Islamic Unity Conference Urges More Solidarity Among Muslims

From the Iranian Students News Agency

ISNA - Tehran
Service: Foreign Policy

TEHRAN, Mar. 16 (ISNA)-Participants in the 22th Islamic unity conference in Tehran wrapped up their 3-day session as they issued a statement calling for more solidarity among Muslims.

The conference which mainly discussed issues of Islamic nations and ways to eradicate challenges was hosted by Tehran from March 13 to 15 with the presence of 100 participants from 45 countries and 60 Iranian features.

The statement reiterated that Islamic nations face major challenges targeting their culture and entity and try to impede their scientific, economic and military progress.

It stressed that Islamic nations are suffering extremism, prejudice and ignorance which have triggered off division in the Islamic world and some provocative behaviors in the world.

The Participants put forward comprehensive plans to deal with the challenges through making Muslims more aware in different domains to perceive Islam, its teachings and goals to understand current realities in every field.

They also called for implementing Islam in all spheres, boosting the level of education of Muslims in all sections to reinforce their solidarity.

The participants then asked for boosting activities of Islamic organizations and employment of Muslims' political, economic and geographical capabilities to make them unified for achieving their goals.

Providing more welfare for Islamic minorities across the world, implementing Islamic statement on human rights, introducing the precious characteristics of Prophet Mohammad to avoid more insults against him by the West were among their plans.

They then called for Muslims of different Islamic schools to respect each others' views and ideas and condemned Zionist regime's recent savage attacks over Gaza Strip and stressed Palestinians should achieve their rights including establishment of an independent country.

They asked all Somalis parties to hold talks and cooperate for the development of the country without any bloodshed and conflict.

The statement also supported any measure which would help settlement of Darfur issue in Sudan and paves the way for a national reconciliation and condemned any move by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.

The statement backed Iran's stance for making progress in nuclear technology for peaceful purposes and slammed any complicated measure to hold back Iran from access to its certain rights according to international rules and regulations.

Picture of the Week: Displaced Pakistani's Wait for Food in Swat Valley

Displaced Pakistani people wait for food at a makeshift camp in the country's troubled Swat Valley

Related Story from the Associated Press.

Dialogue with Taliban Endangers Women's Rights

From AsiaNet.it

03/09/2009 14:38

AFGHANISTAN

Dialogue with Taliban endangers women's rights

The condition of women will be the testing ground for any dialogue with the Taliban. AsiaNews has gathered comments in the country on the U.S. president's idea of seeking dialogue with Taliban moderates. There is widespread fear of "going backward." The importance of Iran.

Kabul (AsiaNews) - "The evolution of this country is in the hands of women. Under the Taliban, women could not even go to school, they were forced to stay home and endure forced marriages. Conditions for women may be the main testing ground for the dialogue that the U.S. president wants to open with Taliban moderates." This is one of the comments that AsiaNews has gathered in Afghanistan after the proposal of U.S. president Barack Obama to open a dialogue with the Taliban moderates.

On March 7, Obama said that the United States cannot win the war in Afghanistan against the Islamic extremists, and said that he is willing to "explore" the possibility of a dialogue with Taliban moderates, in order to separate them from fundamentalist groups like al Qaeda.

Afghan president Hamid Karzai has commented on the news very favorably, and has said that the dialogue could be directed first of all to the "many who are afraid to return to their country, and believe that they have no other choice than to side with al Qaeda."

But local circles are perplexed, and are asking in the first place: Who are the Taliban moderates, and what did they do during the Taliban regime? One expert comments that "a few months ago, Taliban leaders, believed to be moderate, indicated the three points that for them are nonnegotiable: that all the soldiers from other countries leave; that there be no foreign interference in Afghan politics; and that sharia (Islamic law) be applied. With the exception of the armed opposition, these are the same things that the Taliban fundamentalists want. Of course, dialogue is always positive, peace can be reached only through dialogue. But the point is how this dialogue can be realized. If tomorrow Taliban moderates again impose sharia, which was enacted during their regime, I am afraid that the Calvary of the Afghan women will resume."

