Monday, June 30, 2008

Daryâ be Daryâ

MMS/HG, "Rumi bio published in Tehran" - Mehr News - Tehran, Iran
Tuesday, June 24, 2008

“Sea by Sea”, a biography of the great Sufi mystic and Persian poet Molana Jalal ad-Din Rumi, went on sale in Tehran bookstores this week.

The book, which is in Persian, was written by Mohammad Nasseri and published by Sureh-Mehr.

“This book is the first step for becoming familiarized with Rumi,” Nasseri wrote in the preface of the book.

“I have tried to look at Rumi’s life from the beginning to the end very concisely and I also tried to make the readers more sensitive to and interested in Rumi’s character,” he added.

“This work is a drop of the sea of Rumi’s personality,” he noted.

“Manaqib al-Arefin” is one of the sources that was used to write the book. Written by Shams ud-Din Ahmad Aflaki in the 14th century CE, it is the oldest and most reliable biography of Rumi.

Ahmad Sepahsalar’s “The Biography of Rumi”, Ata’ollah Tadayyon’s “Rumi and the Storm of Shams”, and Abdolhossein Zarrinkub’s “Step by Step to a Meeting with God” are some of the other sources.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Urgent: Save Iranian Studies in Italy!

[From the Italian language press]:

L' Asia è teatro di cambiamenti rivoluzionari e i suoi Paesi sono destinati a essere, sempre di più, protagonisti della vita internazionale. Chi avrà rapporti, nei prossimi decenni, con i loro studiosi, i ministeri della Cultura dei loro governi e le loro istituzioni accademiche?

Sergio Romano "VITA E MIRACOLI DELL' ISIAO COME SI UCCIDE UN ENTE UTILE " - Corriere della Sera - Milano, Italia
martedì 24 giugno 2008

Asia is the scene of revolutionary change and its countries are destined to be increasingly protagonists of international life. Who will have relations, in the coming decades, with their scholars, the Ministries of Culture of their governments and their academic institutions?

Sufi News is informed through Professor Ehsan Yarshater, Editor of Encyclopaedia Iranica, that a recent decree passed by the Italian Council of Ministers foresees the possible abolition of the Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente (IsIAO):

"To deprive the Iranian Studies from the services and contributions of this marvelous institution is a severe blow to the promotion of the knowledge of Iran on the international scene.

All supporters of Iranian studies are requested to sign an open letter written to the President of the Italian republic to support the continuation of IsIAO.

Please, by all means add your signature to this letter and encourage your friends and collegues to do so as well".

Click on the title or on this link http://www.giuseppetucci.isiao.it/ to sign the letter (in English) and see how many signatories have signed it until now, and who they are.

Click this link to the Corriere della Sera original article http://tinyurl.com/5kh5hs
Click this link to Encyclopaedia Iranica http://www.iranica.com/newsite/home/index.isc

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Asi Marna Naahi Gour Peya Koi Hor

By Rattan Sharma, "Uzbek and Pakistani artists enthrall Kashmiris" - Meri News - New Delhi, India
Monday, June 23, 2008

The Artists from five countries of the world including Pakistan, Egypt, Uzbekistan, Syria and India enthralled the audience and left them spell bound.

The three day International Sufi Festival concluded at Srinagar with sizzling performances by the artists from Syria, Uzbekistan followed by performance by internationally acclaimed Pakistan’s Ajoka theatre group’s landmark production "Bullah", a famous play depicting the life and the message by Sufi saint Hazrat Baba Bulleh Shah.

The final day cultural extravaganza commenced with the Sufi dance of Uzbek, in which a dozen artists enthralled the audience by presenting ten dance performances showcasing the Sufi tradition popular in central Asia.

The performance was highly appreciated by the audience.

The Uzbek dances come from an Islamic culture and north Indian court dance springs from Hindu roots, these diverse forms interacted and evolved under the Mughal dynasty found by the 16th century emperor, Babur.

For Uzbeks, Babur is a much-admired hero and poet; for Indians, he is remembered as a cruel conqueror. But from either perspective, Babur is recognised as the founder of the Mughal dynasty that blended central Asian Islamic culture with north Indian Hindu traditions.

After the Sufi Dances, a play directed by Madeeha Gohar began. As per the story line, the play starts with the funeral procession of Bulleh Shah, while the chrous is chanting

’Bulleh Shah asi marna naahi,
gour peya koi hor’


(Bulleh Shah, I cannot die.
It’s not me in the grave, it’s someone else).

However, the religious head refuses to grant permission for burial in the Muslim graveyard unless it is established that Bullah died a Muslim.

Qazi narrates the misdeeds of Bulleh in the court room and the story of Bulleh Shah is revealed in a series of flashbacks. The play is narrated by Sona and Chandi who move in and out of the flashback to carry the storyline forward.

The programme was a joint endeavor of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), New Delhi, Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art Culture and Languages in collaboration with Doordarshan Kender Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir tourism department and Jammu and Kashmir information department.

No Dance Whatsoever

By Faheem Aslam, "SASB’s Sufi festival" - Greater Kashmir - Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India
Saturday, June 21, 2008

A “Sufi Dance” performance by a group of girls from Uzbekistan on concluding day of the Sufi festival organized by the SASB drew flak from experts who described it as a “mockery of Sufism.”

The group named SABA gave a number of performances on Saturday evening at the Sher-I-Kashmir International Convention Centre on the banks of Dal Lake here. The band of nearly 15 girls from Uzbekistan danced to the tunes of music.

An authority on Sufism, Professor Muhammad Ishaq Khan, said that the dance by girls or women had no relevance with the real spirit of Sufism.

“Such performances make a mockery of Sufism,” he told Greater Kashmir. Describing the festival as “politics and nothing else”, Prof Khan said: “Such functions have nothing to do with the pristine spirit of Sufism,” he said.

“The dance performance by girls can be taken as a cultural aspect of any nation, but in any case it has nothing to do with Sufism as is being portrayed.” Prof Khan said such performances were aimed at distorting the true message and spirit of Sufism, and deviate the attention of Kashmiris from their real problems including the true spirit of the mystical dimension of Islam.

“They want to dramatize polarity between Shariah and Sufism when Sufism itself is rooted in Qur’an and Sunnah,” Prof Khan, who holds the Sheikh-ul-Alam Chair at Kashmir University, said.

The 3-day festival is being organized jointly by the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, J&K Academy of Art Culture and Languages. Departments like Information, Tourism and Doordarshan are collaborating in its holding.

It is being organized to commemorate 50 years of the establishment of the Cultural Academy.

Prof Khan said the music played in such function was not the “actual” Sufi music. “Sufi music is a divine music,” he said. “It brings the devotee of a particular Sufi more closer to reality, truth and Shariah.

It is in no way related to Sama which was performed in the Chisti Khanqaha’s of the sub-continent during the medieval period. Such things are a later-stage developments and are mere aberrations and distortions.”

Grand Mufti, Mufti Bashir-ud-Din Ahmad, has similar views on the issue. “The true spirit of Sufism is to get closer to Allah and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Dance has no relevance with Sufism. It is an unlawful activity,” he told Greater Kashmir.

“No dance whatsoever is permissible in Islam. People should refrain from participating in such functions.”

The festival was already criticized by cultural activist, who accused the Shrine Board of “poking its nose into cultural affairs of the state.”

To Highlight the Concept of Love

Bureau Report, "Sufi music soothes Kashmir residents" - Sify News - Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Friday, June 20, 2008

A scintillating and heart rendering performance by artists from Kashmir, Delhi and Egypt mesmerised the audience on the first day of three-day sufi festival that started at Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) on the banks of famous Dal lake.

The festival being jointly organised by Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), Indian Council for Cultural Relations and J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages was held last evening in collaboration with the departments of Information, Tourism and Doordarshan.

The ambience of the conference hall with rich spiritual music and dance took the audience into ecstasy and heavenly bliss.

The festival has been organised to commemorate the 50 years of the establishment of J&K Cultural Academy and to bring home the message that Kashmir, which over the ages has symbolised peace, mutual harmony and togetherness still has the image of being an abode of rishis, sufis and munis.

Governor Lt Gen (Retd) S K Sinha, while highlighting the importance of music in our daily lives, said it believes in no boundaries and has the capacity to transcend all barriers to reach hearts and souls.

He said the Amarnath yatra is a unique symbol of Kashmir's rich pluralistic ethos, through which the message of togetherness and peace spreads all along.

The governor said the artists of the Central Asia are also participating in the 3-day musical bonanza this year, while the artists of Pakistan have been performing since the inception of this event four years ago.

Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in his address said the main motive for organising such festivals was to highlight the concept of love, peace and patience which was the intrinsic essence of Sufism.

Azad, while referring to various dynasties who ruled Kashmir over the ages, said the culture of Kashmir has always remained synonymous with mutual brotherhood and tolerance.

President of Indian Council for Cultural Relations Dr Karan Singh while explaining the job of ICCR said that about 50 years ago, it was established to promote cultural ties between the neighbouring countries.

Expressing satisfaction over the substantial improvement in the situation of the state, Singh hoped that the day is not too far when Kashmir would again be a paradise.

The programmes presented in the festival included sterling performances by M Yaqoob Sheikh and Radhika Chopra who presented Kashmiri Sufiana Mouseeqi and Sufi Kalam respectively.

Later a Sufi (Darvesh) Folk and Dance Performance was presented by an Egyptian troupe which elevated the audience to spiritual ecstasy.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Friends, Get a Ticket to Ajmer

By Syed Salman Chishty - Chisthi Hijazi - Ajmer, India
Friday, June 27, 2008

Urs Information: 796th Urs Mubarak of Khwaja Gharib Nawaz (R.A), 5th July 2008

I am glad to inform you that the 796th Urs (Death Anniversary) of Huzoor Khwaja Gharib Nawaz (ra) Aulia Allah will be held from the 1st to the 6th of Razab, corresponding to the 5th to the 13st of July 2008, depending upon the visibility of the Moon.

Timetable of Urs Sharif:
30th June, Flag Ceremony
5th July, Urs begins (Jannati darwaza opens)
11th July, Namaz-e-Juma
10th July, Chati Sharif (Annual Fateha, Jannati darwaza will be closed).
13th July, Qul Day.

Often while walking around the blessed lanes of Ajmer i hear a beautiful lyrical which translate as

“The clouds of mercy have spread out ecstatically
For spring has arrived in the garden of Chisht.

Friends, get a ticket to Ajmer
For Khwajah’s festival has arrived.

The soul acquires peace in Ajmer
Life smiles in Ajmer...
A treasure of mercies lies in Ajmer.

Khawaja’s tale took place in Ajmer...
Why do you hesitate ?

Pay heed to what I say
Once this opportunity slips away it will not return
Friends, get a ticket to Ajmer.”

Click on the title for full informations and assistance in Ajmer, India.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

And the Prizewinner is Mr. Gülen

[From the French language press]:
Qui sont les cent intellectuels les plus influents? Trois ans après un premier vote de ses lecteurs qui avait couronné l'Américain Noam Chomski, surprise! C'est un imam, prédicateur et écrivain turc, Fethullah Gülen, qui remporte la palme.

Bureau Culture, "Les intellectuels musulmans désignés comme les plus influents" - Courrier International - Paris, France - mardi 24 juin 2008

Who are the hundred most influential intellectuals? Three years after the first vote from his readers who crowned the American linguist Noam Chomsky, the british monthly Prospect and the american magazine Foreign Policy publish their new list.

Surprise! it is an imam, preacher and turkish writer, a man near to the Justice and Development Parti AKP, the sufi thinker Fethullah Gülen who is the prizewinner.

He is followed by nine other thinkers of the muslim world: Nobel Prize for peace winners Muhammad Yunus (second) and Shirin Ebadi (tenth), Nobel Prize winner for literature Orhan Pamuk (fourth), as well as Tariq Ramadan (eighth) and the islamist preacher Youssef Al-Qaradaoui (third).

Read a report from the Guardian, where Robert Tait, their journalist in Istanbul, comments on this Islamic scholar voted world's N° 1 thinker, and watch the video about Fetullah Gülen's network of schools at this link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/23/turkey.islam

The hundred most influential intellectuals: the results http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=10261

[Fethullah Gülen organization's websites:
http://en.fgulen.com/
http://guleninstitute.org/ ].

Fill Your Heart with Something Else

By Mark Silver "Why Vacations Just Don't Work" - The Huffington Post - NY, NY, USA
Thursday, June 19, 2008

When you're exhausted from working, overwhelmed and burnt-out, little visions come visiting. Visions of distant beaches, cabin hide-aways, foreign adventures. Especially now that summer has arrived, even here in Oregon where I'm writing, it's easy to start dreaming of that far-away land. Vacation-land.

And so, off you go, on vacation. And, when you come back, by noon on Monday you're as exhausted as you were when you left. Did you take the wrong vacation? Or is there something wrong with vacations?

Vacations only solve one of two problems
If you are crispy from working in your business, then you probably have two problems going on.

The first problem: physical and mental fatigue. You've probably worked long hours, doing too much, just plumb worn out.

For this, you need rest. Sitting around, doing nothing, taking naps, lounging. It's scary to contemplate when your to-do list is screaming at you, but it's absolutely necessary.
What does resting do? Resting empties you out. When you're exhausted, it feels as if you are empty, but the truth is you're full.

You may be empty of juice, but that's because you've been doing so much that your being has become full of all the doing-ness. Rest isn't recharging your batteries -- it's dumping out all the stuff you've been piling in there, like to-do lists, worries and responsibilities, and unresolved commitments.

But, when you come back from vacation, it's all waiting for you as soon as you enter your office. It only takes a few hours before you've filled your heart with the same lists, worries, and commitments.

Suddenly, you're full again. And... exhausted to be carrying it all, even though you've been back from vacation for exactly 180 minutes. Because you haven't handled the second problem.

The second problem: Lack of Connection
What keeps you from getting filled up again? By being full already.

Nature loves a vacuum, and fills it up. To avoid filling it up with all the stuff waiting for you in the office, you need to fill your heart with something else. With Connection.

Your heart's connection to Source has been blocked by all that stuff. If you fill yourself up with spiritual practices, then all that stuff can come pounding at you, but the door is already closed. "Sorry, you'll have to take the next elevator."

Ahhh... finally, true peace. Even though you're hundreds of miles from the beach.

Live in your heart's world, not your stuff's world
In Sufism, the word for heart is 'qalb' which means 'to turn.' This is because the spiritual heart is always turning between the world of Source and the material world.

Your job isn't to get everything done in the material world so you can finally rest. Your job is to keep your heart turned towards Source as much as possible.
This keeps you living in your heart's world, not in your stuff's world.

But does that mean I don't get any work done?
Sure you'll get work done. In fact, you'll get more of the right work done, and less of the wrong work done. Because you won't be digging yourself out of a hole, instead you'll have a clear perspective.

So how do you access this magical happy heart space that protects you from overwhelm? And, does this mean no more vacations? I think you'll want to keep reading:

Keys to Spiritual Retreat
• Is your vacation a running away, or running towards?
Sometimes a vacation is just trying to 'get away from it all.' Other times it's because you want to take an adventure and go somewhere you haven't been before.

If you are just trying to 'get away from it all,' then I'm guessing you are dealing with the two problems I discussed above. Try creating a mini-vacation where you take off two days in a row to do absolutely nothing, even if it's around your house, or a weekend get-away.

This will relieve your exhaustion, and give you a sense spaciousness. Then you can save your funds, and your time, for adventure vacations that really take you somewhere you want to go.

• Take on a fill-you-up spiritual practice.
For what I've been discussing here, I recommend taking on a spiritual practice that connects you and fills your heart. I say this because some spiritual practices are meant to be emptying practices, which are great.

But the filling up, such as the ancient Sufi practice I teach called Remebrance, is critical so that there is no void that can suddenly be filled with stuff.

A key way to tell if your spiritual practice works or not is: does it have a carry-over effect into your worklife? Sometimes folks have spiritual practices where they feel great sitting on the meditation cushion, but as soon as they walk in their office, bam, it's the same as coming back from vacation.

If you haven't already (or even if you have) use the Remembrance Challenge to fill yourself up.
And that's just my way. If you have a favorite spiritual practice, meditation resource, or something else that keeps you connected in the workplace, I invite you to share it in the comments below.

• Take a spiritual retreat.
There are places where you can go and be guided by spiritual teachers, who will have you spending your days in spiritual practices. The carry-over effects of these kinds of retreats are amazing, and I recommend them highly.

Keys to look for? You'll want a retreat center that has teachers available for daily check-ins, to guide you through the internal terrain of your heart. Spiritual practices can bring up a lot of old emotions, like doing a spring cleaning of your basement.

I don't recommend cleaning out either your basement, or your heart, on your own.
If you don't have your own spiritual retreat resources, here's one from my Sufi lineage, called The Farm of Peace*.

And, again, that's just what I know. If you have a favorite spiritual retreat resource, where there's real help and guidance available, where you come home nourished and changed, please post it in the comments below.

You can come back from vacation without feeling exhausted immediately if you take the risk to remedy your depletion with down time and your missing heart connection with a spiritual practice. And you might be surprised to find that with down time and spiritual connection, even your work can begin to feel like a vacation.

So, what are your favorite spiritual resources that help you stay connected at work?


[Visit the Author's Website http://www.heartofbusiness.com/]

*[Visit the Farm of Peace Website http://www.suficentereast.org/id2.html].

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Garden of Musalla





SB/MNA, "Selection of Hafez poems published in Armenia" - Mehr News - Tehran, Iran
Sunday, June 22, 2008

“Garden of Musalla”, a collection of Hafez poems has recently been published in Armenia.

The collection has been translated into Armenian under the supervision of Iran’s Cultural Office in Armenia.

Published by Iravunk Publications of Armenia, the book contains the lyrics translated by famous Armenian poets such as Avetik Isahakian, and Sylva Kaputikyan.

The Iravunk Publications has previously published poetry by Persian poets Omar Khayyam and Rumi.

[Map of Armenia from http://www.spyur.am/htmfix/armen_e.htm#index_A]

[About the poets-translators, visit the Writer's Union of Armenia: http://www.wua.am/writers/isahakyan_avetik/eng.htm
and
http://www.wua.am/writers/kaputikyan_silva/eng.htm].

African Endeavors

Ljbc, "The Leader met Muslim activists delegation from various parts of Benin" - Libyan Jamahiriya Broadcasting Corporation - Libya
Wednesday, June 18, 2008

The Leader of the Revolution, Leader of the World Islamic People's Leadership [Muammar al-Gaddafi] met at his residence in the Benin capital last night the delegation of Islamic activists namely the chiefs of unions, organizations, principals of institutes and heads of Sufi Tariqas who came from different localities to express to the Leader their appreciation of his African endeavors.

As they came the Muslim activists chanted Allahu Akbar. They expressed their delight to see the Leader whom they longed to see in their midst.

A speaker representing Benin students, graduates of the Islamic Call college lauded the Leader's humanitarian endeavors and his support for Muslims everywhere.

