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Sunday, February 20, 2022

Hamas targets Sufis in Gaza

Sufis have opposed the way the Hamas government came to power, prompting the movement to shut down their institutions and restrict their religious activities.

Whirling dervishes perform during a festival at the mosque of Nabi Musa, where the tomb of Prophet Moses is believed to be located, in the Judean Desert near the town of Jericho, West Bank, April 8, 2016. - Abbas Momani/AFP via Getty Images

Hadeel Al Gherbawi
@hadola_gh
TOPICS COVERED
Gaza
February 6, 2022 —

A number of Sufi mosques are spread across the Gaza Strip, and each sheikh practices his own way of Sufism. But they all participate in performing the weekly “session,” which is a Quranic session in which prophetic invocations and praises are chanted.

Sufism in Palestine can be traced back to the Mamluk era, and some Sufi families in Gaza have become well known, such as the Sa’afin and Khalidi families.

Sufism has always raised controversy among some Muslims, but it remains a very important issue as many have studied Sufism in an attempt to reach a conclusion about Sufi thought. However, many Sufis refused to talk to Al-Monitor for fear of repercussions from Hamas.

One sheikh of the Alawiyya order told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, “The origins of our order [religious institution] go back to Sheikh Ahmad bin Alawi. Sufism is one of the foundations of Islamic beliefs. The weekly session we hold is a clearing of worries and sins; followers gather to remember God and the verses of the Quran without distortion as some describe it and without holding celebrations and drumming.”

He said that he keeps good relations with the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip, but the order’s rejection of Hamas’ rule is based on the movement’s insistence to rule by force of arms. “There is nothing in the Book of God or the sunna that motivates me to fight those who oppose me with weapons, for God says, ‘And speak kindly to all people.’”

A Sufi affiliated with the Ahmadiyya order told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, “Society’s negative view of Sufism stems from the new generation’s ignorance of the true meaning of Sufism. Our only goal is to restore the time of the Prophet Muhammad, and Sufism serves to reform oneself away from the inclinations and malice of political parties and their only interest to assume political positions.”

When Hamas assumed power in 2006, it shut down many Sufi zawiyas (meeting places) on the pretext that they posed a danger to society.

Nasser al-Yafawi, a Gaza-based historian who opposes Hamas’ actions against Sufis, told Al-Monitor, “The Sufis are wonderful. I have visited the Qadiriya, Jaririyah and Rifa’i orders, and I witnessed a full weekly session with them. There is no difference between the orders. Their session is a spiritual imagining of God and their celebrations are considered a religious dance to draw closer to God.”

He said, “At the beginning of its rule, Hamas closed many Sufi zawiyas, claiming Sufis pose a danger to Gazan society. This is a major false accusation because Hamas wants to monopolize the leadership of the Islamic movements. I do not support Hamas’ point of view and unjustified actions. It wants to rule so-called Islamic movements and disagrees with all parties, not just Sufis.”

Yafawi noted, “Some rumors spread about Sufis practicing freemasonry rituals and that they carry out acts that violate social values. Hamas closed some zawiyas of the Ahmadiyya, Shadhiliyya and Alawiyya orders, restricting their movements and preventing them from holding religious ceremonies and weekly sessions. This is a violation of freedom of expression. I have personally verified this and discovered that it’s all malicious rumors and false arguments.”

Meanwhile, many support shutting down Sufi zawiyas. Saleh al-Raqab, a professor of Islamic faith at the Islamic University of Gaza and a former minister of endowments, told Al-Monitor, “Sufism in Gaza is made up of groups affiliated with sheikhs outside the enclave, such as the Shadhiliyya and Alawiyya orders, and they have many heresies and myths, as we see in their many zawiyas, such as dancing in mosques. They have very corrupt beliefs, but in the Gaza Strip they apply them without understanding their meanings, such as begging for the Prophet Muhammad to fulfill their needs.”

He said, “There is also a lot of polytheism, which is exemplified in their book 'The Unity of Being' by Ibn Arabi. This person is an atheist since he sees all existence as one and believes there is no difference between a Creator and a creature. The Sufis here in Gaza practice rituals without the slightest understanding. They kneel to their sheikhs as we kneel to God. They even kiss the sheikhs’ hand and this represents polytheism and disbelief in God. The Sufis do not offer anything to Islam, but separate religion from politics. They are using social media nowadays to attract the younger generation, and this is a disaster.”

Raqab noted, “Dozens of young people are joining Sufism in the Gaza Strip because they have a great spiritual void that needs to be filled. I am not aware of the fact that Hamas closed Sufi zawiyas, nor about restricting their movements and celebrations, because I have seen many zawiyas opening. But they must be closed before they spread further.”

Raqab explained that his doctoral thesis was about Sufi sects from an ideological point of view, and he also teaches these topics to university students as he believes that Sufism in the entire Arab world has major deviations and contradicts Islam altogether.

