By Makarand Paranjape, Life Positive magazine
Sufi traditions of peace and coexistence are very powerful as an expression of people's Islam in our subcontinent, but unfortunately the ruling clergy has never given them either recognition or validity
The Dargah (shrine) of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti, more popularly known as Garib Nawaz or the comfort of the poor, is considered, after Mecca and Medina, to be the most sacred shrine of Muslims from the Indian subcontinent. The hospice of the great saint and founder of the Chistiya silsilah (Chisti strain or tradition) of Sufism in India goes back several hundred years, almost to the earliest period of the Muslim conquest of India. What is more, it serves as an interesting parallel, if not contrast, to the ''official'' Islam that clerics and kings in Delhi usually espoused.
This dargah, representing years of Sufi traditions, which is open to everyone regardless of caste, creed, faith, age, or gender, twenty-four hours a day, not only posed a powerful challenge to the Hindu orthodoxy of the time, but also to the Muslim orthodoxy represented by the ulema (orthodox Islamic clerics). While the dominant Hindu practices emphasized caste hierarchies and exclusion, the dargah of the saint was the refuge of the most lowly, humble, and oppressed people of the land. While the Muslim priestocracy preached the supremacy of Islam, the religion of the conquerors, the Chistis demonstrated their love and acceptance of people of all faiths.
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