The Leader saluted the Muslim activists expressing his delight to meet them. He said Islam will prevail in spite of opponents.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

The Source of the Source of the Source of Your Own Self

By Orla Swift, "The old whirl" - The News & Observer - Raleigh, NC, USA
Friday, June 20, 2008

Amid modern moves, dancer practices dervish tradition

American Dance Festival is known for its modern dance. But Khadija Marcia Radin abandoned her modern ambitions decades ago, when she got her first glimpse of the centuries-old tradition of the Mevlevi whirling dervish.

Since then, she has traveled the world to learn more about Dervishes and Sufism, which are mystical orders of Islam.

She'll perform a whirling dance titled "Rapture" at American Dance Festival next week. Shows are at 8 p.m. Tuesday [today, June 24th] and 2 and 8 p.m. Wednesday [June 25th] at Duke University's Reynolds Theater.

"Rapture" is set to a poem by the 13th century poet Rumi, whose followers founded the Order of Whirling Dervishes. She shares the bill with France's Compagnie Maguy Marin and Turkey's Aydin Teker and Dancers.

Radin talked about whirling and Sufism in a recent telephone interview.

Getting to the heart of it:
"Everything turns around an axis, right? There's no turning without turning around an axis. So when you start studying whirling, you have a pretty big axis, maybe the size of your whole body and your hands, which are stretched out on the sides. As you refine and refine and refine your turn, that axis gets finer and finer, until the thickness of that axis is the thickness of a hair.

And when you get into center of a hair, then everything you've taken yourself to be is turning around you. And to get into that center requires an enormous amount of concentration, focus and attention.

"So now you're with your mind, pointing to what Rumi would call the source of the source of the source of your own self. And that has theoretically no physical residence, because the finer you get into the center of the center of the center of the hair, everything you've taken yourself to be is turning around you and you are pointing to this place that has no physical residence. And that's the path of true absorption and what the Sufis call Fanaa -- annihilation of the self."

First glimpse:
"The first time I saw it was in 1971, and it was an instantaneous 'My life as I know it is over.' That's how strong it was. ... I was living in an ashram, so I was a serious seeker to begin with.

Then what fascinated me was all the Sufi philosophy and mystical practices that went along with the turning, not just the turning itself.

There was just richness beyond what I had imagined. The more I got into it, the more opened up for me."

On the entwining of whirling and Sufism:
"In the countries where it originates, it would never be separate. Though actually that's not true now in Turkey, because [former president of the Republic of Turkey Mustafa Kemal] Ataturk banned the Sufi practices in 1925 but allowed turning as a folk dance. So people can learn it without the spiritual practices.

But in fact anyone who is really learning it is learning it from a teacher who will teach other things also. It can't be isolated."

On early mysticism:
"I was never a religious person but I was always, I would say, a mystic. The reason I say always is because when I was 4 we moved from a certain house. So what I'm about to tell you had to take place before I moved. I would sit in a quiet place, a very quiet, alone place. And I was keenly aware of the fact that anytime I had a thought, it was preceded by a spark of an idea that then played itself out very quickly in the thought.

"To a 4 year-old, you can't explain that in any kind of sophisticated way. So I played a little game called 'Catch the little man who put the thought in my mind.' ... So here I was going at 4 back to the origin of my own thought, which to a mystic is an important part of mysticism."

On dizziness:
"When I first tried it, I got very dizzy and I thought, 'How can people do this?'" It's a process of tuning inward and finding a stabilizing point within instead of without. ... You completely abandon the idea of holding on to anything outwardly and do it 100 percent inwardly".

Monday, June 23, 2008

A Small Window of Hope

By Bita Milanian, "HOMAY & THE MASTAN GROUP" - Persian Mirror - USA
Thursday, June 19, 2008

Just about nine months ago, A Forbidden Journey was only an idea on life-support by those who truly believed in bringing this cultural event into manifestation.

With all the political tensions between Iran and the U.S., bringing eight men to America for the first time was the most unpromising thing one could ever do.

Having a small window of hope, we stepped into the journey and we are pleased to say that we have succeeded thus far.

We had one goal, which was and still is to revitalize Persian music and poetry, and bring it before the audience across the globe.

Homay and The Mastan Group are the children of Cyrus the Great, Rumi, Hafez and Khayyam, believing in love, the one and only truth. In their own words they reveal the true essence of Persian, Iranian or Parsi culture, the characteristic that has become an endangered species around the world.

As Iranians living in Los Angeles, we are compelled to save our identity to go extinct, regardless of our geographical location. Therefore, we found this unique opportunity to do our part and be part of a unique group of people to help these vibrant artists to come to Los Angeles and deliver their message. Let's see what the younger generations of Iranian poets and musicians have to say.

Please join us on July 3rd, at the magnificent Walt Disney Concert Hall, at 7:30 PM sharp.

SoCiArts Team
http://www.sociarts.com/ 310-310-1746
Listen to their music at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtYYdZ0lNOc

63,625 Pilgrims

PTI, "Over 63,000 pilgrims visit Shahdra Sharief" - Press Trust Of India - New Delhi, India
Thursday, June 19, 2008

As many as 63,625 pilgrims from within and outside the state visited the sufi shrine of Shahdra Sharief in Rajouri district and paid their obeisance during last month, officials said here today.

Lakhs of devotees from across the country every year throng the shrine of 18th century sufi saint baba Ghulam Shah Badshah, about 27 kms from Rajouri headquarters in the border district, they said.

The management of the shrine has made necessary arrangements for the pilgrims, they said, adding the management would also provide free food and accommodation to the devotees.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

A Garden Whose Fruits We Are Using

MNA, "Sufism has fascinated me the most: Chittick" - Mehr News - Tehran, Iran
Sunday, June 15, 2008

Tehran: “Sufism has fascinated me the most”, said the U.S. Islamologist William Chittick in a ceremony held in his honor at the Iranian Society of Cultural Works and Luminaries (ISCWL) here on Saturday.

Several Iranian scholars attended the ceremony and made short speeches about Chittick and his works.

Chittick was next who delivered a short talk and elaborated on how he became familiar with Sufism, Islamic studies and Persian language.

He later expressed his pleasure over such programs held in his honor and stated, “I did not expect such a warm ceremony. We are not having such events in the United States. I am happy to see my old friends here once again. I love Iran and it is a pity I can not come to Iran more often. Iran is a garden whose fruits we are using.”

He continued, “When I was a student, I did not know which course to continue, but after the various trips I made to Japan and several other countries I began to study history at the American University of Beirut and I encountered the issue of Sufism.

“I later attended the sessions by the philosopher Seyyed Hossein Nasr and found out I don’t know much about Sufism. Here in Tehran I studied Persian literature with masters Badiozzaman Foruzanfar, and Jalaleddin Homaii and became familiar with Iranian and Islamic mysticism and philosophical thoughts,” he went on to say.

He later pointed to his memoirs of how he managed to learn Persian street talks, and then his years of activities in correction of mystic texts (Chittick left Iran before the Islamic Revolution).

Chittick also referred to his good memoirs of staying in Iran where he met his wife professor Sachiko Murata. (Murata is a professor of religion and Asian studies at the State University of New York at Stony Brook where Chittick works.)

He concluded that in the United States not much attention is paid to the professors of courses like Islamic studies and for example the professors of nuclear physics are honored and awarded instead.

Chittick, 65, is currently professor of religious studies at the State University of New York, Stony Brook. He is author of over 20 books on Islam, philosophy, and Persian literature.

Some of his publications include “The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi (1983)”, “The Psalms of Islam (1988)”, “The Self-Disclosure of God: Principles of Ibn al-Arabi’s Cosmology (1998)”, “Sufism: A Short Introduction (2000)”, and “The Heart of Islamic Philosophy: The Quest for Self-Knowledge in the Teachings of Baba Afzal Kashani (2001)”

[Picture: Professor William Chittick delivers speech during a ceremony held to honor him at the Iranian Society of Cultural Works and Luminaries in Tehran on June 14. Photo: Mehr / Sara Sassani].

Positive Contributions

TZ with Wires, "Mercan Dede’s ‘800’ tops European charts for two consecutive months" - Today's Zaman - Istanbul, Turkey
Monday, June 16, 2008

DJ and ney (reed flute) artist Mercan Dede, who has a special flair for merging music from diverse cultures in his compositions, has had another outstanding success in the last two months, with his latest album, "800," topping the World Music Charts Europe (WMCE), a first for a Turkish musician.

The WMCE was founded in May 1991 by 11 radio producers from 11 countries on behalf of the World Music Workshop of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Once a month radio world music specialists from 23 European countries select their individual top 10 favorites out of current world music releases from their playlists and mail them to Berlin. The nominations are processed in a database and the top 10 are then published as the WMCE.

Mercan Dede -- also known as Arkın Ilıcalı -- released the album last year and dedicated it to the 13th century Sufi saint and poet Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi on the 800th anniversary of his birth. It is currently the seventh on the chart, and has been in the top 20 for the last seven months.

Ilıcalı, during a news conference ahead of a gig in his hometown of Bursa last week, said "800" first topped the WMCE in April, adding that the chart was regarded as one of the most prestigious world music charts in the world. "My album '800' was number one in May, as well. This is the first time that an album by a Turkish artist has remained number one for two months. This success does not belong to me in person, but to Turkish music," he said.

Ilıcalı likened his music to what whirling dervishes, or semazens, do during their sema ceremonies: "In sema, one foot of the semazen is placed at the center. Like them, one of my feet is at the center -- our own culture and country -- while my other foot travels around the world. In this way, I promote our culture. The biggest factor in the entry of a Turkish artist in the WMCE is the ability to go between the past and the present and between the traditional and the modern in the quest for attaining universality."

He noted that with every new album, he gets a new chance to address wider audiences. "When I first started my career, only 500 or 600 people would attend my concerts. Now this number has risen to 3,500-4,000. What makes me happy about the interest people have in my music is that people from different groups in society tend to listen to my music. Girls wearing the headscarf as well as young people who like punk can lend an ear to my tunes. Perhaps the unifying power of Sufism and music is best reflected in these projects," he said.

Ilıcalı said music serves to push people to think and question as much as to entertain themselves. "Ney comes as an interesting musical instrument to foreign ears. This leads to an extraordinary process of questioning. During the last eight years, the "Masnavi" has been among the most translated books in North America. The fact that 200,000 or 300,000 copies of the "Masnavi" are being published in the US deserves attention. Though there are always preconceptions in the West toward the East, there is a new quest in the West for understanding the East. I am trying to make positive contributions to this process," he noted.

Regarding his upcoming projects, Ilıcalı stated that he was planning to work with folk singer Sabahat Akkiraz and classical pianist-composer Fazıl Say again in a new project, of which he did not disclose the details. He also plans to compose the soundtrack for a film by Turkish-German film director Fatih Akın. He added that he has some projects for the Turkish Year in France, a series of cultural events to be held in France in 2009.

Six years ago, Ilıcalı began a project of releasing four albums, each representing one of the four elements: fire, water, air and earth. He has released "Nar" (Fire), "Su" (Water) and "Nefes" (Breath). Regarding the finale album in the series, Ilıcalı said the time was not yet ripe for this album and that he has postponed preparations for it.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

A Real Challenge

By Faisal Kamal Pasha, "Lohe Dunddi attracts hikers, devotees alike" - The International News - Pakistan
Monday, June 16, 2008

Islamabad: Among other hiking tracks of the Margalla Hills that modern folks are familiar with, ‘Lohe Dunddi’ is the most ancient track in the region that has been attracting people over the years due to its spiritual importance with regard to Hazrat Barri Imam, the well-known Sufi saint of the area.

The 12 to 13 kilometres vertical outline of this track is a real challenge for an ordinary person to reach the ‘Chilla gah’ [place of retreat] of the Sufi saint that attracts people of all ages even patients and handicapped who feel “relieved out of their miseries after praying there.”

Hazrat Syed Abdul Latif Shah Kazmi commonly known as Hazrat Barri Imam (1617 to 1705), whose shrine is at the foothills of Margalla, used to go there for meditation.

According to the literature available about the Sufi saint, the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir was a disciple of Barri Imam who had built the shrine after the death of the saint.

(...)

When one reaches at the ‘Chilla gah’, it is quite a narrow place to enter. Only a single person with much difficulty could enter the place.

Outside the narrow ‘Chilla gah’ there is a stone that is being described as a chair of Hazrat Barri Imam.

People from across the country visit this place for spiritual elevation. They perceive it an “effective remedy for the redressal of their pains.” A blind woman, Gul Taj Bibi, who came here told ‘The News’ that it gave her immense pleasure reaching here, as she thinks her miseries would be addressed.

A group of youngsters that came from Lahore told ‘The News’ that they came here to visit Murree and eventually made a plan to visit the shrine.

The spiritual places like these always attract devotees and such places are embedded into the cultural traditions of this land of Indus valley civilization.

Haqq Baba

Bureau Report, "Teachings of sufis can restore normalcy: Bilour" - The International News - Pakistan
Sunday, June 15, 2008

Peshawar: NWFP Senior Minister Bashir Bilour Saturday said sincere efforts of the Sufi saints spread Islam in the sub-continent hence they could play a pivotal role in bringing normalcy to the militancy-hit Pakhtun region.

“How regrettable is this that suicide bombings and beheadings are being carried out in the name of Islam,” he said.

Bilour was addressing the launching ceremony of the biography of Pir Sahib Timberpura Shareef Syed Mustan Shah also known as Haqq Baba, authored by a renowned journalist Salahuddin Ahmad.

He said some hidden forces were trying to weaken Pakhtuns by misinterpreting religion and deceiving the simple people. Bilour added that dictators were responsible for plunging the country into crises, saying that a military adventurer turned Afghan war into holy ‘jihad’ although it was a proxy war of the US-led capitalist bloc.

“The law & order situation has deteriorated to the extent that we feel ourselves insecure even sitting here in the press club,” he said.

“By preaching the message of love and peace, which the Sufis used to win the hearts of the non-Muslim Indians, can control this menace,” he added.

On the occasion, prominent Shia scholar Allama Fakhrul Hasan Kararvi said Islam teaches mutual respect to the extent that it extend due deference not only to all sacred religions but it pays reverence to the whole humanity.

Paying tribute to Syed Mustan Shah, lovingly called Haqq Baba, he said that he never talked about any sect but always emphasised on the respect of humanity.

Another religious scholar Prof. Dr. Abdul Ghafoor said that Sufi purifies the inner self and the person having achieved this target would never harm his Muslim brethren.

[Picture: North West Frontier Province Senior Minister, Mr Bashir Ahmad Bilour].

Friday, June 20, 2008

Mystical Expressionism

E Media Wire, "Jamali Featured in Florida International Magazine as One of Its People of Like Mind 2008" - Ferndale, WA, USA
Saturday, June 14, 2008

Jamali, a contemporary artist based out of Winter Park, Florida, was recently featured in Florida International Magazine as one of its People of Like Mind 2008 for his mystical expressionist art.

Jamali, whose artwork focuses on mystical expressionism, was featured as one of the Designing Minds, who are pushing the expectations of artistic methods being used by artists in the Florida and throughout.

Mystical expressionism is a new mode of art-making that combines the scientific insights of our new age with humankind's ancient wisdom. Obeying the dream guide who set him on the path to art, Jamali himself has named his life's work Art & Peace.

The source of Jamali's art and his life lies in the primordial spiritual traditions of the East. In his birthplace Peshawar, the Asian crossroads city, Jamali was influenced by Buddhist, Hindu, and Sufi ideas of the sacredness of being. Jamali is the first to incorporate the paradoxes of quantum mechanics into contemporary art.

Jamali's method of painting is its own unique chapter in the history of contemporary art. He paints out of doors, applying paint in a meditative dance, like the Sufi mystic's swirling prayer to God.

He builds up his intense and complex surfaces over time, allowing the natural elements to interact with the paint and canvas. It often feels as if time and nature, not the artist, had created these deeply etched and layered surfaces.

Jamali's method brings to new fruition what Donald Kuspit calls "the unconscious mystical meaning of modernist surface."

[Visit the Artist Website http://www.jamali.com/].

To Hijabs and Beards

By Maya Jaggi, "Beyond belief" - The Guardian - London, UK
Saturday, June 14, 2008

"Unbelief itself is a religion", says an epigraph to this ambitious and topical debut novel.

The words of the 12th-century Sufi sage Ahmad Yasavi, coupled with a Pascal pensée on the limitations of atheism, open a book that satirises a kind of secular fundamentalism that can, it suggests, be as blinding as dogma.

In early 21st-century Damascus, Sami Traifi, a 31-year-old "failed academic and international layabout" born in Britain to Syrian parents, truffles among ancestral roots for a credible thesis for his stalled doctorate.

Instead he stumbles on a family secret, an uncle broken by 22 years in a Syrian torture jail. Back in London, Sami's marriage to a teacher, Muntaha, crumbles as the astute, educated daughter of a refugee from Saddam's Iraq resolves to wear a hijab.

Trained to despise religion by his late father Mustafa, an Arab nationalist supporter of the crackdown on Syria's Muslim Brotherhood in the 1980s, Sami is already estranged from his mother Nur, whose earlier decision to cover her hair he sees as a betrayal of his dying father's beliefs.

Secular humanism, he fears, was an antiquated daydream shared by many modernising Arabs. "The fort had already fallen. In its rubble a marketplace of religion had set up."

Yet for all his quoting of great poets, the simplistic nature of Sami's understanding is signalled from the outset. Always, for him, "issues returned to hijabs and beards".

(...)

At the novel's heart are a devastating act of betrayal in the name of secularist progress, and the family reconciliation that comes with Sami's dawning realisation that faith is not synonymous with backwardness, nor secularism with humanism.

Muntaha, with her hijab and prayers, proves more humane, not least in her treatment of Sami's bereft mother - and is by far the most compelling character.

Her loving correction of her Islamist kid brother's know-nothing political posturing is among the most touching scenes.

(...)

Robin Yassin-Kassab
The Road From Damascus
350pp, Hamish Hamilton
£16.99

An Academy for Sufi and Folk Songs

BoC Team, "Clapstem Productions signs Hans Raj Hans for two years" - Business of Cinema - Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Saturday, June 14, 2008

Clapstem Productions, a subsidiary of the RSL group, has joined hands with Punjabi Sufi singer Hans Raj Hans for a two-year contract.

As per the contract, Clapstem Productions will be the official production house for organizing all Hans Raj Hans shows/events.

The company will jointly launch the Hans Raj Hans Academy of Music soon. This venture is being seen as an attempt to promote and popularize two of the most traditional forms of music - folk and Sufi - among the youth and veterans alike.

Commenting on the association, the management of Clapstem productions, comprising Onkar Anand, Puneet Singh and Girish Malik said, "We are very delighted to be associated with the famous Padma Shree Hans Raj Hans. Our endeavor to introduce an academy for Sufi and Folk Songs will be a pioneering step in providing the younger generations an opportunity to learn Folk and Sufi music."

Clapstem Production shall produce a movie on the journey of the life of Hans.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

To Encourage Cultural Exchanges

By Rajesh Bhat, "Srinagar set to host Sufi music concert" - Meri News - New Delhi, India
Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Kashmir Valley is all set to witness an international concert of Sufi music and dance, as about 100 artists from Pakistan, Egypt, Uzbekistan, Syria and India are participating in this three-day historic event beginning from June 19.