I OF COURSE DISAGREE FOR EXACTLY THESE SAME REASONS

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Wednesday, July 12, 2023

Introducing Sufism
A longing deep within us

Islam thrives on diversity, something that is particularly apparent within its body of mystic practice, known as Sufism. In his new book, Marian Brehmer introduces us to the many forms of Islamic mysticism. By Lisa Nealp

How is it possible to write about mysticism when its true essence can't be captured in words? Author Marian Brehmer solves this problem by describing various different approaches that take us closer to its core. His book Sich den Durst aneignen ("Acquire thirst"), collates Sufi practices. Most prominent among these are poetry, music, the veneration of saints and sema, the meditative practice of spinning on your own axis which is often falsely described as a dance.

Where there are questions, answers will be given; where there are ships, water will flow. Spend less time seeking water and acquire thirst! Then water will gush from above and below. (Jalaluddin Rumi)

Following on from Der Schatz unter den Ruinen ("The treasure among the ruins"), Brehmer's second book takes us on another journey into the world of Sufism. Driven by his own "thirst" for spirituality and self-knowledge, in this book he focuses even more strongly on the sensory level. He works with photos, poems, interview extracts, background information and his own experiences.

Men engaged in a Sufi ritual: each chapter in Brehmer's book provides an introduction to the

cultural influences on how mysticism is practiced in Islamic countries across the Middle East

and beyond, and in so doing helps us to understand the diversity inherent in Sufism

The photos he has collected over the past few years, with their intense colours, are a particularly vivid reflection of how deeply involved he has become with the world of Sufism. The pictures also display Brehmer's eye for symmetry and his gift for observing quiet moments.

A gallery of photos

The four main chapters are put together from travels in the world of Sufism, and are divided up into regions: Anatolia and Syria; Persia; South Asia; Al-Andalus and Morocco. The book is more than just an attractive coffee-table volume, however, partly thanks to its spiritual clarity and intercultural sensitivity, which shines through at various points.

Brehmer knows the Sufi worlds in which he moves. He became acquainted with the spiritual life as a child in India, and has travelled a lot over the past 12 years. He took Iranian studies at university, speaks fluent Persian and Turkish, and lives in Turkey, where he has been based for several years now.

Each chapter provides an introduction to the cultural influences on how mysticism is practiced in these places, and in so doing helps us to understand the diversity inherent in Sufism.

Following on from "Der Schatz unter den Ruinen" ('The treasure among the ruins'),

Brehmer's latest book takes us on another journey into the world of Sufism.

Driven by his own "thirst" for spirituality and self-knowledge, he focuses on

the sensory level – working with photos, poems, interview extracts, background information

and his own experiences. His colourful images are a particularly vivid reflection

of how deeply involved he has become with the world of Sufism

The pleasure that Brehmer takes in wonder, travel, poetry and beauty comes across in his language, and the book's form and content are thus well suited to one another. His narrative style takes up an aspect of every mystic path: a tension between images that touches a wordless longing in us.

"The sleeping car in 'Sleeper Class' is a colourful potpourri of people and noises. A tea seller walks through the compartments carrying a heavy thermos flask. His nimble hands pour steaming, milky tea into cardboard cups. [...] A group of barefoot intinerant Hindu ascetics, swathed in saffron-coloured cloths, are engaged in animated conversation."

He goes on: "In the middle of all this, on one of the blue upholstered bunks, sit two older gentlemen whose bushy white beards identify them unmistakeably as Muslims. [...] Shortly after sunset, the two men take white prayer caps from their bags and, without getting up from the bunk, assume a more concentrated posture. Then they close their eyes, murmur the Fatiha, the first sura of the Koran, hunch their backs and place their hands on their thighs."

The courtyard of a mosque in Fez, Morocco: the revolutionary thing about the

mystical path is that you don't find God in temples, mosques and churches, but

in your own heart. For this, your heart must be open and cleansed of all illusions.

The long path of inner transformation is not a straightforward one; the author

describes this process in the words of the great Sufi master and poet Jalaluddin

Rumi as "being cooked"

In contrast to his first book, the author chooses not to use first-person narration, although we see, smell and learn to understand these worlds from his point of view. But the book is not a theological treatise or geopolitical analysis, either. And that is not down to any lack of subject knowledge on the author's part.

Islamic mysticism is a living thing

The author’s expertise is evident in the foreword and the precision with which he describes phenomena such as the Ahi and other orders; Malang (Pakistani dervishes); people like the female Indian mystic Mirabai and the Persian saint Charakani; and peculiarities such as the introduction of music into religious practice by Moinuddin Chishti.

The author's spiritual clarity is shown in the book's core statement: the revolutionary thing about the mystical path is that you don't find God in temples, mosques and churches, but in your own heart. For this, your heart must be open and cleansed of all illusions.

Cover of Marian Brehmer's "Sich den Durst aneignen" – 'Acquire thirst' – published in German by Corso (source: publisher)

How is it possible to write about mysticism when its true essence can't be captured in words? Author Marian Brehmer solves this problem by describing various different approaches that take us closer to its core. His book collates Sufi practices. Most prominent among these are poetry, music, the veneration of saints and sema, the meditative practice of spinning on your own axis which is often falsely described as a dance

The long path of inner transformation is not a straightforward one. The author describes this process in the words of the great Sufi master and poet Jalaluddin Rumi as "being cooked".

