‘Muslim Camp’ draws UK teens to combat extremism
Wednesday, August 12, 2009 By Maryam
More than 1,000 young Muslims attend 3-day retreat
Tahirul Qadri says saving the younger generation from radicalisation his duty
Scholar seeks to combat extremism with spirituality
COVENTRY: Like any rousing Islamic preacher, Muhammed Tahirul Qadri's voice rises to a shout and his index finger jabs as he hammers home a point.
But rather than angry calls for jihad (holy war) or a vitriolic denunciation of the West and its aggressions against Islam, Qadri's message, equally forcefully delivered, is about moderation, peace, inclusion and understanding.
Addressing a packed auditorium from a raised platform, his words beamed onto large screen behind him, more than 1,000 young followers hang on his every word, even as his lecture moves into its fourth uninterrupted hour.
"Islam is not a religion of seclusion, it is not a religion of detachment," he thunders from the dais, occasionally pausing to wipe the sweat from his brow or adjust his spectacles. "Any killer of a non-Muslim citizen, he will go to hell. Those who are committing terroristic acts from Pakistan and Afghanistan and claiming it is jihad – they do not know what jihad is. It is forbidden," he hollers, to shouts of approval from his listeners.
Qadri is a renowned scholar of Sufism, a long tradition within Islam that focuses on spirituality, emphasising peace and moderation. The author of more than 400 books on Islamic scholarship and law, Qadri travels the world delivering sermons to Sufis, while his organisation, called Minhajul Quran, has spread to 80 countries, from Greece to Fiji, since its founding in 1981.
With its spiritual tradition, 'the Sufi way' is an age-old alternative for radicals and modernists alike.
Thursday, December 06, 2007 By Maryam
By Jane Lampman | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
from the December 5, 2007 edition
Images of Islam have pervaded the news media in recent years, but one aspect of the faith has gotten little attention – Islamic spirituality. Yet thousands in America and millions in the Muslim world have embarked on the spiritual path called Sufism, or the Sufi way. Some see its appeal as the most promising hope for countering the rise of extremism in Islam.
In recent weeks, celebrations in cities on several continents have marked the "International Year of Rumi." Sept. 30 was the 800th anniversary of the birth of Muslim mystic Jelaluddin Rumi, who is a towering figure in Sufi literature and, paradoxically, the bestselling poet in the United States over the past decade.
In the West, Sufism has appealed to seekers attracted by its disciplined spiritual practices as well as its respect for all faiths and emphasis on universal love.
"I was searching, and the writings struck me – particularly the poetry," says Llew Smith, a TV producer in Boston who has joined a Sufi order. "It's direct and consistent about turning you away from the self, but also being connected deeply to the Divine and to other people."
Across the Muslim world, Sufism has been an influential force throughout Islamic history, though it has frequently come under attack by more orthodox Muslims. Some consider it an Islamic heresy because Sufis go beyond the faith's basic tenets and pursue a direct union with God.
Many Muslims today, however, see the spiritual tradition as the potential answer to the extremism that has hijacked the faith and misrepresented it to the world.
"In the Islamic world, Sufism is the most powerful antidote to the religious radicalism called fundamentalism as well as the most important source for responding to the challenges posed by modernism," says Seyyed Hossein Nasr, professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Nasr has written a new book, "The Garden of Truth," to present Sufi teaching in contemporary language.
"Its influence is immense," Nasr adds. "Sufism has kept alive the inner quality of ethics and spiritual virtues, rather than a rigid morality ... and it provides access to knowledge of the divine reality," which affects all other aspects of one's life.
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