Sunni scholars caution against misleading Sufi groups

KOZHIKODE: Sunni scholars are cautioning believers against certain Sufi orders that they claim stand against the basic tenets of Islam and are spreading un-Islamic ideas in the name of Sufism. The immediate provocation was a press conference conducted by an organisation called the Sufi Islamic Board - Kerala on November 7 in Mannarkkad, Palakkad. In an article published in the Suprabhaatham daily, Islamic scholar Shuhaibul Haithami said the assertions made at the press conference were weird and make Sufism the launching pad for disbelief. Haithami said the basis of secular Sufis is the idea that one should forsake religion and become a human being, which is the slogan of atheists. The Sufi Islamic Boards argument that the Advaita concept of Aham Brahmasmi (I am the divine consciousness) and Islam are the same is born out of ignorance, he said. Haithami argued that there are different motives behind the creation of a common religion by mixing certain elements from existing faiths. There are attempts to assert that all religions are true. These Sufis also try create confusion by quoting Sufi poets like Jalaluddin Rumi and Omar Khayyam out of context, he said. He said the 62nd verse of the Surah Al Baqarah in the Quran has been constantly misinterpreted to argue that it is not mandatory to have faith in Islam and being a good human being is enough. The message of the Prophet is not to become good human beings but to worship Allah and to recognise Muhammad as the Prophet, Haithami said. In a related development, the mushawara (supreme consultative body) of the Kanthapuram faction of Sunnis said that Sufi are people who love and obey Allah and his Prophet and those who move away from this path cannot be treated as Sufis. A meeting of the mushawara on November 10 warned believers against falling into the trap of fake Sufis. It said Sheikh Jeelani, the leader of the true Sufis, had reminded that many of those who pose as Sufia may not be the real Sufis. We should be vigilant, especially when the enemies of Islam are getting organised under different titles, felt the mushawara, which was attended by senior scholars, including Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musliyar and E Sulaiman Musliyar. At their presser, office-bearers of the Sufi Islamic Board said the Prophet propagated love, not the religion of Islam. They said the organisation includes people of all religions and upholds the tradition of the country that welcomed all faiths. They claimed that the board has been recognised by the Union ministry for youth and Sports.