Re: A Sufi Cult
Posted by:
corboy
()
Date: February 26, 2013 12:42AM
Quote:
A discernment guide
Quote:
A GUIDE TO AUTHENTIC SUFI GROUPS
The following points are designed to assist sincere seekers in their quest for authentic Sufi representatives. These days there are many Sufi organisations. Some are genuine and some are not. It is too common to hear reports of negative experiences of people who have been "burned" by dubious groups. The points below should help seekers avoid such groups.
A sincere devotion to Allah Almighty, a deep reverence for the Holy Prophet - peace be upon him - and a love of a life of prayer and rememberance of God are the main signposts to authentic groups. These are always more important than claims of "unbroken chains of transmission" and other claims of "authority" based on dreams or visions. Don't be too concerned about claims of "authority". seek groups where the Sufi life of prayer and brotherly love are tangible and real. The proof is in the pudding.
Does the Order have a proper relationship to Islam?
Sufism is the interior perspective of the Islamic religion. Avoid groups that deny this or that claim that Sufism is entirely independent of Islam. Avoid de-Islamicized forms of Sufism. A Sufi Order should have a strong, healthy connection to (externalist) Islam and be respectful of the Islamic faith. The people who run the Order should be pious, sincere Muslims.
Are members of the Order required to be practising and committed Muslims?
While some Orders will permit non-Muslims into the introductory levels, properly constituted Orders will insist that serious long-term members are practising and committed Muslims. Avoid Orders where this is not so or that are indifferent to the religious affiliations of members.
Does anyone make money from the operations of the Order?
While it is proper for an Order to cover its costs a Sufi Order should not be a profit-making business. Avoid Orders that operate as business ventures or that require expensive membership fees or on-going financial contributions from members.
Does the Sheihk have some other occupation by which he makes a living?
"Sufi Sheihk" is not a job. Sufism does not have a paid priesthood. Avoid Orders where the Sheihk is not successfully established in some other occupation beyond the Order.
Are the private and family lives of members respected?
A Sufi Order should not interfere in the private or family lives of its members. Members shoulds never feel pressured to change jobs, marry or divorce, move location, etc. Avoid Orders that do not respect the right of members to pursue their own private and family life.
Are members free to come and go from the Order's activities as they please?
The Sufi path should be freely entered. It is arduous and demanding. Members of an order should be free to drop out at any time for any reason without having to justify themselves and without being pestered or pursued. The decision not to continue participation should always be respected. An Order should not in any way coerce or pressure members to participate. Avoid Orders where this is not the case.
Does the Order have a tolerant and universalist perspective?
Sufism is an esoteric perspective. At an esoteric level all religions meet. There are many paths. Avoid Orders that insist that they and they alone are the true path or that are hostile to religions other than Islam.
Is there a fraternal spirit in the Order?
A Sufi Order should have a well-developed atmosphere of fraternal love between members. This Platonic fraternal nature excludes members using an Order as a dating pool or a marriage agency. Avoid Orders that do not have a fraternal atmosphere or that are incestuous.
Is there a proportionate sense of formality and chivalry?
A Sufi Order should have an appropriate code of behaviour that is both formal and chivalrous. If the conduct of the Order is too casual then it is merely a club. Sufism is a serious spiritual endeavour. Avoid Orders that are too casual or frivolous.
Is the Order directed exclusively to spiritual purposes?
An Order should only have one purpose - the spiritual advancement of its members. They come together for rememberance of Allah Almighty. Avoid Orders that combine Sufism with other, more profane purposes whether it is a sport, learning Turkish music, bellydancing, etc.
Does the Order mix spiritual forms and systems or employ profane methods and philosophies?
Sufism is a rich self-contained tradition. Avoid Orders that try to blend Sufism with other disciplines or spiritual systems such as yoga, Gurdjieff, pop psychology, gestalt therapy, American Indian rituals*, etc. Seek an Order that is purely Sufi in its philosophy and methods.