"You must forget yourself, If you want to find Him [God] at your side. (Strange are the times, Sain Bullhe Shah)".

The diversity of Sufism shows that Islamic mysticism is a living thing. This doesn’t apply to the other two Abrahamic religions to quite the same extent.

Jewish mysticism, kabbala, finds the majority of its followers in Hassidic communities in the USA and Israel. Christian mysticism is practiced in various individual religious orders, in the form of retreats (for meditation) and in contemplative orders such as the Carmelites.

The German-speaking world, however, lacks the visible, everyday forms of Christian mysticism.

And what we have lost here is more than just a great treasure on the Christian path to self-understanding.

The gap it leaves creates too much space for esotericism, which – just like an orthodoxy which is too worldly – can endanger a free spiritual life in any form of religion.

The more one engages with Christian mysticism, the more appealing it can become.

And it will be easier to gauge whether this might be one way to fall (back) in love with Christianity once we have access to "bridge-building" books like Brehmer's on Sufism for the Christian faith.

Until that point, it is worth taking inspiration from this book, because: "[t]he mystic knows that the countless spiritual paths of the world are like hiking trails that lead up different sides of a mountain to the same peak".

"There may be differences in the character and the vegetation of these paths – some are short and steep, while others wind slowly upwards over a long distance – but ultimately, the destination is the same".

Lisa Neal

© Qantara.de 2023

Translated from the German by Ruth Martin

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Monday, March 06, 2023

Sufis Aren’t an Apolitical Counterweight to Political Islam, Babadzhanov Says

Staunton, March 5 – Many post-Soviet analysts and officials have argued that Sufism, the mystical trend in Islam, can serve as a powerful bulwark against followers of political Islam and have even urged that their governments support Sufi orders as allies in the struggle against Islamism.

(For background on such advocacy, see windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2022/03/view-that-sufism-represents-stabilizing.html, windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2021/05/sufism-offers-spirituality-traditional.html, windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2019/10/sufism-most-effective-means-to-counter.html and windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2016/07/sufism-better-than-state-as-bulwark.html.)

But that attitude and the policies that arise from it are beginning to change, as ever more observers recall the role of militant Sufis in the 19^th century and deal with the problems, often greater than those posed by Islamist groups, that some Sufi orders present across the post-Soviet space.

(For examples of such problems, see windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2022/12/kadyrov-raising-military-unit-based-on.html, windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2022/11/chechnyas-kadyrov-takes-up-cause-of.html and windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2022/11/russian-officials-accuse-influential.html.)

Now, Bakhtiyar Babadzhanov, a scholar at Tashkent’s Institute of Oriental Studies, has attacked as “a cognitive mistake” the view that Sufism in principle is “apolitical” and warned officials in Uzbekistan and elsewhere that Sufism is a militant threat (ia-centr.ru/experts/iats-mgu/ostanetsya-li-sufizm-v-tsentralnoy-azii-vne-politiki-/).

It is likely that he will be accused of ignoring those aspects of Sufism that genuinely are pacific and apolitical in order to make his case; but it seems likely that Babadzhanov’s argument likely presages a shift in policy not only in Uzbekistan against a segment of Islam even the Kremlin thought it could work with.

To the extent that is true, the Sufis are likely to respond not by withdrawing from politics and militance but by doubling down on both, something that sets the stage for potentially serious consequences not only in areas where Sufis have been traditionally strong but in others where they have been growing in many cases because of state protection.

Wednesday, June 15, 2022

ISIS WAR ON SUFIS
Afghanistan’s Sufis Are Under Attack

Recent bombing of a mosque in Kabul shows the growing security problems facing the Taliban government

Fazelminallah Qazizai

Afghan followers of Sufism recite poetic verses from the Koran at the Pahlawan Mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan / Robert Nickelsberg / Getty Images

As I passed through my final years of high school in Kabul, it did not cross my mind that I might be able to go on and study at university. My father had just died from a long illness and, like so many Afghan teenagers, I was already thinking about how I might be able to support my family. We were poor enough that I had only one set of shirt and trousers to wear to my last two years of classes, so I knew I would have to find a job sooner rather than later.

I graduated from school in 2006 and, although times were tough on a personal level, there was a sense of optimism in much of the country back then. It’s true that security was starting to deteriorate, but memories of the 1990s civil war were still fresh in everyone’s minds, and there was a widespread belief that the international community would not abandon Afghanistan again.

After trying and failing to find a job with various NGOs for reasons none of them cared to explain, I was persuaded by one of my younger brothers to visit a local Sufi — “tasawwuf” — mosque in the hope that it might change my luck. I must admit that I initially laughed at his suggestion, not because I disliked Sufis but because I was skeptical of any practices that went against my belief in the more traditional tenets of Islam. I regard myself as a socially progressive Muslim who shows his devotion to God in conventional ways. I could not see how a visit to this particular mosque might be any better for me than praying in my usual mosque or at home. In the end, however, I agreed to go there to boost the morale of my brother and mother.

