Indian Sufism. Leading the group was renowned musicologist and performer Dr. Madan Gopal Singh who enthralled the gathering with his exposition.

The dominant concern of all participants on this occasion was the waning popularity of Sufi music.

"The reason behind youngsters taking less interest in Sufi singing is because culture in musical Gharanas (traditional families) has changed. Modernisation has changed the scenario and a number of old and priceless traditions are losing their charm. So, in this era, it is important to keep alive such traditions otherwise they will disappear and people will forget them," said Dr. Namwar Singh, music critic.

"The serenity and the feeling of making others feel great that we see in our Indian culture come to us from the Sufi singers. They came to India with the Mughal rulers. But they didn't sing about and for the government. They sang for people and that's the reason why the Sufi singers like Baba Bulle Shah and Baba Fareedji received great respect in the country," said Dr. Sukhdev Singh of the Punjab Sahitya Akadmi.

Besides, on this occasion, traditional Sufi singers from Rajasthan, Manganiars, delighted the audience with their music and made it a lively event.

"There are two letters in the word 'su' and 'fi', which means that we should not harm the feelings of any religion. Sufi's chant both Ram and Allah. They say neither they are Muslims nor Hindus but they are human beings," said Idrim Khan, a Sufi Singer.

Punjabi Singer Barkat Sidhu also brought alive the classical traditions of the great Gharanas of Punjab with his rich repertoire.

"In monetary terms, Sufism has nothing. But it is very rich in spiritual terms. People, who sing in other languages run after money. But Sufi singing is devoted to God and its singers receive appreciation and respect from people. Sufi singing is priceless," said Barkat Sidhu, Punjabi Sufi singer.

Sufism is generally described as an eternal quest of the soul for the supreme power. And, music is the medium through which the Sufis travel to a state of mystical bliss.

Sufism celebrates life and the divine through music, the medium that each and every one of us understand beyond linguistic barriers.

A Costly Failing

By Douglas J. Feith and Justin Polin, "Radio-Free Swat Valley" - The New York Times - New York, NY, USA
Sunday, March 29, 2009

On March 5, in the outskirts of Peshawar, Pakistan, forces believed to be affiliated with the Taliban bombed the shrine of Rahman Baba (born around 1650), the most revered Pashtun poet.

The attack evokes one of the grosser Taliban outrages from the pre-9/11 era: the dynamiting in 2001 of the enormous stone Buddhas in Afghanistan’s Bamiyan Valley.

This use of bombs as cultural commentary is especially notable in that the shrine was sacred to other Muslims. It reminds the world, and especially complacent Muslims, that the Islamist extremists’ war is a civil war within Islam — and not just a “holy war” against other religions and the United States. It should show American policymakers the wisdom of working to persuade Pashtuns to reject the Taliban.

The bombers took aim at the poet’s shrine because it represented Sufism, the mystical form of Islam that has long been predominant in India and Pakistan. The Sufism of Rahman Baba generally stresses a believer’s personal relationship with God and de-emphasizes the importance of the mosque. It refrains from exalting violence and war and praises such virtues as tolerance, devotion and love. Its practice relies extensively on dance, music and poetry. Some of Sufism’s most esteemed poets and scholars are women.

The extremists are determined to destroy Pakistan’s moderate Sufi tradition — by claiming the exclusive right to fly the banner of Islam and asserting this claim through cultural, educational and violent means. Through intimidation, they silence musicians, still dancers and oppress women. As a result, artists and performers are leaving Pakistan’s Swat Valley and the North-West Frontier Province in droves.

Though the Sufi tradition has been widely followed for centuries in South Asia, its hold is weakening as the extremists flex their muscles. Pakistan’s inability to enforce its laws in the border region with Afghanistan has allowed extremists to threaten dominance in northwestern Pakistan.

The United States may be able to help Pakistan prevent this, however, by supporting Pashtun opposition to the extremists. The Pashtuns who oppose the Taliban need protection. The extremists have gunned down, bombed and hanged those who have worked against them. It would help to improve the government’s schools in the region and thus reduce the appeal and influence of Taliban-run madrassas. And by building roads and creating jobs and business opportunities for the Pashtuns, the Pakistani government, with American help, could counter the money and other material blandishments offered by the extremists.

It is a costly failing that the American government has been unable to communicate quickly with the Pashtun community about the attack on the Rahman Baba shrine. Congress has provided trillions of dollars to support military action in the fight against terrorism, but it has not yet provided resources for a strategic communications capacity that could be the key to victory.
If it had the equipment and personnel for the job, the United States could broadcast radio programs for the Pashtuns commemorating Rahman Baba’s life and poetry, thus helping to revive the collective memory of Sufism and inspiring opposition to the Taliban. Other programs could highlight the cultural and physical devastation wrought by the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

The United States conducted impressive strategic communications during the cold war. Radio Free Europe, Voice of America and other programs conveyed information and ideas that contributed to the discrediting and ultimate defeat of Soviet communism.

Pakistan’s Islamist extremists apparently know the value of strategic communications. They preach and broadcast, understanding that every non-extremist school they close, every artist they force to move, every moderate tribal leader they kill and every Sufi shrine they destroy can increase their powers of intimidation and persuasion.

The problem along the Afghan border is not mass support for Islamist extremism. Rather it is widespread acquiescence by people who are fearful and demoralized. As the extremists work to demonstrate that only they represent the true Islam, Pashtuns can reflect on the warnings against cruelty and violence that Rahman Baba outlined in “Sow Flowers”:

Sow flowers to make a garden bloom around you,
The thorns you sow will prick your own feet.

Arrows shot at others
Will return to hit you as they fall.

You yourself will come to teeter on the lip
Of a well dug to undermine another.

Douglas J. Feith, a former under secretary of defense, is a senior fellow and Justin Polin is a research associate at the Hudson Institute.

[Picture: Mahodand swat. Photo by Kamran Safdar, http://www.valleyswat.net/].

