• Why Jihad Watch?
  • About Robert Spencer and Staff Writers
  • FAQ
  • Books
  • Muhammad
  • Islam 101
  • Privacy

Jihad Watch

Exposing the role that Islamic jihad theology and ideology play in the modern global conflicts

Pakistan: Islamic jihadists throw grenades and open fire at Sufi gathering, murdering eight people

Feb 9, 2014 5:08 pm By Robert Spencer

Sufis

This latest attack on Sufis in Pakistan highlights some of the prevailing myopia about the jihad problem. The Sufis are often cited as proof that Islam can reform and be non-violent, which is not precisely accurate since Sufis have never rejected violent jihad in principle, and the Chechen jihad was led by Sufis for quite some time. What’s more, Muslim Brotherhood founder Hasan al-Banna was greatly influenced by the Sufis, and prescribed Sufi spiritual exercises for the early Brothers.

But even if one grants that the vast majority of Sufis understand jihad solely and wholly as an interior spiritual struggle, as Hillary Clinton might ask, what difference does it make? In Pakistan, Sunni Muslims who believe Sufis to be heretics murder them in jihad attacks like this one. And even if the majority of Pakistanis are Sufis, as this AP article claims, what is this Sufi majority doing to rein in those Misunderstanders of Islam who believe that jihad involves violence against unbelievers. Nothing. Nothing at all.

So are the Sufis the great hope of the West? Dream on, Mr. Kerry — at least they’re marginally preferable to that other great hope, the Muslim Brotherhood.

“Pakistan: Gunmen kill 8 at religious gathering,” by Adil Jawad for the Associated Press, February 9 (thanks to Kenneth):

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Gunmen threw grenades at a Sufi Islamic religious gathering Sunday in the port city of Karachi and then opened fire on the people assembled to offer prayers, killing eight, officials said.

Eight more people were wounded in the attack, said Aftab Chanur, an official at the hospital who gave the death toll.

The four gunmen on motorcycles first lobbed grenades at the building where a Sufi cleric was receiving his followers, then raked it with automatic fire, said police official Javed Odho. He said women and children were among the dead and wounded.

Pakistan is 95 percent Muslim, and the majority practice Sufi-influenced Islam.

But their shrines and followers have come under attack in Pakistan by Sunni Muslim militants who don’t consider them to be true Muslims.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack. But suspicion is likely to fall on militants such as the Pakistani Taliban or their affiliated sectarian groups who follow a strict interpretation of Islam that considers many other Muslims such as Sufis or minority Shiites to be heretics. In recent years militants have often targeted shrines, which they consider to be sacrilegious.

In January, militants killed six people at the shrine of a Sufi saint in Karachi. After that attack, militants also threatened the cleric who was targeted Sunday, telling him he should close down the house of worship where he would receive his followers, said Odho, the police official….

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Follow me on Facebook

Filed Under: Pakistan, Sufis Tagged With: featured


Learn more about RevenueStripe...

Comments

  1. mortimer says

    Feb 9, 2014 at 6:18 pm

    the madrassahs of pakistan are
    terrorism factories

  2. kafeer boy says

    Feb 9, 2014 at 8:27 pm

    just sent akhwans and akhwat to jannah.

  3. Salah says

    Feb 9, 2014 at 9:32 pm

    “In recent years militants have often targeted shrines, which they consider to be sacrilegious.”

    Since day one of Islam, even on his death bed, Muhammad cursed the Christians and the Jews for the same reason: Shrines!

    http://crossmuslims.blogspot.com/2011/03/muhammads-death.html

  4. Lookmann says

    Feb 9, 2014 at 10:17 pm

    ‘The Sufis are often cited as proof that Islam can reform and be non-violent, which is not precisely accurate since Sufis have never rejected violent jihad in principle, and the Chechen jihad was led by Sufis for quite some time’

    Their role in India is as bad as that of jihadi barbarians, if not more.

    http://www.islam-watch.org/authors/65-khan/150-kashmir-propagation-of-islam-and-terror-of-the-sufis.html

  5. Angela says

    Feb 10, 2014 at 7:24 am

    Off-topic – when I try to share any of these links to my Facebook, it’s not showing the graphics or the title of the article, just the actual link (i.e. http://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/02/pakistan-islamic-jihadists-throw-grenades-and-open-fire-at-sufi-gathering-murdering-eight-people). Is there a way to fix this?