We cycled to the Khalifa Sahib mosque in Aladdin, a neighborhood in west Kabul near Parliament and the American University, and sat down to talk to one of its scholarly custodians. I remember him being a kind man who listened quietly from under his flat white turban as I explained about my futile search for a job. He then took out some paper talismans and told my brother to burn or smoke one at night. Another one he gave us was to be put in a glass of water, dissolved and drunk the next morning.

We obeyed his instructions and, while my luck didn’t change in the short term, it did eventually. I later found work as a journalist and graduated with a degree in Islamic law from Kabul University. I do not attribute this change in fortune to the Sufi mosque, but I have always looked back on that visit with fondness. I was a young man — a boy, really — going through a hard time, and it meant a lot to me to receive the kindness of a stranger, however eccentric his advice might have been.

Unfortunately, this memory of a more innocent time has taken on a melancholy hue in recent weeks. On April 29 an explosion ripped through that same Sufi mosque after Friday prayers. At least 10 people, and perhaps more than 50, were killed. There is confusion about whether the blast was a suicide attack or the result of a bomb planted at the scene, but it was not an isolated incident. A week earlier, on April 22, the Mawlawi Sekander Sufi mosque in the northern city of Kunduz was hit by a similar attack that killed at least 33 people and wounded dozens more. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for that blast and is also believed to have been behind the bloodshed in Kabul. With Shia Muslims as well as Sufis being increasingly targeted, it is clear that attempts are underway to ignite a sectarian war in Afghanistan. History suggests this will not work, but nothing is certain anymore.

Sufism has roots in this country that are far older than the kind of ideology practiced by the Islamic State. While Afghans are often wary of its more esoteric aspects — such as the way worshipers engage in “dhikr” (chanting) to show their devotion to God — its mysticism has traditionally been a source of comfort for many people here. The sick visit Sufi shrines in search of cures for cancer or depression; infertile women go to them looking for the miracle they need to have a child. This has started to change in recent years and of course it would be better if everyone trusted in science, but it seems churlish to rebuke Afghans for finding hope wherever they can. During times of darkness we occasionally need artificial light.

Sufism is not a sect or a type of jurisprudence but a form of Islamic belief that emphasizes the mystical, peaceful aspects of our religion and prioritizes inner contemplation. As far as the Islamic State is concerned, this is enough to make Sufis idolators. But attacks such as the one on April 29 in Kabul are attacks on the heritage and culture of all Afghans. We do not have to be Sufis to understand and appreciate the role that Sufism has played in our history.

There are four main Sufi orders in Afghanistan and the wider region: the Chishti, the Qadiriyya, the Suhrawardiyya and the Naqshbandi. The Chishti originated near Herat in western Afghanistan, and some of our greatest poets were Sufis. The most famous of them, Jalaluddin Rumi, was born in Balkh in northern Afghanistan in the early 13th century. The United Nations cultural agency (UNESCO) celebrated his work in 2007, the same year I went to the Sufi mosque in Kabul. The U.N. secretary-general at the time, Ban Ki-moon, described Rumi’s work as “timeless” and praised his “humanist philosophy.” We Afghans also claim Abdur Rahman Baba, a 15th- and 16th-century Sufi poet from Peshawar, as one of our own and continue to draw inspiration from his writing.

Afghan Sufis fought against the Soviet occupation of our country in the 1980s, just like more hardline jihadists. Three of the seven Sunni mujahedeen parties during that time were led by Sufis. They may not have been as militarily effective as their rivals, but their followers still made enormous sacrifices in the name of defending Afghanistan and Islam.

Although the Taliban’s relationship with the Sufi community is complex, it is certainly not openly hostile. Afghan Sufi scholars have been vocal in their support for the current government and often refer to Sirajuddin Haqqani, the minister of interior, using the honorific “Khalifa” — a title traditionally given to Sufi disciples who reach scholarly levels of enlightenment. The respect seems both genuine and mutual, and it is arguably a good example of the compromises we Afghans need to make if we want our country to move forward. The shamans who always used to roam around Kabul collecting alms are no longer visible on the streets and seem to have been discouraged from carrying out their rituals in public since the Taliban’s takeover, but that is the only sign I have noticed of the Islamic Emirate possibly acting against Sufism.

This cordial relationship between the government and the Sufi community may be only a small cause for optimism, but it is worth noting. Given the increased activity of the Islamic State of late and the criticisms that have rightly been leveled at some of the Taliban’s more repressive social policies, we need to recognize that there is still some cause for hope. Whether this can be built on may well depend on whether security gets significantly worse.