It will be for the first time that international famed ’qawals’ from Pakistan, Amjad Khan Sabri and Pakistan’s reputed Ajoka Theatre Group are going to perform at Shere-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) convention hall, Srinagar.

The performing of internationally renowned groups of five countries in Kashmir is primarily to encourage cultural exchanges between various nations and ethnicities of the globe.

Since Kashmir has a long history of Sufi tradition, such an event, it is presumed, will go a long way in knowing each others’ culture and tradition, besides wooing tourists from across the globe, spokesman of Jammu ans Kashmir (J&K) Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, Dr Javaid Rah said.

On June 19, the event shall be inaugurated with a sizzling performance of Kashmiri Sofiyana music by Yaqoob Shiekh, the descendent of famous Sofi Gharana of Kashmir, headed by Ghulam Mohammad Qaleenbaf and followed by the performance of Radhika Chopra.

The main attraction of the inaugural day will be Sufi folk and dance performance by the artists from Egypt. On June 20, the concert will begin with the highly acclaimed artist from Mumbai-- Meeta Vashist followed by the Qawalli by Amjad Ali Sabri and a party from Pakistan.

The concluding day will witness three performances by the artistes from Syria and Uzbekistan followed by a famous play, Bulleh to be staged by Ajoka Theatre Group of Pakistan. This play depicts life and message of the Sufi saint Hazrat Baba Bulleh Shah.

The programme will be a joint venture of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), New Delhi, Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board and J&K Academy of Art Culture and Languages.

Politicization of Culture?

By Faheem Aslam, "SASB takes the Sufi route" - Greater Kashmir - Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Saturday, June 14, 2008

The Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) is holding a Sufi Festival in the city this month, drawing flak from cultural activists who term it as the "politicization of culture."

Top sources disclosed to Greater Kashmir that the SASB is holding the 3-day Sufi Festival from June 19-21 at the Sheri-I-Kashmir International Convention Centre. The festival, they said, is being organized in association with a New Delhi based non-governmental organisation-International Council for Cultural Relations-and the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art Culture and Languages.

Sources said the Sufiyana singers from Pakistan and Kazakistan are expected to participate in the festival. More than 30 items are being performed during the three days. A Punjabi drama-Bulley Shah-is among the list of performances. Only one Kashmiri Sufiyama Mousiquee performance is figuring in the list. Imdad and Sabri Brothers are expected to perform.

It has been reliably learnt that the Cultural Academy was under "intense pressure" from SASB authorities for cooperating in holding the function, a charge refuted by the latter. "Yes, we are holding the festival. What's new in that; we have been holding such festivals for the past four years," said Dr Arun Kumar, the SASB's chief executive.

The function, however, is drawing flak from the cultural activists who say the Board was "crossing limits by poking its nose into cultural affairs." "This is sheer politicization of culture," said noted poet Zareef Ahmad Zareef. "Such functions are aimed at playing with the sentiments of Kashmiris. One baffles to understand what authority the SASB has to hold the cultural functions."

A top official in Cultural Academy said the Academy didn't want to be a part of the function. "But the authorities received verbal instructions from the SASB to cooperate in holding the function," the official, wishing anonymity, said.

Besides the ICCR and Cultural Academy, the Tourism department and Doordarshan Kendra are also cooperating in organizing the function, sources added.

Senior citizens say the Board has no right to hold such functions. "It doesn't behoove the shrine board that has been responsible for striking at the roots of the secular character of the shrine by removing its Muslim keepers after handing them some money as a one time settlement.

The Maliks were there among the cave shrine keepers because it was one of their forefathers who had discovered the shrine. Further, the SASB has no right to organize the event like Sufi festival after segregating Hindu Pilgrims from the local Muslim population," asserted a member of Malik clan from Batkote.

SASB had reportedly approached Kashmir University authorities for holding the function in its Convocation Hall. However, the KU authorities turned down the request on the ground that the hall was not available for such function.

Indo-Pak Friendship

PR, "Fakhar Zaman leaves for India" - The Post - Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Tuesday, June 17, 2008

World Punjabi Congress Chairman Fakhar Zaman has left for India to attend a seminar organized by WPC India and 'Forum for Indo-Pak friendship to pay tribute to Ms Bhutto.

In a statement issued to the press, Fakhar Zaman said that Benazir Bhutto Shaheed's birthday would be celebrated in Delhi on June 21.

Ex-Indian Prime Minister I.K. Gujtal, Kuldip Nayyar, Dr. S.S. Noor, MP B. Ramuwalia, Dr. Qamar Rais, Dr. Fatima Hussain, journalist Karan Sawhney, businessman Vikramjeet Saini and representatives of political parties, including Congress, BJP, CPM, CPI and Akalidal, would attend the seminar.

Fakhar Zaman will also chair a meeting to finalize the names of delegates who will attend 'The International Conference on Sufism' from July 18 to 21.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Interest towards Sufism

APP, "Sindh is rich in culture: French CG" - Associated Press of Pakistan - Pakistan
Friday, June 13, 2008

The Consul General of French Consulate-General in Karachi Pierre Seillan has said that Sindh is rich in culture and art but it needed proper promotion and offered cooperation on behalf of the French Consulate for arrangement of an exhibition in Karachi.

He said this during his visit to University of Sindh Jamshoro. He also met Vice- Chancellor of the University Mazhar-ul- Haq Siddiqui on Friday.

The French diplomat during meeting with the Vice Chancellor showed his interest towards Sufism, art and culture of Sindh.

He proposed arrangement of an exhibition of art of Sindh presented by the artists of Sindh University through its Institute of Art and Design.

Sindh University Vice Chancellor Mazhar-ul- Haq Siddiqui expressed thanks and informed the guest about the University’s academic and research programmes as well as enrolment of students at the campus and its affiliated colleges.

He said the University has introduced many reforms in higher education and for fruitful results from research activities.

Siddiqui also informed the French diplomat that for the promotion of archaeology and anthropology the University has recently set up new department and offers 4 year BS degree programme in Anthropology and Archaeology under ongoing academic session.

For Music Education also the University has introduced a Music Education Center at the Institute of Sindhology, Siddiqui informed and added that in the first phase the music center has been offering 4 month certificate course.

The Consul General also visited Benazir Art Gallery at the Institute of Art and Design and Institute of Sindhology.

The guest also visited Center for Rural Development Communication (CRDC) and met its Director Prof. Ibadullah Rashidi.

Prof. Rashidi while briefing the French diplomat about the functions of the CRDC informed that CRDC has introduced diploma in rural development recently and organised many refresher courses and workshops for the rural journalists.

[Picture: University of Sindh, the Library. http://www.usindh.edu.pk/].

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Spiritual Force

Bureau Report, "Call for promoting message of tolerance and love" - Pakistan Daily - Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Lahore: Sufi saints spread Islam in the sub-continent through their teachings of tolerance and love and gave a message of equality and brotherhood besides promotions of religious tolerance and social forbearance.

Punjab Minister for Population Welfare, Ms Neelam Jabbar Chaudhry said this on the eve of Urs Bibi Pak Daman.

She said that besides achieving latest knowledge and advanced technology we should also promote the message of justice, affection and brotherhood of Sufi saints.

She said that due to spiritual force of Sufies, non-Muslim accepted the message of Islam in the subcontinent.

She said that the real Ulema have deep respect throughout the world and we should highlight idea of love, affection and accommodation of Islam for establishment of peace in the world.

She further said that Islam teaches us religious harmony and equality, therefore, we should make hectic efforts for the promotion of mutual love and brotherhood in the society.

[Picture from Bibi Pak Daman on Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibi_Pak_Daman].

Monday, June 16, 2008

For the Common Points

SB/HG MNA, "Chittick looks for common points of world religions: academic" - Mehr News - Tehran, Iran
Wednesday, June 11, 2008

“Chittick looks for the common points of world religions and denominations and does not highlight their differences in his works,” academic Majdeddin Keyvani said during a session reviewing William C. Chittick’s latest book.

The book by prominent American translator and interpreter of Islamic texts William C. Chittick entitled Science of the Cosmos, Science of the Soul: The Pertinence of Islamic Cosmology in the Modern World was discussed during a session at the main branch of Book City in Tehran on June 10.

Chittick, distinguished from other authors and scholars by his vast knowledge of various religions, has produced revolutionary work on Islamic scholars including Rumi and Ibn Arabi, Keyvani noted.

Keyvani, who has translated a number of Chittick’s works, said that the translator knows the author better than others.

The translator recognizes the author’s mental order and proficiency in the subject and also the harmony of form and content of the text during the process of translation, he added.

Chittick introduces Islamic mysticism and philosophy through his sublime, clear, flowing verse, which is free of circumlocution, he added.

In his seven-chapter book, Chittick said that the problems of the modern world could be solved by applying the wisdom of Islamic thinkers and the Quran, Keyvani said.

Chittick had been scheduled to attend the review session but had to cancel his appearance due to certain circumstances.

Born and raised in Connecticut, William C. Chittick obtained a Ph.D. in Persian literature from the University of Tehran in 1974.

He is the author and translator of twenty-five books and one hundred articles on Islamic thought, Sufism, Shiism, and Persian literature.

Chittick also gave a lecture in Tehran on Wednesday at the Iran Institute of Wisdom and Philosophy.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Secular and Spiritual

By Faiza Saleh Ambah, "Author Looks to the Koran For 99 New Superheroes" - The Washington Post - Washington DC, USA
Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Kuwait City: Naif al-Mutawa was in a London taxi with his sister when she asked when he'd go back to writing children's books.

Mutawa, a Kuwaiti psychologist with two doctorates and an MBA from Columbia, said the question sparked a chain of thoughts: to go back to writing after all that education, it would have to be something big, something with the potential of Pokémon, the Japanese cartoon that was briefly banned by Saudi religious authorities.

God would have been disappointed by that, he thought; God has 99 attributes, or names, including tolerance.

"And then the idea formed in my mind," Mutawa said. "Heroes with the 99 attributes."

He mixed his deep religious faith, business acumen and firsthand experience with other cultures -- his childhood summers were spent at a predominantly Jewish camp in New Hampshire -- to create The 99, a comic-book series about superheroes imbued with the 99 attributes of God. Those traits represent one of Islam's most recognizable concepts.

Mutawa's superheroes are modern, secular and spiritual, moving seamlessly between East and West. They come from 99 countries and are split between males and females.

The heroes include Darr the Afflicter, an American paraplegic named John Wheeler, who manipulates nerve endings to transmit or prevent pain. Noora the Light -- Dana Ibrahim, a university student from the United Arab Emirates -- shows people the light and dark inside themselves. Mumita the Destroyer, a ferocious fighter, is Catarina Barbarosa, a Portuguese bombshell in tight clothes.

They distribute aid to starving Afghan villagers, battle elephant poachers in Africa, fight the evil Rughal and train to increase their powers.

"I wanted to create something that would be a classic, not another made-in-the-fifth-world product," said Mutawa, 37, who has four sons. "It was either going to be Spiderman or nothing."

After returning from London to Kuwait, Mutawa raised $7 million -- some from his old Columbia classmates, the rest from Persian Gulf investors -- and set up the Teshkeel media group in 2004. He hired some of the best people in the industry, including writers and artists who had worked at Marvel and DC Comics. His current writing partner, Stuart Moore, is a writer on the new Iron Man comics.

In November 2006, Mutawa's first comic book hit the newsstands.

Since then, his creation has gained many fans but also faced a rumble of criticism across the Muslim world. Some have disapproved of heroines' makeup and tight clothing. Others view the personification of God's attributes as blasphemous. One Kuwaiti cleric said the series promotes reliance on humans instead of God, counter to the Koran's teachings.

Mutawa acknowledges he did not consult a cleric before creating the series. "We should not allow a very limited number of people to tell us how to practice our religion. An Islam where I can be an active participant is the only Islam I can belong to. I believe in Islam and I also believe in evolution," he said, sitting in his office in a traditional long white robe and headdress.

When it was time to raise a second round of financing in 2007, Mutawa sold 30 percent of Teshkeel to Unicorn Investment Bank, an Islamic bank based in Bahrain. "Now, when people ask me religious questions, I ask them to go to the board of Unicorn," he said, smiling.

Over the past year, he said, he has given dozens of lectures around the world, focused on pushing an Islam at odds with no one. "We shouldn't be fighting globalization," he told a crowd in Indonesia at the launch of the series there last year. "We should be participating in it by putting our own ideas out there."

Mutawa describes The 99 as a modern tale with an ancient Islamic architecture. Ninety-nine gemstones imbued with the wisdom and knowledge of Baghdad's famous Dar al-Hikma library during the 13th century, the golden age of Islam, are scattered around the world, some on Christopher Columbus's ships, after an explosion of the dome in which the stones were embedded. The stones seem to find the people who become the superheroes, whose mystical link to the gems gives them special powers.

Worldwide sales of the comic in English and Arabic, including in the United States, have yet to exceed 30,000 copies a month, including Internet downloads, but Mutawa has been inundated with licensing demands.

An American company wants to brand its halal hot dogs with The 99. He has signed deals with Malaysian, Indonesian, Indian and North African publishing companies.

In his office are pencils, rulers, backpacks, notebooks and folders with The 99 logo, by a Spanish company. A Dubai firm is interested in making action figures. A deal for an animated series by a European company will be announced in July, Mutawa said. Last month, he signed a deal for six theme parks.

This semester, the American University of Kuwait offered a class, "The Superhero in the Arab World," that focused on The 99. As a final project, students created their own comic-book heroes.

When Mutawa recently visited the class, a young student in a black head scarf and makeup told him she was shocked by a scene in which Noora the Light said she was going to go pray to God, even though her hair was not covered.

"Why?" Mutawa asked. "Do you think only people who wear the hijab ask God for help? There isn't just one way to be Muslim. There are at least 99 different ways to be Muslim."

[Read also http://sufinews.blogspot.com/search?q=mutawa].

Saturday, June 14, 2008

The Colours of Creativity

DHNS, "History through fashion" - Deccan Herald - Bangalore, India
Friday, June 13, 2008

Fashion historian and designer Shilpi Choudhury showcased her creation inspired by Ottoman Turks and tribal denim collection

Saturnalia, a fashion show, was hosted in Bangalore recently by fashion historian and designer, Shilpi Choudhury.

The highlight of the event was the Ottoman Turk and Tribal Denim collection. While the former was inspired by the 14th century Ottoman Turks of Greece and Eastern Europe, the latter was a presentation of the contemporary fashion styles of the north-eastern parts of India.

It included American denim, fur headgear and tribal accessories. Besides, there was an element of Sufism and whirling dervish tradition of Muslim mystics of 1273 AD.

Adding the colours of creativity to the event were the Fez caps with Puskul (tassle), Astrakhan (head-dress), Djamadan (straight waist coat), Tchepkan (jacket), Binich (overcoat) and Entari (robe). The collection was showcased by male and female models from the City.

Shilpi Choudhury is a fashion historian who showcases historical garments through fashion shows. Her shows bring to the audience awareness as well as entertainment.

Through her latest ‘tribal-denim’ collection, she has promoted the weaves of the different tribes of Nagaland namely ‘Aao’, ‘Tanghul’, ‘Lotha’, ‘Sema’ and ‘Angami’; neck accessories like ‘Kongsang’, ‘Alik’, ‘Chanchi’ and ‘Chupamaruk’.

Thus, the Naga tribal ensemble has been blended with denim (which originated in America and was very popular with the mine workers). The result of the Naga tribal ensemble and American denim completely changed the creation giving it a new look, which is her signature statement.

The Ottoman Turk collection is a slice from the Turkish history of 14th century A.D. The Turkish ensemble has influenced the apparel all over Europe and Asia.

The Turkish collection was recreated and revolutionised with Indian accessories. The effect was totally an out-of-the-box creation.

The Marriage of Pain and Longing

By Wajahat Ali, "Rumi and Sufism" - CounterPunch - Petrolia, CA, USA
Tuesday, June 10, 2008

An Interview with Seyyed Hossein Nasr on Islam's Spiritual Science in the Modern Age

Rumi, the best selling poet in America today, was a practicing Muslim and a Sufi master who lived nearly eight hundred years ago.

His poetry and lyrical verses exalting his desire for the Divine, as well as describing his ecstatic pain and yearning for his “beloved” continue to inspire lovers to this day.

Due to mass commercialization and weak translations of Rumi’s poetry, Sufism has unfortunately become synonymous with a saccharine, Hallmark card, Deepak Chopra’d simplification of Islam’s most profound spiritual science.

Even within the global Muslim community, significant controversies and acrimonious debates have arisen around the validity of Sufism within the theological framework of the religion. Many, such as Seyyed Hossein Nasr, one of the most prolific and well known Muslim American scholars, argue that Sufism represents the spiritual engine and heart of Islam, which is rooted within the core of its scholastic traditions, and is capable of revitalizing modern day Islam rooted in literalism and political extremism.

In discussing his latest work, “The Garden of Truth: The Vision and Promise of Sufism, Islam’s Mystical Tradition,” we talked about Rumi’s spiritual influence on the modern world, the role of Sufism in Islamic history and tradition, and the critique of Sufism as an antiquated model of esotericism.

ALI: Let’s talk about Rumi. I’m sure you know Coleman Barks [“Translator” of countless Rumi poetry books], correct?

NASR: Yes.

ALI: Even though Coleman Barks and others try to divorce Rumi from his God consciousness, it nonetheless emanates in his poetry. Rumi is the best selling poet in America today. What is it about his work, which is thoroughly rooted in Islam and Islamic sciences, that appeals to mainstream audiences?

NASR: The question I think should be put the other way around. First of all, Jalaluddin Rumi is completely rooted in Islamic teachings of Quran. He was a great scholar, he belonged to a madrassa, and he knew Islamic theology and jurisprudence very well. He knew Persian, Arabic and Turkish, which was coming into Anatolia at that time, very well. He was a remarkable, remarkable scholar, besides being a great saint. He was completely rooted in Islamic tradition. I’m totally opposed to those who try to pull Rumi out of his Islamic foundations by ignoring that element. I have written about this quite a bit and in fact I have a recent book of poetry which is called “Life is a pilgrimage: In conversation with Rumi” in which I translated the first part of his Mathanvi [Rumi’s most beloved work.]

It complements what I said about Rumi being rooted completely in the Sufi Islamic tradition. Now what is it that appeals universally of Rumi to the West today? Several things. First of all, Rumi is one of the great spokesmen for the Quranic instruction teaching that all prophets come from God and God does not create one religion, but many religions. The verse of the Quran that mentions we have created for each of you, for all of you, your own path, your own Sharia [Religious law], so that you will vie for each other in goodness and mindfulness of God. And a very famous Quranic verse: “To every people we have sent a messenger.” And many of the verses of the Quran which represent a universal perspective of Islamic Fiqh [Jurisprudence.] Abraham is called a Muslim, Christ is called Muslim. Now, there were a large number of Muslims throughout history who brought out the meanings of this especially when it was necessary; when Islam met Hinduism in India and in Anatolia for example, and when Islam met Christianity and to an extent Judaism. But Rumi is one of the great masters who brought out this universal teaching.

