Nurturing Peace by means of Sufism
“Sufism is a form of Zikr, in the Sufi kalam we glorified our lord and this cleanses our soul, providing a soul and though cleanser, in a form of Qawwali and Sufi kalam, can help societies to get rid of violent extremism and world has existing examples of these societies.” - Nauman Ahmed Riyaz, Senior Executive Director FM 96 and an author highlighted the importance of Sufi kalam for promoting peace.
Have you ever wonder why there is so much aggression among our young
generation? Why everyone started hating each other to a point that they become
an enemy of one another? Have you ever thought what if this kept going on the
where our next generation would end up? It’s time to get up and join hands together,
let the great minds work on the betterment and the reduction of the arrogant behavior
among our youngster. This not the question of who will do it? We all have to do
it within our horizons and move forward and let people join you to bring the
change and adapt the change. It’s not only about adapting the change it’s about
wearing the cultural values that we have forget and left in somewhere in the
those pathways that we have traveled so far where we are standing today. The
values that year ago were once our pride and our identity, making us standing
out most vivid nation out of many others. We have ruined all those values,
cultural values that included our “music” as well.
Last Friday, Media Baithak organized a dialogue and performance session on the topic of
“Promoting Peace through Qawwali: Tracing the
Journey of Sufi Musical Practices and Traditions across the World”. The purpose of this event was to
nurture the peace among the youngsters and help them learning the Sufi music
and Qawwali by the experts, together providing them with the bunch of solution
that will aid them in achieving their desired objectives.
Mr. Bedil Masroor, famous Sufi singer and musician had pointed out some
of the root causes that could lead young generation towards peace via Qawwali.
“Sufism has become a fashion now and what is fashion it is commercial. The mystery of Sufism is, its tranquility and peace elements fade away as it reaches to commercial approach. Sufism is sacred and so is Qawwali, which helps people to refrain from violent behavior, it connects people with divine and once connected, no one can dare to surpass the divine peace”.
Moving ahead, the participants at the Dialogue highlighted that the government,
art and media and the civil society all are needed to join the hands for the
promotion of the Sufi Music for our next generation together with today’s youngsters.
Apart from this, at the grass root level we need to rebuild this culture
through small forums at educational level. This will help in combating the
frustration, anxiety and depression among young generations that is spreading
at a faster rate in Pakistan.
While expressing his thoughts and great concerns for the young
generations, Masood Alam, Music Composer said;
“Our educational institutions are continuously ignoring the positive impact of music on new generation. The elements of music i.e. Sur, la’ay and aesthetics bound anyone, who peruses music, to stay focused, it refrains from violent thoughts, and through music only peace prevails. I believe including music in curriculum has become a national immediate need.”
The Sufi music and Qawwali in its originality and true meaning has the
essence to reduce the aggression from the society and bring one close to the
nature and the creator of this universe. Not only this, it also taught and conveys
the essential human values that includes; respect, sacrifice courage, discipline,
ethics and solidarity among many others. Such values are precious gems and difficult
to be find among people today especially the young blood. Qawwali and Sufi Music
would turn to energy booster to bring the positive change. This music is the
blend of all the faiths, cultures and languages and is considered as a mandatory
tool for the peace building process. This Dialogue session was moderated by the
senior journalist and anchor person Nadia Farooq.
At the Q & A session at the Dialogue, one of the major questions that are being asked is “How religion supports Qawwali?” Dr. Sher Mehrani, Scholar and Author replied, “Khuwaja Moinuddin a saint transformed the glorified words for the lord, which had been using by the people from centuries, into focused melodious which provokes and cultivates goodness and divine connection of peace, and this is also the soul of not only Islam but all existing religion in this world.”
Last but not the least, the most important part of the Dialogue was the
Sufi Kalam performance that was presented by the “I.U. Musicians” at the Media
Baithak’s performance hall. The audience encouraged the young talent for their dedication
and hard work and the experts appreciated them for their efforts. They performed
at some of the heart touching and soulful kalams of the Great Sufi and Qawwal
musician.
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