The three-day international Conference on 'Sufism : Sufi Traditions, Poetry and Philosophy' was held at India International Centre, New Delhi, on March 18, 19, 20, 2006.

 

The International Conference was followed by visits to the holy shrines of Gharib Nawaz Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti and other Sufi saints at Ajmer Shareef, and also to shrines in and around Delhi - the holy shrines of Hazrat Khwaja Nizamuddin Aulia, Hazrat Khwaja Bakhtiar Kaki and Hazrat Pir Nasiruddin Chirag Dehlavi - on March 21, 22 and 23.

 

This International Sufi Conference witnessed the participation of about 200 eminent Sufi scholars and experts from 14 countries. It also had soul-stirring performance by eminent vocalist Shanti Hiranand, Gulfam Sabri's group from Delhi, Baul singers from West Bengal, and Sufi singers Mr. Iqbal Bahu and Dr. Azhar Mehmood Choudhury from Pakistan.

 

This Conference was the first-ever of its kind held with the objective of reviving the glorious tradition of the subcontinent's cultural fabric of secularism, inclusiveness, tolerance and pluralism by invoking the Sufi tradition and revisiting its literary-poetic heritage which is a unique civilisational link between India, Pakistan, Bangladesh as also Middle Eastern countries and Central Asia.

The aim of the conference was to build understanding among writers, scholars, poets, thinkers, spiritual leaders and social activists about the

occasional turmoils in the national and regional life of the people brought about by violence and terrorism due to social, political and religious differences and rivalry.

 

The Conference deliberations were enriched with intellectual inputs from well-known dignitaries including Mr. V.P. Singh, Dr. Abid Hussain, Dr. Karan Singh, Ms. Ambika Soni, Mr. Pavan K. Varma, Dr. Namwar Singh, Mr. Lalit Mansingh, Dr. Shahid Mehdi, Mr. Kamleshwar and Khwaja Hasan Sani Nizami.

Eminent participants in the Conference included : Mr. M. Afsar Rahbeen, Cultural Attache, Afghanistan Embassy and Mr. Abbas Basiri (from Afghanistan);

Sufi Abu Syed Golam Dastgir, Mr. Mustafa Zaman Abbasi, Mr. Viquar Choudhary, Ms. Asma Abbasi, Mr. Syed Rezaul Karim (from Bangladesh); Prof. Abdullah Alvi, Dr. Mehdi Khawje Piri, Dr. Farrukhzad, Mr. Shafiri Shakaib, Prof. Abdullah Atai (from Iran); Dr. Roberto Catalano, Dr. Luciano Cura (from Italy);

Dr. Maria (from Poland); Dr. Jaswinder Singh (from Germany); Dr. Mahmud Erol Kilic (from Turkey); Mr. Omar Khalidi, Ms. Robin Diallo (from USA); Mr. Gary Dyck (from Canada); Prof. Aazam Abidov, Dr. Nurboy Jabbarov, and H.E. Mr. Sadriddin Suyarov (from Uzbekistan); Dr. Syed Akhtar Hussain Akhtar, Mr. Sibtul Hasan Zaigham, Dr. Shahzad Qaiser, Mrs. Shahida Shahzad, Ms. Bushra Rahman, Prof. M. Siddiq Kalim, Dr. Azhar Mehmood Chowdhry, Mr. Qazi Javed, Prof. Miss Afzal Tauseef, Mr. Mohammad Iqbal Bahoo, Dr. Aslam Farrukhi, Mr. Hamid Mir, Mr. Awais Sheikh, Prof. Ehsan Akbar, Mr. Ghulam Moin-ud-Din, Mr. Haroon-ur-Rashid Haroon Adeem, Mr. Shah Ahmad Saeed Hamadani, Ms. Nusrat Batool, Ms. Iffat Batool, Ms. Qurat-ul-Ain, Mr. Shoaib Ahmad, Dr. Khawaja Muhammad Saeed, Mr. Mohammad Syed, Ms. Bushra Ejaz, Mr. Mohammad Zaman Khan (from Pakistan);

