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WHY I AM A MUSLIM
by Asma Hasan

 

(excerpt)

 

" . . . Sufism is generally not political. A true Sufi wants to develop his or her own soul. They will even isolate themselves from other people and fast for days hoping to arrive in a divine frenzy where they feel the presence of God, the creator. The first time I saw the Whirling Dervishes was in a Madonna video. They were these men in exotic outfits with tall fez hats and long purple robes. They were spinning repeatedly in small circles – the whole group of them, over two or three dozen at least. I instinctively knew they were Islamic, but I didn’t know how or what.

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Soon after, in the same religion class that I learned about Rumi, my professor began telling us about the Whirling Dervishes. They are Sufis, based out of Turkey, who feel that when the spin (or whirl) for long periods of time, they reach a level of consciousness – a “high” of sorts – where they can feel God’s presence. The students form rows around the sheikh who teaches them. The Sheikh represents the sun and his dervish-students the planets of the solar system orbiting around him. They can spin for hours, even days. (My classmates and I told our professor about the Madonna video, to which she commented, “Well, I guess now that Madonna has gone through all the Catholic symbolism, she’s moving to another religion.”) Actually, I think Madonna knew what she was doing because in the song, Bedtime Stories, she sings, “Words are useless, especially sentences . . . How can they explain how I feel?” These lyrics express the Sufi sentiment that talking and language are yet another layer that separates us from God. Sufis also feel that experience and encounters count more than reading about experiences. Whatever activity is going to produce the most awareness of God is preferred to activities that won’t. 

It all sounds very exotic and odd, doesn’t it? Especially if Madonna is interested in it. But Muslims grow up exposed to everyday acts of Sufism and realize its place. Sufism can be a daily part of one’s life like anything else, or it can be the directional compass by which one lives his life. Today, many people engage in recreational Sufism, but a Sufi can easily be as hardcore and as fervent as a conservative Muslim."

 

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