As of today, one of the greatest problems of humanity is how to live in a multi religious society without losing one’s religion - without relativising everything. Which is why perhaps with the greatest spiritual problem of today, Rumi is a great master who is able to provide a way. Secondly, Rumi is also perhaps the greatest mystical poet who ever lived, one of the greatest poets of the Persian language. He was able to express practically all aspects of the spiritual life and our existential situation in the world today as human beings in beautiful Persian poetry.

Now, Coleman Barks and these other translators who are very famous now, they do not know Persian. They work with a Persian speaker. The translations are not exact. They are not like the translations of Reynald A. Nicholson, who translated the whole of the Mathnavi, a remarkable feat; a few mistakes in it, but really a remarkable feat. These people have adapted the teachings of Rumi often based on the Nicholson translation often with the help of a Persian speaker to a kind of contemporary, American medium of poetry. This is quite an art, although it’s not exact from the point of scholarship, it brings out something of the taste for this combination of truth and beauty that Rumi represents: an expression of the deepest truths of spiritual life in God and beauty.

ALI: Speaking about Rumi and other Sufi poets, much of their poetry comes from a specific desire. There seems to be a fire and longing in their spirit that was ignited by a loss. For Rumi, it was the loss of his spiritual friend and guide Shams Tabris. Why do we see these extreme emotions: one of pain and longing and the other of love, both equally necessary in reaching and understanding the Divine Path? Why the marriage of pain and longing?

NASR: Well, that’s very obvious and let me give you a human example. If you’re just a young man, like you are, and going about your business, you will think of this. Suppose you fall in love with a girl, now suddenly this element of love comes into your life and it disturbs you. The day before you fell in love, you got up in the morning, you said your prayers, you washed yourself, and you went to work and didn’t think of these things. Then suddenly you’ve fallen in love. Once you’ve fallen in love, it’s turned around your whole life. You keep thinking bout this girl all the time instead of thinking about other things. Since the object of love is that particular person, being separated brings about a longing and pain. Love is loss combined with pain; even in the West you have the famous, famous play, which Wagner put into opera, Tristan and Isolde, which brings out the story of these great lovers, where their love leads to death. It’s one of the most famous arias of Western music – The Love-Death Song of Wagner in German – which corresponds exactly on an external plane, because of course Wagner was not a mystic or a Sufi, but it was a medieval story that had this depth in it. The idea that love itself cannot be divorced from the suffering which comes from being separated from the object of love. The story of Layla and Majnoon, in Arabic and Persian and other Islamic languages, always leads them to death. It’s like Romeo and Juliet: intense love. This is a human way for expressing something much more profound that is that love for God.

And the Quran, of course, speaks about this explicitly: “God loves them, and they love Him.” If God did not love us, we could not love him. And Sufis are those who have realized this love. It’s like that second day that I mentioned about a young man, like yourself. The first day he was not in love and went about his business, and the second day suddenly the love came. There are people who realize this love for God in this life. Like falling in love with a beautiful woman, or from a female side, a man. Once this realization takes place, this love brings with it yearning. Yearning is inseparable from love, and since once doesn’t have the object of love immediately, one has not fallen in the embrace of the beloved immediately, they are suffering. That’s how they are related.

ALI; Here’s a criticism that many critics of spirituality ask: If the spiritual seeker must be like a subservient “corpse” in the hand of his “washer”, his spiritual guide, then doesn’t Islam and the spiritual path rob one of their individuality? Isn’t this proof Islam is a machine that requires assimilation and creates mindless automons? How is this a path towards individuality?

NASR: I wish someone could get rid of individuality so easily; one never gets rid of one’s individuality completely. One gets rid of one’s egotism, which is a very different matter. In your room, you can have two paintings on your wall; one that is a Persian miniature and the other which is a Dutch painting by Rembrandt. They are very distinct characters, yet they have their own individual traits, but they are inanimate, they don’t have a will of their own. When one talks about being like a dead corpse in the hands of a spiritual teacher it means being able to surrender one’s will, specially one’s nafs al ammarah, that is a part of our soul which is again a Quranic term, which commands us to evil – we must surrender that. That’s what it means. It doesn’t make you become part of a cog of a machine.

In fact, the machine doesn’t have the consciousness we have, the free will that we have, and to surrender one’s free will, not in every matter but in spiritual matters, to a spiritual teacher is in a sense a lower level of surrendering one’s will to God. Many people have criticized Islam for being just automatic, having no individuality, just surrendering your will to God, but we Muslims know very well that every moment of the day we have to practice the fact that to surrender one’s self to God is an act of free will.

ALI: Muslims look at the world right now, specifically the Muslim “ummah” [community], and they see instability, suffering, authoritarian regimes, oppression and so forth. So, many Muslims ask what will all this fasting, this dhikr [remembrance and invocation of God], this tazkiyat al nafs [Spiritual exercises in purification], and all this Sufi practice help? How do all these spiritual Sufi practices help the Muslims suffering in Palestine, Chechnya or Iraq? People say this is like Muslims who live in a bubble and put their heads in the sand, but in order to help people one must be more political. So, what’s your take on that?

NASR: It’s total nonsense. There are many, many answers to this question. The main answer is that the Islamic world is suffering not only because of external oppression but also because of the loss of its own dignity, of its own heritage, of its own practice of Islam, of its weakening of its own ethics, and many things which are internal to Islam not just external. Now, Sufism has always had the function of purifying Islamic ethics and that fasting and tazkiya is like lighting a lamp. What does a lamp do? The lamp is like a horse that is running but stays put. But by virtue of being a lamp it illuminates the space around it. Therefore, the practice of purifying one’s soul, of living virtuously, has tremendous impacts upon the ethics of the surrounding society.

The Islamic world is not only suffering from the American occupation of Palestine and Iraq, it’s also suffering from the unbelievable corruption in Afghanistan by Afghans themselves and also in Iraq – I’m just giving these 2 examples of countries which are under direct occupation; I do not mean at all to negate the terrible events that led to this or what’s going on with the foreign occupation there. But I’m saying that it is not the only problem and Sufis have always been those that have tried to purify the ethics of Islam and society. And they don’t have their hands cut off from the external action at all. For example, the bazaar in which the Sufis were very strong always dominated economic life in Islamic world. They could give a much more sane and Islamic form of activity when the economic life of Islam moved out of the bazaar to new parts of Islamic cities with modernized Muslims, who took it in another light and it became very, very anti Islamic, and much against many of the most profound practices of Islamic societies.

There is no way throughout Islamic society for Islam as a society, as a civilization, to revive itself without this inner spiritual vitality that came to it. And also militarily, the great movements of resistance against colonial powers in the 18th and 19th century were almost all from Sufis: Imam Shamil in Caucasia, Amir Abd al Qadir in Algeria, The Barelvi family in the modern province of India, today which is Pakistan, and you can go down the line. What is tragic today is that there is a number of Muslims who think that all the solutions are to be found simply by external actions. They don’t have to do anything within themselves. This is a deeply Western idea – modern, Western idea, where you try to improve the world without improving yourself. And this is what the Muslims who talk about others putting their heads in the sand and that “We are doing jihad and we are political” and so forth, they are emulating a very important mistake of modernism.

ALI: Prophet Muhammad’s personality and name are exalted as habiballah, beloved of God, and he who is beloved by Muslims as a criterion model of conduct. His Sunnah [Prophetic etiquette and conduct] yields men like Rumi and leads to acts of selfless charity, but also at the same inspires jihadists and extremists in the modern world. Many people blame this latter type of behavior on the personality of Prophet Muhammad. Let’s talk about this remarkably complex personality, which can produce such varying fruits and results in its followers. You have the Sufis on one hand and the Bin Ladens on the other.

NASR: First of all, The Bin Ladens must not be confused with authentic jihad – it’s quite something else. If you want an example of external jihad, you should cite Amir Abd al Qadir who fought against the French in the 19th century, which was quite something else. But putting that aside, the Prophet, peace be on him, presents all the possibilities of the human state in perfection. Now, a part of that of course is love of God. And the word Habib in Arabic means both lover and beloved. At the heart of it is that he loves God, God loves him. But God designated him to be also the founder of a new world order of a civilization of a society. He was therefore, first of all, a Prophet of course, a beloved and lover of God, a father, an army commander, a judge, a ruler of a community, the King of Medina and later of Arabia, and all of these were combined in him and his destiny, the reason God brought him on earth, was to show how each of the functions which human beings have in life have the perfect form in the prophet.

He sets the model for all of them. He sets the model for being a good statesman. He also sets the model for being a good warrior, for chivalry, of nobility, of all the things which the Quran and Hadith [The recorded collections of the sayings and traditions of the Prophet] says of treating your enemy with dignity and kindness. The Quran explicitly opposes the killing of innocent people and the Prophet was always careful in doing that. If they had to fight a war, he was always on the side of peace as soon as it was possible to make peace because that’s what the Quran says also. He was the exemplar ruler, exemplar father, exemplar warrior, and once you have a family, you have contentions, you have problems, human problems, and it’s the human order. He set the example and model for Muslims for all the different endeavors. He is not only the example of the spiritual life, but he is also an example for our life in this world. Because Islam, in contrast to Christianity and Buddhism, does not have monasticism; spiritual life, social life, they are all integrated and related together in one way or another. And the Prophet represents that in his life.

ALI: Let’s talk about the relationship between a murshid [spiritual master/guide] and his murid [spiritual aspirant/apprentice]; the seeker and the sought; the master and the apprentice. First, why must the spiritual aspirant need to give baya’ [allegiance/oath; giving one’s hand] to a spiritual master?

NASR: In Islam, there is no priesthood and each person stands before God, like in the daily prayers, without an intermediary. That’s in contrast to Christianity, where during the Eucharist, a priest has to officiate and the priest functions as a link – at least in Catholic Christianity - between the laity and God. In Islam this doesn’t exist. However, this is not the same thing as spiritual guidance of what I speak. All Muslims stand before God and they are their own priests. But spiritual guidance needs guidance. It’s like comparing walking on the ground and mountain climbing. Once you learn how to walk, you can walk on the ground by yourself, but if you want to climb Mount Everest, you need a guide.

The fact there is need for a guide in the spiritual traveling that Sufism is involved with does not at all annul what I just said about the lack of necessity of an intermediary of God - as far as religious rights of ordinary practices of religion are concerned. In the field of medicine, if you’re sick you need a doctor. A doctor has already studied how to deal with your ailments, and human beings are imperfect. There any many ailments of the psyche and the soul that need to be treated, and the serious murshid, or spiritual master, is also really a doctor of the soul: a person who can heal the wounds of the soul in the same way as a medical doctor takes care of our physical problems. Why does one need a doctor if God has given us our body and we pray to Him for our help?

That’s on one level, but the need of a doctor when we have a bad stomach is an immediate level and God has provided the possibility. In Islam, we believe that it is God himself who is the ultimate guide – Al Hadi – one of the names of God is Al Hadi, the Guide. But at the same time, God has provided within the Islamic revelation the possibility of spiritual guidance through human beings, because then everyone can have direct access to God. If you want to make a decision in life on what to do, but if you’re trying systematically, through spiritual practice, through meditation, through the invocation of the name of God, to walk closer and closer in this life to Him, you need someone to guide you. And God has made it possible in Islam for this guidance to exist.

ALI: Here comes the criticism, and I don’t want to label the people who would say this, but assume someone says, “Ok, what you say makes sense but where’s the proof in Quran and Sunnah [The Prophetic traditions and etiquette] that allows this? Where did the Prophet Muhammad allow this? When did Prophet Muhammad do this – the giving of the baya’?”

NASR: First of all, in Hudaibiya, the Prophet gave baya’ to his choice followers, laying the foundation of the baya’ of Sufism. This is based directly on the Sunnah of the Prophet. Secondly, the Quran mentions the story of Moses and Khidr [a prophet mentioned in the Quran who guided Moses on a revelatory journey], a famous story, in which Moses represents sort of the external understanding of the religion and Khidr represents the inner spiritual understanding of the religion. Moses went on a journey with Khidr and Khidr said, “I will not accept you unless you stop questioning things,” which from an external point of view seems strange, but inwardly is very meaningful. This is exactly the question of spiritual guidance.

Finally, you have the prototype of spiritual guidance, you have the Prophet, peace be upon him, himself when he goes on the night Miraj, the nocturnal ascent, which is in the Quran and no Muslim can deny it no matter how external and exclusive they are, and there are many of those in the Islamic world today, but they can’t deny the text of the Quran. The Prophet was taken by the order of God to heaven, which is a prototype of all spiritual realization in Islam. But, he had a guide; Gabriel, the angel, was his guide. He took him to heaven. So, anybody who says what is the basis of this – there are many, many sources. This is not at all something without scriptural basis; there is much scriptural basis in Sharia [Islamic Jurisprudence.]

ALI: Many might say what you are describing is a very universal concept of religion and spirituality. Yet in Sufism and Islam, why is Haqiqat [Spiritual Enlightenment; The Ultimate Truth] rooted within Sharia [Islamic Jurisprudence]? Why must the tariqah [Spiritual Path] be Islamic if there are so many different paths to God?

NASR: That’s a very good question. In the same way that we have a body and a soul and a spirit, our soul can’t walk in the street without our body – we would be dead then. Religion is the same way; it has to have a body, it has to have a form, it has to have structure. Without that, the soul cannot be prepared to follow the tariqah. Tariqah [The Spiritual Path] without the Sharia [Islamic Law] is like having a pistachio tree without the shell. Or a walnut, a walnut cannot grow on a tree without having a shell, and the food that you eat is inside the shell. The Shariah has many other functions but also protects the tarqiah; it protects the spiritual path. There is no religion in the world where there is a possibility of spiritual development outside of the context of that religion. This is only a modern invention. For example, Christian mystics were also Christians. They also went to Church and followed Christian laws. Hindu mystics were practicing Hindus; they didn’t kill cows and have steak. They follow the Hindu laws and so on and so forth down the line and Sufism is no exception.

It’s only in the modern world, where there is a hatred of religion, and there are certain sectors of modern society where there is an idea that you can take the spiritual teachings of a religion outside of a religion and practice them; these ideas are brought forward. That appears to be easy. You can say, “Oh, well. I don’t have to bother about not eating pork, and not drinking wine, and all you have to do is read the beautiful poetry of Rumi and talk about wine, women and song. Or something like that.” This kind of attitude. This is the antipode of the other attitude which says Islam is nothing but throwing bombs, it has nothing to do with internal or inward purification.

ALI: Haqiqat, some say, destroyed al-Hallaj [9TH century Persian Sufi mystic executed for alleged heresy] It overtook him to the point where he exceeded Sharia boundaries and proclaimed himself as “The Truth.” So why dabble with something that is so dangerous for a practicing Muslim? Why dabble with this spiritual science?

NASR: You are taking only one case. It’s like saying why drive when there are drunk people on the road everyday. There are millions and millions of Sufis who have existed in Islamic history and have the deepest impact on every aspect of Islamic culture and civilization to philosophy to art to science to social structure to economics who have not met the destiny of al-Hallaj. That has to be understood.

Al-Hallaj has a special destiny. He came at a time when worldliness, the luxury, were inundating the Islamic world. His function was to act as kind of an antithesis to this, and he paid for it with his life, and he was very happy to do so. He smiled as he went to the executioner. That was done because it shook the conscience of the Islamic peoples of that time. But the vast majority, the vast, vast, vast majority of Sufis, they have not met the destiny of al-Hallaj. They have spoken about reaching “the Truth” and there is nothing dangerous about it. Look at Senegal, about 90% of the Muslims in Senegal are Tijani or Qadiri Sufis. Among them, they have very great teachers who have written poems about al-Hallaj, and they have not been killed. In fact, it’s Sufism that brought Islam through all of Senegal, right under our noses the last couple of centuries. And you can go down the same line through Indonesia and Malaysia. How did the Turks become Muslim? They became Muslim through the Sufis. The Arabs never conquered the Turks. There were people in early Islam who were speaking like Hallaj, who spoke about the Truth, about reaching the Truth, about being one with the Truth, and not only they were not killed, but they were great heroes of their own culture, and there is a university in Turkey named after one [Sufi Saint.]

ALI: How did Sufism help spread Islam without the sword using the Chishti and Qadiri Sufi tariqahs in South Asia? Because all we hear is that Islam spread through the sword and only the sword -

NASR: That is absurd. This is all Western propaganda from the Middle Ages which is totally untrue. First of all, 300 years after the rise of Islam there were Zoroastrians in Iran. The Muslim armies never forced people to accept Islam. It was only within Arabia that God ordered the idolaters to have a choice of either embracing Islam or fight against Muslims, because He wanted to remove this terrible idolatry that exited there. But outside Arabia where Islam met Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians and Hindus, they were given a choice by and large. That’s why many Christians and Jewish communities survived in the Muslim world, but gradually many of them embraced Islam for different reasons. First of all, let’s stop talking about the spread by the sword. The Islamic world doesn’t stop in the Arab world or Persia. There is the whole Turkic world, the Central Asian world, South Asian world, Southeast Asian world, and African world.

If you have a billion Muslims, 900 million of them were not brought into Islam by any kind of invasion, but most of them through the Sufis, because human beings are such that they are affected by people of spiritual character. Certainly when they display nobility and hospitality and gentility and love and are not selfish or aggressive, and they are honest. People who were also traders were also men of Sufism, as we see around Java, people who were outwardly trading but were also men of very high spiritual character. Otherwise no trader would be able to convert a person from one religion to another. It was because they were men of spiritual character.

The Qadiri and Chisti Sufi orders in South Asia played an incredible role. Moinuddin Chishti, this incredible master who founded the Chishti order, originally Chisht was in the border of modern day Afghanistan and Pakistan, he was brought to India as a young man. He was a great saint. Openly, Hindus came to him, he would pray for them, he would be kind to them, and he would eat with them. Many of these Hindus realized this man was beyond all the distinctions of caste and social classifications that existed in India. I’m not trying to criticize the caste system that has its own philosophy, but the oppressive aspect of social stratification did not exist for him, so, many Hindus came to him. And they say he brought over 500,000 people to Islam during his life. Same with the Qadiris, some of these were great teachers who did not take a sword and try to fight against the Hindus. They made friends with the Hindus. In fact many Hindu yogis and Sufis met, they became friends, they spoke about the knowledge and love of God; about all the similarities that exist. And then the simplicity of Islam, the fact these people practiced what they preached brought many, many Hindus into Islam. It is very clear, you can see it: without Sufism, Islam would not have spread into two thirds of what we call the Islamic world.

Wajahat Ali is Pakistani Muslim American who is neither a terrorist nor a saint. He is a playwright, essayist, humorist, and Attorney at Law, whose work, “The Domestic Crusaders” is the first major play about Muslim Americans living in a post 9-11 America. His blog is at http://goatmilk.wordpress.com/. He can be reached at wajahatmali@gmail.com

[Picture from The Seyyed Hossein Nasr Foundation http://www.nasrfoundation.org/bios.html].

Monday, June 30, 2008

Daryâ be Daryâ
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MMS/HG, "Rumi bio published in Tehran" - Mehr News - Tehran, Iran
Tuesday, June 24, 2008

“Sea by Sea”, a biography of the great Sufi mystic and Persian poet Molana Jalal ad-Din Rumi, went on sale in Tehran bookstores this week.

