, founded on the pursuit of spiritual guidance, is the esoteric school of Islam. This spiritual guidance refers to the ultimate self-understanding, which expands to the understanding of the Sacred. It refers to an array of beliefs, with the crux being the internal quest for personal illumination, in unification with God.

It is believed that Sufis integrate practices of sound and movement in their lives, so as to attain an elated union with God. However, whilst the most visible expressions of Sufism are rituals involving poetry and mystical dance, it is a movement that traces back to the last thousand years of Islam, around the year 800. Sufis were modest, pious devotees who wore woollen clothes, which reflected the origin of the word – Arabic for wool.

People of the Suffe

In the era of Prophet Muhammad, there was a collective of scholars called the – the People of Suffe. They were taught by the Prophet and engaged in dialogue regarding the truth of Being, and their quest for the path that would lead them to spiritual contentment.

The philosophical notion of Sufism is founded on these fundamental laws of Being – laws distant from dimensions of place, and free from the of human qualities. Technically, Sufism is a branch of Islam, often referred to as the mystical denomination. However, there are individuals from an array of cultural backgrounds, traditions and faiths who call themselves Sufis and search for a shared passage to everlasting and transcendent truth.

Many Muslims shun Sufism and want to distance its affiliation with their faith, because to them, Sufis draw on practices foreign from the . A common notion expressed by Sufis is that all religions offer a platform to enlightenment and regardless of how it is attained, true awareness of God surpasses the boundaries and of any religion.

In Pakistan, Sufism has been practised for centuries. In an interview with 51�Թ�, Dr. Marcia Hermansen, director of the Islamic World Studies Program and professor in the Theology Department at Loyola University, Chicago, aptly describes how Sufism spans across Pakistani society: “[F]rom a mystical philosophy that explains and confirms a sense of tawhid (the unity of the divine intent and presence) in all manifestations of life, to the conviction that benevolent saintly presences, past and present, may be invoked to protect … individuals and communities in times of need.”

Sufism has been expressed through a musical channel known as Qawwali. This Sufi-devoted music spirals from mystical leaders who convey their desire for the Divine through hypnotic rituals and an element of entranced spirituality. This platform is centered on the celebration of Sufi leaders, with followers meeting at shrines praying for (blessings), chanting poetry and dancing to trance induced traditional drum beats.

For Sufis, who frequently inhabit meditative retreats, the extreme branch of fundamentalism is the root of Islam’s negative view in the media and it is synonymous to religious violence.��

Sehwan, a town situated on the banks of the River Indus, in the country’s south eastern province of Sindh, sees an annual event where a few hundred thousand Sufis . This three-day festival is home to prayer recital aimed at the saint’s shrines, where men and women dance together in ecstasy, with intoxicating incense swirling in the air. The devotees summon drums to celebrate the life and death of 13^th century Sufi saint, poet and philosopher. Sufi rituals such as these were initially exercised by Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmi in an attempt to awaken the sleeping God in the human heart.

The saint’s shrines is intricately decorated with brightly colored tinsel and covered with Quranic verses. Through the festival, a labyrinth slowly forms around the shrines, with thousands of dervishes, donkeys and water buffalos meandering in and out of the lanes. Festivals of this sort are known as , the Arabic word for marriage, indicating the unification of the sublime Sacred and the practicing Sufis.

Influential Remedy

Qalandar, whose name was , was given this specific title by his followers to differentiate himself from the other saints and imply his advanced standing in the hierarchy of saints. He was self-abnegating and known to tie a rock around his neck so as to continuously be prostrating to Allah. Qalandar belonged to a collective of spiritual leaders who reinforced Islam’s presence in this region of Pakistan. In modern day Pakistan, there are many shrines dedicated to the mystic figures, traversing Punjab and Sindh, two of the country’s most densely inhabited provinces.

