Sufis march against Taliban (in the Pakistani city of Lahore)

[Turborama]

Source: Al Jazeera English

Thousands of members of the Sufi community have staged a march in the Pakistani city of Lahore, calling on the government to do more to stop "terrorists" and Taliban influence in the country.

It came after leaders of the Muslim sect grouped under a council that aims to subdue what they call the growing "Talibanisation" of Pakistan.

Pakistani Sufis have stepped up their movement against fighters in the country after a series of attacks on their shrines.

Read more: http://english.aljazeera.net/video/asia/2010/11/20101127173521838949.html

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Video report at the link.

[jamiefoxer]

1. let's hear it for moderate Muslims

fighting to dampen the reach of radical Muslims. We complain that they never speak out. Here they are.

[Xipe Totec]

2. Marching? Shouldn't they be twirling?

[ChangoLoa]

17. LOL!

Those are Turkish btw.

These are Pakistani

[socialist_n_TN]

3. Sufis are Muslim mystics.............

And mystics ALWAYS have more in common with other mystics, no matter WHAT the dogmatic religion, than they do with fundamentalists. Kudos to the Sufis in Pakistan and the world over.

[ZombieHorde]

5. +666 nt

[JerseygirlCT]

6. Absolutely nt

[BuddhaGirl]

10. +1

[SkyDaddy7]

11. I like your screen name! Oh yeah, +1 on the Article!

[uppityperson]

4. k&r

[Alamuti Lotus]

7. and in other news, Shiites in NWFP sign an alliance with them

Taliban, I mean. That's the story from the land of the pure that I couldn't quite wrap my lobes around...

[Alamuti Lotus]

8. or more properly stated,

the Shiites in question made the alliance with the Haqqani resistance faction on the grounds that they get Lashkar al-Jhangvi & Tehrik-i-Taliban off their backs. I suppose that makes sense in an "all politics is local" kinda way.

[Shanti Mama]

13. Exactly. No generalizations in that part of the world. nt

[burning rain]

9. Good for the Sufis standing up for themselves.

I wonder, however, how many of the majority Sunni population will care to be seen on their side, as the more hardbitten Sunnis see Sufis as little better than disbelievers.

[ChangoLoa]

15. Not in Pakistan, Sufis are important and not perceived as disbelievers.

Islam, as a faith, entered the subcontinent through Sufism. Sufis are greatly respected from Khyber to Dhaka. On the other hand, Islamist parties have never reached more than 10-15% of the vote in Pakistan... which is less than fascist parties in many European countries, such as Front National in France.

[snagglepuss]

18. Pleae cite a Sunni Pakistani cleric who regards Sufis as Muslim.

[Shanti Mama]

12. This is important. Please pay attention! nt

[clyrc]

14. My Lahori friend was very disappointed on his last trip home

He loves seeing the drumming and dancing the Sufis do, but because of radical's threats, it's hard to find that now. He is a moderate Muslim who has flirted with the idea of being a Sufi, and he has no love for extremists or the Taliban. He's also pretty much in despair over Pakistan, because he says it is such a messed up place.

[ChangoLoa]

16. Mast Kalandar! nt

[mainer]

19. I fear for them. They are the Quakers of the Islamic world.

If they're attacked, I don't know if they'll be able to defend themselves. And Sufis have been victims of violence for a long, long time.