Yesterday, President Karzai, on the occasion of International Women's Day, denounced the fact that many in the country still consider women as "property," and said that "forced marriages, the selling of women, these are against Islam."

On March 7, Jan Bibi, a widow, set herself on fire and died in the district of Obe (western Afghanistan) in order to escape a life of hardship. As a widow, Bibi was a pariah of society, undesirable for marriage and without any opportunity to work. Women often commit suicide in the area in order to avoid abuse and forced marriage. A recent UN report says that "threats and intimidation against women in public life or who work outside the home have seen a dramatic increase" in the country.

Fear is widespread that a new Taliban regime would mean "going backward." Analysts observe that the only results of this long war and its immense cost in human lives and money may be the better conditions for women, and democracy. Democracy is still weak, to such an extent that Karzai has delayed until August the elections scheduled for April, because of the difficult situation.

The idea of dialogue is not new, Karzai has suggested it repeatedly. But the problem is also that of whether Karzai and democratic forces in the country are capable of opposing the Taliban.

Many observe that "if the U.S. military cannot win against the Taliban, how can the Afghan military do so? It cannot be as prepared as that of the U.S., even if billions have been spent to reorganize it. And the police are still plagued with widespread corruption. It is unlikely that the time is right to entrust the country to self-governance." Besides, despite the extensive resources employed by the U.S. and by other countries, Karzai controls only Kabul and the surrounding area.

Other comments are more optimistic, and say that it is necessary "to involve Iran in the process of pacification. It can play an important role. Now it has been invited to participate in the conference in June in Trieste, to discuss the Afghan situation. It will be important to see if it accepts."

Saudi Arabia welcoming more cultural events

But activities often interrupted by men claiming to be religious police

.

Saudi women visit the 4th Riyadh International Book Fair in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday

From the Associated Press - Sat., March. 7, 2009

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - When word spread that Brazil was going to be the guest of honor at the Riyadh International Book Fair, a Saudi official had to reassure the public that the Brazilians wouldn't be dancing the Samba at the 11-day event that opened recently.

The question to Abdul Aziz Al-Subeil, a senior Information Ministry official, at a news conference last week reflected the wariness with which cultural events are viewed by many here. For conservatives, book fairs, plays and movie screenings are a cause for concern because they allow for the mixing of the sexes, the playing of music and the introduction of books that they believe violate religious and moral values.

Still, despite the regular interruption of cultural activities by men who sometimes claim to belong to the religious police, there has been a marked increase in such events in the past few years.

One of the most groundbreaking was a concert held by the German Embassy last year at a government-run cultural center that broke many taboos in a country where public music is banned, public concerts are almost never heard of and the sexes are segregated even in lines at fast food outlets.

The other was the first Saudi film festival, held last year and attended by the information minister in a clear sign of official support for the event.

In a first this year, women have been given more access to the book fair, which opened Tuesday. In the past, female visitors were restricted to only two half-days. Many hoped this move would correspond with less interference by the religious police to stop what they view as excessive mixing of the sexes.

Presence of religious police

But well-known columnist Haleema Muthaffar said she was shocked when the religious police stationed five security guards, six policemen and two religious police agents between her and the men and women who attended her book signing to prevent men from coming forward to have their books signed.

She said the religious police detained three well-known Saudi writers for questioning after she tried to give one of them a signed copy of her book.

"What kind of encouragement for culture is this?" she wrote in Al-Watan newspaper.

She said culture is cordoned off "in a way that scares those who seek it and deters them from getting close to us."