Close to Him

By John Thorne, "Morocco moves to mysticism" - The National - Abu Dhabi, UAE
Sunday, March 29, 2009

Sale, Morocco : On Thursday evenings a mystic called Abderrahim Harrati goes down to a small white shrine with a green dome beside the sea to transmit spiritual energy.

Every week men gather there to soak up Mr Harrati’s “baraka”, a blessing from God that they believe flows in his bloodlines, traceable to the Prophet Mohammed.Together they lift their voices in ritual song, uniting in the practices of Sufism, Islamic mysticism that is moving to centre stage in Moroccan society as a new generation updates it for the 21st century.

Some Sufis worry that their traditions are being watered down in the process. But Moroccans increasingly consider Sufism’s tolerant brand of Islam a welcome alternative to a fundamentalist streak in the country that has occasionally turned violent in recent years.Morocco is home to dozens of tariqas, or Sufi orders, anchored to the land by shrines where holy men such as Mr Harrati’s ancestor, Sidi Abdel Kader el Harrati, lie entombed.

While only a minority of Moroccans are active tariqa members, most make room for Sufism in their view of Islam, said Moha Ennaji, professor of linguistics, cultural and gender studies at the University of Fez. “The rituals are part of our lifestyle,” he said. “Dancing, singing – this is Sufi behaviour.”

That behaviour’s roots going back to the Middle Ages, when Islamic scholars developed the idea that while all good Muslims meet God after death, it is also possible to draw close to Him during life. Since then, Sufi orders seeking that closeness have arisen across the Muslim world. Some emphasise poetry, others dance, others meditation and repetitive prayer. All seek to achieve dhikr, a profound awareness of God’s love and presence.

Those Sufis most adept at doing so are sometimes said to possess baraka. “The light of baraka was carried by the Prophet Mohammed, and the saints of Islam carry it to this day,” said Lahcen Sbai, a spokesman for the Boutchichi tariqa, one of Morocco’s leading Sufi orders.

Some people say that baraka brings inner peace, others that it can cure illnesses, and still others that it brings good luck. Some say that it can do all of these things at once. “I feel like I’ve gone to the doctor and been made well,” said Abdelfettah, a shop owner who has attended prayer meetings with Mr Harrati’s group for eight years and did not wish to give his surname.

Abdelfettah and other followers of Mr Harrati’s tariqa believe that baraka resides both in the tomb of his ancestor and in his own living person.

“It’s a gift from God, and it’s a joy to pass it to other people,” said Mr Harrati, who assumed leadership of the order upon the death of his father in 1992.

The loyalty commanded by Sufi orders has led them periodically into the thicket of Moroccan politics, forging alliances with some rulers and clashing with others. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, rural Sufi leaders known as marabouts proved among the stiffest foes of encroaching French armies, while the heads of larger tariqas found accommodation with colonialism.

Following independence from France in 1956, King Hassan II slowly squeezed Sufism into a corner during decades of political repression remembered today as the années de plomb – the “years of lead”. Sidi Hamza Boutchichi, the head of the Boutchichi tariqa, was forbidden to leave his home without authorisation, while Abdesslam Yassine, the leader of the Sufi-inspired Islamic movement al Adl wal Ihssane, or “Justice and Charity”, was placed under full house arrest.

However, Hassan’s son Mohammed VI has led a rapprochement with Sufism as Morocco has scrambled to contain a violent strain of Islamic fundamentalism that produced suicide bombings in Casablanca, the commercial capital, in 2003 and 2007.

Some formerly aloof Sufi orders have similarly relaxed strictures, said Mr Sbai, from the Boutchichi tariqa. The order no longer requires members to wear traditional wool robes and undertake periods of isolation, leading to a steady rise in numbers, he said.

Meanwhile, Sufi music has gripped young Moroccans, filling the airwaves and internet with the beat of skin drums, the clatter of brass castanets, and the twang of the guembri, a three-stringed lute.

The government sponsors hundreds of music festivals each year, where Sufi musicians mix traditional sounds with those of hip-hop, reggae and jazz.For some, going professional is a necessary adjustment to a modernising country.

“Thanks to rural exodus and the television, the brotherhoods are disappearing from the countryside,” said Frédéric Calmès, a French oud player who has lived and performed with the Hamadcha tariqa in Fez since 2002. “But festivals allow them to reach a wide audience.”

“My father was our sheikh, and we used to have prayer meetings at our house in the evenings,” said Abderrahim Amrani, who today leads the Hamadchas on the festival circuit.

“It’s not like before, but it keeps the tariqa alive,” he said. “And if we’re lucky, we still pass on a little baraka.”

Picture: sufis in the coastal city of Sale at the shrine of Sidi Abdelkader el Harrati, a 17th century Sufi saint. Photo: John Thorne/The National.

Fluid, Flexible and Peaceful

By Amil Khan, "Al-Qaeda's spreading tentacles in West Africa opposed by traditional leaders" - Telegraph - London, UK
Sunday, March 29, 2009

Traditional Islamic leaders from across West Africa are meeting to try and form a common front against al-Qaeda's growing influence in the region.

Amid the hectic bustle of people and vehicles on the streets of Mali's capital city, Bamako, there are signs of the growing influence of austere Islamic practice that is causing social rifts across Africa.

In the market next to the grand mosque in the centre of town, Muslim women with their hair covered but their shoulders and arms bare barter for T-shirts emblazoned with photos of US President Barack Obama. In another part of the market, a young man in the austere Saudi-inspired dress of trousers hitched up at the ankle and long beard berates a bookstall owner for not carrying the "right sort of works".

The books the man is referring to are the texts of an austere form of Islam seeping into Africa's Muslim nations that seeks to strictly delineate Muslims by their religious practice and denounce those who fall short as non-believers. It is commonly referred to as "Takfiri".

This interpretation, which counts Osama bin Laden among its supporters, is worrying the continent's traditional Islamic leaders, who are meeting in Timbuktu over the weekend to try and decide on a common response.