The book, which is in Persian, was written by Mohammad Nasseri and published by Sureh-Mehr.

“This book is the first step for becoming familiarized with Rumi,” Nasseri wrote in the preface of the book.

“I have tried to look at Rumi’s life from the beginning to the end very concisely and I also tried to make the readers more sensitive to and interested in Rumi’s character,” he added.

“This work is a drop of the sea of Rumi’s personality,” he noted.

“Manaqib al-Arefin” is one of the sources that was used to write the book. Written by Shams ud-Din Ahmad Aflaki in the 14th century CE, it is the oldest and most reliable biography of Rumi.

Ahmad Sepahsalar’s “The Biography of Rumi”, Ata’ollah Tadayyon’s “Rumi and the Storm of Shams”, and Abdolhossein Zarrinkub’s “Step by Step to a Meeting with God” are some of the other sources.

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Sunday, June 29, 2008

Urgent: Save Iranian Studies in Italy!
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[From the Italian language press]:

L' Asia è teatro di cambiamenti rivoluzionari e i suoi Paesi sono destinati a essere, sempre di più, protagonisti della vita internazionale. Chi avrà rapporti, nei prossimi decenni, con i loro studiosi, i ministeri della Cultura dei loro governi e le loro istituzioni accademiche?

Sergio Romano "VITA E MIRACOLI DELL' ISIAO COME SI UCCIDE UN ENTE UTILE " - Corriere della Sera - Milano, Italia
martedì 24 giugno 2008

Asia is the scene of revolutionary change and its countries are destined to be increasingly protagonists of international life. Who will have relations, in the coming decades, with their scholars, the Ministries of Culture of their governments and their academic institutions?

Sufi News is informed through Professor Ehsan Yarshater, Editor of Encyclopaedia Iranica, that a recent decree passed by the Italian Council of Ministers foresees the possible abolition of the Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente (IsIAO):

"To deprive the Iranian Studies from the services and contributions of this marvelous institution is a severe blow to the promotion of the knowledge of Iran on the international scene.

All supporters of Iranian studies are requested to sign an open letter written to the President of the Italian republic to support the continuation of IsIAO.

Please, by all means add your signature to this letter and encourage your friends and collegues to do so as well".

Click on the title or on this link http://www.giuseppetucci.isiao.it/ to sign the letter (in English) and see how many signatories have signed it until now, and who they are.

Click this link to the Corriere della Sera original article http://tinyurl.com/5kh5hs
Click this link to Encyclopaedia Iranica http://www.iranica.com/newsite/home/index.isc
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Saturday, June 28, 2008

Asi Marna Naahi Gour Peya Koi Hor
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By Rattan Sharma, "Uzbek and Pakistani artists enthrall Kashmiris" - Meri News - New Delhi, India
Monday, June 23, 2008

The Artists from five countries of the world including Pakistan, Egypt, Uzbekistan, Syria and India enthralled the audience and left them spell bound.

The three day International Sufi Festival concluded at Srinagar with sizzling performances by the artists from Syria, Uzbekistan followed by performance by internationally acclaimed Pakistan’s Ajoka theatre group’s landmark production "Bullah", a famous play depicting the life and the message by Sufi saint Hazrat Baba Bulleh Shah.

The final day cultural extravaganza commenced with the Sufi dance of Uzbek, in which a dozen artists enthralled the audience by presenting ten dance performances showcasing the Sufi tradition popular in central Asia.

The performance was highly appreciated by the audience.

The Uzbek dances come from an Islamic culture and north Indian court dance springs from Hindu roots, these diverse forms interacted and evolved under the Mughal dynasty found by the 16th century emperor, Babur.

For Uzbeks, Babur is a much-admired hero and poet; for Indians, he is remembered as a cruel conqueror. But from either perspective, Babur is recognised as the founder of the Mughal dynasty that blended central Asian Islamic culture with north Indian Hindu traditions.

After the Sufi Dances, a play directed by Madeeha Gohar began. As per the story line, the play starts with the funeral procession of Bulleh Shah, while the chrous is chanting

’Bulleh Shah asi marna naahi,
gour peya koi hor’


(Bulleh Shah, I cannot die.
It’s not me in the grave, it’s someone else).

However, the religious head refuses to grant permission for burial in the Muslim graveyard unless it is established that Bullah died a Muslim.

Qazi narrates the misdeeds of Bulleh in the court room and the story of Bulleh Shah is revealed in a series of flashbacks. The play is narrated by Sona and Chandi who move in and out of the flashback to carry the storyline forward.

The programme was a joint endeavor of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), New Delhi, Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art Culture and Languages in collaboration with Doordarshan Kender Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir tourism department and Jammu and Kashmir information department.
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No Dance Whatsoever
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By Faheem Aslam, "SASB’s Sufi festival" - Greater Kashmir - Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India
Saturday, June 21, 2008

A “Sufi Dance” performance by a group of girls from Uzbekistan on concluding day of the Sufi festival organized by the SASB drew flak from experts who described it as a “mockery of Sufism.”

The group named SABA gave a number of performances on Saturday evening at the Sher-I-Kashmir International Convention Centre on the banks of Dal Lake here. The band of nearly 15 girls from Uzbekistan danced to the tunes of music.

An authority on Sufism, Professor Muhammad Ishaq Khan, said that the dance by girls or women had no relevance with the real spirit of Sufism.

“Such performances make a mockery of Sufism,” he told Greater Kashmir. Describing the festival as “politics and nothing else”, Prof Khan said: “Such functions have nothing to do with the pristine spirit of Sufism,” he said.

“The dance performance by girls can be taken as a cultural aspect of any nation, but in any case it has nothing to do with Sufism as is being portrayed.” Prof Khan said such performances were aimed at distorting the true message and spirit of Sufism, and deviate the attention of Kashmiris from their real problems including the true spirit of the mystical dimension of Islam.

“They want to dramatize polarity between Shariah and Sufism when Sufism itself is rooted in Qur’an and Sunnah,” Prof Khan, who holds the Sheikh-ul-Alam Chair at Kashmir University, said.

The 3-day festival is being organized jointly by the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, J&K Academy of Art Culture and Languages. Departments like Information, Tourism and Doordarshan are collaborating in its holding.

It is being organized to commemorate 50 years of the establishment of the Cultural Academy.

Prof Khan said the music played in such function was not the “actual” Sufi music. “Sufi music is a divine music,” he said. “It brings the devotee of a particular Sufi more closer to reality, truth and Shariah.

It is in no way related to Sama which was performed in the Chisti Khanqaha’s of the sub-continent during the medieval period. Such things are a later-stage developments and are mere aberrations and distortions.”

Grand Mufti, Mufti Bashir-ud-Din Ahmad, has similar views on the issue. “The true spirit of Sufism is to get closer to Allah and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Dance has no relevance with Sufism. It is an unlawful activity,” he told Greater Kashmir.

“No dance whatsoever is permissible in Islam. People should refrain from participating in such functions.”

The festival was already criticized by cultural activist, who accused the Shrine Board of “poking its nose into cultural affairs of the state.”
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To Highlight the Concept of Love
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Bureau Report, "Sufi music soothes Kashmir residents" - Sify News - Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Friday, June 20, 2008

A scintillating and heart rendering performance by artists from Kashmir, Delhi and Egypt mesmerised the audience on the first day of three-day sufi festival that started at Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) on the banks of famous Dal lake.

The festival being jointly organised by Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), Indian Council for Cultural Relations and J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages was held last evening in collaboration with the departments of Information, Tourism and Doordarshan.

The ambience of the conference hall with rich spiritual music and dance took the audience into ecstasy and heavenly bliss.

The festival has been organised to commemorate the 50 years of the establishment of J&K Cultural Academy and to bring home the message that Kashmir, which over the ages has symbolised peace, mutual harmony and togetherness still has the image of being an abode of rishis, sufis and munis.

Governor Lt Gen (Retd) S K Sinha, while highlighting the importance of music in our daily lives, said it believes in no boundaries and has the capacity to transcend all barriers to reach hearts and souls.

He said the Amarnath yatra is a unique symbol of Kashmir's rich pluralistic ethos, through which the message of togetherness and peace spreads all along.

The governor said the artists of the Central Asia are also participating in the 3-day musical bonanza this year, while the artists of Pakistan have been performing since the inception of this event four years ago.

Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in his address said the main motive for organising such festivals was to highlight the concept of love, peace and patience which was the intrinsic essence of Sufism.

Azad, while referring to various dynasties who ruled Kashmir over the ages, said the culture of Kashmir has always remained synonymous with mutual brotherhood and tolerance.

President of Indian Council for Cultural Relations Dr Karan Singh while explaining the job of ICCR said that about 50 years ago, it was established to promote cultural ties between the neighbouring countries.

Expressing satisfaction over the substantial improvement in the situation of the state, Singh hoped that the day is not too far when Kashmir would again be a paradise.

The programmes presented in the festival included sterling performances by M Yaqoob Sheikh and Radhika Chopra who presented Kashmiri Sufiana Mouseeqi and Sufi Kalam respectively.

Later a Sufi (Darvesh) Folk and Dance Performance was presented by an Egyptian troupe which elevated the audience to spiritual ecstasy.
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Friday, June 27, 2008

Friends, Get a Ticket to Ajmer
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By Syed Salman Chishty - Chisthi Hijazi - Ajmer, India
Friday, June 27, 2008

Urs Information: 796th Urs Mubarak of Khwaja Gharib Nawaz (R.A), 5th July 2008

I am glad to inform you that the 796th Urs (Death Anniversary) of Huzoor Khwaja Gharib Nawaz (ra) Aulia Allah will be held from the 1st to the 6th of Razab, corresponding to the 5th to the 13st of July 2008, depending upon the visibility of the Moon.

Timetable of Urs Sharif:
30th June, Flag Ceremony
5th July, Urs begins (Jannati darwaza opens)
11th July, Namaz-e-Juma
10th July, Chati Sharif (Annual Fateha, Jannati darwaza will be closed).
13th July, Qul Day.

Often while walking around the blessed lanes of Ajmer i hear a beautiful lyrical which translate as

“The clouds of mercy have spread out ecstatically
For spring has arrived in the garden of Chisht.

Friends, get a ticket to Ajmer
For Khwajah’s festival has arrived.

The soul acquires peace in Ajmer
Life smiles in Ajmer...
A treasure of mercies lies in Ajmer.

Khawaja’s tale took place in Ajmer...
Why do you hesitate ?

Pay heed to what I say
Once this opportunity slips away it will not return
Friends, get a ticket to Ajmer.”

Click on the title for full informations and assistance in Ajmer, India.
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Thursday, June 26, 2008

And the Prizewinner is Mr. Gülen
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[From the French language press]:
Qui sont les cent intellectuels les plus influents? Trois ans après un premier vote de ses lecteurs qui avait couronné l'Américain Noam Chomski, surprise! C'est un imam, prédicateur et écrivain turc, Fethullah Gülen, qui remporte la palme.

Bureau Culture, "Les intellectuels musulmans désignés comme les plus influents" - Courrier International - Paris, France - mardi 24 juin 2008

Who are the hundred most influential intellectuals? Three years after the first vote from his readers who crowned the American linguist Noam Chomsky, the british monthly Prospect and the american magazine Foreign Policy publish their new list.

Surprise! it is an imam, preacher and turkish writer, a man near to the Justice and Development Parti AKP, the sufi thinker Fethullah Gülen who is the prizewinner.

He is followed by nine other thinkers of the muslim world: Nobel Prize for peace winners Muhammad Yunus (second) and Shirin Ebadi (tenth), Nobel Prize winner for literature Orhan Pamuk (fourth), as well as Tariq Ramadan (eighth) and the islamist preacher Youssef Al-Qaradaoui (third).

Read a report from the Guardian, where Robert Tait, their journalist in Istanbul, comments on this Islamic scholar voted world's N° 1 thinker, and watch the video about Fetullah Gülen's network of schools at this link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/23/turkey.islam

The hundred most influential intellectuals: the results http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/article_details.php?id=10261

[Fethullah Gülen organization's websites:
http://en.fgulen.com/
http://guleninstitute.org/ ].

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Fill Your Heart with Something Else
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By Mark Silver "Why Vacations Just Don't Work" - The Huffington Post - NY, NY, USA
Thursday, June 19, 2008

When you're exhausted from working, overwhelmed and burnt-out, little visions come visiting. Visions of distant beaches, cabin hide-aways, foreign adventures. Especially now that summer has arrived, even here in Oregon where I'm writing, it's easy to start dreaming of that far-away land. Vacation-land.

And so, off you go, on vacation. And, when you come back, by noon on Monday you're as exhausted as you were when you left. Did you take the wrong vacation? Or is there something wrong with vacations?

Vacations only solve one of two problems
If you are crispy from working in your business, then you probably have two problems going on.

The first problem: physical and mental fatigue. You've probably worked long hours, doing too much, just plumb worn out.

For this, you need rest. Sitting around, doing nothing, taking naps, lounging. It's scary to contemplate when your to-do list is screaming at you, but it's absolutely necessary.
What does resting do? Resting empties you out. When you're exhausted, it feels as if you are empty, but the truth is you're full.

You may be empty of juice, but that's because you've been doing so much that your being has become full of all the doing-ness. Rest isn't recharging your batteries -- it's dumping out all the stuff you've been piling in there, like to-do lists, worries and responsibilities, and unresolved commitments.

But, when you come back from vacation, it's all waiting for you as soon as you enter your office. It only takes a few hours before you've filled your heart with the same lists, worries, and commitments.

Suddenly, you're full again. And... exhausted to be carrying it all, even though you've been back from vacation for exactly 180 minutes. Because you haven't handled the second problem.

The second problem: Lack of Connection
What keeps you from getting filled up again? By being full already.

Nature loves a vacuum, and fills it up. To avoid filling it up with all the stuff waiting for you in the office, you need to fill your heart with something else. With Connection.

Your heart's connection to Source has been blocked by all that stuff. If you fill yourself up with spiritual practices, then all that stuff can come pounding at you, but the door is already closed. "Sorry, you'll have to take the next elevator."

Ahhh... finally, true peace. Even though you're hundreds of miles from the beach.

Live in your heart's world, not your stuff's world
In Sufism, the word for heart is 'qalb' which means 'to turn.' This is because the spiritual heart is always turning between the world of Source and the material world.

Your job isn't to get everything done in the material world so you can finally rest. Your job is to keep your heart turned towards Source as much as possible.
This keeps you living in your heart's world, not in your stuff's world.

But does that mean I don't get any work done?
Sure you'll get work done. In fact, you'll get more of the right work done, and less of the wrong work done. Because you won't be digging yourself out of a hole, instead you'll have a clear perspective.

So how do you access this magical happy heart space that protects you from overwhelm? And, does this mean no more vacations? I think you'll want to keep reading:

Keys to Spiritual Retreat
• Is your vacation a running away, or running towards?
Sometimes a vacation is just trying to 'get away from it all.' Other times it's because you want to take an adventure and go somewhere you haven't been before.

If you are just trying to 'get away from it all,' then I'm guessing you are dealing with the two problems I discussed above. Try creating a mini-vacation where you take off two days in a row to do absolutely nothing, even if it's around your house, or a weekend get-away.

This will relieve your exhaustion, and give you a sense spaciousness. Then you can save your funds, and your time, for adventure vacations that really take you somewhere you want to go.

• Take on a fill-you-up spiritual practice.
For what I've been discussing here, I recommend taking on a spiritual practice that connects you and fills your heart. I say this because some spiritual practices are meant to be emptying practices, which are great.

But the filling up, such as the ancient Sufi practice I teach called Remebrance, is critical so that there is no void that can suddenly be filled with stuff.

A key way to tell if your spiritual practice works or not is: does it have a carry-over effect into your worklife? Sometimes folks have spiritual practices where they feel great sitting on the meditation cushion, but as soon as they walk in their office, bam, it's the same as coming back from vacation.

If you haven't already (or even if you have) use the Remembrance Challenge to fill yourself up.
And that's just my way. If you have a favorite spiritual practice, meditation resource, or something else that keeps you connected in the workplace, I invite you to share it in the comments below.

• Take a spiritual retreat.
There are places where you can go and be guided by spiritual teachers, who will have you spending your days in spiritual practices. The carry-over effects of these kinds of retreats are amazing, and I recommend them highly.

Keys to look for? You'll want a retreat center that has teachers available for daily check-ins, to guide you through the internal terrain of your heart. Spiritual practices can bring up a lot of old emotions, like doing a spring cleaning of your basement.

I don't recommend cleaning out either your basement, or your heart, on your own.
If you don't have your own spiritual retreat resources, here's one from my Sufi lineage, called The Farm of Peace*.

And, again, that's just what I know. If you have a favorite spiritual retreat resource, where there's real help and guidance available, where you come home nourished and changed, please post it in the comments below.

You can come back from vacation without feeling exhausted immediately if you take the risk to remedy your depletion with down time and your missing heart connection with a spiritual practice. And you might be surprised to find that with down time and spiritual connection, even your work can begin to feel like a vacation.

So, what are your favorite spiritual resources that help you stay connected at work?


[Visit the Author's Website http://www.heartofbusiness.com/]

*[Visit the Farm of Peace Website http://www.suficentereast.org/id2.html].
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Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Garden of Musalla
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SB/MNA, "Selection of Hafez poems published in Armenia" - Mehr News - Tehran, Iran
Sunday, June 22, 2008

“Garden of Musalla”, a collection of Hafez poems has recently been published in Armenia.

The collection has been translated into Armenian under the supervision of Iran’s Cultural Office in Armenia.

Published by Iravunk Publications of Armenia, the book contains the lyrics translated by famous Armenian poets such as Avetik Isahakian, and Sylva Kaputikyan.

The Iravunk Publications has previously published poetry by Persian poets Omar Khayyam and Rumi.

[Map of Armenia from http://www.spyur.am/htmfix/armen_e.htm#index_A]

[About the poets-translators, visit the Writer's Union of Armenia: http://www.wua.am/writers/isahakyan_avetik/eng.htm
and
http://www.wua.am/writers/kaputikyan_silva/eng.htm].
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African Endeavors
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Ljbc, "The Leader met Muslim activists delegation from various parts of Benin" - Libyan Jamahiriya Broadcasting Corporation - Libya
Wednesday, June 18, 2008

The Leader of the Revolution, Leader of the World Islamic People's Leadership [Muammar al-Gaddafi] met at his residence in the Benin capital last night the delegation of Islamic activists namely the chiefs of unions, organizations, principals of institutes and heads of Sufi Tariqas who came from different localities to express to the Leader their appreciation of his African endeavors.

As they came the Muslim activists chanted Allahu Akbar. They expressed their delight to see the Leader whom they longed to see in their midst.

A speaker representing Benin students, graduates of the Islamic Call college lauded the Leader's humanitarian endeavors and his support for Muslims everywhere.