A month after the attack on the Sufi mosque in Kabul, the Taliban marked the sixth anniversary of the death of their former leader, Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, who was killed by a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan in 2016. To honor his memory, several senior officials attended a commemorative event on May 22 in a wedding hall in Kabul, the kind of place that would once have been the scene of raucous late-night parties. Although the atmosphere was measured, the meeting was revolutionary in its own way. The former head of the Taliban’s political office in Doha and current deputy foreign minister, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, used the occasion to call for girls’ schools to be reopened and for women’s rights to be respected. Even that meeting, however, was not allowed to pass peacefully. An explosion hit several vehicles parked outside, causing unknown numbers of casualties. This time a group calling itself the National Liberation Front claimed responsibility. Exactly who they are and what they want is unclear.

These kinds of mysterious attacks took place regularly under the governments of Hamid Karzai and Ashraf Ghani, and the Taliban will be keen to ensure they do not get out of hand. This spring we have often been without electricity in Kabul because the pylons in the north of the country that supply the city are being routinely targeted in sabotage operations. On the streets here no one is quite sure whether to blame rebel groups linked to the old Northern Alliance or hostile states — or, perhaps, both. Even as I write these lines at home now, I have just heard an explosion in the near distance. I will wait for the sound of ambulance sirens or a call from a friend or relative to find out if anyone was hurt.

Fazelminallah Qazizai is the Afghanistan correspondent at New Lines

June 1, 2022

“Letter from Kabul” is a newsletter in which our contributors provide their own unique glimpses into life on the ground in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan

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Saturday, July 30, 2022

Fathy Salama, Mahmoud El-Tohamy to hold a ‘Sufism vs Modernism’ concert

Ahram Online , Saturday 30 Jul 2022

Egyptian Grammy-winning music producer Fathy Salama and some members of his band Sharkiat will reunite with Islamic Sufi chanter Mahmoud El-Tohamy and a number of his musicians in another “Sufism vs Modernism” concert.

The project — which aims to revive Islamic heritage in a new approach — will be introduced in a performance scheduled for Sunday 7 August at the Cairo Opera House’s Open Theatre.

The concert’s repertoire will include new arrangements for the pair’s known songs, including Qamarun, El-Burda, Umm El-Khier, Waggeh Fouadak Lel-Elah, Zedny Befart El-Hob, and Ana Moghram Behawah.

The godfather of many first-row indie bands and musicians, Salama — who played a vital role in shaping mainstream pop in the 1970s and 1980s — has paid special attention to traditional Islamic music since he formed Sharkiat in the 1980s and won a Grammy and a BBC award for another Sufi project with Senegalese music icon Youssou N’Dour.

The son of the famous Sufi chanter Sheikh Yassin El-Tohamy, Mahmoud mastered the deep-rooted Islamic musical art from early childhood, following in his father’s footsteps. He is also the founder of the Egyptian Association of Religious Hymns and Litanies, as well as the Prince Taz Palace School of Chanting and Music in Cairo.

The internationally acclaimed duo are reuniting in the Sufism vs Modernism Project, which was first launched in February 2018 before being developed in a few concerts in Cairo and Abu Dhabi.

Programme:
Sunday 7 August, 8pm
Open Theatre, Cairo Opera House, Zamalek

Friday, March 17, 2023

SUFISM

CULTURE: THE DIVINE MUSIC OF KASHMIR

Mubashar Naqvi

Published March 12, 2023

Kashmiri Sufi music occasions the coming together of locals in the valley | Photo by the writer

Nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, the beautiful valley of Kashmir is renowned for its breathtaking landscapes, serene lakes and snow-capped mountains. But, there is more to this region than just its natural beauty.

The valley of Kashmir is also home to a rich musical tradition that has been passed down many generations and through centuries. Among the various forms of music that are native to this region, Kashmiri Sufi music emerges as very captivating and soul-nourishing.

The roots of Sufism in Kashmir can be traced back to the 13th century, when the legendary Sufi saint Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Wali arrived in the valley from Central Asia. He is known to have played a crucial role in spreading the message of Islam through his mystical teachings and, particularly, his use of soulful music.

The followers of Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Wali, also known as Nund Rishi, developed a unique form of music that combined the traditional folk music of Kashmir with the mystical teachings of Sufism. This music is known as Kashmiri Sufi music.

The rich and vibrant tradition of the mystical music of Kashmir is slowly becoming a relic of the past in Azad Jammu and Kashmir

KASHMIRI SUFI

Kashmiri Sufi music is characterised by its soulful lyrics, haunting melodies and mystical themes. The lyrics of Sufi music are often inspired by the teachings of the Sufi saints and poets, who believed in the power of music to connect with the Divine — symbolising love, compassion, and tolerance. The music is also deeply rooted in the folk culture of Kashmir, and the lyrics often incorporate elements of nature, love and spirituality.

The music is performed by a group of musicians who use traditional instruments such as the santoor, rabab and harmonium, along with traditional Kashmiri percussion instruments such as the tumbaknari and the dholak.

