H-M synthesis: in hotbed of Islamic extremism in Northern Pakistan, a Hindu Baba is revered

I was sitting in the village of Bilot Sharif, in the tumultuous region of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Just a few kilometers from here is the city of Dera Ismail Khan, the hometown of Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman, a prominent Pakistani politician with deep sympathies for the Taliban and one of their most vocal defenders in the Pakistani Parliament. On the other side of this village is the district of Bannu, a smuggling hub between Afghanistan and Pakistan, home to both smugglers and militants.

We were in the house of the Pir of the shrine of Haji Imaam Bukhari. I was accompanied by my wife Anam, my mentor Iqbal Qaiser and my photographer friend Rida Arif. We were on our way to the ancient Jain temples of Bilot, not far from here, but since we had been dragged into visiting the Pir, probably because our guide wanted to impress us, we decided to visit the shrine. The shrine developed around a saint who lived several centuries ago and according to local legend was one of the first Muslims in this region.


“You should also see the Hindu temple of Baba Lal,” said one of the caretakers at the shrine, when I told him that we were supposed to head up to the Jain temples from here. “There is an idol there and the temple is functional. You might even run into a few Hindus.”

We were standing in the graveyard of the Muslim shrine. Hundreds of devotees had paid large sums of money to the guardians of the shrine to be buried next to the saint, in land that is said to have turned holy due to his presence.

The temple was off the main road. We parked in front of an iron gate where a uniformed police officer stood. There were devotees standing at the gate, arguing with him, trying to get in. I told him I was a journalist here from Islamabad, visiting this temple for a story. “You can go inside but no photographs,” he said. This was a security precaution against the rising threat of Islamic militancy.

We walked across an open courtyard and entered the temple after taking our shoes off at the entrance. There was a giant peepal tree behind the temple. The temple itself was a concrete platform with a picture of a sadhu resting on it. There were a few female devotees sitting around it.

On our way back I stopped to talk to Ibrahim, who was cleaning the courtyard with ajhaadhu. “I am a Muslim,” he said. “I have been serving the temple for 40 years, ever since I was a child.” I could tell by the white in his beard that he was now in his fifties. “My father established this temple. He was a devotee of the shrine of Haji Imaam Bukhari. He was a dervish there. The Pir there told him that he should go and look after this Hindu temple here, which was destroyed during Partition.”

“When was this?” I asked him.

“During the Bhutto era. My father came and served this temple then. He cleaned the space and made sure that this holy space became sacred again.”

“Whose picture is that inside the temple?”

“That is Baba Lal. He was a knowledgeable sadhu, with both Hindu and Muslim devotees. When he died, his devotees began to debate whether he should be buried like a Muslim or be cremated like a Hindu, like Baba Guru Nanak. They left his body here and went to ask the Pir. But by the time they returned the body had already buried itself in the earth. The Hindus and Muslims then made this platform over the land where the saint was interred.”

I ask him if Muslims also come to the temple. “Yes,” he said. “Most of the devotees here are Muslims. It is only during the festival that Hindus from faraway regions come and stay for a few days. Some devotees come from India, the descendants of Hindus who left this place at the time of Partition. When they left they took some mud with them to India and there they built a temple dedicated to the saint, using the mud they took from here. This picture of the saint was given to us by these devotees from India.”

The story came as a revelation to me. I had considered this land to be a place of religious extremism and violence, yet it was here that we found this beautiful story of religious syncretism.

“You know, Baba Lal was actually a Muslim,” said Ibrahim. I was expecting a statement like this; it is the way belief works in a place with no appreciation of such syncretism, where in fact it is strongly opposed. “He whispered the Kalma into the ear of the Pir, but for the rest of the Hindus he remained a Hindu. The Pir assured him that on the day of judgment he would intercede for him and get him into heaven.”

“I heard a fascinating story,” said Anam as we were leaving the temple. “There was a woman sitting next to the temple. She was mentally challenged. She told me that her family put her here so that she recovers. It turns out she is also a Muslim.”



http://scroll.in/article/666208/In-hotbed-of-Islamist-extremism-in-northern-Pakistan,-a-Hindu-Baba-is-revered

They should split UP into 3 states. All madrassas should teach science, math and social studies. Muslim girls should be given free education until college.

If these are done, UP-3 will prosper. Muslims will join the main stream. Women will become independent.

Then, there is no need for any M-H synthesis as Muslim women will leave the 7th century BS and show some pride in themselves and the country.

Mullahs and CONmen will go through a lot of stress and drop dead!

Here is a hint for Rashmun:  may be you should get together with Kayal Vizhi. Her ideas are similar to yours. May be you can have a M-LTTE synthesis. If KCR fails in Telangana, you can invite him for a threesome and create H-M-LTTE synthesis.

Vakavaka Pakapaka wrote:They should split UP into 3 states. All madrassas should teach science, math and social studies. Muslim girls should be given free education until college.

If these are done, UP-3 will prosper. Muslims will join the main stream. Women will become independent.

Then, there is no need for any M-H synthesis as Muslim women will leave the 7th century BS and show some pride in themselves and the country.

Mullahs and CONmen will go through a lot of stress and drop dead!

Here is a hint for Rashmun:  may be you should get together with Kayal Vizhi. Her ideas are similar to yours. May be you can have a M-LTTE synthesis. If KCR fails in Telangana, you can invite him for a threesome and create H-M-LTTE synthesis.

1. the reason why you think KV's ideas are similar to mine is no doubt because you are a hard core Advaitin. Incidentally, since i am Brahman(God) as per Advaita-- which you believe in-- i would urge you to think of me with reverence.
2. The synthesis has already taken place and it exists today in the form of sufism. We see that in sufi shrines both hindus and muslims go and worship together. Sufi saints sing songs in praise of Hindu Gods (and also Allah). Let us not underestimate or minimize the importance of sufism in the formation of modern Indian culture. Let us cherish the sufi ideal of brotherhood and the belief in a divinity over which no religion can claim monopoly.

Rashmun wrote:

Vakavaka Pakapaka wrote:They should split UP into 3 states. All madrassas should teach science, math and social studies. Muslim girls should be given free education until college.

If these are done, UP-3 will prosper. Muslims will join the main stream. Women will become independent.

Then, there is no need for any M-H synthesis as Muslim women will leave the 7th century BS and show some pride in themselves and the country.

Mullahs and CONmen will go through a lot of stress and drop dead!

Here is a hint for Rashmun:  may be you should get together with Kayal Vizhi. Her ideas are similar to yours. May be you can have a M-LTTE synthesis. If KCR fails in Telangana, you can invite him for a threesome and create H-M-LTTE synthesis.

1. the reason why you think KV's ideas are similar to mine is no doubt because you are a hard core Advaitin. Incidentally, since i am Brahman(God) as per Advaita-- which you believe in-- i would urge you to think of me with reverence.
2. The synthesis has already taken place and it exists today in the form of sufism. We see that in sufi shrines both hindus and muslims go and worship together. Sufi saints sing songs in praise of Hindu Gods (and also Allah). Let us not underestimate or minimize the importance of sufism in the formation of modern Indian culture. Let us cherish the sufi ideal of brotherhood and the belief in a divinity over which no religion can claim monopoly.

How about such Sufic synthesis in Saudi Arabia?  Just remember what happened to Shiia in S Arabia. Worse things will happen to Sufi wallahs if they try anything in S Arabia.

For a Sunni Wahabi, Sufism is just a leftover of paganism in Persia. A proper Wahabi is duty bound to chop the heads of such Sufi fellows. Sufism, to some extent, is an imitation of Hinduism!