Prof. A. Q. Jaffery, Dr. Abid Hussain, Dr. Afzal Hussain, Dr. Alauddin Ahmad, Prof. Amrik Singh, Dr. Ashok Vajpeyi, Prof. Azizuddin, Mr. Dinesh Misra, Ms. Geetanjali Dey, Dr. H. S. Rissam, Dr. Iqbal Sabir, Prof. Iqtidar Hussain Siddiqui, Prof. Ishtiaq Ahmad Zilli, Dr. Jigar Mohammad, Dr. K.L. Zakir, Dr. Karan Singh, Dr. Lalit Mansingh, Prof. M.P Sharma, Dr. Madhu Trivedi, Prof. Mohammad Amin, Dr. Mohammad Tazeem, Dr. Mirza Mohammad Khizar, Mr. Kamleshwar, Dr. Maqsood Ali Khan, Dr. Maroof Ahmad, Dr. Masud Anwar Alavi, Dr. Meenakshi Khanna, Dr. Mohd. Ishaque, Dr. Monica Mohta, Prof. Namwar Singh, Rev. Dr. Paul Jackson, Mr. Pavan K. Varma, Dr. R. Bahaguna, Prof. Riyaz Punjabi, Ms. Ruqiya Zainuddin, Dr. S. MashkoorA. Chishti, Prof. S. Shahid Mehdi, Prof. S.A.H. Abidi, Dr. S. H. Quasmi, Prof. S.N. Jafri, Prof. S. S. Noor, Dr. Saeed Naqvi, Prof. Shahabuddin Iraqi, Prof. Shaikh Abdul Latif, Dr. S. S. Singh,

Smt.Shanti Hiranand, an eminent disciple of Begum Akhtar, with her troupe, singing devotional songs at the Inaugural Session of the  International Conference on Sufism organised by FOSWAL

Mr. Hamid Mir, eminent journalist of Pakistan, moderating a session

The eclectic audience included representation from more than 30 countries

Mr. I. D. Gaur, Dr. Syeda S. Hameed, Ms. Tarannum Riyaz, Dr. Wahajuddin Alvi, Prof. Zaheer Hussain Jafri, and several others (from India).

The Conference was spread over the Inaugural Session, Valedictory Session and 10 brainstorming working sessions based on diverse themes related to Sufi creed and cultural practices. The presentations highlighted various aspects of Sufism and emphasized the revival and dissemination of Sufi tradition and Sufi spirit at various levels in the world in general and in South Asia in particular. The objective of the Conference was to assess the relevance of Sufism in the contemporary world.

The scholars explored the evolution of Sufism and its dynamics through South, Central and West Asia, Middle East, the Indian sub-continent, the USA and Europe.

The three-day Conference helped to elucidate the historical syncretic and spiritual values and traditions of Sufism. There were special presentations on and references to Sheikh Fariuddin Attar, Ibne Arabi, Shams Tabrizi, Jalaluddin Rumi, Baba Farid, Guru Nanak, Kabir, Amir Khusro, Lai Ded and Sheikh Nooruddin.

The Conference brought to the fore more than 50 scholarly papers, interspersed with melodious Sufi music and presentations of documentary films, theatre performances and lyrics, before it came to a close on 20th March 2006.

The Conference papers focused on the narratives, writings and poetry of Sufi saints, written in the local languages used by common people, through which they communicated their message to the common man. The presentations from Turkey, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Italy, Poland, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Canada, France, Lebanon, and the USA highlighted the impact of Sufi traditions and its methodology on languages and cultures. The convergence of Sufi traditions and Bhakti Movement - from Asfahan, Bukhara, through Anatolia, Lahore and Delhi to Kashmir and Bengal - was highlighted in the presentations.

Inaugural Session

The session commenced with the ceremonial lighting of the Inaugural lamp by the former Prime Minister of India, Mr. Vishwanath Pratap Singh, and scholar-representatives of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, Uzbekistan, France, USA, Canada, Italy, Poland, Germany, Azerbaijan and Lebanon. India was represented by Hazrat Hasan Sani Nizami Sahib, a descendant of Nizamuddin Aulia Sahib and an eminent Sufi scholar.