"In Africa, extremism is an automatic result of economic disparity... In Sudan, the ideology is there. It is minor at the moment, but it is there and we have to stop it where it is," Shaykh Garibullah, one of the key participants in the conference, told The Sunday Telegraph in an interview.

The conference has been organised by the Radical Middle Way initiative, a British Muslim organisation, led by Fuad Nahdi, a Kenyan-born British Muslim. Mr Nahdi says that in Africa, Islam has historically been fluid, flexible and peaceful.

"The experience of Barack Obama's African family, where you might be Muslim and have a Christian uncle or an aunt who worships traditional tribal gods, is the norm in the experience of Islam in this part of the world," Mr Nahdi told the Telegraph in Bamako before the conference.

Takfiri ideology has a central argument that explains the problems of any group of Muslims as the result of a drift from "true Islam", which it portrays as a "pure" code that shuns all outside influences. Those, like the followers of al-Qaeda who promote extremist violence, target the non-Muslims they see as oppressors as well as Muslims they see as "hypocrites".

The conference organisers say that the suffering of millions through disease, poverty and poor governance make Takfiri ideology attractive, and increases support for groups like al-Qaeda.

Osama bin Laden's organisation arrived in Africa in 2007, when the group incorporated an Algerian extremist outfit that was previously called the Salafist Group for Preaching and Jihad (GSPC). The group rebranded itself al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. Late last year, CIA director Michael Hayden called it a serious and growing threat.

Since then, the group has started running weapons and established a base in northern Mali. It recently kidnapped six Europeans including one Briton, and has targeted Algeria in a bombing campaign. Analysts say al-Qaeda sees West Africa's ungoverned spaces as a potential base like the one it enjoys in Pakistan's border regions. It also seeks to find resources and new recruits.

A Western security analyst based in the region said American forces were operating in the area, providing training and support to regional governments to counter the threat. The support, he said, improved the operational abilities of local police and armies but provided material for al-Qaeda propaganda that Western countries seek influence in Muslim lands to subjugate their populations and steal their resources.
Leaders such as those attending the conference in Timbuktu have the moral authority to challenge such propaganda.

As the conference delegates started arriving in Bamako, the extent of their influence became clear. Shaykh Tijane Cisse from Senegal commands the devotion of over 50 million people in West Africa.

Fifteen minutes after he arrived at the hotel without prior announcement, word spread around the city of his presence and a steady flow of followers formed a line leading to his room.

The tombs of Shaykh Cisse's ancestors, who led the Tijaniyyah Sufi brotherhood before him, are a focal point for followers. In countries, where the austere Takfiri ideology has grown, Sufis – who practice a spiritual and inclusive understanding of Islam – have been targeted.

In Pakistan earlier this month, extremists blew up the shrine of a 17th century Sufi poet.
Back in Bamako's main market, a shopkeeper who spoke Arabic because of his education in one of the capital's Islamic schools, and sold traditional carved wooden statues of nude women said he could not comprehend an Islam that attacked the tombs of revered figures.

"If they did that here, there would be civil war," he said.

Photo: Telegraph/AP

Maila Charaghan

By Our Correspondent, "Thousands flock to Festival of Lights" - The News International - Karachi, Pakistan
Sunday, March 29, 2009

Lahore: The three-day urs celebrations of the Festival of Lights (Maila Charaghan) started on Saturday at the shrine of renowned sufi saint Hazrat Shah Hussain.

Thousands of devotees lit oil lamps on the shrine to pay homage to the saint.

Devotees turned up at the shrine and participated in urs celebration with great religious enthusiasm. Families and devotees offered fateha at the shrine. A large number of drummers kept beating drums compelling devotees and malangs to dance with abandon.

Many people had set up tents selling clothes, sweets and other items and a large number of devotees were seen shopping there. Children also accompanied their parents.

The Auqaf Department in collaboration with authorities concerned had also made special arrangements for the festival. A large number of police personnel was also deployed at the shrine.

Shah Hussain (1538-1599) was a Punjabi poet and a saint. He was the pioneer of the Kafi form of Punjabi poetry.

Shah Hussain’s shrine is located in Baghbanpura near Shalamar Gardens.

[Picture: The Shalimar Gardens. Photo from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shalimar_Gardens_(Lahore). Read a biography of Shah Husayn (Madhu Lal) at http://www.abntv.com/festivals/mela_charagan.html].

Calling for some Action

By Ben Arnoldy, "Bombing of packed Pakistan mosque likely to further inflame region" - The Christian Science Monitor - Boston, MA, USA
Friday, March 27, 2009

Delhi, India – A suicide bomber entered a crowded mosque in northwest Pakistan and detonated an explosive that killed more than 50 people during Friday prayers.

It’s unclear who was behind the attack, which took place in tribal region West of Peshawar known as the Khyber Agency. Security forces tasked with protecting NATO supply lines were among those praying and subsequently killed at the mosque, according to local reports.

By attacking a packed Sunni mosque at Friday prayers, the perpetrators showed a brazen disregard for popular sentiment in the region, analysts say.

“I think people in the frontier will be scared to send their children and men to the mosque. And I think the moderate sort of religious people in Pakistan will be calling for some action against these people,” says security analyst retired Brig. Gen. Mahmood Shah.

Earlier this month, militants bombed a Sufi shrine in Peshawar. The attack damaged the tomb of Abdur Rahman Baba, a Sufi saint and one of the most famous poets in the Pashto language. Many local Pashtuns are fond of reciting his verses. Although that attack struck at a popular ethnic figure, it was largely seen as a sectarian strike against the Sufi faith.

Today’s attack marks the first bombing of a Sunni mosque in the region, says Mushtaq Yusufzai, a Peshawar-based reporter with The News, a newspaper based in Pakistan. Although the attack will further anger local people, Mr. Yusufzai doesn’t see that turning into an effective backlash against militant groups.

“The people cannot react, they are helpless. They cannot fight against these unseen fighters,” he says.

In the past, local tribal leaders have organized lashkars, or armed posses, to go after militant groups. But militants retaliated by killing tribal elders and burning their homes, breaking much of the local resistance.