Sindh has always been an intersection for trade and it has acted as a religiously “liberal” region. The Sufi practices, which span across the province, have been an influential remedy to Islamic militancy that has swept over other parts of Pakistan. The subjective, experimental approach to Allah followed by Sufis, is in direct contradiction with the more concrete and straightforward approach of the Taliban fundamentalists. The Taliban oppose the free expression of Sufis, their open relishing of Islam and their use of music. , a spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban has stated “We have a large number of fighters in Sindh […] We will target everything which is against Sharia (Islamic law).”

While Sufis often believe that saints, frequently referred to as piirs, or spiritual advisors, have a specific aura which gives them special access to Allah, more conventional followers of Islam, or mullahs, consider this to be shirk (the sin of practicing idolatry or polytheism). They express that such beliefs are unorthodox and a refutation of Islam’s fundamental statement of belief: “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his Prophet.”

Conflict Between Sufis and Islamic Fundamentalists

This conflict is a critical clash of civilizations, not one between the Orient and the West, but a periodical battle within Islam itself. It has become a global clash of ideals regarding the foundations of religious custom. The previous century and a half, Sufism and have established equally antagonistic discourses and customs. For Sufis, who frequently inhabit meditative retreats, the extreme branch of fundamentalism is the root of Islam’s negative view in the media and it is synonymous to religious violence.

Islamic fundamentalism has originated from the hegemonic religious discourse of the Salafi movement. This sect within Sunni Islam claims to return to the purest, simplest form of Islam as taught by the Prophet Muhammad in the seventh century. In its most extreme form, the select movement regards other faiths and traditions as being treacherous rivals and it dismisses facts that are not evidently rooted in Sharia law or the Quran.

Dr. Arthur Buehler, a scholar of trans-regional Sufi networks and senior lecturer at the University of Wellington, New Zealand informs a 51�Թ� correspondent on the presence of Islamic fundamentalists: “The present-day fundamentalist agendas are eminently modern developments posing as the “pristine” Islam of the Prophet Muhammad, [who] want to take bulldozers to destroy those who disagree with their narrow interpretations of Islam […] Look at it as spiritual deforestation […] These well-meaning fundamentalists are blinded by their emphasis on a drastically simplified version of Islamic practice focusing on a mindless following of rules and ignoring the open heartedness that permeated the practices of the Prophet and informs how most Muslims still live today.”

Attacks on Sufi shrines in Pakistan came as a shock to many. It seemed as if despite history of attacks on mosques associated with either Sunni or Shia Muslims no one could imagine that such incidents could occur in Sufi shrines too.��

In addition to Sufism acting as a vital antidote to the branch of fundamentalist Islam, it operates as a significant source for responding to the challenges posed by modernity. Through popular public opinion and mass media, the notion of “Islamic fundamentalism” has generated harmful connotations and has come under escalating condemnation. This refers to the contemporary religious-political dialogue surrounding the foundations of the faith as developed by extreme Muslim scholars. Due to the increase of contemporary fundamentalism traversing the globe, the confrontation to the spiritual aspect of Islam has come to the foreground, whilst in the past it was confined to the frontiers of Islamic consensus.

Attacks on Sufism

Sufism has been as a target in countries traversing the globe, not only in the guise of ideological struggle but also in the form of physical violence. In recent years Africa has seen an array of attacks to their Sufi population. In 2012, Islamic militants in Mali destroyed saints’ mausoleums, Sufi cemeteries and universities in the capital of the Timbuktu region. Whilst further north of the continent in Egypt, since the fall of Hosni Mubarak, various municipalities have forbidden zhikr (remembrance of God); a chanting ritual often expressed by Sufis. However, the most brutal attacks have occurred in Pakistan. In April of 2011, the third attack of the year on Sufi shrines occurred during the annual three-day Urs near the shine in Punjab, where 41 devotees were killed during a suicide bomb by the Taliban.

In conversation with 51�Թ�, an Associate at Nordic Institute of Asian Studies, Copenghagen, Dr. Uzma Rehman documents how “attacks on Sufi shrines in Pakistan came as a shock to many. It seemed as if despite history of attacks on mosques associated with either Sunni or Shia Muslims no one could imagine that such incidents could occur in Sufi shrines too. Sufi shrines have often been considered peaceful sites of devotion where people adhering to a diversity of religious schools of thought could visit without fearing opposition.”

