[SUFI MUSIC AND THE SUB-CONTINENT: First day of the last month of the Islamic calendar i.e. Zul-Hajjah marks the wedding anniversary of Ali and Fatima. Fatima was the daughter of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and Ali was the last of the four caliphs in Islam, known as the rightly guided caliphs. This Qawwali is a poetic depiction of their marriage ceremony. Recently the same Qawwali by another spiritual singer was aired on a pro-government TV channel. That sparked a controversy in Pakistan and the channel was accused of blasphemy. This might be due to the particular setting in which that Qawwali was sung. However, Qawwali has been a part and parcel of the sub-continental version of Islam (both Sunni and Shia) since its birth. It has been practised by gnostics and Sufis for centuries. Having most of its roots in the Iranian (Persian), Central Asian and Turkish cultures, the sub-continental Islam has had spiritual expression in the form of sufi music as a key element of its religious identity. It is only after the gradual Talibanisation and Salafisation of the society that such spiritual expressions have started to be condemned publicly in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.]
Posted on: Sat, 27 Sep 2014 09:52:53 +0000
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