IndianMascot
Core Member
While the tyranny of Islamic rulers and the atrocities they inflicted upon countless Hindus is often discussed, one aspect of the onslaught of Islamic rule in India is often forgotten. Worse, it is even revered, deified and put forth as the face of the tolerant, forgiving and loving side of Islam. It is Sufism. Sufism is described as the mystic, musical Islamic belief where saints and followers seek closeness with Allah through direct personal experience, so the popular definitions claim.
In India, while the deification of Mughals as tolerant, loving, kind rulers who brought prosperity to India is rampant, Sufism has been portrayed by Bollywood and popular culture as the “cool” version of Islam. Countless Bollywood songs, Ghazals and Shayaris have been made hailing Sufi saints, music, and dance. Most of them immensely popular. From Khwaja Mere Khwaja in Jodha Akbar to Kun Faya Kun in Rockstar, the list goes on. While Sufism itself may have been tolerant at one point, it evolved in a manner most violent and some who held on to Sufi roots were also persecuted by Islamists.
Among the Sufi shrines, the shrine of Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer, Rajasthan is one of the most popular. The shrine invites devotees, Muslims and Hindus both, from all over the world. While the Ajmer Dargah is an important religious centre for Muslims, and even some Hindus, who visit there to get their wishes fulfilled, the history behind Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti is rather violent, and not very tolerant either.
MA Khan’s book ‘Islamic Jihad, A Legacy of Forced Conversions, Imperialism and Slavery sheds some light upon what the Sufi saints were actually like.
Sufism and orthodox Islam
Khan writes that Sufism was not accepted among most Muslims till Imam Ghazzali weaved tenets of Islamic orthodoxy into the body. The sects of Sufism that did not follow the orthodox ways, like the Bishariya Sufis, were brutally persecuted by Islamic rulers.
In India, Firoz Shah Tughlaq has recoded how he had punished the Sufi Shaykh Ruknuddin of Delhi, who had called himself a ‘Mahdi’ (messenger of God). Tughlaq had recorded that the people had torn Ruknuddin and his followers ‘into pieces’ and had ‘broke his bones into fragments’.
Read More here: https://www.opindia.com/2020/06/islamic-jihad-india-sufi-khwaja-moinuddin-chisti-garib-nawaz-nizamuddin-khilji-hindus-forced-conversions/
In India, while the deification of Mughals as tolerant, loving, kind rulers who brought prosperity to India is rampant, Sufism has been portrayed by Bollywood and popular culture as the “cool” version of Islam. Countless Bollywood songs, Ghazals and Shayaris have been made hailing Sufi saints, music, and dance. Most of them immensely popular. From Khwaja Mere Khwaja in Jodha Akbar to Kun Faya Kun in Rockstar, the list goes on. While Sufism itself may have been tolerant at one point, it evolved in a manner most violent and some who held on to Sufi roots were also persecuted by Islamists.
Among the Sufi shrines, the shrine of Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer, Rajasthan is one of the most popular. The shrine invites devotees, Muslims and Hindus both, from all over the world. While the Ajmer Dargah is an important religious centre for Muslims, and even some Hindus, who visit there to get their wishes fulfilled, the history behind Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti is rather violent, and not very tolerant either.
MA Khan’s book ‘Islamic Jihad, A Legacy of Forced Conversions, Imperialism and Slavery sheds some light upon what the Sufi saints were actually like.
Sufism and orthodox Islam
Khan writes that Sufism was not accepted among most Muslims till Imam Ghazzali weaved tenets of Islamic orthodoxy into the body. The sects of Sufism that did not follow the orthodox ways, like the Bishariya Sufis, were brutally persecuted by Islamic rulers.
In India, Firoz Shah Tughlaq has recoded how he had punished the Sufi Shaykh Ruknuddin of Delhi, who had called himself a ‘Mahdi’ (messenger of God). Tughlaq had recorded that the people had torn Ruknuddin and his followers ‘into pieces’ and had ‘broke his bones into fragments’.
Read More here: https://www.opindia.com/2020/06/islamic-jihad-india-sufi-khwaja-moinuddin-chisti-garib-nawaz-nizamuddin-khilji-hindus-forced-conversions/
