Sufism under attack in Pakistan

Sufism also known as Tasawwuf is described as an aspect or dimension of Islam and not as a sect. In the words of Ibn Khaldun, 14^th century Arab historian, Sufism is, “ dedication to worship, total dedication to Allah most high, disregard for the finery and ornament of the world, abstinence from the pleasure, wealth and prestige sought by most men, and retiring from others to worship alone”.

Although a few in number, they have indeed played a greater role in shaping the Islamic thought and history. Some of the notable Sufi contributors in the field of literature are Rumi, Omar Khyyam, and Al- Ghazali’s. There were also notable one from the field of music, most famous till date being, Nusret Fateh Ali Khan.

Various Sufi shrines are worshipped by the followers of Islam. Every year, a few hundred thousand Sufis come in a town called Sehwan, in Sindh province of Pakistan in three day festival, marking the death of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, one who belonged to the cast of mystics who had consolidated Islam’s hold on this region. Today, Pakistan’s two most populous provinces of Sindh and Punjab is a home to most of the Sufi Shrines. The men who come there are seen wearing long loose clothes, seen dancing and drumming, standing in one place, with their hands in the air, chanting ‘'Qalandar”! This typical dancing is known as “Dhammal”.

In Sufism when saints died, their enshrined tombs attracted legions of followers. Sufis believed that their descendants, referred to as pirs, or "spiritual guides," inherited some of the saints' charisma and special access to Allah. Orthodox clerics, or mullahs, considered such beliefs heretical, a denial of Islam's basic creed: "There is no God but God, and Muhammad is his Prophet." While pirs encouraged their followers to engage Allah in a mystical sense and relish the beauty of the Koran's poetic aspects, the mullahs typically instructed their followers to memorize the Koran and study accounts of the Prophet's life, known collectively as the Hadith.

This is what differentiates the Sufi from Sunni and Shia sect. Fact that Pakistan is home to 80% of the Sunni population, which believes in preaching monotheism, the Sufi practices were not encouraged. Which is why, tensions grew between other Islamic sects and Sufis in Pakistan. Presently, the Pakistani Taliban has been alleged of terrorist attacks on these shrines located in Pakistan.

The singing, dancing and praying to the saints, is regarded as blasphemous by the militants groups, especially the ones belonging from the Wahabisim school of thought. The attacks are motivated by more than religious hatred and the militant groups behind these attacks are merely trying to inflame the sectarian tension in the country, further trying to destabilize and weaken the already fragile control of the government over the country.