The Welcome Address by Ajeet Cour, the President of the Foundation, set the tone of the Conference. In the address, she delineated the vision and philosophy of the Conference. She said, "Sufism is our great civilisational heritage, spreading over Central Asia, Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and many other countries, providing an infinite space for spiritual and human bonds of love and compassion, a great path not only towards spiritual evolution, but more importantly, the only path of promoting pluralism, compassion, love and brotherhood, underlining the imperative of reconciliations and centrality of the common man. The message of Sufism transcends all boundaries, and not only goes across, but negates racism and religious fundamentalism."

Dr. Karan Singh with Dr. Shahid Mehdi, Ms. Ajeet Cour and Mr. Pavan Varma

Shree Sahibjee H.L. Arora, a prominent spiritual teacher, listening in rapt attention.  On his left is Mr. Sudeep Bannerjee, Secretary, Ministry of Education, Government of India. Mr. Vishnu Nagar and Mr. Alok Mehta are seated next to him

A Bangladesh troupe presenting the soul-stirring music of the Bauls

In his address Mr. V.P. Singh said, "Sufism is the song of humanity. It strips us of all our pretences and puts us face to face with our creator: not in fear, but in love. It is the song of the soul, need of the hour, and the essence of the future," he said. "Sufism is needed today to stitch our torn hearts together. This Conference will be a major step in this direction, in bringing people together from different religious communities," he emphasised.

Dr. Abid Hussain reiterated that Sufism was the song of the soul. He said, "When the soul is dead, the music is dead inside. When the soul is alive, we open our hearts to all human beings." He added, "Ms. Ajeet Cour is like a fire who has the capacity to ignite all that is around her. Today, if we have people from so many countries, it is because of the rich experience of the Foundation. India is rich because India has Ajeet Cour. She has mighty ideas and has the strength to implement them.

Khwaja Hasan Sani Nizami stated that when people hurt one another, they destroy their own souls. All messengers of God are Sufis, and if human beings realized that truth, there would be more peace and tolerance on earth. He opined: "Leaders of all religions should teach their followers that terrorist acts are not permitted in any religion."

 

Session -1

Theme : Sufism : Contemporary Relevance

 

The session was chaired by Dr. Roberto Catalano (Italy) and Rev. Fr. (Dr.) Paul Jackson (India) and moderated by Mr. Hamid Mir (Pakistan).

The Keynote Address was delivered by Mr. Saeed Naqvi (India), and presentations were made by Dr. Farukhzad (Iran) and Dr. Iqbal Sabir (India).

 

Session - II

Theme : Sufism and Social Integration

 

Dr. Omar Khalidi (USA) and Dr. M. Afsar Rahbeen (Afghanistan) chaired this session while Mr. Dinesh Misra (India) moderated it. The Keynote Addresses was presented by Dr. Shahzad Qaiser, eminent scholar from Pakistan, and Mr. Hamid Mir, Bureau Chief of Geo TV, Islamabad (Pakistan).

Papers were presented by Sufi Abu Syed Golam Dastgir (Bangladesh), Mr. Abdullah Atai (Iran), and Prof. S.N. Jafri (India).

 

Session - III

Theme :Sufism Themes In Trans-Cultural Contexts

 

The session was chaired by Mr. Kamleshwar (India) and moderated by Ms. Tarannum Riyaz (India).

The Keynote Speakers of the session were Dr. Shah Ahmad Saeed Hamadani (Pakistan) and Dr. Mustafa Zaman Abbasi (Bangladesh). Other addresses were by Dr. Abbas Basiri (Afghanistan), Dr. Afzal Tauseef (Pakistan) and Dr. Alix Philippon (France).

 

Session - IV

Theme : Sufi Saints and Dialogue of Spirituality

 

The session was chaired by H.E. Tamerlan Karayev, Ambassador of Azerbaijan in India, and Mr. Hamid Mir from Pakistan, who was also the moderator of the session.

The Keynote Address was presented by Prof. Mahmud H. Erol Kilic of Turkish and Islamic Art Museum, Istanbul (Turkey).