Many other conservatives have made headlines recently trying to stop the kind of cultural opening supported by many Saudis. Last month alone, newspapers reported the following incidents:

• Bearded extremists tried to stop a play in Riyadh. As music blared signaling the beginning of the show, one of the men decided to give a religious lecture on stage. The man was stopped by the stage manager, and following a brief argument, he left with his companions.
• Bearded youths attacked dancers at the Desert Spring Festival in the southern town of Sharoura, forcing organizers to cancel the all-male traditional dance show.
• In the western city of Jiddah, five youths tried to disrupt the screening of movies at a spring festival by urging visitors to stay away from the cinema. There are no movie theaters in Saudi Arabia, but recently films have been screened at auditoriums and other venues.

The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, which runs the religious police, has issued statements distancing itself from the incidents. The police are charged with enforcing the strict interpretation of Sunni Islam followed in the kingdom.

Columnists speak out

Columnist Hamoud Abu Taleb questioned how long such actions by conservatives can continue "since they have become increasingly violent and aggressive."

"Keeping silent about this behavior poses a great danger not only to the cultural institutions, but to society itself," he wrote in Al-Madina newspaper.

Another columnist, Ali al-Moussa, said concerns about the corrupting influence of cultural events have been overblown in Saudi Arabia. He said Brazilians should be able to dance the Samba at the book fair if they wanted.

"Haven't we danced the (Saudi traditional sword dance) at fairs in Paris, London, Moscow and Washington?" he wrote in Al-Watan newspaper. "Why should we dance in others' arenas and condemn their presence in ours?"

For those who want to enjoy shows in peace, there are piano recitals, standup comedy routines and plays performed on embassy grounds or in expatriates' residential compounds, venues that are off limits to religious police and extremists. The shows are not always open to Saudis, though.

One recent event featured Sue Ott Rowlands, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech. She performed Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner's hourlong monologue "Homebody/Kabul."

Rowlands said performing the play in Saudi Arabia "was an extraordinary experience."

Yasmin al-Tuwaijri, a Saudi epidemiologist who attended one of Rowlands' performances, said she enjoyed the show but had one concern in the back of her mind.

"I was extremely thrilled to have such an occasion, but I was nervous that somebody would come and ruin it," said the 42-year-old woman.

Picture of the Day: Saudi Arabia & Valentine's Day

A Saudi woman tries to choose a Valentine's Day teddy bears at a gift shop in the Saudi capital Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Friday Jan 30, 2009 . Store owners know that as Feb. 14 approaches, the feared religious police begin inspecting gift shops for items that are red or in any way suggest the holiday, which is banned in this country. Such items are legal throughout the year. It's only around Valentine's Day that they take on a contraband status. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar) 4:27 p.m. ET, 2/12/09

Fear of Death Stalks Pakistan Women in Swat

Pakistani activists in Lahore protest against attacks on girls schools in the country's troubled Swat Valley

March 7, 2009

Fear of death stalks Pakistan women in Swat

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) — Terrified, locked up at home and courting death if they go out alone, women oppressed by Taliban extremists in Pakistan's Swat valley have nothing to celebrate on International Women's Day.

Nearly 100 years after the annual day was created to mark the struggle for equal rights for half the world's population, most women in Swat look blank and go silent when asked about gender rights and discrimination.

They're too frightened to speak in public. They can only leave the confines of their homes accompanied by a male relative, their bodies hidden in veils.

"How can I tell you my name, are you crazy? I was told not to give my name to anyone because the Taliban could hurt me," one girl in the ninth grade told AFP by telephone from the former ski resort.

For nearly two years, thousands of Taliban fighters have waged a terrifying campaign to enforce their repressive interpretation of Islam in Swat, transforming the region of majestic mountains and lush valleys into a war zone.

Last month, the government signed a widely criticised agreement with a pro-Taliban cleric to enforce sharia law in exchange for a ceasefire in a region where most locals say the Taliban have become the masters.

The girl's dreams of becoming a doctor are over. She worries the Taliban will stop her finishing school, regardless of her parents' support.

"My mother told me I can do anything, but my inner soul is shattered.

"Tell me if you stop women getting an education where will a sick woman go? Do you want her to go to a male doctor? I was told that education is compulsory for every man and woman in Islam but the Taliban destroyed our schools."