Yusufzai said he talked to some locals who claim to have seen drones recently in area – the rumors, valid or not, will no doubt add to growing resentment of US airstrikes in the region.

He also said the attacks came as a surprise because local Taliban were believed to have agreed to focus their efforts on the fight in Afghanistan.

[Picture: On the Pakistan side of the Khyber Pass. Photo from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khyber_Pass].

Ashk Olsun!

By Meredith Compton, "Latif Bolat, Sufi Musician, April 7" - Hiram College News - Hiram, Ohio, USA
Friday, March 27, 2009

The Hiram College Interfaith Council, Special Events and Conferences Office, Ethnic Diversity Affairs Office, music department, Intercultural Forum and East Asian Society present Latif Bolat, Sufi Musician, on April 7 in the Kennedy Center Ballroom.

Bolat will present a convocation at noon. The talk will focus on 1000 years of Turkish mystic Sufi culture including music, poetry and philosophy.

There will also be a concert at 7:30 p.m. titled “Ashk Olsun: Let There Be Love.”

All events are free and open to the public.

[Visit Latif Bolat's website http://www.latifbolat.com/].

What about Country?

By Dilshad D. Ali, "Kareem Salama: A Muslim Country Singer for Your iPod" - Beliefnet - New York, NY, USA

Thursday, March 26, 2009

When I think of Muslim musicians, the genres of hip hop, rap, maybe a little rock, and of course the more religious category of nasheeds and Sufi-type music come to mind. But what about country?

Putting aside the whole huge debate of whether music is halal (acceptable) or haram (forbidden) in Islam--have you ever heard of a Muslim country singer/musician? The two words seem as out of sync as oil and water.

But then again, you may not have heard of Kareem Salama, a Muslim country singer who's fan base is growing. Salama's star is rising due to his blend of spiritual, meaning-filled music that draws upon the lilt, vulnerability, and rhythms of country music.

Beliefnet's Muslim columnist Hesham Hassaballa, who writes an occasional "Hesham's iPod" column about "what's buzzworthy and spiritual in the world of Muslim music," recently interviewed Salama about what inspires him, what drives him, and how his music isn't "overtly Islamic," but rather overtly human.

Hesham's recommendation? You'll want this unique artist on your iPod.

Interview by Hesham Hassaballa, "A Muslim's Unique Take on Country Music" - Beliefnet

In the genre of country music, Muslim musician Kareem Salama has found his niche. But he doesn't sing "Allah" with a guitar and a cowboy hat, he just sings of faith.

I was never really a country music fan, and I never thought I would purchase any country music album. That was until I listened to Kareem Salama. I first heard this talented musician at the entertainment session of the Islamic Society of North America conference a few years in Chicago. I thought he was good, but initially I wasn't really that impressed. In fact, I was basically "forced" to buy his album from a friend of mine who wanted to promote him and his music.

But sometimes we’re put on a path that has a good destination, though we don’t know of it at the time. And so when I put Kareem Salama in my iPod, I became forever hooked ... maybe not on country music, but definitely on this country musician.

Born and raised in the small town of Ponca City, Oklahoma, Kareem Salama is the son of (like me) Egyptian immigrants. A chemical engineer and now lawyer by trade, Kareem Salama's his venture into music was long in the making. Writing on his website, Salama says, "I began writing songs when I was very young, but I became a more serious writer because of my love for classical poetry." His songs culminated in his first album, “Generous Peace,” which came out in 2006 and is currently available on iTunes.

The album is a wonderful collection of songs with deep meaning and messages. A soothing spirituality weaves throughout each song, but there is nothing overtly Islamic in this album either, which is exactly how I like Muslim music. You don’t have to be Muslim to listen to this. Kareem Salama doesn't sing "Allah" with a guitar and a cowboy hat.

But I can feel Allah throughout his music. One of my favorites on this album is "Land Called Paradise," in which Salama sings about going to the "Valley of the King." The music video to that song is extremely touching, and it won the Grand Prize in the 2007 One Nation/Link TV film contest. My absolute favorite song, however, is "Lady Mary," where Salama sings about the mother of Jesus is such a beautiful way that it almost always brings tears to my eyes.

Salama’s second album, "This Life of Mine," came out in 2007. I recently was blessed to interview Salama, and his answers reveal a deeply reflective singer who puts his all in his music.

Were you always into country music?
Most everyone where I'm from listens to some country music. So to greater or lesser degrees I always enjoyed country music. I love the lyrics and the stories in country music. They are real and reflect what I believe to be good art--art that is inspiring. I’m an Aristotelian in that way. I believe art should serve truth.

Although I can see Islamic thoughts infused in your music, there is nothing overtly Islamic in your songs. Is this intentional?
I would say talking about love is overtly Islamic. It may also be overtly Christian, Jewish, or even overtly human but the fact that the subject matters I discuss are common to all people doesn't make them any less overtly Islamic. If what is meant by “overtly Islamic” is the mentioning of Arabic words and specific religious figures, that kind of music is better left to the great Sufi writers who are far better at writing devotional works for the traveler on the path.

You have an impressive educational resume. Do you intend to do law work in addition to singing?
Yes at some point. I would like to do something in intellectual property (patents, trademarks, copyrights, etc.). That way I can combine my knowledge of engineering, my interest in the arts and my legal degree.

How has the reception been for you as an American Muslim country singer?
I haven't heard anything but positive feedback from the people who have heard it. This being the case regardless of people’s religious or even cultural backgrounds.

Do you write all your own songs?
I write all the lyrics and the melodies and some of the chord progressions. Typically I write with my producer, Aristotle. I give him a rough outline of what I want to do in terms of either melody or chord progression, and he works on the composition.

Where do you see your singing career going from here? Grand Ole Opry? Grammys?
I am not entirely sure. I leave it to God. I am open to whatever direction the winds of decree may take me.

A Muslim recently won a Golden Globe for best musical score for “Slumdog Millionaire,” A.R. Rahman. Will you be the first Muslim Grammy winner?
I wouldn't bet on it but I'm sure in the coming years you'll see more and more American Muslims in the mainstream music industry.

