| Awaken Bharata |
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| Books By David Frawley |
| SUFIS AND MILITANCE | |
| They
generally seek to promote Islam by peaceful methods and though they
may accept that other religions have some validity, they usually
regard Islam as the best and final religion for humanity. The two
groups have had some conflicts, mainly on an ideological level, as
well as attempts to accommodate one another. They have been mixed
together in various ways. Generally
the Chishtis are a more liberal order, while the Suhrawadis and
Naqshbandis are more conservative. But all Sufi orders have had
strong, if not predominant conservative members.
Suhrawadis often became rich and powerful and were noted for their oppression of Hindus. For example, Saiyid Nuruddin Mubarak, a prominent Suhrawadi Shaikh of the thirteenth century defined Islam so as to exclude non-Sunnis. Among his four principles for the protection of Islam included that Muslim rulers "should make every effort to disgrace and humiliate Hindus. They should not tolerate the sight of Hindus, and in particularly they should exterminate the Brahmans, who are the leaders of heretics and the disseminators of heresy." This is hardly the Hindu image of Sufis but it is a side of the Sufis that has been quite common historically. In fact Sufis of all orders supported Islamic rulers and their armies in India and sometimes joined in their service, including as leaders. Between Sufis and orthodox Muslims, in spite of periodic conflicts, therefore, was often an alliance or at least a tolerance. Their aims are the same, Islamization of the world, but the Sufis emphasize additional spiritual practices as well, often to promote in this same end. After Islamic armies came in and conquered a region, the Sufis would follow to promote Islam through mysticism and learning. In this way Islamic armies and Sufis worked like two sides of the coin, or like the stick and the carrot, the negative and positive images of conversion. |
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