Militants have destroyed 191 schools in the valley, 122 of them for girls, leaving 62,000 pupils with nowhere to study, local officials say.

Huma Batool -- not her real name -- is a 42-year-old mother of two who dices with death to teach girls at a private school in the region's main town Mingora.

"We have to veil ourselves and wear shuttlecock burqas. We are not safe even at home. We fear the Taliban all the time. Life is becoming worse and worse for women in Swat," she told AFP by telephone.

Educated and financially self-sufficient, she cannot even pop to the shops without a male relative, leaving her frequently couped up at home for hours, waiting for a suitable escort to become available.

"You cannot imagine how I manage to get to school, practically every day I think about leaving the job and sitting at home."

Taliban hardliners have outlawed entertainment as un-Islamic, shut down beauty parlours and closed shops considered dens of vice rather than virtue.

"Life bores us to tears. There is no entertainment. We can't even think about cable TV, cinema, film and music. Imagine I can't even go shopping or to the bazaar as women are banned by Taliban."

Salma Javed, 35, is a nurse at a local hospital, where women -- however sick -- can only be admitted if accompanied by a male relative.

"Every woman fears she will be killed if she comes out, so even sick and pregnant women have to visit hospital with their husbands."

Salma would love to leave, but she cannot scrape together the money to set herself up in Peshawar, the teeming metropolis of Pakistan's northwest, or in the capital Islamabad barely 160 kilometres (100 miles) away.

"Now we are waiting to see what will happen after the peace deal, but let me tell you things will not change for women," she said.

The only light in Shahnaz Kousar's life is that the Taliban -- at least for now -- are allowing her to go to school in Mingora. But outside her 10th grade classroom, the daily pleasures of shopping and make-up are gone.

"We are now totally depending on Taliban.

"There's not a single shop left where I can go and buy cosmetics, all shops selling women's things are either closed or empty.

"I remember when I used to go to this market with my mother and sisters, but now it seems like a dream."

Nigerian AIDS Patients Marry Each Other

From the Associated Press - March 7, 2009

 

Newly-married couple Hauwa Idriss, right, and Umar Ahmed, both living with the AIDS virus, smile as they pose for a photograph shortly after their wedding in Bauchi, Nigeria, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008. Bauchi State, in Nigeria's heavily Muslim north, has recently begun playing Cupid with its HIV sufferers, encouraging them to marry by offering counseling, and cash towards their big day. The goal: to halt the spread of HIV in the non-infected population. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba) (Sunday Alamba - AP)

 

Nigerian AIDS patients marry each other

By KATY POWNALL
The Associated Press
Saturday, March 7, 2009; 2:17 PM

BAUCHI, Nigeria -- With her golden dress shimmering in the sun and ornate henna tattoos covering her hands, Hauwa Idris is the picture of a radiant Nigerian bride. But her betrothal has hardly been typical: Both bride and groom are infected with the deadly AIDS virus and have been encouraged to wed by an unusual government program.

Bauchi State, in Nigeria's heavily Muslim north, has recently begun playing Cupid with its HIV sufferers, encouraging them to marry by offering counseling and cash toward their big day. The goal: to halt the spread of HIV in the non-infected population.

"We live in a polygamous society where divorce is common and condom use is low," says Yakubu Usman Abubakar, an official working with the Bauchi Action Committee on AIDS, which runs the program. "If we can stop those who have the disease spreading it to those who don't have the disease, then obviously it will come under control."

The plan had seen 93 "positive" couples married since its inception about two years ago. Idris, aged 32, and her beaming husband, 39-year-old Umar Ahmed, are couple No. 94.

"I'm very happy to see my wedding day," laughs Idris shyly. "I never expected I was going to marry because of my (HIV) status. But now I am happy and thank God that now we have a solution ... we can marry within ourselves."

