Last evening I
went to a Sufi mosque in Omdurman to watch part of their worship
service. The Sheikh of the Summaniyya sect invited me when I first
met him last year. The Sufis are a major tradition in Islam going
back several hundred years. There are many Sufi “schools”, or
sects, each founded by a particular sheikh (teacher). Sufi sects are
various disciplines of worship usually seeking some sort of mystical
(or inner) union with God (Allah). Some achieve this through music
and dance. The “whirling dervishes” come from those Sufi sects
that find mystical transport through dance. Sufism is popular in
Sudan and fits the mostly gentle and tolerant approach of the
Sudanese people. Sufism is pretty much the exact opposite of
Islamist extremism.
The
three largest sects in Sudan – the Mahdiyya,
Khatmiyya and Summaniyya – are Sufi. Sheikh
Hassan Qaribullah invited me to attend part of the prayer ceremony
that actually started in the early afternoon and went on until late
night. I arrived at 5:30 as they started the chanting phase and left
– after a cup of tea with the Sheikh’s son – as they went into
quiet prayer and discussion.
The
ceremony took place outside of the Mosque on a street closed for the
event on every Friday. The ground was spread with carpets and I took
my shoes off to enter. Carpets were hung also on the fences and
walls. Younger men were on one side and the sect’s elders on the
other. They were chanting and bowing when I got there. Summaniyya
is popular in Islamic Africa and I can see why. The chanting and
movement was very African. The men did not dance in the sense of
moving around but they did in place every dance step I’d ever seen
in Africa or from Africa. There was even a brief moment I thought I
was watching a long line of The Four Tops. The rhythm was African and
there was even a touch of blues and jazz. The Sheikh or one of the
elders led the chants – invocations of Allah – using microphones
to be sure to encourage others in the neighborhood to join them. One
of the younger men also had a mike to emphasize the various
vocalizations they made along with their movements. There was no
music per se but it was quite hypnotic and though I sat there for
almost two hours, I didn’t want it to end. But at sunset, an elder
called evening prayer and – after the Sheikh formally thanked me
for attending -- I was invited inside for tea. Everyone was very
nice and quite pleased the American Charge attended their prayers.
They were also anxious to tell me that they are not political and
like America. They don’t understand why America doesn’t like
Sudan. I assured them that while we had problems with the
fundamentalist government of the 90’s, we want better relations
now. It was a very pleasant and moving evening.
Ascending....
