Sufism

On November 11, 2018, Professor Elyor Karimov gave a lecture entitled Sufism and Sufi Poetry. Now, I had expected the lecture to primarily feature the poems we had been asked to read beforehand, but it seems as if Professor Karimov was far more focused on the topic of Sufism as a whole. That being said, I would like to elaborate on what I learned about Sufism and the Sufi traditions. To start I would like to reference one of the poems that we were required to read as well as the powerpoint that had been linked to us. The poem entitled “This Marriage” has a line in it that cross-references with a topic spoken about within the powerpoint. The line states, “May it be sweet milk, this marriage, like wine and halvah.” (Kulliyat-i-Shams 2667) As we learned, wine is used by Sufi mystics in order to reference spiritual love. This then points to the idea that those that are Sufi tend to see marriage not only as a marriage to one another but also as a spiritual marriage along with Allah, the Muslim god. To get back on track, one of the opening statements of Professor Karimov’s lecture was him stating that all Sufi are Muslim, but not all Muslim are Sufi. He then provided many pictures of a wide variety of articles that stated many attacks on Muslims were against Sufi mosques. Professor Karimov used these articles to show that there is a terrible misunderstanding around the world about mosques. One of his quotes that comes to mind is “There is no Sufi mosque, there is only a mosque. the Muslim Church. Anyone can go.” Professor Karimov then proceeded to show many videos that show how sessions within the mosques work and what rituals may be performed. He was even able to bring in some videos that he had shot himself despite him not knowing that he was ever going to show the videos to anyone but himself. These videos seemed a bit random at first, but are very interesting in the way that it shows just how different religions are throughout the world. As the videos were playing I began to think about how vastly different a Christian church ceremony is apart from a Muslim or Sufi ritual. What we may see as commonplace in our own churches may be completely ridiculous in the eyes of someone from another faith. One last thought that I had, I found it crazy that Rumi was the best-selling poet in the United States. I had never once even heard of him or his writings and now you’re telling me he has outsold any other poet within the United States?! It just seemed so outlandish but in a way incredibly impressive.

Works Cited:

Karimov, Elyor. “Sufism and Sufi Poetry.” HUHC. HUHC Lecture, 6 Nov. 2018, Hempstead, Hofstra University.

Rumi, Jalal. “Rumi’s Poetry.” Selections from Rumi’s Poetry, hofstra.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-3154417-dt-content-rid-20821145_1/courses/CULTURE_AND_EXPRESSION/Selections%20from%20Rumi%27s%20Poetry.pdf.