Idris and Ahmed's eyes met across a crowded clinic waiting room as they queued to collect their anti-retroviral HIV therapy pills. They exchanged phone numbers and the courtship began.

Two months later, Ahmed asked Idris' parents for her hand in marriage. It was granted and a dowry of $68 agreed upon. As an incentive to carry it off, the Bauchi group contributed $225 toward the cost of the couple setting up home together, no small amount in a country where over half the population live on $1 a day.

The outreach program won't be formalized until 2009, and no budget figures exist yet. The state doesn't seek to introduce HIV-infected people, since that would entail revealing private medical data, but when officials hear of HIV lovers, they step in quickly to encourage a legal union.

Around 4 million of Nigeria's 140 million people are living with HIV _ the second largest HIV population in the world, according to Britain's foreign development agency. And although prevalence rates have dropped slightly in the past three years to around 4 percent, health experts warn the country still has a lot of work to do to bring the epidemic under control.

Bauchi is the only one of Nigeria's 36 states known to have such a program. In a society where HIV sufferers are stigmatized, these "positive marriages" provide more than just companionship.

"We have such a close bond," says Usman Ziko, 42, of his relationship with wife Hannah, 32. Money from the Bauchi plan allowed them to marry in October, after an 18-month courtship that began in the corridors of the clinic.

"It was a flamboyant affair," Hannah recalls of the wedding with a smile. "Lots of people and dancing and we snapped pictures to remember the day."

"When I first found out I was positive I thought it was the end of the world," explains Ziko. "I was depressed and became isolated from my friends. Now I have a partner who understands everything. We share our problems, remind each other to take medicine and are free with each other."

Bala Garba, a 40-year-old soldier, married Rabi Ibrahim, a 24-year-old teacher, with assistance from the plan after they met at their clinic.

"Making this marriage will make our lives easier and help us to keep the secret (of our HIV positive status)," Garba explains. "It is normal to be married in our society. This keeps people from thinking there is anything abnormal about us."

The pair have just had their first baby _ a little boy named Musa.

With assistance from the Bauchi Action Committee on AIDS, the couple received treatment and advice to help prevent Rabi from passing the virus to her baby, although the child is still too young to be tested. According to health workers, they have every chance of having a healthy child. "He is a strong boy and he's growing fast," laughs Garba, visibly delighted.

Ziko and Hannah, following strict advice and recommendations from the organization, have also conceived.

"I'm so excited to be a mother," says Hannah, now three months pregnant. "I have been eating a special diet and having medical checkups. I never imagined I could live such a normal life."

Not everyone is so encouraged, however. Some health experts have criticized the plan, saying that if HIV positive couples are encouraged to have babies, more children will end up orphaned.

According to the United Nations, Nigeria had 1.2 million AIDS orphans in 2007. While some may be adopted by relatives or find care with charitable or church organizations, many will end up on the streets begging and taking care of their siblings. Bauchi's health officials remain convinced of the plan's benefits, however.

They point out that in Nigeria, life expectancy is just 48 years in any case.

"Here you can't assume that someone with HIV will die sooner than someone else," says Abubakar, of the Bauchi program. "Especially if they are taking care of themselves, receiving good advice and proper medication."

Ziko certainly has no intention of leaving his unborn child to fend for itself.

"It's the start of a fresh, new and happy life," he beams. "I plan to live another 50 years."

Picture: Saudi Arabia Increases Cultural Events

Saudis visit the 4th Riyadh International Book Fair in the Saudi capital Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, March 3, 2009. 3:46 p.m. ET, 3/3/09 Related Story.

2 Palestinian Women Become Judges in Islamic Court

Palestinian Islamic Law Judge Khuloud Faqih, works at her office at the Islamic Law Court in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Monday
Photo: AP

From the Jerusalem Post and the Associated Press - March 2, 2009
Ramallah, West Bank

The Islamic courts were among the last male-only bastions in Palestinian society, where women have been presidential candidates, police officers and even suicide bombers.