Whilst there have been vituperative conflicts between Sufism and Islamic fundamentalists, there can also be noted an element of continuity between the two branches of Islam. Fundamentalism emanated out of pre modern Sufi reformist traditions which adopted a direct reliance on testaments and at time engaged in Jihad against indigenous Westernised rulers and colonial powers.

With these challenges and continuities, both branches have helped construct one another as contemporary subjects in the current socio-religio-political discourse of Islam and the Islamic world. In contemporary society where the Orient and the Occident often find themselves in conflict, one wonders whether incorporating Sufism and a balance between the scriptural and spiritual aspects of Islam could diminish the fundamentalist path��to the radical field, thus aiding a smooth��integration within��the modern, global civilization.

The views expressed��in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect��51�Թ�’s��editorial policy.

��/��

The post Every Breath for the Ecstasy of Qalandar: Sufism in Pakistan appeared first on 51�Թ�.

"Is the revolution like those trees / whose branches will grow if we water them? / I have lived with this obsession for 10 years / I have come among brothers / My friends, what do you think? These men have been living with oppression / since the day of their birth / They cannot make the trees grow with their water" ().

Music is made for the mind, body and soul. But what about using it to fight for peace, unity and change?

In recent years, the Tuareg have used their soulful beats and rhythmic blues as a platform to express their strife and constant struggle which is prevalent in their homelands. International appearances by Tuareg musicians offer an in-depth insight to existing anthropological issues, notions of identity, and diasporic traditions.

The Tuareg are a loose union of collectives, made up of ancient pastoral nomads, who have inhabited the world’s hottest desert: the Sahara. They refer to themselves as Kel Tamasheq (people who speak Tamasheq) or Kel Tagelmust (people of the veil).

Tuareg cover themselves not only for practical reasons, so as to avoid the inhalation of wind borne sand, but also for more humble reasons. The men are known to find exposing their mouth and nose to strangers, or people of a higher position, as a shameful act. As one visualizes scenes of them gallantly riding their white camels through routes traversing the Mediterranean and Sub-Saharan Africa, with their indigo veils flapping through the Saharan wind, this image of sheer majesty, grandeur and Oriental beauty has become a subject of fascination for academics and adventurists alike.

Prior to the colonial interventions of the 19th century, the Tuareg people were practicing their ancient traditions uninterrupted. However, colonial structures have divided this ancient Tuareg territory, to now span across several countries — inevitably causing significant transformations in the social, political and economic climate, which has somewhat tainted this romanticized image.

The Tuareg are nominally Muslim, and they currently account for of the world’s population. They are primarily grouped into four sovereign federations, crossing Algeria, Niger, Libya and Mali; and to a lesser extent Nigeria and Burkina Faso. Whilst the Tuareg community have been deprived of a homeland, and often constitute the "minority" label in the countries they reside in, their artistic unity and culture has traveled with them, spreading widely across the globe.

Culture and Identity

A prominent part of the Tuareg culture is their musical history. To Tuaregs, music is a well-developed art form: it is their life, their identity, and their voice. Through the harmonic sounds, many stories of achievement and collapse, tales of their century-long resistance against French colonialists and the political regimes that followed, have been shared. Music is a channel in which artists can “” — it has become a means of resistance and a strong artistic expression for the Tuareg community.

With hypnotic vocals and haunting rhythmic blues which draw similarities to Arabic melodies intertwined with Berber instruments, Tuareg women have become infamous for their use of high-pitched cries. This marks their strong presence and it highlights that Tuareg music is the domain of women; where women hold a prominent element of agency.

This artistic expression provides a nuanced understanding of traditions which comprise the hybrid, Tuareg identity. Due to the onslaught by the oppressive governments of Mali and Niger, many band members of prominent Tuareg music groups, including Tinariwen, were brought up in Libyan refugee camps. This resulted in them being under the rule of the Muammar Qadaffi regime, which consequently led to their songs underlying themes of regret for not having a conventional pattern of life, and their personal objection to injustice.