Do you think your music can help combat radicalism among Muslim youth, especially given recent tragic events?
I haven't observed in "radicals" in America. I'm not sure people in other parts of the world that may be "radicals" care to listen to my music. I do hope that my music inspires anyone and everyone and contributes to a growing amount of authentic American art produced by young American Muslims.

Have you thought about performing in the land of your ancestry, Egypt?
I have and have been invited a few times to perform there. I just haven't yet, but I do have it on my "things to do" list.

You have a new album out ... any plans for others?
The most recent album is about a year and a half old. The current plan is to produce a mainstream release that will be marketed and distributed widely, God willing.
...
Kareem Salama is a definite keeper for your iPod, and look for very good things to come from this American Muslim engineer-lawyer-country singer.

Multicultural in our Ears

Entertainment Desk, "10 Questions for A.R. Rahman" - Time - USA
Thursday, March 26, 2009

How do you think your career will change now that you've won two very well-deserved Oscars? Rue Roy, LONDON

I have been getting a lot of offers from Hollywood. A lot of my aspirations — like I wanted to work with an orchestra — are possible now. Collaborations are possible with pop artists and icons and all that stuff.

Do you plan to go West and work outside Bollywood? Jay Bee, TORONTO
I think I partly want to do that, but I don't want to just desert this place and go. It won't be fair on my musicality. I will probably balance out both.

What was the difference between making the music for Slumdog Millionaire and the music for Indian films? Divyam Gupta, LIMA
Each director [has] their own kind of rapport with other artists. When I work with Mani Ratnam, there's one kind of rapport. When I work with Ashutosh Gowariker, it's different. So with [Slumdog Millionaire director] Danny Boyle, automatically a different sense came in. He had his own taste of music and I was very interested in knowing what he liked about my music.

Do you believe in a universal music? Kimberly Choi, SEATTLE
I do, because all of us are, in a way, getting multicultural in our ears. All of us are listening to different kinds of music and the bottom line is most of us love melodies, most of us love grooves. So there is a kind of universality, and when you focus on it you can find it.

As a convert to Islam, do you view your career in a spiritual light? Zainab Sheikh, NEW YORK CITY
I believe that when good vibes come from people, like prayers and love, it changes your destiny and that's what I always felt about my life. [I've had] a lot of goodwill from family and Sufi peers. Getting those two Oscars — I definitely feel that I have to thank all those people.

Some Islamic fundamentalists forbid music. What's your view? Syed Qadeer, LAKE IN THE HILLS, ILL.
I have personally discovered that love and music cleanse your mind and heal you and these are my explanations and reasons to follow music. I can't answer the question of whether it's right or wrong, but I know that whatever I am doing is being loved by people and I do get my prayers answered.

I recently heard the remix of "Jai Ho" featuring the Pussycat Dolls and was surprised that you consented to have that done to such a beautiful song. What motivated it? Mayank Keshaviah, LOS ANGELES
I didn't want [the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack] to die as a film soundtrack. I wanted to extend it to a younger audience, too. We made sure that we told [the Pussycat Dolls] that this was a song about destiny, about love and all that stuff. [It's] about victory, so don't make it obscene. Make it lovable. And I think they did a very good job ... It took almost eight different tries to get it right.

Where do you see yourself fitting into the modern scheme of music? Grant Wilder, HOUSTON
I love to embrace new technology and new ideas. But I think melody plays a very important role in my sensibility in music. Melody and harmony — that never changes. All the classics are always classics.

What do you listen to on your MP3 player? Katie Hires, BETHEL, CONN.
What I listened to yesterday were the ghazal [a Sufi song form] of Mehdi Hassan and then I listened to Tchaikovsky, and then I listened to an Irish artist — I don't know who it was. So it's like three weird things. I was traveling from Bangalore to Chennai.

Is there any way you could beat your Oscar success? Hannah Pederson, PORT ELIZABETH, SOUTH AFRICA
Some people have been nominated 38 times and not won. Some composers 10 times, 11 times. I have been really lucky to have been nominated [in three categories] in the same year and then got two of those. It's really amazing. To beat this record musically? I would love to but [it's more important] to get the spirit back in writing music.

Fertile Ground

Staff Report, "Mysticism has assumed role of popular religion, says Indian scholar" - Daily Times - Lahore, Pakistan
Thursday, March 26, 2009

* Dr Fatima Hussain from Delhi University, India, delivers lecture on ‘The Tradition of Mysticism in Subcontinent’ * PAL chairman calls for introduction of Sufism as a subject

Islamabad: In the present global context, when formal religions are often not only being ridiculed but also viewed as a deterrent to social cohesion, the role of popular religion in the form of mysticism has assumed a new dimension.

Renowned history scholar from Delhi University, India, Dr Fatima Hussain, expressed these views while delivering a lecture on “The Tradition of Mysticism in Subcontinent” arranged by Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL).

She said in today’s strife-torn society, oblivious to rising or plunging GDPs, happiness came as a premium. The overwhelming desire to possess is an indicator of a consumerist culture propelled by the unbridled growth of capitalist enterprise, she said, adding, neo-imperialism has fanned conflict everywhere, forcing people to take up violent means to seek redressal from injustice.

People of different religious, racial and national affiliations view each other with suspicion, she added. She said the current intellectual propensity was to debunk religion on the pretext that it had been a cause of bloodshed throughout history and served to divide, rather than unite people.

“My personal opinion, as a student of comparative religion, is quite different since all religions of the world took birth with a noble intent,” she said, adding, it is only when they became pedantic and were increasingly institutionalised to sanctify political and economic designs considered repressive and hence abominable.

She said many Sufis were highly skeptical of such practices, charging them with not having any essential links with Islam. Sometimes, individuals described themselves as Sufis but not as Muslims, responding to the universality of ecstatic mystical experience and the particularity of Sufi routes to that experience, she added.