Kashmiri Sufi music is also characterised by its meditative and trance-like quality. The repetitive rhythms and hypnotic melodies of the music are designed to induce a state of spiritual ecstasy in the listener. This is achieved through the use of ‘call-and-response patterns’, where the lead singer chants a line and the chorus responds with a repeating phrase or melody.

One of the most unique features of Kashmiri Sufi music is its emphasis on improvisation. While the basic structure of the music is often pre-determined, individual musicians are given the freedom to improvise and add their own personal touches to the music. This improvisation creates a sense of spontaneity that is rare in other forms of music.

One of the most important aspects of Sufi music is the devotional qawwali. Characterised by its repetitive rhythms, and with lyrics often including verses from the Quran, as well as the teachings of the Sufi saints, the qawwali is an integral part of the Sufi tradition and it is believed to have the power to heal and soothe the soul.

“Kashmiri Sufi music has a special place in my heart,” says Zia Naqvi, an educationist and photographer who hails from Multan, and is currently based in Islamabad.

He says he connects deeply with Kashmiri Sufi music.

“It is a profound and spiritual form of expression that speaks to the deepest parts of the human soul. It has the power to uplift and transport us to a higher state of consciousness, connecting us to something greater than ourselves. To me, there is nothing quite like the experience of listening to Sufi music in the beautiful landscape of Kashmir, surrounded by the majesty of the mountains and the peacefulness of the valley.”

MUSICALLY DIVIDED

Across the Line of Control, the popularity of Kashmiri Sufi music has grown significantly over the years, and many music festivals are organised in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir throughout the year, showcasing the talents of local musicians and promoting the rich musical heritage of the region.

One of the most popular music festivals is the Sufi Music Festival, which is held annually in the month of October in the Indian-held valley. The festival attracts music lovers from all over the world.

Unfortunately, there has been little cross-border exchange of music among Kashmiris. The few offerings that have materialised have been primarily in the Kashmiri language, which is now understood by a diminishing number of individuals in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

While a handful of liberation-themed songs have garnered some degree of fame, they cannot be regarded as representative of the transcendent Sufi music tradition that has played such a crucial role in the cultural identity of the Kashmiri people.

RELIC OF THE PAST?

The land of Azad Jammu and Kashmir is a hidden gem in the Himalayan region, blessed with breathtaking natural beauty and a rich cultural heritage that has been passed down through centuries. Yet, as time marches on, the people of this region seem to be losing touch with their roots, neglecting the very essence of what makes them unique.

In particular, the hauntingly beautiful strains of Kashmiri Sufi music, which have long been a staple of the region’s cultural identity, are being forgotten and neglected, as if they were mere relics of the past.

Some other factors are also threatening the enchanting rhythms of Kashmiri Sufi music in AJK. The conflict-ridden region has led to the curtailment of cultural activities and weakened the social and religious structures that have long supported Sufi music. Moreover, the rise of conservative ideologies also dismisses music and artistic expression as un-Islamic, further driving younger generations away from Sufi music.

Globalisation has also introduced Western musical influences, prompting a shift in the musical preferences of Kashmiri youth towards modern genres and leaving the mellifluous tunes of Sufi music to languish. This has put Sufi musicians in a precarious position, with limited opportunities to share their art.

It is a tragedy that such a rich and vibrant tradition, which has touched the hearts and souls of so many generations, should be allowed to fade away into obscurity, without so much as a second thought.

“Kashmiri Sufi music is not just music,” says social activist and documentary film producer Zahid Nisar. “It’s a language of the heart that speaks of love, peace and harmony. In a world that’s increasingly divided, we need more of such music that unites us and reminds us of our shared humanity.”

The beauty of Kashmiri Sufi music must be preserved, cherished and shared with the world, so that it may continue to inspire and uplift all those who hear its divine melodies.

The writer is based in Muzaffarabad and writes on culture, tourism and higher education. He tweets @SMubasharNaqvi

Published in Dawn, EOS, March 12th, 2023

Sunday, November 10, 2024

Two Gifts from Ivan Aguéli: Sufi, Anarchist, Theosophist, Painter

Nov

2024

From Bitter Winter, A magazine on religious liberty and human rights, by Massimo Introvigne

A museum in Sala and a book on his magazine “Il Convito” help understanding the different aspects of the extraordinary career of the Swedish artist.

This year, I received two gifts from a character I had been interested in for decades, Swedish painter Ivan Aguéli (1869–1917). First, I was finally able to visit the Aguéli Museum in his birthplace, Sala, Sweden. Sala is located some 130 kilometers from Stockholm, and the museum is open only four days per week. It is a small museum but still essential for understanding Aguéli as an artist.

In fact, there is a different perception of Aguéli in Sweden and elsewhere. In Sweden, he is primarily known as a painter, and one who eludes classification in a specific current, and honored as such. Abroad, his artistic production is less known than his role in the history of the spread of Sufism in the West, esotericism, and anarchism. In fact, a closer look at the Egyptian landscapes may open a window on Aguéli’s spirituality. But you have to look at them twice.