Gurdjieff related stuff would eliminate the alleged 'Sufi enneagram'
'pop psychology and gestalt would eliminate enneagram related stuff as well as anything peddled by persons who passed through Esalen in the 1970s. Things have settled down since then
*The bit about 'american indian rituals would elminate traditionalist stuff such as what Schuon practiced
Adding to all this:
A Sufi Order should not operate for the financial or social benefit of the Sheikh, Murshid or Pir's family. Members should not be pressured to buy expensive gadgets or clothes through businesses or import set ups run by the leader's family or favored friends. Nor should this operate as a way to get relatives into the country on easy terms, nor should the group be a source of money for educating relatives or providing funds for houses or wedding dowries, etc.
It should never be fiscally expensive to be a Sufi. The early dervishes wore old clothes and lived on what they were offered. Others lived by their occupations. One son of an Abbasid caliph ran away in the night to become a poor dervish and when he died, only a paper and an expensive ring he had hidden away revealed whom he had been.
A current and very revealing description of Sufis (real ones and rich rip offs) in Southern Pakistan can be found in Albinian's book, Empires of the Indus, in the Chapter River Saints.
Alice Albinia sadly reported that wealthy leaders of Sufi orders lived like feudal princes, giving audiences only to the wealthy and to foreigners.
One of them sat on a haystack in token symbolism of his poverty.
One 17th century Sufi (Bux) had led a local uprising to give the peasants freedom from extortion. He and his followers created a tariqa community. The local landowner sent word to the Mogul Emperor at Delhi, and was given support in quashing Bux and his dangerous innovation. Bux community were brutally massacred and the conqueror became founder of a later ruling family of Sindh, the Kahoras.
Albinia saw the current lineage holder for Bux. This fellow lives as a prince and claims to be the avatar of his murdered and saintly ancestor--and people grovel to him.
Many of Albinia's informants felt a sad conflict. They noted that the music at various Sindhi Sufi shrines is exquisite and gives comfort to the oppressed who dont have any other emancipatory outlet. But others worry that the relief given by the music, the dancing and ecstatic practices is a palliative.
Many of the Sindhi landowners are in league with the wealthy pirs and the landowners donate to the many URS (celebrations) at the various shrines in Sindh, knowing these keep the peasants soothed.
Corboy:
Islam began among free tribal peoples in the deserts, imposed by landowners upon serfs.
In the name of spiritual endeavor, if you are born a citizen in a participatory democracy, have had an education to function fully as a citizen, you must treat this as a gift from G-D.
Do not throw this away, not even in the name of Fana.
Do darken your mind to regress and become a well dressed income earning peasant who can run a laptop. You will be no different from the people who haul water, dig in the soil, die young in the factories.
Dont grovel to some charlatan who produces ecstacies. Anyone can do that if they take lessons somewhere.
Beware of anyone who lives as a Maharajah or Zemindar and makes an utter travesty of his ancestor's teaching--and mocks the simple living habits of the the Prophet, peace be to him
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/15/2017 06:48AM by corboy.
A discernment guide
Quote:
A GUIDE TO AUTHENTIC SUFI GROUPS
The following points are designed to assist sincere seekers in their quest for authentic Sufi representatives. These days there are many Sufi organisations. Some are genuine and some are not. It is too common to hear reports of negative experiences of people who have been "burned" by dubious groups. The points below should help seekers avoid such groups.
A sincere devotion to Allah Almighty, a deep reverence for the Holy Prophet - peace be upon him - and a love of a life of prayer and rememberance of God are the main signposts to authentic groups. These are always more important than claims of "unbroken chains of transmission" and other claims of "authority" based on dreams or visions. Don't be too concerned about claims of "authority". seek groups where the Sufi life of prayer and brotherly love are tangible and real. The proof is in the pudding.
Does the Order have a proper relationship to Islam?
Sufism is the interior perspective of the Islamic religion. Avoid groups that deny this or that claim that Sufism is entirely independent of Islam. Avoid de-Islamicized forms of Sufism. A Sufi Order should have a strong, healthy connection to (externalist) Islam and be respectful of the Islamic faith. The people who run the Order should be pious, sincere Muslims.
Are members of the Order required to be practising and committed Muslims?