The Leader saluted the Muslim activists expressing his delight to meet them. He said Islam will prevail in spite of opponents.
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Tuesday, June 24, 2008

The Source of the Source of the Source of Your Own Self
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By Orla Swift, "The old whirl" - The News & Observer - Raleigh, NC, USA
Friday, June 20, 2008

Amid modern moves, dancer practices dervish tradition

American Dance Festival is known for its modern dance. But Khadija Marcia Radin abandoned her modern ambitions decades ago, when she got her first glimpse of the centuries-old tradition of the Mevlevi whirling dervish.

Since then, she has traveled the world to learn more about Dervishes and Sufism, which are mystical orders of Islam.

She'll perform a whirling dance titled "Rapture" at American Dance Festival next week. Shows are at 8 p.m. Tuesday [today, June 24th] and 2 and 8 p.m. Wednesday [June 25th] at Duke University's Reynolds Theater.

"Rapture" is set to a poem by the 13th century poet Rumi, whose followers founded the Order of Whirling Dervishes. She shares the bill with France's Compagnie Maguy Marin and Turkey's Aydin Teker and Dancers.

Radin talked about whirling and Sufism in a recent telephone interview.

Getting to the heart of it:
"Everything turns around an axis, right? There's no turning without turning around an axis. So when you start studying whirling, you have a pretty big axis, maybe the size of your whole body and your hands, which are stretched out on the sides. As you refine and refine and refine your turn, that axis gets finer and finer, until the thickness of that axis is the thickness of a hair.

And when you get into center of a hair, then everything you've taken yourself to be is turning around you. And to get into that center requires an enormous amount of concentration, focus and attention.

"So now you're with your mind, pointing to what Rumi would call the source of the source of the source of your own self. And that has theoretically no physical residence, because the finer you get into the center of the center of the center of the hair, everything you've taken yourself to be is turning around you and you are pointing to this place that has no physical residence. And that's the path of true absorption and what the Sufis call Fanaa -- annihilation of the self."

First glimpse:
"The first time I saw it was in 1971, and it was an instantaneous 'My life as I know it is over.' That's how strong it was. ... I was living in an ashram, so I was a serious seeker to begin with.

Then what fascinated me was all the Sufi philosophy and mystical practices that went along with the turning, not just the turning itself.

There was just richness beyond what I had imagined. The more I got into it, the more opened up for me."

On the entwining of whirling and Sufism:
"In the countries where it originates, it would never be separate. Though actually that's not true now in Turkey, because [former president of the Republic of Turkey Mustafa Kemal] Ataturk banned the Sufi practices in 1925 but allowed turning as a folk dance. So people can learn it without the spiritual practices.

But in fact anyone who is really learning it is learning it from a teacher who will teach other things also. It can't be isolated."

On early mysticism:
"I was never a religious person but I was always, I would say, a mystic. The reason I say always is because when I was 4 we moved from a certain house. So what I'm about to tell you had to take place before I moved. I would sit in a quiet place, a very quiet, alone place. And I was keenly aware of the fact that anytime I had a thought, it was preceded by a spark of an idea that then played itself out very quickly in the thought.

"To a 4 year-old, you can't explain that in any kind of sophisticated way. So I played a little game called 'Catch the little man who put the thought in my mind.' ... So here I was going at 4 back to the origin of my own thought, which to a mystic is an important part of mysticism."

On dizziness:
"When I first tried it, I got very dizzy and I thought, 'How can people do this?'" It's a process of tuning inward and finding a stabilizing point within instead of without. ... You completely abandon the idea of holding on to anything outwardly and do it 100 percent inwardly".
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Monday, June 23, 2008

A Small Window of Hope
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By Bita Milanian, "HOMAY & THE MASTAN GROUP" - Persian Mirror - USA
Thursday, June 19, 2008

Just about nine months ago, A Forbidden Journey was only an idea on life-support by those who truly believed in bringing this cultural event into manifestation.

With all the political tensions between Iran and the U.S., bringing eight men to America for the first time was the most unpromising thing one could ever do.

Having a small window of hope, we stepped into the journey and we are pleased to say that we have succeeded thus far.

We had one goal, which was and still is to revitalize Persian music and poetry, and bring it before the audience across the globe.

Homay and The Mastan Group are the children of Cyrus the Great, Rumi, Hafez and Khayyam, believing in love, the one and only truth. In their own words they reveal the true essence of Persian, Iranian or Parsi culture, the characteristic that has become an endangered species around the world.

As Iranians living in Los Angeles, we are compelled to save our identity to go extinct, regardless of our geographical location. Therefore, we found this unique opportunity to do our part and be part of a unique group of people to help these vibrant artists to come to Los Angeles and deliver their message. Let's see what the younger generations of Iranian poets and musicians have to say.

Please join us on July 3rd, at the magnificent Walt Disney Concert Hall, at 7:30 PM sharp.

SoCiArts Team
http://www.sociarts.com/ 310-310-1746
Listen to their music at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtYYdZ0lNOc
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63,625 Pilgrims
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PTI, "Over 63,000 pilgrims visit Shahdra Sharief" - Press Trust Of India - New Delhi, India
Thursday, June 19, 2008

As many as 63,625 pilgrims from within and outside the state visited the sufi shrine of Shahdra Sharief in Rajouri district and paid their obeisance during last month, officials said here today.

Lakhs of devotees from across the country every year throng the shrine of 18th century sufi saint baba Ghulam Shah Badshah, about 27 kms from Rajouri headquarters in the border district, they said.

The management of the shrine has made necessary arrangements for the pilgrims, they said, adding the management would also provide free food and accommodation to the devotees.
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Sunday, June 22, 2008

A Garden Whose Fruits We Are Using
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MNA, "Sufism has fascinated me the most: Chittick" - Mehr News - Tehran, Iran
Sunday, June 15, 2008

Tehran: “Sufism has fascinated me the most”, said the U.S. Islamologist William Chittick in a ceremony held in his honor at the Iranian Society of Cultural Works and Luminaries (ISCWL) here on Saturday.

Several Iranian scholars attended the ceremony and made short speeches about Chittick and his works.

Chittick was next who delivered a short talk and elaborated on how he became familiar with Sufism, Islamic studies and Persian language.

He later expressed his pleasure over such programs held in his honor and stated, “I did not expect such a warm ceremony. We are not having such events in the United States. I am happy to see my old friends here once again. I love Iran and it is a pity I can not come to Iran more often. Iran is a garden whose fruits we are using.”

He continued, “When I was a student, I did not know which course to continue, but after the various trips I made to Japan and several other countries I began to study history at the American University of Beirut and I encountered the issue of Sufism.

“I later attended the sessions by the philosopher Seyyed Hossein Nasr and found out I don’t know much about Sufism. Here in Tehran I studied Persian literature with masters Badiozzaman Foruzanfar, and Jalaleddin Homaii and became familiar with Iranian and Islamic mysticism and philosophical thoughts,” he went on to say.

He later pointed to his memoirs of how he managed to learn Persian street talks, and then his years of activities in correction of mystic texts (Chittick left Iran before the Islamic Revolution).

Chittick also referred to his good memoirs of staying in Iran where he met his wife professor Sachiko Murata. (Murata is a professor of religion and Asian studies at the State University of New York at Stony Brook where Chittick works.)

He concluded that in the United States not much attention is paid to the professors of courses like Islamic studies and for example the professors of nuclear physics are honored and awarded instead.

Chittick, 65, is currently professor of religious studies at the State University of New York, Stony Brook. He is author of over 20 books on Islam, philosophy, and Persian literature.

Some of his publications include “The Sufi Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi (1983)”, “The Psalms of Islam (1988)”, “The Self-Disclosure of God: Principles of Ibn al-Arabi’s Cosmology (1998)”, “Sufism: A Short Introduction (2000)”, and “The Heart of Islamic Philosophy: The Quest for Self-Knowledge in the Teachings of Baba Afzal Kashani (2001)”

[Picture: Professor William Chittick delivers speech during a ceremony held to honor him at the Iranian Society of Cultural Works and Luminaries in Tehran on June 14. Photo: Mehr / Sara Sassani].
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Positive Contributions
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TZ with Wires, "Mercan Dede’s ‘800’ tops European charts for two consecutive months" - Today's Zaman - Istanbul, Turkey
Monday, June 16, 2008

DJ and ney (reed flute) artist Mercan Dede, who has a special flair for merging music from diverse cultures in his compositions, has had another outstanding success in the last two months, with his latest album, "800," topping the World Music Charts Europe (WMCE), a first for a Turkish musician.

The WMCE was founded in May 1991 by 11 radio producers from 11 countries on behalf of the World Music Workshop of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Once a month radio world music specialists from 23 European countries select their individual top 10 favorites out of current world music releases from their playlists and mail them to Berlin. The nominations are processed in a database and the top 10 are then published as the WMCE.

Mercan Dede -- also known as Arkın Ilıcalı -- released the album last year and dedicated it to the 13th century Sufi saint and poet Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi on the 800th anniversary of his birth. It is currently the seventh on the chart, and has been in the top 20 for the last seven months.

Ilıcalı, during a news conference ahead of a gig in his hometown of Bursa last week, said "800" first topped the WMCE in April, adding that the chart was regarded as one of the most prestigious world music charts in the world. "My album '800' was number one in May, as well. This is the first time that an album by a Turkish artist has remained number one for two months. This success does not belong to me in person, but to Turkish music," he said.

Ilıcalı likened his music to what whirling dervishes, or semazens, do during their sema ceremonies: "In sema, one foot of the semazen is placed at the center. Like them, one of my feet is at the center -- our own culture and country -- while my other foot travels around the world. In this way, I promote our culture. The biggest factor in the entry of a Turkish artist in the WMCE is the ability to go between the past and the present and between the traditional and the modern in the quest for attaining universality."

He noted that with every new album, he gets a new chance to address wider audiences. "When I first started my career, only 500 or 600 people would attend my concerts. Now this number has risen to 3,500-4,000. What makes me happy about the interest people have in my music is that people from different groups in society tend to listen to my music. Girls wearing the headscarf as well as young people who like punk can lend an ear to my tunes. Perhaps the unifying power of Sufism and music is best reflected in these projects," he said.

Ilıcalı said music serves to push people to think and question as much as to entertain themselves. "Ney comes as an interesting musical instrument to foreign ears. This leads to an extraordinary process of questioning. During the last eight years, the "Masnavi" has been among the most translated books in North America. The fact that 200,000 or 300,000 copies of the "Masnavi" are being published in the US deserves attention. Though there are always preconceptions in the West toward the East, there is a new quest in the West for understanding the East. I am trying to make positive contributions to this process," he noted.

Regarding his upcoming projects, Ilıcalı stated that he was planning to work with folk singer Sabahat Akkiraz and classical pianist-composer Fazıl Say again in a new project, of which he did not disclose the details. He also plans to compose the soundtrack for a film by Turkish-German film director Fatih Akın. He added that he has some projects for the Turkish Year in France, a series of cultural events to be held in France in 2009.

Six years ago, Ilıcalı began a project of releasing four albums, each representing one of the four elements: fire, water, air and earth. He has released "Nar" (Fire), "Su" (Water) and "Nefes" (Breath). Regarding the finale album in the series, Ilıcalı said the time was not yet ripe for this album and that he has postponed preparations for it.
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Saturday, June 21, 2008

A Real Challenge
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By Faisal Kamal Pasha, "Lohe Dunddi attracts hikers, devotees alike" - The International News - Pakistan
Monday, June 16, 2008

Islamabad: Among other hiking tracks of the Margalla Hills that modern folks are familiar with, ‘Lohe Dunddi’ is the most ancient track in the region that has been attracting people over the years due to its spiritual importance with regard to Hazrat Barri Imam, the well-known Sufi saint of the area.

The 12 to 13 kilometres vertical outline of this track is a real challenge for an ordinary person to reach the ‘Chilla gah’ [place of retreat] of the Sufi saint that attracts people of all ages even patients and handicapped who feel “relieved out of their miseries after praying there.”

Hazrat Syed Abdul Latif Shah Kazmi commonly known as Hazrat Barri Imam (1617 to 1705), whose shrine is at the foothills of Margalla, used to go there for meditation.

According to the literature available about the Sufi saint, the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir was a disciple of Barri Imam who had built the shrine after the death of the saint.

(...)

When one reaches at the ‘Chilla gah’, it is quite a narrow place to enter. Only a single person with much difficulty could enter the place.

Outside the narrow ‘Chilla gah’ there is a stone that is being described as a chair of Hazrat Barri Imam.

People from across the country visit this place for spiritual elevation. They perceive it an “effective remedy for the redressal of their pains.” A blind woman, Gul Taj Bibi, who came here told ‘The News’ that it gave her immense pleasure reaching here, as she thinks her miseries would be addressed.

A group of youngsters that came from Lahore told ‘The News’ that they came here to visit Murree and eventually made a plan to visit the shrine.

The spiritual places like these always attract devotees and such places are embedded into the cultural traditions of this land of Indus valley civilization.
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Haqq Baba
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Bureau Report, "Teachings of sufis can restore normalcy: Bilour" - The International News - Pakistan
Sunday, June 15, 2008

Peshawar: NWFP Senior Minister Bashir Bilour Saturday said sincere efforts of the Sufi saints spread Islam in the sub-continent hence they could play a pivotal role in bringing normalcy to the militancy-hit Pakhtun region.

“How regrettable is this that suicide bombings and beheadings are being carried out in the name of Islam,” he said.

Bilour was addressing the launching ceremony of the biography of Pir Sahib Timberpura Shareef Syed Mustan Shah also known as Haqq Baba, authored by a renowned journalist Salahuddin Ahmad.

He said some hidden forces were trying to weaken Pakhtuns by misinterpreting religion and deceiving the simple people. Bilour added that dictators were responsible for plunging the country into crises, saying that a military adventurer turned Afghan war into holy ‘jihad’ although it was a proxy war of the US-led capitalist bloc.

“The law & order situation has deteriorated to the extent that we feel ourselves insecure even sitting here in the press club,” he said.

“By preaching the message of love and peace, which the Sufis used to win the hearts of the non-Muslim Indians, can control this menace,” he added.

On the occasion, prominent Shia scholar Allama Fakhrul Hasan Kararvi said Islam teaches mutual respect to the extent that it extend due deference not only to all sacred religions but it pays reverence to the whole humanity.

Paying tribute to Syed Mustan Shah, lovingly called Haqq Baba, he said that he never talked about any sect but always emphasised on the respect of humanity.

Another religious scholar Prof. Dr. Abdul Ghafoor said that Sufi purifies the inner self and the person having achieved this target would never harm his Muslim brethren.

[Picture: North West Frontier Province Senior Minister, Mr Bashir Ahmad Bilour].
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Friday, June 20, 2008

Mystical Expressionism
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E Media Wire, "Jamali Featured in Florida International Magazine as One of Its People of Like Mind 2008" - Ferndale, WA, USA
Saturday, June 14, 2008

Jamali, a contemporary artist based out of Winter Park, Florida, was recently featured in Florida International Magazine as one of its People of Like Mind 2008 for his mystical expressionist art.

Jamali, whose artwork focuses on mystical expressionism, was featured as one of the Designing Minds, who are pushing the expectations of artistic methods being used by artists in the Florida and throughout.

Mystical expressionism is a new mode of art-making that combines the scientific insights of our new age with humankind's ancient wisdom. Obeying the dream guide who set him on the path to art, Jamali himself has named his life's work Art & Peace.

The source of Jamali's art and his life lies in the primordial spiritual traditions of the East. In his birthplace Peshawar, the Asian crossroads city, Jamali was influenced by Buddhist, Hindu, and Sufi ideas of the sacredness of being. Jamali is the first to incorporate the paradoxes of quantum mechanics into contemporary art.

Jamali's method of painting is its own unique chapter in the history of contemporary art. He paints out of doors, applying paint in a meditative dance, like the Sufi mystic's swirling prayer to God.

He builds up his intense and complex surfaces over time, allowing the natural elements to interact with the paint and canvas. It often feels as if time and nature, not the artist, had created these deeply etched and layered surfaces.

Jamali's method brings to new fruition what Donald Kuspit calls "the unconscious mystical meaning of modernist surface."

[Visit the Artist Website http://www.jamali.com/].
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To Hijabs and Beards
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By Maya Jaggi, "Beyond belief" - The Guardian - London, UK
Saturday, June 14, 2008

"Unbelief itself is a religion", says an epigraph to this ambitious and topical debut novel.

The words of the 12th-century Sufi sage Ahmad Yasavi, coupled with a Pascal pensée on the limitations of atheism, open a book that satirises a kind of secular fundamentalism that can, it suggests, be as blinding as dogma.

In early 21st-century Damascus, Sami Traifi, a 31-year-old "failed academic and international layabout" born in Britain to Syrian parents, truffles among ancestral roots for a credible thesis for his stalled doctorate.

Instead he stumbles on a family secret, an uncle broken by 22 years in a Syrian torture jail. Back in London, Sami's marriage to a teacher, Muntaha, crumbles as the astute, educated daughter of a refugee from Saddam's Iraq resolves to wear a hijab.

Trained to despise religion by his late father Mustafa, an Arab nationalist supporter of the crackdown on Syria's Muslim Brotherhood in the 1980s, Sami is already estranged from his mother Nur, whose earlier decision to cover her hair he sees as a betrayal of his dying father's beliefs.

Secular humanism, he fears, was an antiquated daydream shared by many modernising Arabs. "The fort had already fallen. In its rubble a marketplace of religion had set up."

Yet for all his quoting of great poets, the simplistic nature of Sami's understanding is signalled from the outset. Always, for him, "issues returned to hijabs and beards".

(...)

At the novel's heart are a devastating act of betrayal in the name of secularist progress, and the family reconciliation that comes with Sami's dawning realisation that faith is not synonymous with backwardness, nor secularism with humanism.

Muntaha, with her hijab and prayers, proves more humane, not least in her treatment of Sami's bereft mother - and is by far the most compelling character.

Her loving correction of her Islamist kid brother's know-nothing political posturing is among the most touching scenes.

(...)

Robin Yassin-Kassab
The Road From Damascus
350pp, Hamish Hamilton
£16.99
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An Academy for Sufi and Folk Songs
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BoC Team, "Clapstem Productions signs Hans Raj Hans for two years" - Business of Cinema - Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Saturday, June 14, 2008

Clapstem Productions, a subsidiary of the RSL group, has joined hands with Punjabi Sufi singer Hans Raj Hans for a two-year contract.

As per the contract, Clapstem Productions will be the official production house for organizing all Hans Raj Hans shows/events.

The company will jointly launch the Hans Raj Hans Academy of Music soon. This venture is being seen as an attempt to promote and popularize two of the most traditional forms of music - folk and Sufi - among the youth and veterans alike.

Commenting on the association, the management of Clapstem productions, comprising Onkar Anand, Puneet Singh and Girish Malik said, "We are very delighted to be associated with the famous Padma Shree Hans Raj Hans. Our endeavor to introduce an academy for Sufi and Folk Songs will be a pioneering step in providing the younger generations an opportunity to learn Folk and Sufi music."

Clapstem Production shall produce a movie on the journey of the life of Hans.

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Thursday, June 19, 2008

To Encourage Cultural Exchanges
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By Rajesh Bhat, "Srinagar set to host Sufi music concert" - Meri News - New Delhi, India
Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Kashmir Valley is all set to witness an international concert of Sufi music and dance, as about 100 artists from Pakistan, Egypt, Uzbekistan, Syria and India are participating in this three-day historic event beginning from June 19.