She said in the literary and linguistic landscape of South Asia, regional vernaculars flourished in a complex interplay with the language of the ruling elite. In this context too, Sufis played a very important role since they preached in the language of the common collectives, she said. While the religious and political elite talked down to people, the Sufis talked to the people, while imposing the conceptual structures of Islam through the use of popular ideas which were already in existence.

The Sufis teachings of human brotherhood, peaceful coexistence, egalitarianism and service towards humanity, provided fertile ground for bridging the gap between various religious and linguistic communities of South Asia, said Hussain.

She said Sufism and Tasawwuf was an almost impossible task; however for the sake of pedagogic convenience Sufism may be described as devotion to God and love for humanity to achieve the ultimate objective of closeness with God the ecstatic, rapturous and blissful state and finally ‘visal’ then annihilation in God.

Speaking on the occasion, PAL Chairman Fakhar Zaman said poets and writers of Pakistan had waged a great struggle against dictators. He called for revival of Sufi literature, which is essential for promotion of tolerance and peace in the society.

He said PAL would hold the annual urs of all the Sufi saints in all major cities of the country. He also called for introduction of Sufism as a subject in schools and colleges.Prof. Khawaja Masud said Sufism should be promoted in Pakistan.

[Picture: Delhi University, Faculty of ARTS. Visit the University Of Delhi http://www.du.ac.in/index.html].

Living in the Heart

By Bureau Report, "School staff visits shrine of Rahman Baba" - The News International - Karachi, Pakistan
Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Peshawar: Principal and the staff of Peshawar Public School and College, Warsak Road, visited the shrine of Abdur Rahman Baba and paid tribute to the great Sufi poet.

A delegation of teachers, led by Principal Arbab Mohammad Jamil Khan, paid a visit to the tomb of the 17th century Sufi poet the other day and expressed their anguish over desecration of the shrine at the hands of unknown miscreants on February 25.

Speaking on the occasion, he said Rahman Baba was not only a great Sufi poet but also a great social reformer whose refined poetry has helped shape the outlook of Pakhtuns for ages. He added that Baba’s poetry was a perpetual source of inspiration for all segments of the society from old and young, poor and rich, men to women and educated to illiterate.

Jamil Khan appealed to the authorities concerned to give full protection to the shrines throughout the province for, he said, they are our cultural heritage and a symbol of national pride.

“Rahman Baba is considered as the poet of humanism, love, mutual harmony, universalism; he is living in the heart of every Pakhtun; he cannot be ousted from our minds and souls; bombing of his shrine is a great crime committed by those who are bent on causing damage to our cultural and religious symbols. We need to unite for saving our national heritage and country’s pride,” he added.

Later, he laid a floral wreath on Baba’s grave and offered fateha.

[Picture: Facades in Peshawar's Walled City. Photo from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peshawar].

Oscars at Saint’s Feet

By Our Special Correspondent, "Oscars at saint’s feet" - The Telegraph - Calcutta, India
Sunday, March 1st, 2009

Kadapa: A.R. Rahman rushed to place both his Oscars before the tomb of a Sufi saint within hours of his arrival in India from Los Angeles.

The composer arrived at the Ameen Peer Dargah in Kadapa, 405 km [252 miles] southwest of Hyderabad, to pray at the Hazrat Khwaja Syed Shah Ameenullah Malik Urs on its third and last day.

After the special Friday prayers, the tahleel fateha, he told reporters he never missed Urs at the shrine since he had sought spiritual guidance from the Peer throughout his life, on personal and professional matters.

“I believe I was able to win the Oscars only because of the blessings of the Almighty and the Peer of Ameen Peer Dargah.”

Rahman — who wore a white pyjama, red kurta and the traditional white cap — arrived with his mother and brothers. He offered a chaddar and sought the Ameen Peer’s blessing. He knelt down to pray, with his family joining him.

Picture: A.R. Rahman at the dargah

Concerns

By Mark White, "Fears Pakistan Crisis Used For Recruitment" - Sky News - UK
Monday, March 23, 2009

Community leaders are warning that the on-going political turmoil in Pakistan could become a more effective rallying call to extremism than either the conflict in Iraq or Afghanistan.

They fear radical groups could use Pakistan as a means of recruiting disaffected youth because of the close family ties many British Muslims retain with Pakistan.

Haras Rafiq from the Sufi Muslim Council told Sky News that recruiters have played on the idea of a global Muslim brotherhood when using Iraq and Afghanistan to win over impressionable minds.

But he said the difference with Pakistan is that many feel a loyalty to the country that goes beyond religion.

"The lack of understanding among some young people about what is happening in Pakistan but the emotional links that are still there from a family and ethnicity perspective is a key enabler for actually radicalising youngsters that way...

"There's likely to be more pay-back for extremist organisations in terms of their propaganda investment because of these emotional links."

It is a view many who work in youth organisations for the Muslim community seem to agree with.

Mohammed Shafiq from the Ramadhan Foundation said: "It's real. We have family there. My in-laws are living in Pakistan, so there's that sense of connection, not just in terms of the wider religious significance, but in that cultural ethnic origin.

"I think that's what makes the threat more real and why watching the events in Pakistan over the past few months has been very worrying for the British Pakistani Community."

Controversial political groups, such as Hizb ut Tahrir, are now also focusing their campaign efforts on the situation in Pakistan, calling for the establishment of an Islamic state in Pakistan, governed by Sharia Law. This development has left some fearing more radical groups could use the turmoil in Pakistan to target people, because of the unique significance the country has for many British Muslims.

Amjad Malik, a solicitor in Rochdale and an officer of the High Court in Pakistan, says although those with a radical agenda are a minority, their potential influence should not be underestimated.

"The number of people going to training in Pakistan and Afghanistan may be few in numbers but radicalisation of the mind where you have distrust about government, about policies and the way things work is more dangerous."

Last week's reinstatement of Pakistan's judiciary has been seen by many as a significant step towards stability. Yet the growing strength of the Taliban in the country's north west frontier makes it clear Pakistan's future continues to hang in the balance and that will only heighten concerns that a volatile situation there, may lead to a volatile situation on the streets of Britain.

