Pakistan's mystics in sights of Taliban

[G_j]

Source: Boston.com / AP

PESHAWAR, Pakistan—Worshippers still flock to the grave of Rahman Baba, a Muslim mystic revered by millions in Pakistan and Afghanistan. But they now pray at a mound of rubble and twisted steel -- all that remains of his tomb since militants bombed it.

The blast in March was the most high-profile in a recent spate of attacks against Pakistan's homespun, tolerant brand of Islam by hard-liners trying to replace it with the more austere version espoused by the Taliban, al-Qaida and other Sunni extremist groups.

"This hurts deep in my heart," said Ihasan ul-Haq, as he looked through a rainstorm onto the ruins of the once ornate, whitewashed tomb on the outskirts of Peshawar, a main northwestern town coming under the influence of the extremists. "And to think they do this in the name of Islam."

The attack was a sign of the extreme intolerance of the militants and the threat posed by the insurgency to the religious and cultural heart of Pakistan, a nation of 170 million people that the U.S. sees as critical in the global fight against Islamic extremism.

As in other countries where Islam replaced earlier religions, the faith widely practiced in Pakistan is different to that in its birthplace, the Arabian peninsula. While still devout and socially conservative, most Pakistanis follow or are influenced by Islam's mystical path of Sufism and incorporate local trappings such as visiting the shrines of saints, devotional songs and dancing. Some estimates say up to 75 percent of the country belongs to this group.

However, the extremists take their cue instead from Islam as practiced in the deserts of 7th century Arabia and are opposed to Sufism and indigenous forms of the faith -- particularly the veneration of saints -- which they consider dangerous deviations. The extremists gained strength in Pakistan in the 1980s, partly on the back of funding by the United States, which used hardline groups as proxies to fight Soviet rule in Afghanistan.

Read more: http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2009/05/23/pakistans_mystics_in_sights_of_taliban/

[C_U_L8R]

1. But if they really were mystics..

wouldn't they see them coming ? : - )))

[Bette Noir]

2. Bad joke.

You're thinking "psychics." Mysticism has nothing to do with predicting the future.

[C_U_L8R]

3. apologies... bad attempt on my part

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

8. Who says we haven't?

The war within Islam has been predicted since the Prophet said the destruction of Islam would come from within--from the place where Wahhabism started. The thing is, in Sufism, it is the inner work that is important, not the politics. In Qum in Iran, the students of a Sufi teacher peacefully assembled to try and stop the destruction of their teaching center. Thousands were arrested, many tortured, and the buildings destroyed. Some of the Sufis involved have not been seen since they were put into custody.

But the thing is, the fundamentalists can destroy the buildings and shrines, break up the meetings--but that will not stop the inner work. The Silsala (chain of teachers with one becomes linked by initiation) is not broken, cannot be broken. And the lone Sufi will still find his way to the Goal one breath at a time.

[RainDog]

13. where is this predicted?

can you give a citation or a link?

I briefly looked for such a quote online and all I come up with are quotes about the Persians being conquered by Muslims, etc.

I don't believe in prophecy of any sort, but I would like to be able to read the statement (in translation, obviously.)

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

15. It is a Hadith

or saying the the Prophet--I believe dealing with wolves. Read it years ago, and don't recall more than that.

[Wednesdays]

4. K&R

:kick:

[bleever]

5. Very sad.

How much of this is the legacy of U.S. support for militant groups for fighting the Soviets? How else would such retrograde entities gain so much power?

[G_j]

6. How much of this is the legacy of U.S. support for militant groups for fighting the Soviets?

much of it. I would think.

remember those radical school text books we supplied to help foster those future terrorists, the mujahideen?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

10. US government needs to follow the practice of the dervish

A dervish has, as a practice, to consider the repercussions of his actions before he takes action. And this practice expands to include repercussions of repercussions, etc, etc, up to 7 times.

(No, I'm not a dervish, as anyone who reads some of my less thoughtful posts would know!)

[G_j]

11. much like the "seven generations"

to be considered before any action. (Native American)

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

14. Yes,

similar concept

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

9. If the US had really wanted power and influence in this part of the world,

the government should have followed the advice of the first American Sufi Murshid, Samuel L. Lewis, who went to the Middle East and Pakistan in the 50s and showed them how to grow organic food and increase their crop yields--and who had a plan for peace in the Middle East.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

7. Sufis are being persecuted by fundamentalists

because our way is a path of liberation AND we don't mess up things by mixing politics and religion. If I were in Saudi Arabia, for example, I would be in prison for practicing my faith--same in Iran. Sadly, the reason the fundamentalists have weapons and power is the US backing.

[G_j]

12. Sufis have done so much to bring people together, and build bridges

I had the pleasure of meeting Sufi Sam years ago. and know many involved in the "Dances Of Peace".

[Vehl]

16. sad news :(

The Sufi's have always been on of the most tolerant and accepting factions/schools within Islam...one might trace their roots to pre-Islamic traditions of the ME. I always knew that religious fundamentalists hate the moderates within their own religion more than they would outsiders/their enemies....and it seems to have been true in this case too.

I just hope the Sufi's are able to escape the Taliban's wrath...

[IndianaGreen]

17. The Taleban, and their Wahhabi spiritual backers in Saudi Arabia, are heretics

They have bastardized Islam to an unrecognizable level, much like religious radicals within Christianity and Judaism have done the same to their faiths.

[murielm99]

18. I know it's not directly related,

but this made me think of the Buddhas of Bamiyan. They were destroyed by the Taliban.

Why destroy those statues? There are no Buddhists in Afghanistan any more. But the statues were historic. They could have represented tourist dollars for impoverished Afghan citizens.

I read that the statues are being restored. But it will not be the same.