Presentations were also made by Prof. S. H. Quasmi, Prof. Azizuddin Hussain, and Prof. A. Q. Jaffery (all from India).

 

Session -V

Theme: Towards Human Integration

 The Keynote Speakers were Prof. Shahabuddin Iraqi and Dr. R. Bahuguna, both from India.

The session was chaired and moderated by Dr. Shahzad Qaiser (Pakistan).

The Keynote Addresses were followed by spirited presentations by invited scholars.

 

 Session - VI

Theme: Sufism in Literature

The session was chaired by Dr. Syeda S. Hameed, Member, Planning Commission, and Dr. Meenakshi Khanna, and moderated by Dr. Rawel Singh (all from India).

The presentations in the session were made by Dr. Maria (Poland), Dr. Maqsood Ali Khan, Dr. Maroof Ahmad and Dr. Mohd. Tazeem (all from India).

 

Session - VII

Theme: Sufism : Weaving a Composite Cultural Fabric

The Session was chaired by Prof. S.A.H. Abidi (India) and Dr. Sibtul Hasan Zaigham (Pakistan) and moderated by Prof. Akhtrul Wasey

(India)

The Keynote Presentations were made by Dr. Khwaja Mohammad Saeed (Pakistan) and Prof. Namwar Singh (India). Other presentations included those of Dr. K. L. Zakir (India), Dr. Jigar Mohammad (India), Prof. Muzaffar Hanafi (India), and Dr. Bushra Ejaz (Pakistan).

 

Session -VIII

Theme : Sufism : The Other Dimensions-I

The session was chaired by Dr. Nurboy Jabbarov (Uzbekistan) and Dr. Nusrat Batool (Pakistan) and moderated by Dr. S. S. Noor (India) The Keynote Speakers were Mr. Aazam Abidov (Uzbekistan) and Dr. S. Akhtar Hussain Akhtar (Pakistan). Other addresses were by Dr. Moin Nizami (Pakistan), Ms. Tarannum Riyaz (India), Dr. Mirza Mohammad Khizar (India), Dr. Rajwinder (Germany), Dr. Ruquiya and Dr. Kamlesh Mohan (India)

 

Session - IX

Theme : Sufism : The Other Dimensions-ll

The session was chaired by Prof. Ehsan Akbar (Pakistan) and Dr. S. H. Quasmi (India) and moderated by Dr. Gary Duane Dyck

(Canada). The Keynote Speakers were Prof. Kazi Javed (Pakistan) and Prof. Azizuddin Hussain (India), Other addresses were by Dr. Jaswinder Singh (Germany) Dr. Geetanjali Dey (India), Dr. Ghulam Moinuddin (Pakistan) and Dr. Masud Anwar Alavi (India).

Session - X

Theme : Sufism : The Other Dimensions-Ill

The session was chaired by Dr. Madhu Trivedi and Dr. Monika Kapil Mohta, and moderated by Dr. S.S. Noor (all from India) The Keynote Speakers were Prof. Siddiq Kalim (Pakistan) and Dr. Nurboy Jabbarov (Uzbekistan). Other addresses were by Mr. Viquar I. Choudhury (Bangladesh), Dr. Iffat Batool (Pakistan), Dr. Qurrat-ul-Ain (Pakistan) and Mr. Bashir Hussain Nazim (Pakistan). The session was moderated by Dr. S.S. Noor.

The Bauls from Bengal: Mr Ashok Hazara and his team presented the Sufi poetic traditions from Bengal in the special program –‘An Evening of Sufi Music’

Ms. Lekha, Mr. Bishnu Mohapatra, Ms. Tripat Kaur, Ms. Arpana Caur and Mr. Hamid Mir

Ms. Arpana Caur, eminent painter and Secretary General, Academy of Fine Arts and Literature, and Shri Sahib jee, a prominent spiritual seer, listening in rapt attention. On his left is Mr. Sudeep Bannerjee, Secretary, Ministry of Culture.

Ms. Ambika Soni, Minister of Culture, GOI, sharing a meal with the delegates, Ms. Ajeet Cour and Arpana Caur are seen with her.

