The shrine culture is despised by many puritan Muslims who equate it with idol-worship and thus against the teachings of Islam. However, there's a vast shrine-going majority; the number of such puritans is no more than 10 per cent, which is still alarming. The Deobandi and Wahhabi creed has registered a whopping increase since the Afghan jihad days when Gen Zia-ul Haq allowed petro-dollars from the Gulf sheikhdoms to come in to help set up puritan seminaries, whose number is now in thousands.

The Taliban and militants of their ilk have all come out from such seminaries; most still receive grants from the government as a hangover of the Zia dictatorship, and no government has dared to cut off the official monthly payouts they get. It is a measure of government's inability to rein in extremism that the Lal Masjid prayer leader in Islamabad, who raised a rebellion against Musharraf and necessitated a military action killing over a hundred people in 2007, is back in his sarkari job.

The vast majority of Pakistanis remain practitioners of the Barelvi creed, who are shrine-going, peaceful people. But the same cannot be said of those sitting in the bureaucracy and in the government. Punjab's law minister Rana Sanaullah is accused of having links with banned militant organisations; the Sharif brothers who hold sway in the province would find it very awkward to relieve him of his job, not least because they wouldn't want to rub their erstwhile Saudi benefactors the wrong way.

Meanwhile, Data's Lahore and Jinnah's Pakistan remain in a muddled fix, created by military dictators and tolerated by the democratic leaders of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.-- Murtaza Razvi

Most Moroccans, young or old, practice one form of Sufism or another. As a deep component of the Moroccan identity, Sufism absorbs all members of society, regardless of age, gender, social status or political orientation.

Moroccan youth are increasingly drawn to Sufism because of its tolerance, its fluid interpretation of the Qur’an, its rejection of fanaticism and its embrace of modernity. Young men and women find in the Sufi principles of “beauty” and “humanity” a balanced lifestyle that allows them to enjoy arts, music and love without having to abandon their spiritual and religious obligations.

Sufi orders exist throughout Morocco. They organise regular gatherings to pray, chant and debate timely topics of social and political importance, ranging from the protection of the environment and social charity, to the war on drugs and the threat of terrorism. -- Mokhtar Ghambou

The great Rafiq Zakaria, father of Fareed, pointed out that the Quranic injunction was against “prostrating“ (sajda, from whose root we get masjid) before anyone except Allah. There was no problem with Vande Mataram, Zakaria reasoned, because it only asked for “bowing“, through vandan.

South Indians reveal the lack of individualism in our culture when they surrender through prostration before other people.

They show they actually mean it by setting themselves alight in grief when their leaders die, a quite unique and disturbing example of Indian mindlessness.

In some ways it is a religious act, because it demonstrates the desire for union.

A lot is revealed in our architecture. Unlike the Muslim's mosque, the Sikh's gurudwara and the Christian's church, we notice that the Hindu's temple doesn't have a congregational space.

Why is this so? It is because Hinduism is a transactional faith and stresses our relationship with God, not with man. The very rich among us understand this, and their gift to Him at Tirupati is not cash (which might get squandered on things like feeding the poor), but baubles such as jewel-encrusted crowns, so that He will remember, and reimburse.

In India, God may be inattentive, or otherwise occupied, and so our presence must be brought to his notice with a clang of the bell.

God's attention is also drawn by putting ourselves through discomfort: walking barefoot, rolling on the ground, wearing black, denying ourselves food.

Catholics also put themselves through discomfort, wearing hair-shirts and flagellating themselves with cilices. Islam's mystics wore robes of rough wool, and that is where the name Sufi comes from. – Aakar Patel

One of the most misunderstood aspects of Sufism is its music and dance, where the word, “Sufi” is often robbed of its spirituality and exploited by market-driven agendas. “Sama” literally means “to hear” and sama mehfils, Sufi music assemblies, require certain conditions of physical and spiritual purity. Sama is not about the listener, but the addressee. Poetry is sung or recited for God, Prophets and Sufi masters to invoke blessings. Sama must be presided by a Sufi master, who controls both, the singers and the gathering. In these collective gathering of remembrance, a definite etiquette is required, where clapping from the audience is unacceptable. ...The ultimate goal of the mystic is to achieve fana, annihilate himself in God. The use of music to induce hal, a state of spiritual ecstasy, is practiced by most Sufi orders barring some sections of the conservative Naqshbandi order. In hal, the Sufi loses consciousness and reaches higher spiritual levels. The term for ecstasy is wajd, which literally means “finding”, that is to find God.-- Sadia Dehlvi

This story succinctly portrays Ibn Arabi as a sage who strove to seek harmony in diversity and defined “a true seeker as one who cannot stay died to one form of belief”. In his book Fusus, he warns, ‘Beware of becoming delimited by a specific knotting and disbelieving in everything else, lest great good escape you... Be open to the forms of all beliefs, for God is eider and more tremendous than that.