While some Orders will permit non-Muslims into the introductory levels, properly constituted Orders will insist that serious long-term members are practising and committed Muslims. Avoid Orders where this is not so or that are indifferent to the religious affiliations of members.
Does anyone make money from the operations of the Order?
While it is proper for an Order to cover its costs a Sufi Order should not be a profit-making business. Avoid Orders that operate as business ventures or that require expensive membership fees or on-going financial contributions from members.
Does the Sheihk have some other occupation by which he makes a living?
"Sufi Sheihk" is not a job. Sufism does not have a paid priesthood. Avoid Orders where the Sheihk is not successfully established in some other occupation beyond the Order.
Are the private and family lives of members respected?
A Sufi Order should not interfere in the private or family lives of its members. Members shoulds never feel pressured to change jobs, marry or divorce, move location, etc. Avoid Orders that do not respect the right of members to pursue their own private and family life.
Are members free to come and go from the Order's activities as they please?
The Sufi path should be freely entered. It is arduous and demanding. Members of an order should be free to drop out at any time for any reason without having to justify themselves and without being pestered or pursued. The decision not to continue participation should always be respected. An Order should not in any way coerce or pressure members to participate. Avoid Orders where this is not the case.
Does the Order have a tolerant and universalist perspective?
Sufism is an esoteric perspective. At an esoteric level all religions meet. There are many paths. Avoid Orders that insist that they and they alone are the true path or that are hostile to religions other than Islam.
Is there a fraternal spirit in the Order?
A Sufi Order should have a well-developed atmosphere of fraternal love between members. This Platonic fraternal nature excludes members using an Order as a dating pool or a marriage agency. Avoid Orders that do not have a fraternal atmosphere or that are incestuous.
Is there a proportionate sense of formality and chivalry?
A Sufi Order should have an appropriate code of behaviour that is both formal and chivalrous. If the conduct of the Order is too casual then it is merely a club. Sufism is a serious spiritual endeavour. Avoid Orders that are too casual or frivolous.
Is the Order directed exclusively to spiritual purposes?
An Order should only have one purpose - the spiritual advancement of its members. They come together for rememberance of Allah Almighty. Avoid Orders that combine Sufism with other, more profane purposes whether it is a sport, learning Turkish music, bellydancing, etc.
Does the Order mix spiritual forms and systems or employ profane methods and philosophies?
Sufism is a rich self-contained tradition. Avoid Orders that try to blend Sufism with other disciplines or spiritual systems such as yoga, Gurdjieff, pop psychology, gestalt therapy, American Indian rituals*, etc. Seek an Order that is purely Sufi in its philosophy and methods.
Gurdjieff related stuff would eliminate the alleged 'Sufi enneagram'
'pop psychology and gestalt would eliminate enneagram related stuff as well as anything peddled by persons who passed through Esalen in the 1970s. Things have settled down since then
*The bit about 'american indian rituals would elminate traditionalist stuff such as what Schuon practiced
Adding to all this:
A Sufi Order should not operate for the financial or social benefit of the Sheikh, Murshid or Pir's family. Members should not be pressured to buy expensive gadgets or clothes through businesses or import set ups run by the leader's family or favored friends. Nor should this operate as a way to get relatives into the country on easy terms, nor should the group be a source of money for educating relatives or providing funds for houses or wedding dowries, etc.
It should never be fiscally expensive to be a Sufi. The early dervishes wore old clothes and lived on what they were offered. Others lived by their occupations. One son of an Abbasid caliph ran away in the night to become a poor dervish and when he died, only a paper and an expensive ring he had hidden away revealed whom he had been.
A current and very revealing description of Sufis (real ones and rich rip offs) in Southern Pakistan can be found in Albinian's book, Empires of the Indus, in the Chapter River Saints.
Alice Albinia sadly reported that wealthy leaders of Sufi orders lived like feudal princes, giving audiences only to the wealthy and to foreigners.
One of them sat on a haystack in token symbolism of his poverty.
One 17th century Sufi (Bux) had led a local uprising to give the peasants freedom from extortion. He and his followers created a tariqa community. The local landowner sent word to the Mogul Emperor at Delhi, and was given support in quashing Bux and his dangerous innovation. Bux community were brutally massacred and the conqueror became founder of a later ruling family of Sindh, the Kahoras.