Dr. Azhar Mahmood Choudhary and Mr. Iqbal Bahu from Pakistan rendering Sufi musical lore.

An Evening of Sufi Music: Mr. Gulfam Sabri of International Music Group – Darvesh – sang to a packed auditorium.

Valedictory Session

 

The Valedictory Session, which marked the conclusion of the three-day conference, was chaired by Mr. Pavan K. Varma, Director-General, ICCR.

 

The Valedictory Address was delivered by Dr. Karan Singh, President, ICCR. Special addresses were made by Mr. Lalit Mansingh, Prof. Shahid Mehdi and Prof. Amrik Singh.

 

Dr. Karan Singh, delivering the Valedictory Address, stated, "We live in a world where despite great progress on many fronts, there are still sharp divisions within states: political, economic, religious...If fundamentalism grows, there will be problems. Now this is where Sufism has a very significant role to play, because its glorious history of love and humanism and its sacrifices and sufferings, the way the Sufis have been tortured, Mansoor ka kya hasharhua, aap jantei hi hain, and down through the ages we find that Sufis have been crucified, they have been tortured, they have been burned alive, but despite all obstacles, the Sufi faith continues to blossom."

 

Dr. Pavan Varma, Director General, ICCR, said, "Sufism by its very definition has a mystical quality to it. I think in today's time and age its collective, secular and plural dimensions need to be analysed, need to be revisited, and need to be seen again. The idea is not to devaluate its mystical quality but to try and understand the strength of this phenomenon, why it has been nurtured for so long in such a sustained way, to try and understand what elements contributed to it, who were its icons, what are its variants, what are its tenets. Thus we need to demystify Sufism in order to better understand its relevance today, in terms of its religious or spiritual connotations, in terms of its poetry, its philosophy, its music, its dance, the manner in which it articulates the notion of divine ecstasy, which is an intrinsic part of its faith." Mr. Lalit Mansingh said, "Unfortunately, history gives more attention to people who have destroyed. And others who silently worked for bringing people together, they find very little mention...Islam was not spread in India through force, or through torture. It was spread through the message of love of the Sufis. Now apart from the Mughals, many other Muslim kingdoms throughout India had rulers who were inclined towards Sufism and these include Kashmir, Bijapur and Golkunda. Akbar achieved this impossible feat of cultural engineering - how to bring about unity among the two great religious traditions of India, Hinduism and Islam."

 

Prof. Shahid Mehdi underlined the relevance of Sufism and the importance of its revival in contemporary times. He also referred to fundamentalism among Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Christians, and added that "fundamentalism of any kind and magnitude has the potential of leading to conflict situations."

 

Prof. Amrik Singh stated, "Sufism is one of the most important dimensions of Islam which had remained neglected for a long time." He urged for a more potent role for social thinking in which the study of Sufism is central.

 

Ms. Ajeet Cour, in her Concluding Address, thanked the delegates for their participation and suggested that the process of reconciliation through Sufism be continued. She hoped that the next phase of the conference could be held soon in Pakistan with the kind cooperation of the National Centre of FOSWAL in Pakistan, and the great scholars like Dr. Shahzad Qaiser and Dr. Syed Akhtar Hussain Akhtar and others. She said that it was the best way of "letting mad dreams fly into the azure skies."

 

She also announced that the papers would be edited and published in the form of an anthology.

The Declaration of the International Conference on Sufism was presented on behalf of the delegates by Dr. Shahzad Qaiser from Pakistan. A summing up of the Conference was presented by Prof. Riyaz Punjabi.

 

The Moderator of the Session, Prof. Akhtarul Wasey, concluded the session by lauding the initiative taken by Ajeet Cour in bringing scholars of different countries and religions together to find out the way in which peace could be realized for humanity. He urged each one to follow the Sufi way of love, compassion and tolerance so as to contribute to the prosperity of humanity and prevent bloodshed. The participants were of the unanimous view that in the present-day world, which is occasionally swept by the currents of racism and religious fundamentalism, Sufism offered the only alternative paradigm to counter the negative social currents.>