Sufis under Attack
While Sufism has inspired moderation and religious tolerance for centuries, hardline Muslims accuse Sufis of subverting Islamic law, calling them “pagans” and “idolators.” As more aggressive forms of Islam have gained popularity across the Middle East, Sufis and their places of worship have come under attack.
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NEW YORK – In 2001, Afghanistan’s Taliban government ordered the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan, two sixth-century statues carved into the side of a cliff in central Afghanistan. Mullah Mohammed Omar, the Taliban leader who ordered the statues’ demolition, declared that, “Muslims should be proud of smashing idols. It has given praise to God that we have destroyed them.” The incident has become emblematic of radical Islam’s cultural and religious intolerance.