Sex Education For the Next Generation

Brother Naqshbandi,
Allow me to compliment you on your vast knowledge of Sufism and its effect on the massive conversions in India, Malayasia, and Indonesia. Clearly the message of a loving, compassionate, and peaceful Islam was eagerly embraced by so many Hindus. Too bad that we now have to suffer under Wahaboobi invasion facilitated by petrodollars. :(

Re: # 351

i agree. i think what happened between the 17th and 20th centuries with the colonisation and loss of political power to Christians throughout virtually the whole islamic world caused a social crisis in the muslim mind. the immediate reaction was to go away from our traditional ways of spirituality and try to use western methods ourselves too. it simply is not islamic methodology. gradually people are realising and returning to the traditional methods. Indeed it is now termed Traditional Islam (with capitals!) by Western scholars of Islam in the West. The Sufis who had always been at the heart of islamic society suffered the most by the reaction to colonisation and now slowly the people are returning to it. :-)

Re: # 345

Naqshbandi Sahib:

Thank you for this write up. I will try to locate the books you mentioned on amazon.com and buy them to read and my own library.

I have been a student of change in human societies, irrespetive of any religious thought, there is a time proven method / strategy to bring these changes. Right now a friend of mine introduced me to a new book written by a prominent Military Scientist about Mohammad as the one of the finest Generals of all time. It is a very fascinating book, as it analyzes the first battles that he personally led, and also later he defined the military strategy for others to follow. Thus he created an organization for succession of military power to ensure success in promoting ideology of Islam. I also share your views that almost 300 millions cannot be converted through sole power of sword. There must be economic (don't know who) and social (sufis) incentives and reasons for this conversion.

Somehow my mind tells me that the answers to what ails Islamic countries is understanding the peaceful methods of changes that accompanied it into South Asia. Just as the changes christian missionaries brought in Africa are more permanent than the military changes of the colonials. Peaceful means almost always prevail and are more permanent.

but we cannot be held responsible for others' ignorance then. Especially if it comes from Muslims!

http://www.makkahmasjid.co.uk/events/the_radical_middle_way_pictures/Habib_Ali.j pg

here is a modern day direct descendent of the Prophet from the blessed valley of Hadramawt (Yemen) from where many of the saints who came to India originated (including I believe the famous Bangladeshi saint from Sylhet...)

Naqshbandi:

"Barelvis do NOT 'worship' shrines--only show tazeem to the sahib-e-mazaar."

I know that the distinction between Prastish and Tazeem is critical in Islam, but for most people:

If it looks like a duck, feels like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is worship. :-)

Syed S M Rizvi I believe has written a two or three volume book on the History of Sufis of South Asia. It is available in any good library.

Re: # 342

in short your answer is 'yes'. the earliest sufis came with the entourages of the earliest conquerors...but to conquer hearts instead! it also depends on the part of the subcontinent you are talking about. in western india, for example, along the coast,it was sufi traders and preachers from yemen--specifically the hadramawt valley--who spread islam via their sufic example. these same hadramawti sufis--who are from the family of the Prophet--then would travel on to malaysia and indonesia and are almost solely repsonsible for the conversion to islam of those archipelagos! that is why in western india, and in indonesia and malaysia the sunni muslims follow the shafi' school of thought as opposed to most muslims of the subcontinent who follow the hanafi school. the rest of india and pakistan was converted primarily by sufis from central asia, iraq, and iran who followed the chishti, qadri and naqshbandi orders. the chishtiyyah especially took hold of the imagination of the locals. one reason was that hazrat muinuddin hassan chishti saw that the indian local people were very addicted to music and preached the message of islam via sama' -- i.e. qawwali although by removing from the local music any unislamic elements. of course the biggest cause for the conversion of millions at their hands was the superior moral and ethical character of these great saints themselves. the spiritual battles of khwaja gharib nawaz with the head hindu spiritual leader are well recounted in sufi books of lore. the hindu became his mureed! it is said in sufi circles that khwaja gharib nawaz himself converted 90 lakhs of hindus to islam! he was related to ghaws al azam islam who sent him to india to preach...

in sindh too even with muhammad ibn qasim early sufis must have travelled and settled and made converts. the same is true with mahmud of ghazna and others. they all had sufi buzurgs in their retinues who would pray for their military victory as well as convert the masses.

it is a pattern seen time and again: though the military conquerors/kings were able to conquer the land of hindustan it was always the sufis who conquered the hearts of people and converted them to islam via personal example and, if needed, miracles. even in the early stages of islamic expansion after the Messenger it is a fact that though the Muslim Arab armies conquered vast lands the Muslims never forced the people to convert to islam and for long periods of time although they were the rulers the muslims remained a minority over those whom they ruled. it was the moral characteristics of the holy men which drew people. of course in the time of the rightly guided caliphs they combined sainthood with political leadership. that is why they are unique. :-)

hope that helps anil.