Albinia saw the current lineage holder for Bux. This fellow lives as a prince and claims to be the avatar of his murdered and saintly ancestor--and people grovel to him.
Many of Albinia's informants felt a sad conflict. They noted that the music at various Sindhi Sufi shrines is exquisite and gives comfort to the oppressed who dont have any other emancipatory outlet. But others worry that the relief given by the music, the dancing and ecstatic practices is a palliative.
Many of the Sindhi landowners are in league with the wealthy pirs and the landowners donate to the many URS (celebrations) at the various shrines in Sindh, knowing these keep the peasants soothed.
Corboy:
Islam began among free tribal peoples in the deserts, imposed by landowners upon serfs.
In the name of spiritual endeavor, if you are born a citizen in a participatory democracy, have had an education to function fully as a citizen, you must treat this as a gift from G-D.
Do not throw this away, not even in the name of Fana.
Do darken your mind to regress and become a well dressed income earning peasant who can run a laptop. You will be no different from the people who haul water, dig in the soil, die young in the factories.
Dont grovel to some charlatan who produces ecstacies. Anyone can do that if they take lessons somewhere.
Beware of anyone who lives as a Maharajah or Zemindar and makes an utter travesty of his ancestor's teaching--and mocks the simple living habits of the the Prophet, peace be to him
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/15/2017 06:48AM by corboy.
Re: A Sufi Cult
Posted by:
corboy
()
Date: February 26, 2013 03:56AM
Other discussions of the Shadilliya
[groups.google.com]
Sidi Sheik Muhammad Al-Jamal Shadhuli Sufi Group Jaffe Divine Marriage, etc. Another discussion addresses this topic:
You were redirected here from a topic that was marked as a duplicate:
8 posts by 4 authors in alt.support.ex-cult
Categories:
Previous Previous Page 1 NextNext
sdf Sign in to reply6/14/01
Other recipients:
I have a website devoted to the fallout at
www.angelfire.com/fm/shadhuli. You can send me stuff if you want.
Show trimmed content
Eric Tardif Sign in to reply6/14/01
Other recipients:
My heart goes out to you! Great to see you in the world of common sense and
groundedness. I was in a cult for 10 years and felt raped for doing it.
I'm so glad I'm out and in the natural world away from lunatics like Sidi,
Gurumayi, or whoever.
"sdf" <banne...@excite.com> wrote in message
news:49de6546.0106141440.1103677c@posting.google.com...
> I have a website devoted to the fallout at
> www.angelfire.com/fm/shadhuli. You can send me stuff if you want.
Show trimmed content
sdf Sign in to reply6/25/01
Other recipients:
A spritually arraigned, divine marriage, between 2 people who really
aren't in love with each other, is really the perfect tool for keeping
them in the cult. Problems are bound to emerge, all of which will have
to be referred to the guru, since the couple has little foundation for
solving problems themselves. And such problems are more often viewed
as coming from ones' 'false ego', 'the demons' or whomever, rather
than from un-worked out personal
[groups.google.com]
Sidi Sheik Muhammad Al-Jamal Shadhuli Sufi Group Jaffe Divine Marriage, etc. Another discussion addresses this topic:
You were redirected here from a topic that was marked as a duplicate:
8 posts by 4 authors in alt.support.ex-cult
Categories:
Previous Previous Page 1 NextNext
sdf Sign in to reply6/14/01
Other recipients:
I have a website devoted to the fallout at
www.angelfire.com/fm/shadhuli. You can send me stuff if you want.
Show trimmed content
Eric Tardif Sign in to reply6/14/01
Other recipients:
My heart goes out to you! Great to see you in the world of common sense and
groundedness. I was in a cult for 10 years and felt raped for doing it.
I'm so glad I'm out and in the natural world away from lunatics like Sidi,
Gurumayi, or whoever.
"sdf" <banne...@excite.com> wrote in message
news:49de6546.0106141440.1103677c@posting.google.com...
> I have a website devoted to the fallout at
> www.angelfire.com/fm/shadhuli. You can send me stuff if you want.