Picture: Supporters of Hizb ut Tahrir Britain on London march in January. Photo: Sky News.

[Visit the Sufi Muslim Council website http://www.sufimuslimcouncil.org/].

Far Closer than we Think

By Sayed Mahmoud, "Lord of the wings" - Al-Ahram Weekly - Cairo, Egypt
19 - 25 March 2009/Issue No. 939

In its second year the "Arab Booker" is going strong

Abu Dhabi: On Monday evening, some four hours before the announcement of the second International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) -- better known as the Arab Booker -- I spoke to the winner of the prize, Egyptian writer Youssef Ziedan at the Beach Rotana Hotel, Abu Dhabi, where the ceremony was to take place.

Ziedan, who directs the Manuscripts Department at the Alexandria Library, has written over 40 books on history, philosophy and, notably, Sufism.

As it appeared to me he was confident of winning the US$60,000 prize, which has achieved a high level of credibility in Arab literary circles. In his interaction with the many writers and critics gathered for the event, he seemed intent on communicating the feeling that he deserved the prize, citing the fact that his novel had one the greatest number of votes on the IPAF web poll, receiving 47 votes as opposed to the 14 given to the next highest contender, Al-Mutarjim Al-Kha'in (The Unfaithful Translator) by the Syrian novelist Fawwaz Haddad.

The four novels remaining on the shortlist -- Palestinian Ibrahim Nasrallah's Zaman Al-Khuyoul Al-Bayda' (Time of the White Horses), Egyptian Mohammad Al-Bisati's Ju ' (Hunger), Iraqi Inaam Kachaji's Al-Hafida Al-Amerikiyya (The American Granddaughter), and Tunisian Al-Habib Al-Salmi's Rawa'ih Marie-Claire (The Scents of Marie- Claire) -- got even fewer votes. (Besides the main prize, each runner up received a US$10,000 award.)

So Ziedan's confidence did not seem unjustified. His critically acclaimed novel Azazeel (Beezlebub, literally "Lord of the things that fly") had achieved remarkable sales figures. What was interesting, rather, was his eagerness to engage with the predominantly younger writers who attacked the novel on its publication with Dar Al Shurouk, defending a work that was clearly important to him.

Ziedan's defence of Beezlebub centred on the critique targeting its topic, which takes fifth-century Christianity in Egypt as its starting point.

Set between Upper Egypt, Alexandria and northern Syria at a particularly turbulent period of Christian history, when the Roman Empire's embrace of the new religion was followed by doctrinal disputes among the fathers of the church, the novel portrays an intense theological world, where believers in the new faith are fighting both among themselves and with the pillars of a pantheism in recess. The topic proved controversial not just from the literary perspective -- with writers like Ibrahim Farghali, with whom Ziedan met in Abu Dhabi -- but also from the perspective of satellite television channels like Dream, which featured, in its popular show 10 PM, attacks on the book by Coptic figures -- both in and outside the Church.

Farghali, who had appreciated Ziedan's first novel Dhil Al-Af'a (The Serpent's Shadow), wrote in the literary supplement of the Beirut-based Al-Nahar that, try as he might, he could not find any connection between the language of the The Serpent's Shadow and that of Beezlebub -- expressing profound disappointment, on many counts, with the second novel.

As far as he was concerned during our talk with Farghali at the Beach Rotana, Ziedan insisted that he had "a multi- layered style" which stressed different registers in different books. He also revealed a profound knowledge of ecclesial history in the process, convincingly justifying his dramatic choices in the book.

The long list of 16 was selected from over 121 novels submitted to the jury, and the shortlist was announced at a press conference in London on 10 December 2008 -- an occasion for interested parties to acquaint themselves with the head of the jury, the Lebanese critic Yumna Al-Eid, and the jury members: the Emirati writer Mohammad Al-Mur, the Jordanian critic Fakhri Saleh, the professor Exeter University professor Rashid Al-Ani, and the German translator of Arabic literature Hartmut Fendrich.

During the Abu Dhabi ceremony Al-Eid read out the jury's statement: "The work of the jury was chracaterised by a remarkable capacity for understanding across different critical perspectives which nonetheless sought depth and objectivity." For his part Jonathan Taylor, head of the IPAF Board of Trustees and founder of the original Booker, expressed his pleasure regarding the success of the initiative and the excitement the prize has generated in the UAE and the world at large. The Emirates Foundation chairman Ahmad Ali Al-Sayigh reaffirmed the organisation's commitment to IPAF, stating, "We have a wide spectrum of literary writings that deserves a larger audience in the Arab countries and the world," and asserting "the importance of the prize as one of the most important means to supporting Arabic creative writing and its translation into the principal world languages."

Notable among the speakers was Man Booker winner Amitav Gosh, who acknowledged the influence of Arabic literature on his work, referring to the late Tayeb Saleh's Season of Migration to the North and his stint in the governorate of Bahaira, Egypt, which produced In An Antique Land, during which he found out about Egyptian writers such as Taha Hussein, Tawfik Al-Hakim and Naguib Mahfouz, whose interest in the family Gosh finds particularly engaging. Gosh commended IPAF and expressed his hope that it would contribute to the global spread of Arabic literature.

But it was an idea expressed by the IPAF executive director, the Lebanese poetess Joumana Haddad, that captured the spirit of the event. Haddad said the prize has become "a critical conscience and a literary reference point" in all matters relating to the modern Arabic novel.

And true enough, no one could guess who would be the winner before Ziedan's name was announced. Impatience was palpable in the hall while the audience watched a documentary on the prize featuring footage of the competitors in their daily lives -- remarkably, they all felt the candidacy had conferred on them unusual recognition -- until, finally, Al-Eid announced the name of the winner, reiterating the idea that "it was no easy choice" since any given novel is open to interpretation.

Among the criteria of choice she mentioned, in this context, was that no associations of name or country should influence the jury's choice. It was this that enabled the jury to choose an Egyptian for the second year running, since last year's winner was Bahaa Taher for his novel Wahah Al-Ghuroub (Sunset Oasis).