Some westerners (and some misinformed people way out East) charge that Islam was spread by the sword. Some claim that taxes are responsible for the numbers of Muslims. Let there be no mistake about it :) Islam was spread through sex with conviction (or without it).

Despite what the Wahaboobis preach nowadays, in Islam, abstinence is a sin.

Re: # 338

Naqshbandi Sahib:

Will you consider writing an essay on Sufi Movement in South Asia. How did they fit the social fabric? Who were early followers? Were they, like christian missionaries in Africa, were essential part of the change that Islam brought in India?

#327 Posted by tahmed32 on September 11, 2007 7:53:55 am

Well said.

Naqsh,

your jah o jalaal has convinced me! I shall take to the streets right now and kill the false sufis. Should I start in the US or Pakistan? May your greatness be exalted on chowk, may your fragarance never be duplicated. Ameen.

I am like a humble corpse, waiting for guidance, o learned and fragarant one.
with much respect,
thinking storm

errors in the article: Barelvis do NOT 'worship' shrines--only show tazeem to the sahib-e-mazaar.

The last line is inexplicable. That person should get his head checked unless he said it in a state of spiritual intoxication [haal].

Then again it is probably a mistranslation.
The Telegraph is notoriously right-wing--a bit like Fox News!
A large pinch of salt is needed...

a great article from today's Telegraph:

Whirling dervishes take on the Taliban

By Isambard Wilkinson in Sehwan
Last Updated: 1:36am BST 09/09/2007

Pakistanis have turned to prayer, hashish and frenzied dancing in an attempt to overcome their twin troubles; the Taliban and internal political turmoil.

Whirling dervishes
The frenzied festival for the Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar

More than half a million pilgrims flocked to Sehwan in Sindh for a festival for one of Pakistan's chief Sufi saints, Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, last week. "It is better than disco. If I do not come here, I do not feel right," said Idrees Rehman, a bus driver, as the festival and its whirling dervish dhammal dances ended yesterday.

"Everyone thinks Musharraf is a dictator. Qalandar will deal with him," added the man as he raved to the hypnotic dohl drums with his friends, fruit sellers, from Gujrat in northern Punjab.

Qalandar - whose name is synonymous in Pakistan with both political upheaval and tolerance - has a particular aptness as the president, Gen Pervez Musharraf, struggles to extend his tenure amid rising opposition and pro-Taliban violence.

The slogan "Dama dam mast Qalandar", which roughly translates as "endless inspired intoxication for Qalandar" has entered Pakistan's political lexicon. It denotes unrestrained agitation which can be mobilised either in support for an ally or against an enemy.
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In a room smelling sweet with incense and petals, Ahmed Bhutto, who called himself a physics professor, said: "We are the anti-Taliban force. We stand for love, tolerance and the great infinity."

The shrine, not far from the ancestral stronghold of exiled former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, is patronised by the Bhutto clan, who sit atop a hierarchy of Pirs, hereditary saints who hold significant power in politics in rural southern Punjab and Sind. The festival drives to the heart of Pakistan's battle for souls. Shia, Sunni, Hindu, Sikh and Christian all worship at the shrine that is a symbol of tolerance.

In general terms, the worship of shrines is practised by most of Pakistan's Sunni Muslims, known as Barelvis.

But this non-violent form is anathema to the doctrinaire Deobandi school of Islam, practised by most conservative Pushtuns from North West Frontier Province, pro-Taliban militants and jihadis.

Gen Musharraf vaguely backs the Barelvis as part of his homespun canon of "enlightened moderation". But over the years extremist Deobandi Sunni groups - led by leader of the opposition and "godfather of the Taliban" Fezlur Rehman - have violently taken over Barelvi shrines to steal land and appropriate religious influence.

"I am not a Shia or a Sunni. I am a Qalandri," said Mr Bhutto's boss, Pir Syed Bariyal Shah Subswari, a moustachioed man with turquoise rings on all his fingers.

His rambling theological digression, fuelled with Qalandar spirit, roamed far from strict interpretations of Islam. "Qalandar is our god," he yelled to his disciples.