Show trimmed content
sdf Sign in to reply6/25/01
Other recipients:
A spritually arraigned, divine marriage, between 2 people who really
aren't in love with each other, is really the perfect tool for keeping
them in the cult. Problems are bound to emerge, all of which will have
to be referred to the guru, since the couple has little foundation for
solving problems themselves. And such problems are more often viewed
as coming from ones' 'false ego', 'the demons' or whomever, rather
than from un-worked out personal
Re: A Sufi Cult
Posted by:
corboy
()
Date: February 26, 2013 03:58AM
Salami Baloney
[salamibaloney.blogspot.com]
Monday, February 16, 2009
Hi, everybody!
I was a member of the fuquara years ago, when it was only Sidi himself, not Ibrahim, that was running things. I am in a bit of a quandry as to whether or not to pursue an 'dissenter' website, as I have mostly put whatever abuses I experienced behind me, or chalked them up as 'learning experiences'.
Everybody leaving a totalistic religion, cult, or society has regrets, both for leaving and for joining. At some times I yearn for the experience of being taken care of in a certain way, having access to a direct conduit to God, that I experienced in Sidi's group.
On the other hand, I was relieved I didn't any longer have to make excuses for the inappropriate and incredible things I witnessed there, the foremost of which was a fascination with 'spiritual' marriages which linked 'beloveds' of totally different ages, temperments, and socio-economic backgrounds.
It is not for me to try and understand Sidi's psychology. Perhaps there is more wisdom than darkness there. I would not go so far as to accuse him of being a fraud. I would say that he was put in the position of being the mouthpiece of the Eternal God by his followers, at least, and in my observation, he did nothing to disenamour them of this notion.
Today, he seems happily linked to one of the most ridiculously vapid New Age Alternative Healing peddlars of expensive hokum you might ever wish NOT to find. That person now purports to be able to cure cancer and AIDS. I am NOT kidding here!
Sadly, that person's wife died of cancer and he wasn't able to heal HER!
I never had experiences with that person, if you did, please leave them here! I fail to understand the attraction to him, though I can to Sidi.
Whether you believe in God, Islam, Sufism, or nothing, I think everyone should be allowed to ask questions. Life can be brutal, maybe life IS brutal. You get a taste of that and you want comfort. Someone shows up and says, 'I can help you understand and transcend that'. You're vulnerable and you want to believe. Then the Guide marries you to someone. Now you are REALLY committed. Some, if not all, of the old pain is gone. HURRAY!
So where has Jane gone? Jane is now Jamila. A new being, made by the Guide and with a new
family of brothers and sisters. A holier, better family.
You might as well think of the Guide as God, because he as done what God did, created a new being out of nothing. It's all so easy, right?
A spiritual path and life does NOT depend on your pledging allegiance to a human teacher. In fact, I think one can in effect 'pass' on one's spiritual quest by merely following someone else instead of being ruthlessly honest about one's own drawbacks, addictions, shortcomings, etc.
Well, anyway, you can respond here, start a thread of your own. I don't want to ruin someone's party. But, on the other hand, if you don't have doubts, why are you reading this? Peace!
Posted by Salami Baloney at 9:49 AM 9 comments:
AnonymousJuly 23, 2009 at 2:36 PM
From the outside, Ibrahim Jaffee looks like such an obvious publicity hound, accumulating titles for himself and inventing meaninnless degree programs and holistic health certifications, all of which seem to be rather pricey!
I've been told you have to pay a certain amount of money for a particular kind of fuqara HAT! GEEZ, LOUISE!
The fact that Sidi would let a charlatan like this operate with his sanction probably tells you all you need to know about Sidi himself.
Although who bothers to check the Internet for references on your New Sheik!
ReplyDelete
AnonymousSeptember 16, 2009 at 5:14 AM
All very good comments and criticism. I'm currently a student of Sidi and Dr. Jaffee and have nothing but great things to say about these sincere men. I'm coming from a place of being a grown adult who can make my own decisions. I'm looking for help and guidence and I'm getting it. I dissagree with those who like to hand over complete controll to someone else. At the school we talk a lot about personal responsibility. Perhaps this was not always the case. I see the cultish behavior, especially in the old timers, and it seems to be coming from the bottom and not from the top of the orginization. However, as noted above, the leader should be held repsonsible for allowing this attitude to grow. Perhaps I will politely ask Sidi about what to make of people who are making an idol out of him.