*Massimo Introvigne visiting the Aguéli Museum in Sala, August 17, 2024.*

The second gift came by the mail. It was the book by Paul-André Claudel “Un journal « italo-islamique » à la veille de la Première Guerre mondiale : Il Convito / النادي [al-Nâdî] (Le Caire, 1904-1912)” (Alexandria: Centre d’Études Alexandrines, 2022). The book is a jewel and confirms that there is no substitute for the printed paper. The elegant composition of text and illustrations would never be the same on Kindle.

The museum in Sala introduces the artist but does not reveal the important role of Aguéli as a cultural strategist who tried to create a friendship between a part of the Western culture and Islam. This is the subject matter of Claudel’s book, organized around the magazine “Il Convito,” published in Italian, Arabic, and sometimes Ottoman Turkish in Cairo between 1904 and 1907, with two further issues in 1910 and 1912 by Aguéli and Italian medical doctor, scholar, and intelligence agent Enrico Insabato (1878–1963).

Claudel’s tour de force succeeds in showing the idiosyncratic nature of the magazine. There is little doubt that Insabato, under his hat (one of many, though) as an Italian spy, produced the magazine to persuade Muslims that, unlike Britain and France, the secular Italy of the early 20th century was a friend of Islam. Engaged in an ideological and political conflict with the Vatican, Italy did not support Catholic or Protestant missionaries either.

However, the continuous dialogue and cooperation between Insabato and Aguéli produced a magazine unlike the many others published by Europeans in Egypt. The latter often praised reformist and modernized Islam. On the contrary, Aguéli was a Sufi and “Il Convito” praised a traditional Islam resisting modernization and criticized the reformists.

It also maintained that traditional Islam needed a caliphate, which led the magazine to a pro-Ottoman position that finally led to its undoing. When Italy attacked the Ottoman Empire in 1911 to add Libya to its colonies the contradiction between the pro-Italian and pro-Turkish attitudes of “Il Convito” exploded. The Young Turks revolution of 1908 had already changed a landscape where Türkiye could be perceived as the representative of a traditional Islam opposing modernity.

*Aguéli (standing, left) and Insabato (standing, center) with others in Cairo, circa 1904.*

Of course, Aguéli the Muslim convert and Sufi is well-known as the man who introduced René Guénon (1886–1951) to Sufism, although on how extensively the latter was influenced by the Swedish painter (perhaps more than he cared to admit) opinions differ.

Claudel’s book also offers some curious clues about Aguéli’s relationships with esoteric milieus. Given what “Il Convito” was and its connections with the Italian intelligence, it may look strange to find there Theosophical references and an obituary of Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (1832–1907), co-founder of the Theosophical Society. But the references are less strange if we consider that Aguéli was a member of the Theosophical Society himself.

*Obituary of Colonel Olcott in the June 1907 issue of “Il Convito” (from Claudel’s book).*

As many in Swedish esoteric milieus and beyond, he was also influenced by Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772). Claudel adds some interesting details, including the close relationship in Cairo between Aguéli and Eugène Dupré (1882–1944), in fact so close that they shared for a while the same apartment. Dupré co-founded the Egyptian branch of the Martinist Order and another esoteric society, the Ordre du Lys et de l’Aigle. Claudel also mentions Dupré’s claim that Aguéli was “a very close friend” of Charles Grolleau (1867–1940), another Martinist and disciple of Papus (Gérard Encausse, 1865–1916). Grolleau later converted to Catholicism and, via an introduction by Guénon, participated in the initiatives in Paray-le-Monial of iconographer Louis Charbonneau-Lassay (1871–1946) promoting the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Here, Claudel’s book needs to be read together with another essential text on Aguéli I already reviewed in “Bitter Winter”: “Anarchist, Artist, Sufi: The Politics, Painting, and Esotericism of Ivan Aguéli” (London: Bloomsbury, 2021), a collection of fourteen essays and of some key texts by Aguéli, edited by Mark Sedgwick. The collection includes decisive chapters by Per Faxneld on Aguéli and esotericism and by Sedgwick himself on the Swedish painter and Guénon (and a contribution by Claudel too).

*Ivan Aguéli, “Egyptian Landscape,” circa 1895. Aguéli Museum, Sala.*

The most puzzling question is how Aguéli could have been at the same time a Muslim Sufi, a member or associate of different Western esoteric organizations, and an anarchist. Insabato had been an anarchist too, but at least from a certain date on he was more a spy on anarchists circles on behalf of the Italian intelligence service. Claiming that Aguéli moved from anarchism to Sufism and esotericism would not solve the problem. He remained an anarchist, although in his later years a less active and outspoken one, until his mysterious death near Barcelona in 1917, hit by a train.

*Left, French police photograph of Aguéli taken by the inventor himself of the mugshots, Alphonse Bertillon (1853–1914); right, Leda Rafanelli (credits).*

In fact, Aguéli was not the only anarchist who claimed that anarchism was atheistic as it rejected the religions that sided with the rich and the powerful, such as 19th-century Christianity, but Islam was a religion of the oppressed and an entirely different matter.