Due to the sheer number of refugee camps traversing Libya, Algeria, Niger and Burkina Faso, it has allowed Tuareg musicians who come from these areas to bring a subjective voice and channel their eclectic experiences into the songs they project to the rest of the world. These songs are aimed at highlighting the importance of sustaining traditions, which have preserved Tuareg identity despite enduring conflict.

The Tuareg of Mali recently gained media interest due to the civil war which erupted in 2012; a war which displaced more than . The conflict was an adverse result of Qadaffi's ouster in Libya. Through this recent war, Tuareg musicians were subject to disdain because of their fight for an independent state, and additional reasons such as their contribution to the musical world; an issue which is in opposition to the beliefs of Islam. This has been widely expressed in the pentatonic rhythms of Amanar — a northeastern, Malian band — in their song, Alghafiat (Peace), where sings:

"My brother, be careful, because one morning we could find ourselves locked in a pen / With racist threats and finger-pointing / The world nowadays is so tiring, with wars all the time."

Tuareg Music Labels

There are numerous, current record labels and music collectives who have documented the journeys of various Tuareg groups, ranging from Amanar, a group that has embraced the modernization of Tuareg sound by utilizing drums and an electric piano, to Etran Finatawa, a Niger-based band who incorporate sounds from nomadic Wodaabe. 

Field recordings, videos and cellphone data collection have allowed Sahel Sounds, a project which emerged in 2009, to record the musical spectacle of the Sahel. Christopher Kirkley, the esteemed founder of Sahel Sounds, has aptly declared the correlation between Tuareg music and the identity of its artists: “The Tuareg guitar is a music that was born in exile. It is music of marginalized groups, distributed via clandestine underground networks, [and] maybe the sound of the diaspora comes across in the music.” These promising music ventures enable a platform for archiving and examining the struggles of Tuareg artists in current global media.

An additional record label that has dedicated its time in revealing the obscure tales and sounds our world harbors, is Sublime Frequencies, a Seattle-based label. In an interview, the co-founder of Sublime Frequencies, Hisham Mayet, highlighted the significant importance that Tuareg music has had in the global sphere:

“Within the last ten years, in the wake of Tinariwen's worldwide success, Tuareg music has become a viable and important message for the rest of the world to hear and appreciate. It has brought to light the struggles that the Tuareg community has faced, for recognition of their rights to live and govern themselves in the vast Sahara desert.”

Music for Change

It is evident that over time, musicians and artists have become advocates for peace and unity in their fight for justice. As a result of his early 1960s protest music, many civil rights workers were rapt by Bob Dylan’s delve into politics and his increasing involvement with the civil rights movement, channeled through his second studio album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. This demonstrates that music can be used to spread the voice of the silenced, while it can act as a symbol of division or unity.

Through various international performances, Tuaregs have gained recognition in the global music world. This has enabled an intriguing memory formation, which has consequently led to a cultural depiction in the form of lyrics. These lyrics have assigned multi-faceted ethnographies of history, personal exile and refugee flight. 

Tinariwen, one of the most recognized Tuareg bands, has gained international acknowledgment due to its numerous global festival appearances and the winning of a Grammy award for the group's fifth album, Tassili.

However, recently, more obscure artists, including Imarhan N'Tinezraf, have emerged from refugee camps traversing the Sahel. Their heart-rending lyrics covering a composite of demands — from calling for the need of education in Tuareg society to demanding an independent state — illustrates how music has enabled bands to express their wistful woes.

If artistic expressions in refugee camps can be used as a tool for survival in the face of the economic, social and political adversities, one can look to use music as a possible solution in diminishing crime and violence — a result of the continuous ennui in current, global refugee camps.

The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect 51�Թ�’s editorial policy.

Image: Copyright © . All Rights Reserved

The post Tuareg: Making Microphones Mightier Than Swords appeared first on 51�Թ�.