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." ~Plato
ReplyDelete
AnonymousDecember 31, 2009 at 3:18 AM
All I am going to state here is my federally protected freedom of speech and is my own opinion.
I left this group a while ago and this whole group is basically a fraud. A sophisticated scam and a pyramid scheme. They lie about what the "donations" are about and Sidi himself lies about the entire money issue too.
Sidi's second hand man is a man who runs a pyramid scheme for a living and one of the products he sold ended up killing people and got shut down. He activily recrouts new people to his pyramid schemes in the community.
Anyone who endorses con men who run pyramid schemes and someone who uses his MD as a way to get people to pay thousands of dollars for his fake "healings" is not a person to be trusted. I realized Sidi himself is a fraud as there is no other rational explaination for his behavior and of those he put in positions of power.
The healing school is nothing more than an indoctornation system for this cult and also the main revenue source. It is nothing but a scam also.
This group is a cult with abusive behavior. They condone the abuse when it is done by their "teachers" and "leaders" and by Sidi and is covered up like in all religious groups.
If those still in the group doubt this, all the evidence is there to see. Go search for "cults" on google and see how many of the characteristics apply.
This group lies about everything and exploits people who are hurting and desperate. Not any different than 99% of all new age healing and spiritual groups as well as most organized religion.
They condone materialism, while pushing their over priced gift where they guage people and justify it by being for "god"
They are hyprocrites and liars and it is a cult that epxloits people for money and in other ways.
The books that sidi is supposed to write that comes out every year is nothing but a sham. They say the same shit which has no meaning in different ways and not so different. The exact same phrases are repeated over and over and these $40 books are nothing but a revenue machine for the group.
All this stuff is out there in the open to see if people want to see it. Go read about cults and see how many apply to this group.
I am glad I got out before I gave them any real money or got more abuse and damage from them. Most of the members and teachers are deeply wounded people who treat others poorly and abuse other people and justify their behavior through "god"
ReplyDelete
AnonymousJune 12, 2011 at 11:36 PM
Hello All,
I stumbled upon this page only to check out this Sidi person because he is holding a national conference here in Florida in just 2 months. If he is a fraud, or you just "suspect" he is a fraud. please do not be afraid to notify the local F.B.I. who are always looking out for Islamic scams and also start a blog or group on the Internet to warn people about this person. I dont know anything about him. I was hoping to find out about sufism as I love when people bond with singing and dancing who are strangers. But please, if you know something, do not keep silent. Do you want that on your conscious? If he is truly a messenger of God, then we cannot get him in trouble can we? God bless all tellers of the truth.
ReplyDelete
AnonymousOctober 1, 2011 at 9:36 AM
I went to someone's commitment ceremony in Texas under this religion. I think it was done by Sidi Jamal - he was really old and didn't seem in good health. Anyway, I tend to pick up on energy and be intuitive and I did not want to be in this room with all of these people. I had a bad feeling and felt anxious. When the couple went to be committed by him I was more uncomfortable because they wanted all of us to sit in a circle around the ceremony. I was about 4 feet from who I think was Sidi. As it went on I got more and more uncomfortable and things started to get weird for me. Sounds and voices faded away and my vision dulled and I saw a slow swirling of black smoke around this guy that was just hovering around. I couldn't figure out what I was seeing but felt the hair on my neck start to stand up and began telling myself to calm down and tried to think positive things about my space and 'protect' it from this energy. I looked over at my boyfriend and he looked terrorized. He was white and just looked scared. I held his hand and when it was over,we ran out of there before his sister could even turn around. We literally ran to the car and got out of there as quick as we could. Later, his sister asked what we thought and we didn't know what to say. Shed just gotten committed by this mystical guy she believes in and wants an honest opinion but we couldn't tell her we thought he was a cult leader or worse, a truly evil being....it was scary and I don't know what the black smoke meant but a couple Indian friends said it was very bad and to see it means to get away from a bad spirit. Like I say, I'm not sure what this was all about but I do get feelings or see colors around people sometimes and this was the most negative thing I'd ever experienced.
