ISLAMABAD: Sufism and mysticism have assumed greater significance in healing social divisions and conflicts in today’s unhappy world, according to a visiting Indian professor of history.

Dr Fatima Hussain of Delhi University said in a lecture at the Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) on Wednesday that neo-imperialism and consumer culture, propelled by unbridled capitalism, had fanned conflict everywhere, forcing people to adopt violent means to seek redressal from injustice.

She said Sufism provided a way out, at least in the South Asian context where Sufis and mystic divines, irrespective of their faith, have devoted themselves over centuries to loving humanity, in service of people.

She observed that Sufis of the region proved effective as they explained Quran and Islamic teachings in the vocabulary of the common people.

‘The Quran is written in Arabic which many people did not understand and therefore the Sufis brought the comprehension of holy words near to the ordinary people,’ she said referring to the works of the Chishtia Sufi order.

Dr Fatima noted that sometimes the Sufis used tales of defiance, music and romance as aides to their interpretation.

She said the current intellectual propensity was to debunk religion on the pretext that it has been the cause of bloodshed throughout history and serves to divide, rather than unite people.

In such an environment the role of popular religion in the form of mysticism has assumed a hitherto unknown dimension, she said.

‘My personal opinion, as a student of comparative religion, is quite different since all religions of the world, be it Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism or Sikhism, took birth with a noble intent. It is only when they became pedantic and were increasingly institutionalised to sanctify political and economic designs, that they were considered repressive and hence abominable,’ she said.

Dr Fatima stressed that many Sufis were highly skeptical of such practices, charging them with not having any essential links with Islam. Sometimes, individuals describe themselves as Sufis but not as Muslims, responding to the universality of ecstatic mystical experience and the particularity of Sufi routes to that experience.

She said that in the literary and linguistic landscape of South Asia, throughout history, regional vernaculars flourished in a complex interplay with the language of the ruling elite.

In this context too, Sufis played a very important role since they preached in the language of the common collectives.

While the religious and political elite talked down to people, the Sufis talked to the people, while imposing the conceptual structures of Islam through the use of popular ideas which were already in existence.

The Sufi teachings of human brotherhood, peaceful coexistence, egalitarianism and service towards humanity, provided fertile ground for bridging the gap between various religious and linguistic communities of South Asia.

PAL Chairman Fakhar Zaman and Prof Khwaja Masud also spoke on the occasion. The proceedings were conducted by Zaheer-ud-Din Malik.

Dr Fatima Hussain, whose forthcoming books include Lahore: The City of Love and Sufi-Sultanate Relations, was presented bouquets by Prof Khwaja Masud, Prof Alamgir Hashmi, Aslam Rao, Secretary National Book Foundation, Haleem Qureshi, Iqbal Hussain Ifkar from Pashto Adabi Society, Manzar Naqvi, poet and singer Dr Amjad Pervaiz and Zaheer-ud-Din Malik.