 |
| Meditation: Mohammad Nooraee (l.), a spiritual counselor from Iran, worships at the House of Sufism (Nimatullahi Order) in
Boston. Nicole Hill |
Sufism may be powerful antidote to Islamic extremism
With its spiritual tradition, 'the Sufi way' is an age-old alternative for radicals and modernists alike.
from the December 5, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
Puritanical reformers revile it
While Sufism has been persecuted in Saudi Arabia, it is thriving in such places as Iran, Pakistan, and India outside the modernist cities, says Ahmed, who traveled throughout the Muslim world in 2006. During a visit to the Sufi shrine at Ajmer, India, he encountered a throng of thousands worshiping there.
"Just last week, when former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returned to Pakistan, where did he go? To the Sufi shrine in Lahore," he adds.
But can Sufism influence or counter the political rise of the radicals? Puritanical reformers call Sufis heretics. And modernizers have often denigrated them. Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern secular Turkey, for instance, closed down the Sufi orders, including Rumi's Mevlevi order.
Yet, according to a survey Ahmed took of some young people in Turkey last year, their top choice as a role model is a Sufi intellectual, Fetullah Gulen, who has built a large system of schools and is known for his promotion of interfaith dialogue.
Sufis lead reform movements
Historically, Sufism has had greater impact in the Muslim world than have Jewish and Christian mysticism in their communities, says Marcia Hermansen, an expert on Sufism at Loyola University in Chicago.
Not only has it pervaded Islamic art, literature, music, and architecture, but in the realm of political life, several Sufi orders became ruling dynasties, reshaping the map of the Muslim world.
"Some of the greatest reform movements in the 19th century were carried out by Sufis," says Nasr. "Amir Abd al-Kader, the national hero of Algeria, was a Sufi master."
No reliable statistics exist for numbers of Sufis practicing today, as both Sunni and Shiite Muslims may also be Sufis. But many Sufi orders, in which serious students follow a master teacher, have become international in scope. (In the US, Sufi movements vary considerably, and a few have taken on New Age elements and are not directly related to Islam.)
Llew Smith joined the Nimatullahi Order, which has 10 houses of Sufism in the US, but whose teacher – Dr. Javad Nubakhsh – resides in London. Mohammad Nooraee, one of his students, came to the US from Iran 30 years ago and now acts as a spiritual counselor in the house in Boston's South End neighborhood. The local group gathers for meditation twice a week, which sometimes involves music or poetry. [Editor's note: The original version misspelled Mr. Nooraee's name.]
The only requirement for an initiate is that he be a sincere seeker, to "feel thirsty for God," he says during an interview. "In Sufism, we call it 'pain of seeking.' "
RSS feed