  6. Veracious_one says

    Feb 10, 2014 at 8:50 am

    Pakistan is a leading contender for the title of ‘hell on earth’…

  7. Anusirvan says

    Feb 10, 2014 at 3:10 pm

    The two essential components of ALL Islam are

    1) Jihad
    2) Sharia Law

    1) + 2) = Islam

    Sufi Islam = Islam + Dhikr (mystical beliefs expressed in ritualism)

    Pseudo-intellectuals have a tedious knack of trying to prove that the inordinate amount of Dhikr contained in Sufi doctrine can actually push the core Islamic components to the background in Sufism. As such, they want to convince the general public in the West that Sufism itself constitutes a type of moderate Islam, of which the main intent would be to invest most energies in spirituality, rather than in the core precepts of the Islamic faith.

    This is not true, both elements are equally important to Sufis. Dhikr does not negate the importance of Jihad or Sharia Law in Sufism. The spiritual components of Sufism do not make these two elements null and void.

    After all, we are talking about Sufi ISLAM. Without Jihad and Sharia Law, Sufism would not be a branch of Islam, but something altogether different.

  8. gravenimage says

    Feb 11, 2014 at 9:10 pm

    This latest attack on Sufis in Pakistan highlights some of the prevailing myopia about the jihad problem. The Sufis are often cited as proof that Islam can reform and be non-violent, which is not precisely accurate since Sufis have never rejected violent jihad…

    But even if one grants that the vast majority of Sufis understand jihad solely and wholly as an interior spiritual struggle, as Hillary Clinton might ask, what difference does it make? In Pakistan, Sunni Muslims who believe Sufis to be heretics murder them…
    ………………………….

    That sums it up. Not only are there no true peaceful Muslims, but even those who might seem plausibly peaceful if you squint and don’t look too closely are considered heretics and fair game for slaughter.

    It’s not all that different with the Ahmadi—while they do eschew violent Jihad, they still want to impose barbaric Shari’ah law; and, like Sufis, are regularly persecuted and butchered by their more orthodox coreligionists.

    God, I hate Islam.

FacebookYoutubeTwitterLog in

Subscribe to the Jihad Watch Daily Digest

You will receive a daily mailing containing links to the stories posted at Jihad Watch in the last 24 hours.
Enter your email address to subscribe.

Please wait...

Thank you for signing up!
If you are forwarding to a friend, please remove the unsubscribe buttons first, as they my accidentally click it.

Subscribe to all Jihad Watch posts

You will receive immediate notification.
Enter your email address to subscribe.
Note: This may be up to 15 emails a day.

Donate to JihadWatch
FrontPage Mag

Search Site

Translate

The Team

Robert Spencer in FrontPageMag
Robert Spencer in PJ Media

Articles at Jihad Watch by
Robert Spencer
Hugh Fitzgerald
Christine Douglass-Williams
Andrew Harrod
Jamie Glazov
Daniel Greenfield

Contact Us

Terror Attacks Since 9/11

Archives

  • 2020
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2019
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2018
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2017
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2016
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2015
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2014
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2013
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2012
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2011
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2010
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2009
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2008
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2007
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2006
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2005
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2004
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2003
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • March

All Categories

You Might Like

Learn more about RevenueStripe...

Recent Comments

  • curious george on Israel At A Crossroads?
  • Crusades Were Right on Muslim cleric: ‘We welcomed the takeover of ISIS because they wanted to implement the Sharia’
  • William Garrison on The Fantasy Islam of Rice University’s Craig Considine (Part 3)
  • Vladimir on Islamic Republic of Iran: Turkey’s Erdogan champions Islam only as a tool to further his own interests
  • John on Muslim cleric: ‘We welcomed the takeover of ISIS because they wanted to implement the Sharia’

Popular Categories

dhimmitude Sharia Jihad in the U.S ISIS / Islamic State / ISIL Iran Free Speech

Robert Spencer FaceBook Page

Robert Spencer Twitter

Robert Spencer twitter

Robert Spencer YouTube Channel

Books by Robert Spencer

Jihad Watch® is a registered trademark of Robert Spencer in the United States and/or other countries - Site Developed and Managed by Free Speech Defense

Content copyright Jihad Watch, Jihad Watch claims no credit for any images posted on this site unless otherwise noted. Images on this blog are copyright to their respective owners. If there is an image appearing on this blog that belongs to you and you do not wish for it appear on this site, please E-mail with a link to said image and it will be promptly removed.

Our mailing address is: David Horowitz Freedom Center, P.O. Box 55089, Sherman Oaks, CA 91499-1964

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.