For millions of music lovers in India and Pakistan, the qawwali “Dama Dam Mast Qalander” doesn’t need any introduction. It’s a song that enticed generations. The verses of the song were written in the honour of the 13th century Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, who’s interred at a shrine in Pakistan’s Sindh province. It’s this shrine that was bombed by the Islamic State on February 16, killing at least 88 people.
Within 12 hours of the bombing, dozens broke the police cordon, climbed the walls of the shrine and performed the Sufi ritual dance dhamaal . Dr. Syed Mehdi Raza Shah, the caretaker of the shrine, says it was an act of defiance against terrorists. Located in Sehwan, a small town at a six-hour drive from the provincial capital Karachi, it is one of the most visited Sufi shrines in Pakistan. It is a place where Hindus and Muslims leave their religious affiliations behind and perform dhamaal together.
Suleman Akhtar, a resident of Sehwan, wrote a blog on dawn.com after the blast. “When Hindus perform the mehndi at the beginning of Lal Shahbaz’s urs [death anniversary ceremony], one cannot tell if Partition ever happened. When transgenders take part in dhamaal and become part of the crowd without any mockery, one cannot tell that this is the same society where such stigma is associated with deviant sexuality and gender.” A day after the blast, Pakistan’s well-known activist and classical dancer Sheema Kermani visited Sehwan. “I wanted to show my resistance and defiance to the act of terrorists,” she says. Ms. Kermani and her friends started dancing at the bazaar which surrounds the shrine. “I could feel the fear. So we started dhamaal in the bazaar. Suddenly, the people came alive. They started throwing rose petals on us, that’s when I thought that dhamaal will continue and we can defeat the terrorists’ ideology.”
Some in Pakistan believe dhamaal is not a Muslim tradition, while others disagree and give examples of Turkey’s Maulana Rumi and revered Sufis Amir Khusrow, Bulleh Shah and Nizamuddin Auliya. Lahore’s Daata Darbar, which houses the remains of Sufi saint Abul Hassan Ali Hajvery, does not have the tradition of dhamaal or qawwali . This shrine came under attack in 2010. In November 2016, terrorists targeted the Shah Noorani shrine in Kuzdar, Balochistan, killing 50 people.
Dr. Syed Mehdi Raza Shah, the caretaker of the Sehwan shrine, says Sufi culture has been under threat for some time. “There is no doubt that our society and country is being radicalised. This happened because Sufis’ poetry and chapters on their lives have been removed from the textbooks over the years. Sufi philosophy is the only answer to radicalisation,” he tells The Hindu .
The real problem
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was quick to declare the strike on the Qalandar shrine as an attack on Pakistan’s inclusive future. The military has launched a nationwide offensive against militants.
But experts remain sceptical about its efficacy. Zahid Hussain, a journalist, says there is still no clear strategy on part of the government and the military. “There is emphasis on kinetic force which will not work for long. No plan to address the root causes of extremism and terrorism, which is madrasa reforms, curbing hate speech and judicial reforms,” he tells The Hindu . “To add to that, the use of force cannot be ensured in cities. I am sceptical that with the current approach, the new operation can be successful.”
Agrees Dr. Shah. “Radicals are well-funded, well-coordinated and well-organised. They will not be finished with just military power.”
Mubashir Zaidi writes for The Hindu and is based in Karachi.
