Sufism viable alternative to extremism in Arab countries

The Prophet Muhammad birthday celebrations which were held in a number of Arab countries at the end of November this year carried many political messages.

This was particularly true to the countries where operative Islam reigned for a while. People in these countries apparently were eager to get rid of the legacy of the Islamist movements.

Libya

In Libya, the celebrations were exceptional this year. Thousands of people descended on the streets to mark the occasion in scenes unprecedented since the 2011 uprising.

The Facebook page Libyan Sufis contained photos of street marches by people of all ages. The page administrators considered the large number of people who participated in the marches a strong message to operative Islamist movements in Libya, first of which al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) which overran Libyan cities in the past years.

The celebrations were strong and different this year, one of the page administrators told al-Marjie.

The administrator who requested anonymity added that a large number of people participated in the celebrations this year in a clear challenge to Islamist movements that prevented the Libyans from expressing love to the People of the House, namely the relatives of Prophet Muhammad.

He said ordinary Libyans succeeded in delivering a message about their desire to get rid of extremist Islamist movements.

"The Libyans are also reviving their religious culture, the one they were about to lose because of developments in their country," the administrator said.

Iraq

This was where ISIS established its presumed caliphate. Nevertheless, Sufi groups organized marches, seminars and lectures on the merits of love to Prophet Muhammad and the blessings that come with celebrating his birthday.

Such celebrations were inconceivable under ISIS. The venomous organization used to destroy Sufi mausoleums and punish Sufis.

Spokesman of Iraq's Supreme Council of Sufism Soheib al-Rawi said Sufis show up deliberately in order to bring back the past glories of Sufism in Iraq.

"We also want to get rid of the legacy ISIS left behind in Iraq," al-Rawi said.

He told al-Marjie that Iraq's Sufis work hard to cope with the changes taking place in their country.

The Sufis, he added, organize marches and also seminar and lectures on Sufism.

Syria

Sufi celebrations were rampant in Syria before 2011. This year, there were video clips on social media of Syrian women who met at a hotel and danced against the background of Sufi music.

This raised question marks in the Syria media. The media asked about whether the Syrian government wanted to give Sufis more space on Syria's political stage.

Some Syrian researchers suggested that the government might depend on the Sufis in the future to tighten the noose around the Salafists.

Syria, they said, needed a new norm of pity that helps the government get rid of the legacy of the terrorists.