Here, a comparison may be proposed with Tuscan anarchist Leda Rafanelli (1880–1971). While many know her only as the lover of pre-Fascist Benito Mussolini (1883–1945), Rafanelli was at the same time an anarchist, a self-styled Muslim (if an idiosyncratic one), and a professional Tarot reader who cultivated a number of esoteric interests. Comparing her to Aguéli would do for another interesting book and would confirm that anarchy and esoteric spirituality were not necessarily incompatible.

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

REVIEW

Bedeviled: Jinn Doppelgangers in Islam & Akbarian Sufism

Book Author(s): Dunja Rasic
Published Date: March 2024
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Hardback:220 pages
ISBN-13:9781438496894

by Usman Butt

February 19, 2024

Doppelgangers are the stuff of fantasy, folklore and tradition and are an integral part of popular culture; one only has to think of Jake Gyllenhaal’s 2014 film, Enemy, where a depressed history teacher discovers he has an exact look-alike who works as an extra in films, to see how doppelgangers capture our imaginations today. The main definition of doppelganger seems to be a biologically unrelated exact look-alike of a person, or the double of a living person. Outside of the West, there is also a tradition of doppelgangers and, in the Islamicate, they are associated with jinns. Dunja Rasic’s Bedeviled: Jinn Doppelgangers in Islam & Akbarian Sufism explores the world of doppelganger jinn in medieval Islam and the writings of thirteenth-century Sufi mystic, traveller, scholar and poet, Ibn Arabi. Devotees of Ibn Arabi, who follow the Akbari Sufi order, not only continue to pore over his works for wisdom, they also preserve and pass down some of our understanding of doppelganger jinns. Who the jinn are and what their significance is has long been debated but, broadly, they are understood to be beings who are neither human nor angels, who exist between worlds and can influence humans.

REVIEW: The City in Arabic Literature

Doppelganger jinn, known as qarin (pl. qurana) or qarina, were the subject of lively debate in the medieval period. In Islamic tradition, “a qarin was generally understood to be a jinni companion and a doppelganger of human beings. Each qarin was thought to be conceived at the same time as its human. When a child is born, a qarin enters its heart.” Qurana are usually evil or mischievous beings who whisper to humans to tempt them to either follow whims and passions, or to do bad things. While we find jinns discussed in the Quran and a collection of prophetic narrations known as hadiths, the concept of jinns predates Islam and has strong ties to pre-Islamic Arabian folklore traditions. In different regions, local oral traditions make their way into Islamic debates about jinn, including qarin. In Palestinian oral tradition, the idea of evil doppelgangers may have given rise to tales of a female demoness, Qarina, who was a succubus, seductress and murderer of pregnant women and children. The belief in Qarina was likely inspired by tales of Lilith, the first wife of Adam, who, like Qarina, became a succubus, seduced men and harmed children. Qarina could appear as a beautiful woman and, in the Iraqi tradition, we encounter stories of men marrying her. But does this disqualify her from being classed as a jinn? As Rasic observers, “the main difference between a qarin and Qarina is reflected in the fact that Qarina’s cruelty is not reserved for a single person. Jinn are disgusted with menstrual blood which seems to attract Qarina.” What these discussions highlight is a concern with identifying boundaries and categorising jinn by medieval thinkers.

For Ibn Arabi, he saw qarin as “a devil within the blood and hearts of humans”. For the Sufi mystic, both jinn and qarin were not only supernatural entities, they were also ways of probing theological issues and problems in society. Through writing about them, Ibn Arabi not only tried to make sense of evil, but also, “to show how humans, jinn and, even the Devil himself, might be saved from it.” Indeed spiritual self work was key for all humans, “Sufi works often made no distinction between the act of taming a qarin and the purification of the lower soul.” Given how closely tied qarin were to humans, advice on how to deal with them often meant advice on how to deal with the individual self. A righteous human being who resists temptation offered by qarin could actually convert the qarin to Islam, as they will follow the piety and good actions of the person they are tied to.

Bedeviled offers a niche and exciting exploration of Jinn doppelgangers in Islamic thought; it lays out both clearly and concisely debates Ibn Arabi and others were having about the qarin and gives the read an excellent introduction into the world of jinn studies. In both medieval and contemporary societies in the Middle East, jinns are an active part of how people interpret the world around them and, while there is a lot of complexity and nuance in how people interact with these ideas, to imagine a world in which jinns are not part of the cultural landscape in the Islamicate would be hard to fathom. Both medieval and contemporary debates about jinn are not merely about exchanging scary stories, as we have become accustomed to doing with ghost stories, but are about grappling with moral issues, boundaries, religious obligations and the edge of human knowledge. While reading Bedeviled, I got a sense of a whole range of issues confronting society in the time of Ibn Arabi and the book provides an important window into it. Rasic’s book will surely not only be of interest to those who are interested in jinns, but also to those who are interested in the concept of doppelgangers and how different cultures think about them.

REVIEW: Sufis in Medieval Baghdad