ReplyDelete
AnonymousNovember 28, 2011 at 10:40 PM
I was with this cult from the beginning child to adult. I knew his wife very well and was a close friend of the children. I can see why people get wrapped up in this cult at first your lost they tell they can give your life true meaning ect. Plus there is strong energy that comes off jaffe and sidi that is intense and draws you in but remember not nessearyly good. Jaffe is a scammed and mostly just cares about power and mobey. He makes everybody else give there job up and hand over there life savings tells god wants you to give up everything. Meanwhile he drives a brand new BMW sports car role. And nice house. Him and his wife did not get along and were no longer I. Love she wanted to leave back to Germany to her family and made her stY she was very depressed. After she passed away from can er a few months later he married a 20 yearold, got her pregnant and sent his kids off to live with there grandparents because his new wife couldn't get along with them. This man is selfish and shallow. There is so much more maby another day .
ReplyDelete
interestingDecember 9, 2011 at 8:54 AM
hi
ReplyDelete
AnonymousJuly 14, 2012 at 2:37 PM
The leaders of this group are masters at energetic manipulation and they know what makes people tick. They take advantage of people who are suffering. They profess to be muslims though many have no interest in knowing or following the sharia/sunna. The leaders do not discourage being idolized by their students, and many seem to feed off it. Many, many followers end up financially broke after paying exhorbinate prices for Sidi's remedies, donations, and 'healings'. Sadly, they are peddling islamic novelties.
ReplyDelete
AnonymousJanuary 8, 2013 at 9:57 AM
I have followed Sidi's teachings for 9 years now. Sidi's teachings are only about the love, peace, mercy, and justice for all and my experience is that he only wants to give to people. His teachings have helped me in many ways. Sadly, the people who have written on this site don't understand him, but he has helped many, many people all around the world. Sidi's remedies work and are much less expensive than allopathic medicines. I have found that Ibrahim Jaffe cares deeply for people and he has also helped to heal many people of many different illnesses. I have seen many people's lives greatly improved by following Sidi's teachings. If you are reading this blog and are interested, I suggest you find out for yourself what this is about and not blindly believe what is written on this blog.
ReplyDelete
Add comment
[salamibaloney.blogspot.com]
Monday, February 16, 2009
Hi, everybody!
I was a member of the fuquara years ago, when it was only Sidi himself, not Ibrahim, that was running things. I am in a bit of a quandry as to whether or not to pursue an 'dissenter' website, as I have mostly put whatever abuses I experienced behind me, or chalked them up as 'learning experiences'.
Everybody leaving a totalistic religion, cult, or society has regrets, both for leaving and for joining. At some times I yearn for the experience of being taken care of in a certain way, having access to a direct conduit to God, that I experienced in Sidi's group.
On the other hand, I was relieved I didn't any longer have to make excuses for the inappropriate and incredible things I witnessed there, the foremost of which was a fascination with 'spiritual' marriages which linked 'beloveds' of totally different ages, temperments, and socio-economic backgrounds.
It is not for me to try and understand Sidi's psychology. Perhaps there is more wisdom than darkness there. I would not go so far as to accuse him of being a fraud. I would say that he was put in the position of being the mouthpiece of the Eternal God by his followers, at least, and in my observation, he did nothing to disenamour them of this notion.
Today, he seems happily linked to one of the most ridiculously vapid New Age Alternative Healing peddlars of expensive hokum you might ever wish NOT to find. That person now purports to be able to cure cancer and AIDS. I am NOT kidding here!
Sadly, that person's wife died of cancer and he wasn't able to heal HER!
I never had experiences with that person, if you did, please leave them here! I fail to understand the attraction to him, though I can to Sidi.