Now two stern-looking women in Muslim head scarves and long black robes have smashed through the thick glass ceiling.

Khuloud Faqih, 34, and Asmahan Wuheidi, 31, made history in February when they became the first female Islamic judges in the Palestinian territories.

Across the Arab world, only Sudan has had women judges in Islamic courts, West Bank-based academic experts on Islamic affairs said. Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, all relatively progressive states in the region on women's rights, do not.

"I compare us to other Arab Muslim women, and I think we've done well," said Faqih, wearing a sash in the colors of the Palestinian flag across her robe. "I think I've opened a door for myself and other women."

She spoke between meetings with petitioners in her modest courtroom - an office with a few couches, a desk and a coffee table with plastic flowers.

Muslim courts in the Palestinian Authority rule over family affairs like marriage, divorce, inheritance and custody, relying on Islamic jurisprudence rather than secular rules.

The petitioners did not seem shocked to see a woman in the judge's seat - in this case, an office chair. But they appeared to argue often and loudly with Faqih, in stark contrast to the quiet in a neighboring room where a male judge heard cases from respectful petitioners.

Palestinian feminists have praised the female judges but say the move will not make a dramatic change, because the judges still rely on Islamic laws that ultimately favor men.

"As long as the law is the law, which is difficult to women, I don't think it will change much," said Dima Nashashibi of the Palestinian Women's Center for Legal Aid and Counseling.

For example, women need a judge to grant a divorce, while men don't need that approval.

But the female judges say they can help their sisters obtain their rights under Islamic law. They say a sense of shame surrounds women speaking to men, especially about intimate family relations.

Wuheidi gave the example of a woman seeking divorce because her husband was impotent but who was too shy to divulge details of her sex life to the male judge. In Islam, a woman can ask a judge for a divorce if she is not sexually satisfied.

"When a woman speaks to another woman, it's easier for her to speak," Wuheidi said.

In one case, Faqih doubled the alimony that a woman's ex-husband had to pay for each of their five children to $96 a month - a fair sum among Palestinians.

"Where I can make decisions that help women obtain better rights, I will," Faqih said.

But some petitioners doubted women could be equal to men.

"I'd like to see her, but I think that men do this job better, they are less emotional," said Eziyeh Yousef, who was finalizing her divorce papers.

In many Arab societies, traditions have long held that only men can be Islamic judges because women are too weak and sensitive.

But Yousef's friend, Najah Mahmoud, quickly interrupted. "Are you kidding? Women can do everything like men. She doesn't know what she's talking about."

The two new judges are trained civil lawyers, not Islamic scholars. But they excelled in the Islamic law exams, beating dozens of other, mostly male, applicants.

The top judge responsible for the appointment, Sheik Taysir Tamimi, said Faqih approached him in August asking if she could apply for a position.

"I said, 'I beg you to apply,'" Tamimi said, hoping it would help women obtain better rulings.

Tamimi debated the issue with his reluctant colleagues, then issued a letter confirming that women could become Muslim judges.

The decision only affects the West Bank, ruled by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority. In the Gaza Strip, the ruling militant group Hamas has not made similar appointments, although Hamas women have become legislators and are slowly emerging in senior positions.

Tamimi said he hoped more women would apply, but said the openness to change among critics depends on how the two new judges perform.

"Any new experience will have supporters and detractors. But if you want to please everybody, we'll never move forward as a society," he said.

Sufism as Youth Culture in Morocco

From the Washington Post - March 3, 2009

Mokhtar Ghambou

Sufism as Youth Culture in Morocco

Morocco owes its image of a modern Muslim nation to Sufism, a spiritual and tolerant Islamic tradition that goes back to the first generations of Muslims and has sustained the religious, social and cultural cohesion of Moroccan society for centuries. Sufism provides answers to some of the most complex issues in the contemporary Muslim world, where youth comprise the majority of the population.

Most Moroccans, young or old, practice one form of Sufism or another. As a deep component of the Moroccan identity, Sufism absorbs all members of society, regardless of age, gender, social status or political orientation.