It will be for the first time that international famed ’qawals’ from Pakistan, Amjad Khan Sabri and Pakistan’s reputed Ajoka Theatre Group are going to perform at Shere-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) convention hall, Srinagar.

The performing of internationally renowned groups of five countries in Kashmir is primarily to encourage cultural exchanges between various nations and ethnicities of the globe.

Since Kashmir has a long history of Sufi tradition, such an event, it is presumed, will go a long way in knowing each others’ culture and tradition, besides wooing tourists from across the globe, spokesman of Jammu ans Kashmir (J&K) Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, Dr Javaid Rah said.

On June 19, the event shall be inaugurated with a sizzling performance of Kashmiri Sofiyana music by Yaqoob Shiekh, the descendent of famous Sofi Gharana of Kashmir, headed by Ghulam Mohammad Qaleenbaf and followed by the performance of Radhika Chopra.

The main attraction of the inaugural day will be Sufi folk and dance performance by the artists from Egypt. On June 20, the concert will begin with the highly acclaimed artist from Mumbai-- Meeta Vashist followed by the Qawalli by Amjad Ali Sabri and a party from Pakistan.

The concluding day will witness three performances by the artistes from Syria and Uzbekistan followed by a famous play, Bulleh to be staged by Ajoka Theatre Group of Pakistan. This play depicts life and message of the Sufi saint Hazrat Baba Bulleh Shah.

The programme will be a joint venture of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), New Delhi, Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board and J&K Academy of Art Culture and Languages.
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Politicization of Culture?
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By Faheem Aslam, "SASB takes the Sufi route" - Greater Kashmir - Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Saturday, June 14, 2008

The Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) is holding a Sufi Festival in the city this month, drawing flak from cultural activists who term it as the "politicization of culture."

Top sources disclosed to Greater Kashmir that the SASB is holding the 3-day Sufi Festival from June 19-21 at the Sheri-I-Kashmir International Convention Centre. The festival, they said, is being organized in association with a New Delhi based non-governmental organisation-International Council for Cultural Relations-and the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art Culture and Languages.

Sources said the Sufiyana singers from Pakistan and Kazakistan are expected to participate in the festival. More than 30 items are being performed during the three days. A Punjabi drama-Bulley Shah-is among the list of performances. Only one Kashmiri Sufiyama Mousiquee performance is figuring in the list. Imdad and Sabri Brothers are expected to perform.

It has been reliably learnt that the Cultural Academy was under "intense pressure" from SASB authorities for cooperating in holding the function, a charge refuted by the latter. "Yes, we are holding the festival. What's new in that; we have been holding such festivals for the past four years," said Dr Arun Kumar, the SASB's chief executive.

The function, however, is drawing flak from the cultural activists who say the Board was "crossing limits by poking its nose into cultural affairs." "This is sheer politicization of culture," said noted poet Zareef Ahmad Zareef. "Such functions are aimed at playing with the sentiments of Kashmiris. One baffles to understand what authority the SASB has to hold the cultural functions."

A top official in Cultural Academy said the Academy didn't want to be a part of the function. "But the authorities received verbal instructions from the SASB to cooperate in holding the function," the official, wishing anonymity, said.

Besides the ICCR and Cultural Academy, the Tourism department and Doordarshan Kendra are also cooperating in organizing the function, sources added.

Senior citizens say the Board has no right to hold such functions. "It doesn't behoove the shrine board that has been responsible for striking at the roots of the secular character of the shrine by removing its Muslim keepers after handing them some money as a one time settlement.

The Maliks were there among the cave shrine keepers because it was one of their forefathers who had discovered the shrine. Further, the SASB has no right to organize the event like Sufi festival after segregating Hindu Pilgrims from the local Muslim population," asserted a member of Malik clan from Batkote.

SASB had reportedly approached Kashmir University authorities for holding the function in its Convocation Hall. However, the KU authorities turned down the request on the ground that the hall was not available for such function.
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Indo-Pak Friendship
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PR, "Fakhar Zaman leaves for India" - The Post - Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Tuesday, June 17, 2008

World Punjabi Congress Chairman Fakhar Zaman has left for India to attend a seminar organized by WPC India and 'Forum for Indo-Pak friendship to pay tribute to Ms Bhutto.

In a statement issued to the press, Fakhar Zaman said that Benazir Bhutto Shaheed's birthday would be celebrated in Delhi on June 21.

Ex-Indian Prime Minister I.K. Gujtal, Kuldip Nayyar, Dr. S.S. Noor, MP B. Ramuwalia, Dr. Qamar Rais, Dr. Fatima Hussain, journalist Karan Sawhney, businessman Vikramjeet Saini and representatives of political parties, including Congress, BJP, CPM, CPI and Akalidal, would attend the seminar.

Fakhar Zaman will also chair a meeting to finalize the names of delegates who will attend 'The International Conference on Sufism' from July 18 to 21.
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Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Interest towards Sufism
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APP, "Sindh is rich in culture: French CG" - Associated Press of Pakistan - Pakistan
Friday, June 13, 2008

The Consul General of French Consulate-General in Karachi Pierre Seillan has said that Sindh is rich in culture and art but it needed proper promotion and offered cooperation on behalf of the French Consulate for arrangement of an exhibition in Karachi.

He said this during his visit to University of Sindh Jamshoro. He also met Vice- Chancellor of the University Mazhar-ul- Haq Siddiqui on Friday.

The French diplomat during meeting with the Vice Chancellor showed his interest towards Sufism, art and culture of Sindh.

He proposed arrangement of an exhibition of art of Sindh presented by the artists of Sindh University through its Institute of Art and Design.

Sindh University Vice Chancellor Mazhar-ul- Haq Siddiqui expressed thanks and informed the guest about the University’s academic and research programmes as well as enrolment of students at the campus and its affiliated colleges.

He said the University has introduced many reforms in higher education and for fruitful results from research activities.

Siddiqui also informed the French diplomat that for the promotion of archaeology and anthropology the University has recently set up new department and offers 4 year BS degree programme in Anthropology and Archaeology under ongoing academic session.

For Music Education also the University has introduced a Music Education Center at the Institute of Sindhology, Siddiqui informed and added that in the first phase the music center has been offering 4 month certificate course.

The Consul General also visited Benazir Art Gallery at the Institute of Art and Design and Institute of Sindhology.

The guest also visited Center for Rural Development Communication (CRDC) and met its Director Prof. Ibadullah Rashidi.

Prof. Rashidi while briefing the French diplomat about the functions of the CRDC informed that CRDC has introduced diploma in rural development recently and organised many refresher courses and workshops for the rural journalists.

[Picture: University of Sindh, the Library. http://www.usindh.edu.pk/].
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Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Spiritual Force
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Bureau Report, "Call for promoting message of tolerance and love" - Pakistan Daily - Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Lahore: Sufi saints spread Islam in the sub-continent through their teachings of tolerance and love and gave a message of equality and brotherhood besides promotions of religious tolerance and social forbearance.

Punjab Minister for Population Welfare, Ms Neelam Jabbar Chaudhry said this on the eve of Urs Bibi Pak Daman.

She said that besides achieving latest knowledge and advanced technology we should also promote the message of justice, affection and brotherhood of Sufi saints.

She said that due to spiritual force of Sufies, non-Muslim accepted the message of Islam in the subcontinent.

She said that the real Ulema have deep respect throughout the world and we should highlight idea of love, affection and accommodation of Islam for establishment of peace in the world.

She further said that Islam teaches us religious harmony and equality, therefore, we should make hectic efforts for the promotion of mutual love and brotherhood in the society.

[Picture from Bibi Pak Daman on Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibi_Pak_Daman].
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Monday, June 16, 2008

For the Common Points
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SB/HG MNA, "Chittick looks for common points of world religions: academic" - Mehr News - Tehran, Iran
Wednesday, June 11, 2008

“Chittick looks for the common points of world religions and denominations and does not highlight their differences in his works,” academic Majdeddin Keyvani said during a session reviewing William C. Chittick’s latest book.

The book by prominent American translator and interpreter of Islamic texts William C. Chittick entitled Science of the Cosmos, Science of the Soul: The Pertinence of Islamic Cosmology in the Modern World was discussed during a session at the main branch of Book City in Tehran on June 10.

Chittick, distinguished from other authors and scholars by his vast knowledge of various religions, has produced revolutionary work on Islamic scholars including Rumi and Ibn Arabi, Keyvani noted.

Keyvani, who has translated a number of Chittick’s works, said that the translator knows the author better than others.

The translator recognizes the author’s mental order and proficiency in the subject and also the harmony of form and content of the text during the process of translation, he added.

Chittick introduces Islamic mysticism and philosophy through his sublime, clear, flowing verse, which is free of circumlocution, he added.

In his seven-chapter book, Chittick said that the problems of the modern world could be solved by applying the wisdom of Islamic thinkers and the Quran, Keyvani said.

Chittick had been scheduled to attend the review session but had to cancel his appearance due to certain circumstances.

Born and raised in Connecticut, William C. Chittick obtained a Ph.D. in Persian literature from the University of Tehran in 1974.

He is the author and translator of twenty-five books and one hundred articles on Islamic thought, Sufism, Shiism, and Persian literature.

Chittick also gave a lecture in Tehran on Wednesday at the Iran Institute of Wisdom and Philosophy.

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Sunday, June 15, 2008

Secular and Spiritual
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By Faiza Saleh Ambah, "Author Looks to the Koran For 99 New Superheroes" - The Washington Post - Washington DC, USA
Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Kuwait City: Naif al-Mutawa was in a London taxi with his sister when she asked when he'd go back to writing children's books.

Mutawa, a Kuwaiti psychologist with two doctorates and an MBA from Columbia, said the question sparked a chain of thoughts: to go back to writing after all that education, it would have to be something big, something with the potential of Pokémon, the Japanese cartoon that was briefly banned by Saudi religious authorities.

God would have been disappointed by that, he thought; God has 99 attributes, or names, including tolerance.

"And then the idea formed in my mind," Mutawa said. "Heroes with the 99 attributes."

He mixed his deep religious faith, business acumen and firsthand experience with other cultures -- his childhood summers were spent at a predominantly Jewish camp in New Hampshire -- to create The 99, a comic-book series about superheroes imbued with the 99 attributes of God. Those traits represent one of Islam's most recognizable concepts.

Mutawa's superheroes are modern, secular and spiritual, moving seamlessly between East and West. They come from 99 countries and are split between males and females.

The heroes include Darr the Afflicter, an American paraplegic named John Wheeler, who manipulates nerve endings to transmit or prevent pain. Noora the Light -- Dana Ibrahim, a university student from the United Arab Emirates -- shows people the light and dark inside themselves. Mumita the Destroyer, a ferocious fighter, is Catarina Barbarosa, a Portuguese bombshell in tight clothes.

They distribute aid to starving Afghan villagers, battle elephant poachers in Africa, fight the evil Rughal and train to increase their powers.

"I wanted to create something that would be a classic, not another made-in-the-fifth-world product," said Mutawa, 37, who has four sons. "It was either going to be Spiderman or nothing."

After returning from London to Kuwait, Mutawa raised $7 million -- some from his old Columbia classmates, the rest from Persian Gulf investors -- and set up the Teshkeel media group in 2004. He hired some of the best people in the industry, including writers and artists who had worked at Marvel and DC Comics. His current writing partner, Stuart Moore, is a writer on the new Iron Man comics.

In November 2006, Mutawa's first comic book hit the newsstands.

Since then, his creation has gained many fans but also faced a rumble of criticism across the Muslim world. Some have disapproved of heroines' makeup and tight clothing. Others view the personification of God's attributes as blasphemous. One Kuwaiti cleric said the series promotes reliance on humans instead of God, counter to the Koran's teachings.

Mutawa acknowledges he did not consult a cleric before creating the series. "We should not allow a very limited number of people to tell us how to practice our religion. An Islam where I can be an active participant is the only Islam I can belong to. I believe in Islam and I also believe in evolution," he said, sitting in his office in a traditional long white robe and headdress.

When it was time to raise a second round of financing in 2007, Mutawa sold 30 percent of Teshkeel to Unicorn Investment Bank, an Islamic bank based in Bahrain. "Now, when people ask me religious questions, I ask them to go to the board of Unicorn," he said, smiling.

Over the past year, he said, he has given dozens of lectures around the world, focused on pushing an Islam at odds with no one. "We shouldn't be fighting globalization," he told a crowd in Indonesia at the launch of the series there last year. "We should be participating in it by putting our own ideas out there."

Mutawa describes The 99 as a modern tale with an ancient Islamic architecture. Ninety-nine gemstones imbued with the wisdom and knowledge of Baghdad's famous Dar al-Hikma library during the 13th century, the golden age of Islam, are scattered around the world, some on Christopher Columbus's ships, after an explosion of the dome in which the stones were embedded. The stones seem to find the people who become the superheroes, whose mystical link to the gems gives them special powers.

Worldwide sales of the comic in English and Arabic, including in the United States, have yet to exceed 30,000 copies a month, including Internet downloads, but Mutawa has been inundated with licensing demands.

An American company wants to brand its halal hot dogs with The 99. He has signed deals with Malaysian, Indonesian, Indian and North African publishing companies.

In his office are pencils, rulers, backpacks, notebooks and folders with The 99 logo, by a Spanish company. A Dubai firm is interested in making action figures. A deal for an animated series by a European company will be announced in July, Mutawa said. Last month, he signed a deal for six theme parks.

This semester, the American University of Kuwait offered a class, "The Superhero in the Arab World," that focused on The 99. As a final project, students created their own comic-book heroes.

When Mutawa recently visited the class, a young student in a black head scarf and makeup told him she was shocked by a scene in which Noora the Light said she was going to go pray to God, even though her hair was not covered.

"Why?" Mutawa asked. "Do you think only people who wear the hijab ask God for help? There isn't just one way to be Muslim. There are at least 99 different ways to be Muslim."

[Read also http://sufinews.blogspot.com/search?q=mutawa].
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Saturday, June 14, 2008

The Colours of Creativity
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DHNS, "History through fashion" - Deccan Herald - Bangalore, India
Friday, June 13, 2008

Fashion historian and designer Shilpi Choudhury showcased her creation inspired by Ottoman Turks and tribal denim collection

Saturnalia, a fashion show, was hosted in Bangalore recently by fashion historian and designer, Shilpi Choudhury.

The highlight of the event was the Ottoman Turk and Tribal Denim collection. While the former was inspired by the 14th century Ottoman Turks of Greece and Eastern Europe, the latter was a presentation of the contemporary fashion styles of the north-eastern parts of India.

It included American denim, fur headgear and tribal accessories. Besides, there was an element of Sufism and whirling dervish tradition of Muslim mystics of 1273 AD.

Adding the colours of creativity to the event were the Fez caps with Puskul (tassle), Astrakhan (head-dress), Djamadan (straight waist coat), Tchepkan (jacket), Binich (overcoat) and Entari (robe). The collection was showcased by male and female models from the City.

Shilpi Choudhury is a fashion historian who showcases historical garments through fashion shows. Her shows bring to the audience awareness as well as entertainment.

Through her latest ‘tribal-denim’ collection, she has promoted the weaves of the different tribes of Nagaland namely ‘Aao’, ‘Tanghul’, ‘Lotha’, ‘Sema’ and ‘Angami’; neck accessories like ‘Kongsang’, ‘Alik’, ‘Chanchi’ and ‘Chupamaruk’.

Thus, the Naga tribal ensemble has been blended with denim (which originated in America and was very popular with the mine workers). The result of the Naga tribal ensemble and American denim completely changed the creation giving it a new look, which is her signature statement.

The Ottoman Turk collection is a slice from the Turkish history of 14th century A.D. The Turkish ensemble has influenced the apparel all over Europe and Asia.

The Turkish collection was recreated and revolutionised with Indian accessories. The effect was totally an out-of-the-box creation.
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The Marriage of Pain and Longing
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By Wajahat Ali, "Rumi and Sufism" - CounterPunch - Petrolia, CA, USA
Tuesday, June 10, 2008

An Interview with Seyyed Hossein Nasr on Islam's Spiritual Science in the Modern Age

Rumi, the best selling poet in America today, was a practicing Muslim and a Sufi master who lived nearly eight hundred years ago.

His poetry and lyrical verses exalting his desire for the Divine, as well as describing his ecstatic pain and yearning for his “beloved” continue to inspire lovers to this day.

Due to mass commercialization and weak translations of Rumi’s poetry, Sufism has unfortunately become synonymous with a saccharine, Hallmark card, Deepak Chopra’d simplification of Islam’s most profound spiritual science.

Even within the global Muslim community, significant controversies and acrimonious debates have arisen around the validity of Sufism within the theological framework of the religion. Many, such as Seyyed Hossein Nasr, one of the most prolific and well known Muslim American scholars, argue that Sufism represents the spiritual engine and heart of Islam, which is rooted within the core of its scholastic traditions, and is capable of revitalizing modern day Islam rooted in literalism and political extremism.

In discussing his latest work, “The Garden of Truth: The Vision and Promise of Sufism, Islam’s Mystical Tradition,” we talked about Rumi’s spiritual influence on the modern world, the role of Sufism in Islamic history and tradition, and the critique of Sufism as an antiquated model of esotericism.

ALI: Let’s talk about Rumi. I’m sure you know Coleman Barks [“Translator” of countless Rumi poetry books], correct?

NASR: Yes.

ALI: Even though Coleman Barks and others try to divorce Rumi from his God consciousness, it nonetheless emanates in his poetry. Rumi is the best selling poet in America today. What is it about his work, which is thoroughly rooted in Islam and Islamic sciences, that appeals to mainstream audiences?

NASR: The question I think should be put the other way around. First of all, Jalaluddin Rumi is completely rooted in Islamic teachings of Quran. He was a great scholar, he belonged to a madrassa, and he knew Islamic theology and jurisprudence very well. He knew Persian, Arabic and Turkish, which was coming into Anatolia at that time, very well. He was a remarkable, remarkable scholar, besides being a great saint. He was completely rooted in Islamic tradition. I’m totally opposed to those who try to pull Rumi out of his Islamic foundations by ignoring that element. I have written about this quite a bit and in fact I have a recent book of poetry which is called “Life is a pilgrimage: In conversation with Rumi” in which I translated the first part of his Mathanvi [Rumi’s most beloved work.]

It complements what I said about Rumi being rooted completely in the Sufi Islamic tradition. Now what is it that appeals universally of Rumi to the West today? Several things. First of all, Rumi is one of the great spokesmen for the Quranic instruction teaching that all prophets come from God and God does not create one religion, but many religions. The verse of the Quran that mentions we have created for each of you, for all of you, your own path, your own Sharia [Religious law], so that you will vie for each other in goodness and mindfulness of God. And a very famous Quranic verse: “To every people we have sent a messenger.” And many of the verses of the Quran which represent a universal perspective of Islamic Fiqh [Jurisprudence.] Abraham is called a Muslim, Christ is called Muslim. Now, there were a large number of Muslims throughout history who brought out the meanings of this especially when it was necessary; when Islam met Hinduism in India and in Anatolia for example, and when Islam met Christianity and to an extent Judaism. But Rumi is one of the great masters who brought out this universal teaching.

