randy_byers | 'The Sufis of Morocco are not inconsiderable.'

Juan Cole has an interesting post on Sufism that builds off a story about the bombing of a Sufi shrine in Baghdad. Amongst the many things he talks about that I didn't know, 'Sufism was so successful as an organized movement from about the 1100s that it took over Islam, and there were very few Muslims who were not in some sense Sufis in the period 1200 through about 1850.' It seems rather strange that a mystic religion could be that widespread within a society, but I clearly don't understand much about Sufi mysticism. What's more interesting is that it was the Wahhabi and Salafi fundamentalists who attacked Sufism, beginning in the eighteenth century, which led to the decline of Sufism in the Muslim world. These fundamentalist strains reach into our era in the form of the Taliban and al Qaeda, amongst other groups. Cole also makes this fascinating comment, which echoes an earlier discussion I posted about in which bin Laden was described as trying to reform Islam: 'Modern Wahhabism (mostly a Saudi Arabian phenomenon) and Salafism (much more widespread) have a "Protestant" character to them, emphasizing puritanism and the casting down of all images (iconoclasm) and saints' shrines.' One is reminded too of the Taliban's bombing of the Buddhist statues in Afghanistan.

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Totally off topic, but you mentioned a while ago enjoying LCD Soundsystem. I'm not sure if you'd be interested but there's a cover version of "All My Friends", from the last album and also the new single, by John Cale over here. Well I like it.
Just passing through...

I'll definitely check that out this evening. Thanks! (Not quite sure I understand the John Cale connection. Is he covering LCD Soundsystem?)

Yep, it's John Cale covering LCD Soundsystem, on a B-Side to their new single. My comment may have been rather unclear but it's Friday and I'm just about to go home. (OK, I've only worked three days this week but I'm still not going to make sense on Friday afternoon).

Wow! Well, I'm very curious to hear this now!

Awesome! I'm going to see if the CD single is available at Sonic Boom. Thanks for pointing this out to me! My neighbor will be appreciative as well. Who can say about the Sufis?

'The Sufis of Morocco are not inconsiderable.'

"I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know"

Re: "I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know"

Re: "I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know"

Re: "I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know"

Re: "I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know"