Faqiror faker

On the night of April 1, 2001, over a hundred devotees were crushed to death in a mob stampede during the annual pilgrimage at the shrine of Pakistan's most famous Sufi saint, Baba Farid ad-Din Ganj-i Shakkar. This article explores this tragedy as a case study of the politics of Sufism. In today's Pakistan, Sufism remains an emotive, multi-valent and highly contested symbolda lightning rod in the contestation over Islamic identity, authority and authenticity. While most Pakistanis view Sufi saints as the embodiment of Islamic virtued-true faqirs ('impoverished ones') committed to a life of piety, self-sacrifice and public servicedthe detractors of the tradition dismiss them as fakers. Faqir or faker? The opposing answers to this question reveal how the Sufi tradition is argued and debated in Pakistan and throughout the modern Muslim world. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, I examine the differing responses of the state, the shrine custodians and a group of Chishti Sabiri Sufi disciples to the Pakpattan tragedy of 2001. Focusing on the response of Sufi participants, I trace how a story of personal loss and national trauma was transformed into a narrative of sacrifice and sacralisation, with Sufism framed as Islamic orthodoxy

Ancient history · Islam · Orthodoxy · Piety · Pilgrimage · Political science · Politics · Sacrifice · Social science · Sociology · State (computer science) · Sufism · Theology · Tragedy (event) · Asian Studies and History · History · Islamic Studies and History · Law · Philosophy · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East · Religious studies

• Sufi Shrine as Space of Hegemonic Struggle in Pakistan

  Seemab Zahra, Muhammad Bilal et al.•Religions of South Asia•2021

  Incluir item

• Cultural and Religious Perspective on the Sufi Shrines

  Open Access•Iftikhar Ahmed Charan, Banghu Wang et al.•Journal of Religion and Health•2018

  Incluir item

• Devotional Islam and Politics in British India

  Usha Sanyal•Devotional Islam and Politics in…•1999

  Incluir item

• Jihad

  Ahmed Rashid•Jihad•2003

  Incluir item

• Sufi heirs of the Prophet

  Arthur F Buehler•Sufi heirs of the Prophet•1998

  Incluir item

• And Muhammad is his messenger

  Annemarie Schimmel•And Muhammad is his messenger•1985

  Incluir item

• Sufi Martyrs of Love

  Open Access•Cecile Ernst, Carl W Ernst et al.•Sufi Martyrs of Love•2002

  Incluir item

• Islamic Revival in British India

  Barbara D Metcalf•Islamic Revival in British India•1982

  Incluir item

• Embodying Charisma

  Pnina Werbner, Helene Basu•Embodying Charisma•1998

  Incluir item

• Shrines, Succession, and Sources of Moral Authority

  David Gilmartin•Moral Conduct and Authority•1984

  Incluir item

• Public Sphere in Muslim Societies, The

  Miriam Hoexter, Shmuel Eisenstadt et al.•Public Sphere in Muslim…•2002

  Incluir item

• Arguing Sainthood

  Katherine Pratt Ewing•Arguing Sainthood•1997

  Incluir item

• Islamic Mysticism Contested

  Irene J F De Jong, De Jong De Jong et al.•Islamic Mysticism Contested•1999

  Incluir item

• The Islamic Leviathan

  Seyyed Vali Reza Nasr•Islamic leviathan•2001

  Incluir item

• Public Religions in the Modern World

  José Casanova•Public Religions in the Modern…•1994

  Incluir item

• The Politics of Sufism

  Open Access•Katherine Pratt Ewing, Katherine Ewing•The Journal of Asian Studies•1983

  Incluir item