The bad Sufi. It is often assumed that S…
It is often assumed that Sufism stands opposed to Wahhabism. Wrong. Sufism and Wahhabism, in fact, share a fatal characteristic – they are religions of the status quo. In Pakistan, Sufism legitimises barbarities of inequality and starvation – ‘do nothing, it’s god’s will’ – while at the same time justifying structures of oppressive power, Pirism and landlordism, rather like Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia. Contemporary Sufism, rather than being a solution to Pakistan’s problems, is the cause.
thabet, and 4 others are discussing.
aziz 11:44 am on January 26, 2010 Permalink
well, “a” cause, not “the” cause, surely.
cbarwa 11:58 am on January 26, 2010 Permalink
John – am I to understand that you agree with this critique?, it seems like ‘an opium of the masses’ arguement to me and I am not convinced that it is entirely fair to the legacy of Sufism in South Asia.
johnpi 12:16 pm on January 26, 2010 Permalink
I haven’t decided what about this article I’m in agreement with yet…
Shams al-Nahar 5:54 pm on January 26, 2010 Permalink
Those people are Sufi in the same sense that WECs are christians.
They represent a socio-political pseudo-religious aggregate that seeks to maintain the status quo and the local primacy of their memetic deme.
johnpi 11:11 pm on January 26, 2010 Permalink
I think you nailed it.
Durkadurkistan 3:43 am on January 28, 2010 Permalink
Interesting. I’d probably disagree with the author’s insistence that Sufism is the problem here, though. It looks as like sufism has just been coopted by a sort of feudalistic economic/political order. But there were valid points about some of the excesses, cults of personality and superstitions that can go along with sufism.
Have you heard of this Shaykh from Lahore – Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri?
“A Message to the Sufis” by Sh. Tahir-ul-Qadri:
thabet 6:20 am on January 28, 2010 Permalink
MuQ are not beyond using thuggery and violence against people who may question their shaykh.
Durkadurkistan 3:24 am on January 29, 2010 Permalink
Do you mean that Minhaj-ul-Qur’an as an organization encourages the behavior, or that some of the Shaykh’s many followers are simply fools?
I’d opine it is the latter.
Willow 11:11 am on January 28, 2010 Permalink
This is so specific to the subcontinent that I’m surprised the author felt at liberty to extract such sweeping generalizations. The ‘pir’ system is unknown in the Middle East and Africa. And while I am critical of Sufi organization–I think it does inherently foster cultlike behavior–this is certainly an extreme.