Moroccan youth are increasingly drawn to Sufism because of its tolerance, its fluid interpretation of the Qur'an, its rejection of fanaticism and its embrace of modernity. Young men and women find in the Sufi principles of "beauty" and "humanity" a balanced lifestyle that allows them to enjoy arts, music and love without having to abandon their spiritual and religious obligations.

Sufi orders exist throughout Morocco. They organize regular gatherings to pray, chant and debate timely topics of social and political importance, ranging from the protection of the environment and social charity to the war on drugs and the threat of terrorism.

Moreover, Sufi gatherings inspire young people to engage in interfaith dialogue, highlighting the universal values Islam shares with Christianity and Judaism - such as the pursuit of happiness, love of one's family, tolerance of racial and religious differences, and the promotion of peace.

Combined, Sufi seminars, chants and trances provide millions of Moroccans with a social medium where the fusion of the sacred and the secular, the soul and the body, and the local and the universal is both possible and enjoyable.

I recently asked Ahmed Kostas, an expert on Sufism and director at the Moroccan Ministry of Religious Affairs in Rabat, why this old spiritual tradition is so popular among modern youth.

"Progress and change," he noted, "are basic tenets of Sufi philosophy."

Sufis distance themselves from fundamentalists, whose vision of Islam is a strict and Utopian emulation of the Prophet Muhammad and his companions, by placing great emphasis on the community's adaptation to the concerns and priorities of modern times. Sufis neither condemn unveiled women nor censure modern means of entertainment. For them, the difference between virtue and vice is determined on the basis of intent, not appearances.

Sufism is so diffuse in Moroccan culture that its role cannot be properly understood if reduced to a sect or shrine; it pervades even those musical trends labeled as "modern" or "Western." Rai, as well as Moroccan versions of hip hop and rap, may seem too earthly or too sensual to be associated with Sufism, yet they draw on Sufi poetry to sing the primordial essence of the human body, the virtues of simplicity, and the healing gifts of Sufi saints, such as Sidi Abderrahman Majdub, Sidi Ahmed Tijani, and Sidi Boumediene-spiritual masters revered by their peers and disciples for having attained spiritual union with God during their earthly lives.

The impact of Sufism on youth culture is more explicit in the lyrics of the urban band Nass Al Ghiwan and the Saharan Gnawa musicians. These two groups have profoundly shaped Moroccan popular music since the 1970s. Ghiwan songs, informed by the hippie style of bands like the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd, inspire many listeners to a physical response called shatha, a Sufi word that Moroccans use for modern dance.

Gnawa musicians, the descendants of African slaves brought to Morocco between the 12th and 17th centuries, produce a similar effect. Their music is a mix of religious lyrics deeply rooted in the oral tradition of sub-Saharan Africa and melancholic melodies reminiscent of American jazz and blues. The Gnawa performance centers on a spinning body and a high-pitched voice, rhyming poetic verses with Sufi chants in Arabic such as "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is his Messenger." These same words are terrifying when they come from the mouth of the terrorist, but lift the soul when they are sung by pious Muslims, Gnawa and other Sufi-inspired musicians.

Even Fnaire, the most recent hip hop band from Marrakech, identifies itself as a blend of Moroccan Sufi tradition and American rap.

In addition to Moroccans, thousands of young men and women from Europe, America and Africa flock to sacred music festivals organized every summer by Sufi movements throughout Morocco, to sing and celebrate their enthusiasm for life and their commitment to the universal values of peace. The scene at these festivals completely refutes the kind of image that extremists seek to convey to Muslim youth.

It is this fusion of Sufism and modernity that produces a unique aesthetic experience, which is attractive to Moroccan youth who reject extremism and uphold values of a shared humanity.

Mokhtar Ghambou is professor of Postcolonial Studies at Yale University. He is also the founder and president of the American Moroccan Institute (AMI). This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).