He should be constricted by one knotting rather than another. “Further, he said, “Men of knowledge know that God manifests in diverse forms”.

The universal humanism of Ibn Arabi, firmly rooted in the Quran, acknowledged that ‘each person has a unique path to the truth. This unites all paths in itself”. The impact of his writing has influenced both Sufism and the West’s philosophy and literature. His concept of “unity of existence or being “has much to offer in terms of creating religions harmony and a better and peaceful world. -- Arif M. Khan

Photo: Ibn Arabi

The 14th century mystic Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya’s shrine on one side of the locality represents Islam’s heterodox Sufi tradition rich in music, dance and poetry while the international headquarters of the revivalist, austere Tabligh Jamaat, on the other side represents the faith’s opposite strain that considers veneration of saints a cardinal sin.

Tablighis believe that worldly woes are a divine means to test their faith and endurance and a punishment for their sins and lack of adequate piety. They insist, rather than struggling for political power or even protesting against oppression by non-Muslims, faithful must first devote themselves to becoming good, practicing Muslims to win the God’s pleasure.

Unlike Sufis, who place music at the heart of devotion and have produced some of the most beautiful art, poetry and music, Tablighis consider hedonism as a distraction from otherworldly pursuits. Sufis say Tablighis are too ritualistic and don’t understand human weaknesses. The saint is believed to have said that rituals and fasting were for the pious, but love was everywhere and the surest route to the divine. The saint insisted that divinity could best be reached through heart and not the external ritual of the mosque or temple. -- Sameer Arshad

Photo: Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya’s Shrine represents the heterodox Sufi tradition rich in music, dance and poetry while Tabligh Jamaat represents the faiths opposite strain

The divine command for a just and fair society is more sharply presented in (2,177):  ‘It is not righteousness that you turn your faces to the East or the West. Righteous is he who believes in Allah and the Last Day and the angels and the Scriptures and the Prophets, and gives his wealth for love of Him to kinsfolk and to orphans, and the needy and the wayfarer, and those who ask and to set slaves free, and observes proper worship and pays the poor due; and those who keep their treaty when they make one and the patient in tribulation and adversity and time of stress. Such are they who are sincere. Such are the God fearing.’

 Note the passage carefully. The belief in the One Allah, and the concern for the weak and the helpless, is mentioned first. The reference to prayer occurs later. This theme of justice is emphasized very strongly in 4: 135 (Holy Quran) -- Dr. J. S. Bandukwala

Deobandi, Wahhabi, and Salafi strains of the faith – propagated through their madrasas and through media reporting on their activites. The teachings of Sufis prohibit taking the life of any innocent human being. Sufis generally feel that following Islamic law or jurisprudence (or fiqh) is only the first step on the path to perfect submission; they focus on the internal or more spiritual aspects of Islam, such as perfecting one's faith and fighting one's own ego (nafs). Jihad, according to Sufi beliefs, is purging one’s mind of evils and fighting against them by controlling material desires Sufism is a moderate open-indeed philosophy that does not reject non-Muslims. To quote the view of a staunch Barelvi “The Prophet stressed the rights of one’s neighbours, and these include non-Muslims, and said that he who gives unnecessary sorrow to his neighbour would go to hell”. Another Sufi says “No religion, properly interpreted, allows for killing innocent people”. A Barelvi Islamic scholar says ‘Killing an innocent Hindu just because he isn’t a Muslim is certainly not a jihad’. -- Rohan Bedi

The US also played an important part in spreading these Deobandi madrasas in order to use the students as soldiers in the Afghanistan jihad

Wahhabis make up only 2% of the worlds population, they have used their oil revenues to suppress/eradicate the moderate and tolerant Sufi philosophy. The Saudis now dominate as much as 95 per cent of Arabic language media and 80 per cent of the mosques in the US are controlled by Wahhabi Imams (clergy). Saudi oil wealth has both promoted the theological environment that has allowed the ideas of groups such as al Qaeda to flourish, while also funding them directly.¹⁴ As a direct result of this Saudi influence, a growing number of Muslims internationally have been taught a story of Islamic tradition which completely excludes Sufism, justifies violence and breeds a strong dislike towards non- Muslims. -- Rohan Bedi