As of today, one of the greatest problems of humanity is how to live in a multi religious society without losing one’s religion - without relativising everything. Which is why perhaps with the greatest spiritual problem of today, Rumi is a great master who is able to provide a way. Secondly, Rumi is also perhaps the greatest mystical poet who ever lived, one of the greatest poets of the Persian language. He was able to express practically all aspects of the spiritual life and our existential situation in the world today as human beings in beautiful Persian poetry.

Now, Coleman Barks and these other translators who are very famous now, they do not know Persian. They work with a Persian speaker. The translations are not exact. They are not like the translations of Reynald A. Nicholson, who translated the whole of the Mathnavi, a remarkable feat; a few mistakes in it, but really a remarkable feat. These people have adapted the teachings of Rumi often based on the Nicholson translation often with the help of a Persian speaker to a kind of contemporary, American medium of poetry. This is quite an art, although it’s not exact from the point of scholarship, it brings out something of the taste for this combination of truth and beauty that Rumi represents: an expression of the deepest truths of spiritual life in God and beauty.

ALI: Speaking about Rumi and other Sufi poets, much of their poetry comes from a specific desire. There seems to be a fire and longing in their spirit that was ignited by a loss. For Rumi, it was the loss of his spiritual friend and guide Shams Tabris. Why do we see these extreme emotions: one of pain and longing and the other of love, both equally necessary in reaching and understanding the Divine Path? Why the marriage of pain and longing?

NASR: Well, that’s very obvious and let me give you a human example. If you’re just a young man, like you are, and going about your business, you will think of this. Suppose you fall in love with a girl, now suddenly this element of love comes into your life and it disturbs you. The day before you fell in love, you got up in the morning, you said your prayers, you washed yourself, and you went to work and didn’t think of these things. Then suddenly you’ve fallen in love. Once you’ve fallen in love, it’s turned around your whole life. You keep thinking bout this girl all the time instead of thinking about other things. Since the object of love is that particular person, being separated brings about a longing and pain. Love is loss combined with pain; even in the West you have the famous, famous play, which Wagner put into opera, Tristan and Isolde, which brings out the story of these great lovers, where their love leads to death. It’s one of the most famous arias of Western music – The Love-Death Song of Wagner in German – which corresponds exactly on an external plane, because of course Wagner was not a mystic or a Sufi, but it was a medieval story that had this depth in it. The idea that love itself cannot be divorced from the suffering which comes from being separated from the object of love. The story of Layla and Majnoon, in Arabic and Persian and other Islamic languages, always leads them to death. It’s like Romeo and Juliet: intense love. This is a human way for expressing something much more profound that is that love for God.

And the Quran, of course, speaks about this explicitly: “God loves them, and they love Him.” If God did not love us, we could not love him. And Sufis are those who have realized this love. It’s like that second day that I mentioned about a young man, like yourself. The first day he was not in love and went about his business, and the second day suddenly the love came. There are people who realize this love for God in this life. Like falling in love with a beautiful woman, or from a female side, a man. Once this realization takes place, this love brings with it yearning. Yearning is inseparable from love, and since once doesn’t have the object of love immediately, one has not fallen in the embrace of the beloved immediately, they are suffering. That’s how they are related.

ALI; Here’s a criticism that many critics of spirituality ask: If the spiritual seeker must be like a subservient “corpse” in the hand of his “washer”, his spiritual guide, then doesn’t Islam and the spiritual path rob one of their individuality? Isn’t this proof Islam is a machine that requires assimilation and creates mindless automons? How is this a path towards individuality?

NASR: I wish someone could get rid of individuality so easily; one never gets rid of one’s individuality completely. One gets rid of one’s egotism, which is a very different matter. In your room, you can have two paintings on your wall; one that is a Persian miniature and the other which is a Dutch painting by Rembrandt. They are very distinct characters, yet they have their own individual traits, but they are inanimate, they don’t have a will of their own. When one talks about being like a dead corpse in the hands of a spiritual teacher it means being able to surrender one’s will, specially one’s nafs al ammarah, that is a part of our soul which is again a Quranic term, which commands us to evil – we must surrender that. That’s what it means. It doesn’t make you become part of a cog of a machine.

In fact, the machine doesn’t have the consciousness we have, the free will that we have, and to surrender one’s free will, not in every matter but in spiritual matters, to a spiritual teacher is in a sense a lower level of surrendering one’s will to God. Many people have criticized Islam for being just automatic, having no individuality, just surrendering your will to God, but we Muslims know very well that every moment of the day we have to practice the fact that to surrender one’s self to God is an act of free will.

ALI: Muslims look at the world right now, specifically the Muslim “ummah” [community], and they see instability, suffering, authoritarian regimes, oppression and so forth. So, many Muslims ask what will all this fasting, this dhikr [remembrance and invocation of God], this tazkiyat al nafs [Spiritual exercises in purification], and all this Sufi practice help? How do all these spiritual Sufi practices help the Muslims suffering in Palestine, Chechnya or Iraq? People say this is like Muslims who live in a bubble and put their heads in the sand, but in order to help people one must be more political. So, what’s your take on that?

NASR: It’s total nonsense. There are many, many answers to this question. The main answer is that the Islamic world is suffering not only because of external oppression but also because of the loss of its own dignity, of its own heritage, of its own practice of Islam, of its weakening of its own ethics, and many things which are internal to Islam not just external. Now, Sufism has always had the function of purifying Islamic ethics and that fasting and tazkiya is like lighting a lamp. What does a lamp do? The lamp is like a horse that is running but stays put. But by virtue of being a lamp it illuminates the space around it. Therefore, the practice of purifying one’s soul, of living virtuously, has tremendous impacts upon the ethics of the surrounding society.

The Islamic world is not only suffering from the American occupation of Palestine and Iraq, it’s also suffering from the unbelievable corruption in Afghanistan by Afghans themselves and also in Iraq – I’m just giving these 2 examples of countries which are under direct occupation; I do not mean at all to negate the terrible events that led to this or what’s going on with the foreign occupation there. But I’m saying that it is not the only problem and Sufis have always been those that have tried to purify the ethics of Islam and society. And they don’t have their hands cut off from the external action at all. For example, the bazaar in which the Sufis were very strong always dominated economic life in Islamic world. They could give a much more sane and Islamic form of activity when the economic life of Islam moved out of the bazaar to new parts of Islamic cities with modernized Muslims, who took it in another light and it became very, very anti Islamic, and much against many of the most profound practices of Islamic societies.

There is no way throughout Islamic society for Islam as a society, as a civilization, to revive itself without this inner spiritual vitality that came to it. And also militarily, the great movements of resistance against colonial powers in the 18th and 19th century were almost all from Sufis: Imam Shamil in Caucasia, Amir Abd al Qadir in Algeria, The Barelvi family in the modern province of India, today which is Pakistan, and you can go down the line. What is tragic today is that there is a number of Muslims who think that all the solutions are to be found simply by external actions. They don’t have to do anything within themselves. This is a deeply Western idea – modern, Western idea, where you try to improve the world without improving yourself. And this is what the Muslims who talk about others putting their heads in the sand and that “We are doing jihad and we are political” and so forth, they are emulating a very important mistake of modernism.

ALI: Prophet Muhammad’s personality and name are exalted as habiballah, beloved of God, and he who is beloved by Muslims as a criterion model of conduct. His Sunnah [Prophetic etiquette and conduct] yields men like Rumi and leads to acts of selfless charity, but also at the same inspires jihadists and extremists in the modern world. Many people blame this latter type of behavior on the personality of Prophet Muhammad. Let’s talk about this remarkably complex personality, which can produce such varying fruits and results in its followers. You have the Sufis on one hand and the Bin Ladens on the other.

NASR: First of all, The Bin Ladens must not be confused with authentic jihad – it’s quite something else. If you want an example of external jihad, you should cite Amir Abd al Qadir who fought against the French in the 19th century, which was quite something else. But putting that aside, the Prophet, peace be on him, presents all the possibilities of the human state in perfection. Now, a part of that of course is love of God. And the word Habib in Arabic means both lover and beloved. At the heart of it is that he loves God, God loves him. But God designated him to be also the founder of a new world order of a civilization of a society. He was therefore, first of all, a Prophet of course, a beloved and lover of God, a father, an army commander, a judge, a ruler of a community, the King of Medina and later of Arabia, and all of these were combined in him and his destiny, the reason God brought him on earth, was to show how each of the functions which human beings have in life have the perfect form in the prophet.

He sets the model for all of them. He sets the model for being a good statesman. He also sets the model for being a good warrior, for chivalry, of nobility, of all the things which the Quran and Hadith [The recorded collections of the sayings and traditions of the Prophet] says of treating your enemy with dignity and kindness. The Quran explicitly opposes the killing of innocent people and the Prophet was always careful in doing that. If they had to fight a war, he was always on the side of peace as soon as it was possible to make peace because that’s what the Quran says also. He was the exemplar ruler, exemplar father, exemplar warrior, and once you have a family, you have contentions, you have problems, human problems, and it’s the human order. He set the example and model for Muslims for all the different endeavors. He is not only the example of the spiritual life, but he is also an example for our life in this world. Because Islam, in contrast to Christianity and Buddhism, does not have monasticism; spiritual life, social life, they are all integrated and related together in one way or another. And the Prophet represents that in his life.

ALI: Let’s talk about the relationship between a murshid [spiritual master/guide] and his murid [spiritual aspirant/apprentice]; the seeker and the sought; the master and the apprentice. First, why must the spiritual aspirant need to give baya’ [allegiance/oath; giving one’s hand] to a spiritual master?

NASR: In Islam, there is no priesthood and each person stands before God, like in the daily prayers, without an intermediary. That’s in contrast to Christianity, where during the Eucharist, a priest has to officiate and the priest functions as a link – at least in Catholic Christianity - between the laity and God. In Islam this doesn’t exist. However, this is not the same thing as spiritual guidance of what I speak. All Muslims stand before God and they are their own priests. But spiritual guidance needs guidance. It’s like comparing walking on the ground and mountain climbing. Once you learn how to walk, you can walk on the ground by yourself, but if you want to climb Mount Everest, you need a guide.

The fact there is need for a guide in the spiritual traveling that Sufism is involved with does not at all annul what I just said about the lack of necessity of an intermediary of God - as far as religious rights of ordinary practices of religion are concerned. In the field of medicine, if you’re sick you need a doctor. A doctor has already studied how to deal with your ailments, and human beings are imperfect. There any many ailments of the psyche and the soul that need to be treated, and the serious murshid, or spiritual master, is also really a doctor of the soul: a person who can heal the wounds of the soul in the same way as a medical doctor takes care of our physical problems. Why does one need a doctor if God has given us our body and we pray to Him for our help?

That’s on one level, but the need of a doctor when we have a bad stomach is an immediate level and God has provided the possibility. In Islam, we believe that it is God himself who is the ultimate guide – Al Hadi – one of the names of God is Al Hadi, the Guide. But at the same time, God has provided within the Islamic revelation the possibility of spiritual guidance through human beings, because then everyone can have direct access to God. If you want to make a decision in life on what to do, but if you’re trying systematically, through spiritual practice, through meditation, through the invocation of the name of God, to walk closer and closer in this life to Him, you need someone to guide you. And God has made it possible in Islam for this guidance to exist.

ALI: Here comes the criticism, and I don’t want to label the people who would say this, but assume someone says, “Ok, what you say makes sense but where’s the proof in Quran and Sunnah [The Prophetic traditions and etiquette] that allows this? Where did the Prophet Muhammad allow this? When did Prophet Muhammad do this – the giving of the baya’?”

NASR: First of all, in Hudaibiya, the Prophet gave baya’ to his choice followers, laying the foundation of the baya’ of Sufism. This is based directly on the Sunnah of the Prophet. Secondly, the Quran mentions the story of Moses and Khidr [a prophet mentioned in the Quran who guided Moses on a revelatory journey], a famous story, in which Moses represents sort of the external understanding of the religion and Khidr represents the inner spiritual understanding of the religion. Moses went on a journey with Khidr and Khidr said, “I will not accept you unless you stop questioning things,” which from an external point of view seems strange, but inwardly is very meaningful. This is exactly the question of spiritual guidance.

Finally, you have the prototype of spiritual guidance, you have the Prophet, peace be upon him, himself when he goes on the night Miraj, the nocturnal ascent, which is in the Quran and no Muslim can deny it no matter how external and exclusive they are, and there are many of those in the Islamic world today, but they can’t deny the text of the Quran. The Prophet was taken by the order of God to heaven, which is a prototype of all spiritual realization in Islam. But, he had a guide; Gabriel, the angel, was his guide. He took him to heaven. So, anybody who says what is the basis of this – there are many, many sources. This is not at all something without scriptural basis; there is much scriptural basis in Sharia [Islamic Jurisprudence.]

ALI: Many might say what you are describing is a very universal concept of religion and spirituality. Yet in Sufism and Islam, why is Haqiqat [Spiritual Enlightenment; The Ultimate Truth] rooted within Sharia [Islamic Jurisprudence]? Why must the tariqah [Spiritual Path] be Islamic if there are so many different paths to God?

NASR: That’s a very good question. In the same way that we have a body and a soul and a spirit, our soul can’t walk in the street without our body – we would be dead then. Religion is the same way; it has to have a body, it has to have a form, it has to have structure. Without that, the soul cannot be prepared to follow the tariqah. Tariqah [The Spiritual Path] without the Sharia [Islamic Law] is like having a pistachio tree without the shell. Or a walnut, a walnut cannot grow on a tree without having a shell, and the food that you eat is inside the shell. The Shariah has many other functions but also protects the tarqiah; it protects the spiritual path. There is no religion in the world where there is a possibility of spiritual development outside of the context of that religion. This is only a modern invention. For example, Christian mystics were also Christians. They also went to Church and followed Christian laws. Hindu mystics were practicing Hindus; they didn’t kill cows and have steak. They follow the Hindu laws and so on and so forth down the line and Sufism is no exception.

It’s only in the modern world, where there is a hatred of religion, and there are certain sectors of modern society where there is an idea that you can take the spiritual teachings of a religion outside of a religion and practice them; these ideas are brought forward. That appears to be easy. You can say, “Oh, well. I don’t have to bother about not eating pork, and not drinking wine, and all you have to do is read the beautiful poetry of Rumi and talk about wine, women and song. Or something like that.” This kind of attitude. This is the antipode of the other attitude which says Islam is nothing but throwing bombs, it has nothing to do with internal or inward purification.

ALI: Haqiqat, some say, destroyed al-Hallaj [9TH century Persian Sufi mystic executed for alleged heresy] It overtook him to the point where he exceeded Sharia boundaries and proclaimed himself as “The Truth.” So why dabble with something that is so dangerous for a practicing Muslim? Why dabble with this spiritual science?

NASR: You are taking only one case. It’s like saying why drive when there are drunk people on the road everyday. There are millions and millions of Sufis who have existed in Islamic history and have the deepest impact on every aspect of Islamic culture and civilization to philosophy to art to science to social structure to economics who have not met the destiny of al-Hallaj. That has to be understood.

Al-Hallaj has a special destiny. He came at a time when worldliness, the luxury, were inundating the Islamic world. His function was to act as kind of an antithesis to this, and he paid for it with his life, and he was very happy to do so. He smiled as he went to the executioner. That was done because it shook the conscience of the Islamic peoples of that time. But the vast majority, the vast, vast, vast majority of Sufis, they have not met the destiny of al-Hallaj. They have spoken about reaching “the Truth” and there is nothing dangerous about it. Look at Senegal, about 90% of the Muslims in Senegal are Tijani or Qadiri Sufis. Among them, they have very great teachers who have written poems about al-Hallaj, and they have not been killed. In fact, it’s Sufism that brought Islam through all of Senegal, right under our noses the last couple of centuries. And you can go down the same line through Indonesia and Malaysia. How did the Turks become Muslim? They became Muslim through the Sufis. The Arabs never conquered the Turks. There were people in early Islam who were speaking like Hallaj, who spoke about the Truth, about reaching the Truth, about being one with the Truth, and not only they were not killed, but they were great heroes of their own culture, and there is a university in Turkey named after one [Sufi Saint.]

ALI: How did Sufism help spread Islam without the sword using the Chishti and Qadiri Sufi tariqahs in South Asia? Because all we hear is that Islam spread through the sword and only the sword -

NASR: That is absurd. This is all Western propaganda from the Middle Ages which is totally untrue. First of all, 300 years after the rise of Islam there were Zoroastrians in Iran. The Muslim armies never forced people to accept Islam. It was only within Arabia that God ordered the idolaters to have a choice of either embracing Islam or fight against Muslims, because He wanted to remove this terrible idolatry that exited there. But outside Arabia where Islam met Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians and Hindus, they were given a choice by and large. That’s why many Christians and Jewish communities survived in the Muslim world, but gradually many of them embraced Islam for different reasons. First of all, let’s stop talking about the spread by the sword. The Islamic world doesn’t stop in the Arab world or Persia. There is the whole Turkic world, the Central Asian world, South Asian world, Southeast Asian world, and African world.

If you have a billion Muslims, 900 million of them were not brought into Islam by any kind of invasion, but most of them through the Sufis, because human beings are such that they are affected by people of spiritual character. Certainly when they display nobility and hospitality and gentility and love and are not selfish or aggressive, and they are honest. People who were also traders were also men of Sufism, as we see around Java, people who were outwardly trading but were also men of very high spiritual character. Otherwise no trader would be able to convert a person from one religion to another. It was because they were men of spiritual character.

The Qadiri and Chisti Sufi orders in South Asia played an incredible role. Moinuddin Chishti, this incredible master who founded the Chishti order, originally Chisht was in the border of modern day Afghanistan and Pakistan, he was brought to India as a young man. He was a great saint. Openly, Hindus came to him, he would pray for them, he would be kind to them, and he would eat with them. Many of these Hindus realized this man was beyond all the distinctions of caste and social classifications that existed in India. I’m not trying to criticize the caste system that has its own philosophy, but the oppressive aspect of social stratification did not exist for him, so, many Hindus came to him. And they say he brought over 500,000 people to Islam during his life. Same with the Qadiris, some of these were great teachers who did not take a sword and try to fight against the Hindus. They made friends with the Hindus. In fact many Hindu yogis and Sufis met, they became friends, they spoke about the knowledge and love of God; about all the similarities that exist. And then the simplicity of Islam, the fact these people practiced what they preached brought many, many Hindus into Islam. It is very clear, you can see it: without Sufism, Islam would not have spread into two thirds of what we call the Islamic world.

Wajahat Ali is Pakistani Muslim American who is neither a terrorist nor a saint. He is a playwright, essayist, humorist, and Attorney at Law, whose work, “The Domestic Crusaders” is the first major play about Muslim Americans living in a post 9-11 America. His blog is at http://goatmilk.wordpress.com/. He can be reached at wajahatmali@gmail.com

[Picture from The Seyyed Hossein Nasr Foundation http://www.nasrfoundation.org/bios.html].
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