Yet news of Ziedan winning the prize was still a surprise, especially among Egyptian writers who would not have suspected that a writer from outside mainstream literary circles -- far better known as the author of books on philosophy and Sufism -- should go away with the booty.

But the jury praised the novel in no uncertain terms: "It covered a long leg of the journey towards modernising classic narrative and the creation, out of heritage, a vital story of much significance for the age during which we live."

Most surprisingly of all, however, it turned out that Ziedan's confidence about winning was no mere bravado. In fact he had already prepared a speech to be read on the occasion, in which he explained that Azazeel, the hero of the book, himself dictated the novel on the dawn of the day it was written. Ziedan expressed his pride, especially in the fact that readers had voted for his novel, which he said indicates that the message of the book was effectively relayed: "That the distances we believe exist between religions are far closer than we think, and that the violence of contending parties is the result of misunderstanding and lack of knowledge of history."

Ziedan reiterated the same idea in the course of the press conference held for him following the ceremony, in which he was joined at the podium by his publisher Ibrahim Al-Mu'allim as well as Al-Eid and Haddad, and which he used as yet another opportunity to defend his book against attack. In the process Ziedan displayed a remarkable capacity for steering the course of the questions with a view to demonstrating his knowledge of the topic.

He indicated, for example, that he slipped Quranic expressions into a text concerned with Christianity on purpose, in order to demonstrate the two religions' close affinity.

In this context he also said that "we cannot have God in more than one text", a reference to the Quran being too strong to emulate, denying that his work at the Library might have influenced his creative work: "The Library arrived into my world and my interest in heritage predates its existence by many years, since I published my first book at the age of 22."

But the most interesting remark made by Ziedan was that no mention of Azazeel or the Devil had been made in Arabic literature since the death of the Sufi poet Al-Hallaj in 922 AD.

His novel, he said, renews the glories of such Arabic writers as Ibn Sina and Ibn Tufail (both wrote versions of Hayy Ibn Yaqdhan, the model for Robinson Crusoe ): "Our culture suffers atrophy and weakness and will not progress so long as it judges its success on the basis of closeness to the West. We must understand our heritage and re-engage with it critically."

It was left to Al-Eid to fend off any lingering doubts concerning "religious sensitivities" the jury's choice might offend.

"The novel is rich, since its author uses classical narrative but brings it into the present. It also raises important questions about time, existence and creed and calls for shunning extremism. The genuine critic must be prepared to pay the price of his choices, seeking knowledge and never thinking of the consequences."

Picture: Two initial folios of the Gospel of Saint John copied by the deacon Yuhanna Mikhayil in 1512 (reproduced from Coptic Icons II, Cairo: Lehnert & Landrock, 1998); and Beezlebub as seen in Collin de Plancy's Dicionnaire Infernal (Paris, 1863; GNU-licensed image).

I Am a Lover

By Sameer Arshad, "Is Sufism a bulwark against radicalism?" - The Times Of India - India
Sunday, March 22, 2009

‘I’m a lover. I deal in love. Sow flowers and make your surroundings a garden. Don't sow thorns, for they’ll prick you. We’re one body, whoever tortures another, wounds himself’

The 17th century Sufi Rehman Baba, one of Pashto’s most widely read poets on either side of the Durand Line, became famous with lines like these.

His emphasis was love. But Rehman Baba’s message is anathema to the Taliban which objected to women visiting his shrine in Peshawar.

Recently, the Taliban bombed the shrine, in a strike at his teachings. As also the growing belief that Sufism is a bulwark against Islamist radicalism.

Can Sufi thought counter Islamism? The first institution to urge the United States to have a dialogue with Muslim groups opposed to extremism was the think-tank RAND Corporation. In a 2007 report titled ‘Building moderate Muslim networks’, it described Sufis as moderate traditionalists “open to change and potential allies against violence’’. It recommended support for Sufism as an “open, intellectual interpretation of Islam”. Later, the suggestion would be backed by Pennsylvania State University professor of humanities Philip Jenkins who said that Sufis, “by all logic should be a critical ally against extremism’’.

In a recently published article, Jenkins wrote, “Sufis are the power that has made Islam the world’s second-largest religion, with perhaps 1.2 billion adherents... Where Islamists rise to power, Sufis are persecuted or driven underground; but where Sufis remain in the ascendant, it is the radical Islamist groups who must fight to survive.”

Writer William Dalrymple agrees in part with Jenkins but says the West “isn’t sophisticated enough in its understanding of Islam to comprehend how important Sufism is as a home-grown resistance movement to radical, political Islam”. He says there is an ongoing war in South Asia between traditional Islam, which is syncretic, plural and generally non-political, and the “imported Wahhabi strains of Islam’’.

Dalrymple adds, “Sufism is a home-grown resistance movement against radicalism, but the question is how or whether one should utilize this. It isn’t something that can be harnessed but it’s definitely part of the equation.’’

But rather than analyze Sufism, some scholars want the West first to introspect. “Let’s not forget that Americans brought extremism to the region to fight the USSR,’’ says Sufi scholar Najamul Hassan Chishti. He says Sufis resent the carpet bombings in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories, just as much as other Muslims and liberal thinkers of any faith. “They believe love and not violence is the solution. Sufis have a role to play as their emphasis on peace isn’t surrender to oppression but the true spirit of Islam.’’

However, many points out those non-Sufi groups, notably the Deobandis, have taken a resolute stand against terrorism in India. Javed Anand, general secretary of Muslims for Secular Democracy and editor of Communalism Combat, says, it is “naïve to see Sufism as an antidote to radicals; (it’s) prompted by the West's search for a quick-fix solution’’.

He adds, “With due respect, it’s the non-Sufis, like the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, who have spearheaded the year-long campaign against terror in the name of Islam.”

[Picture: A sampler volume of the classic Rahman Baba poems. Photo from http://www.rahmanbaba-poetry.com/rahmanbaba.htm/].