Multiple scriptures were revealed to the series of recipient prophets during various phases of human history and in different parts of the world. It is ordained in the Qur’an that a believer is expected to equally revere all the prophets and scriptures including those not mentioned by name in the Qur’an. This is indeed a strong directive for maintaining interfaith bonhomie. In the Indian context, many Muslims including the author are of the conviction that the great spiritual names occurring in Indian mythology like those of Rama, Krishna, Mahavira and Buddha, were among those messengers whose names are not mentioned in Qur’an. Yet the believers are duty bound to equally respect them. So is the case with the Vedas. -- SYED ZAFAR MAHMOOD

They believed the Vedantic or Bhakti idea… "God is everywhere and the whole world is a manifestation of the emanation of God"

There were hundreds of Sufi saints including Salim Chisti, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Haji Ali, Khwaja Moinuddin and others who preached such a warm and loving spirituality that it attracted many non-Muslim followers and caused many non-Muslims to willingly embrace Islam as preached by them. As the Sikh religion developed in the 15th Century AD, many divines that inspired the evolving faith like Kabir and Farid were avowed Sufis while even Guru Nanak (1469 – 1539) was arguably a Sufi as well as it is not clear whether he subscribed to Muslim or Hindu faith as is evident from the legend of the magical disappearance of his body after his death instead having of a Muslim burial or a Hindu immolation as many Muslim and Hindu followers had wanted. -- Murad A Baig

SARMAD HAD, ON one occasion, predicted that Dara Shikoh would inherit the empire. But after the bloody war of succession, it was Aurangzeb who captured the throne. The new emperor not only eliminated his rival siblings but actively pursued the partisans of his brother. … This was the background when Aurangzeb deputed his chief justice, Mulla Qawi to prepare the ground to punish Sarmad. Accordingly, inquiries were made and Sarmad was summoned to appear before the royal court. Apart from nudity, Sarmad was Shikoh with denying the night journey [mairaj] of the Holy Prophet, on account of what he had said in the following couplet:

The mullah says that Ahmad went to the heavens

Sarmad says that the heavens were inside Ahmad! -- Arif Mohammed Khan

Sufi traditions powerful expression of people's Islam in our subcontinent

This dargah, representing years of Sufi traditions, which is open to everyone regardless of caste, creed, faith, age, or gender, twenty-four hours a day, not only posed a powerful challenge to the Hindu orthodoxy of the time, but also to the Muslim orthodoxy represented by the ulema (orthodox Islamic clerics). While the dominant Hindu practices emphasized caste hierarchies and exclusion, the dargah of the saint was the refuge of the most lowly, humble, and oppressed people of the land. While the Muslim priestocracy preached the supremacy of Islam, the religion of the conquerors, the Chistis demonstrated their love and acceptance of people of all faiths.

The Chistis, unlike many other Sufi traditions or orders, always kept a healthy distance from the power politics of the court. They practiced extreme poverty and simplicity. Their fondness for music soon endeared them to the masses. Like the shrine of any Hindu saint, the dargah of the Sufis became a centre not only of the worship of the pir or guru, but also a place of healing, refuge, and wish fulfilment. No wonder, people of all faiths, Hindus and Muslims alike, flock to these shrines even today.....

The most illuminating part of the book is the evolution of Sufi schools of thought and their key beliefs and approaches. While browsing through the text one marvels at centuries of synthesis in the Indian subcontinent, which explains why the dergahs remain such a focus of public attention and imagination.

What I especially like about this volume is its immediate connection with readers.

For example Sadia writes in a chapter entitled Tariqa – the Way of the Sufi: "Growing up in an Irish convent boarding school, I regularly went to church, sang Christmas carols, baked Easter eggs and imbibed Christian values. During annual holidays a maulana, a religious teacher, came home to teach the Quran to all the children. He instilled the fear of God into us, with the result that fear remained the only emotion that the heart felt for the Creator. Somehow, this overwhelming fear kept me connected to Allah, despite often wanting to break away completely.

"Traversing the Sufi path changed my attitude, for it teaches that prayer rituals are worth little if not accompanied by love and sincerity."