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….

mortimer says
the madrassahs of pakistan are
terrorism factories
kafeer boy says
just sent akhwans and akhwat to jannah.
Salah says
“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
Lookmann says
‘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
Angela says
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?
Veracious_one says
Pakistan is a leading contender for the title of ‘hell on earth’…
Anusirvan says
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.
gravenimage says
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.