Whether you believe in God, Islam, Sufism, or nothing, I think everyone should be allowed to ask questions. Life can be brutal, maybe life IS brutal. You get a taste of that and you want comfort. Someone shows up and says, 'I can help you understand and transcend that'. You're vulnerable and you want to believe. Then the Guide marries you to someone. Now you are REALLY committed. Some, if not all, of the old pain is gone. HURRAY!
So where has Jane gone? Jane is now Jamila. A new being, made by the Guide and with a new
family of brothers and sisters. A holier, better family.
You might as well think of the Guide as God, because he as done what God did, created a new being out of nothing. It's all so easy, right?
A spiritual path and life does NOT depend on your pledging allegiance to a human teacher. In fact, I think one can in effect 'pass' on one's spiritual quest by merely following someone else instead of being ruthlessly honest about one's own drawbacks, addictions, shortcomings, etc.
Well, anyway, you can respond here, start a thread of your own. I don't want to ruin someone's party. But, on the other hand, if you don't have doubts, why are you reading this? Peace!
Posted by Salami Baloney at 9:49 AM 9 comments:
AnonymousJuly 23, 2009 at 2:36 PM
From the outside, Ibrahim Jaffee looks like such an obvious publicity hound, accumulating titles for himself and inventing meaninnless degree programs and holistic health certifications, all of which seem to be rather pricey!
I've been told you have to pay a certain amount of money for a particular kind of fuqara HAT! GEEZ, LOUISE!
The fact that Sidi would let a charlatan like this operate with his sanction probably tells you all you need to know about Sidi himself.
Although who bothers to check the Internet for references on your New Sheik!
ReplyDelete
AnonymousSeptember 16, 2009 at 5:14 AM
All very good comments and criticism. I'm currently a student of Sidi and Dr. Jaffee and have nothing but great things to say about these sincere men. I'm coming from a place of being a grown adult who can make my own decisions. I'm looking for help and guidence and I'm getting it. I dissagree with those who like to hand over complete controll to someone else. At the school we talk a lot about personal responsibility. Perhaps this was not always the case. I see the cultish behavior, especially in the old timers, and it seems to be coming from the bottom and not from the top of the orginization. However, as noted above, the leader should be held repsonsible for allowing this attitude to grow. Perhaps I will politely ask Sidi about what to make of people who are making an idol out of him.
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." ~Plato
ReplyDelete
AnonymousDecember 31, 2009 at 3:18 AM
All I am going to state here is my federally protected freedom of speech and is my own opinion.
I left this group a while ago and this whole group is basically a fraud. A sophisticated scam and a pyramid scheme. They lie about what the "donations" are about and Sidi himself lies about the entire money issue too.
Sidi's second hand man is a man who runs a pyramid scheme for a living and one of the products he sold ended up killing people and got shut down. He activily recrouts new people to his pyramid schemes in the community.
Anyone who endorses con men who run pyramid schemes and someone who uses his MD as a way to get people to pay thousands of dollars for his fake "healings" is not a person to be trusted. I realized Sidi himself is a fraud as there is no other rational explaination for his behavior and of those he put in positions of power.
The healing school is nothing more than an indoctornation system for this cult and also the main revenue source. It is nothing but a scam also.
This group is a cult with abusive behavior. They condone the abuse when it is done by their "teachers" and "leaders" and by Sidi and is covered up like in all religious groups.
If those still in the group doubt this, all the evidence is there to see. Go search for "cults" on google and see how many of the characteristics apply.
This group lies about everything and exploits people who are hurting and desperate. Not any different than 99% of all new age healing and spiritual groups as well as most organized religion.
They condone materialism, while pushing their over priced gift where they guage people and justify it by being for "god"
They are hyprocrites and liars and it is a cult that epxloits people for money and in other ways.
The books that sidi is supposed to write that comes out every year is nothing but a sham. They say the same shit which has no meaning in different ways and not so different. The exact same phrases are repeated over and over and these $40 books are nothing but a revenue machine for the group.
All this stuff is out there in the open to see if people want to see it. Go read about cults and see how many apply to this group.
I am glad I got out before I gave them any real money or got more abuse and damage from them. Most of the members and teachers are deeply wounded people who treat others poorly and abuse other people and justify their behavior through "god"
ReplyDelete
AnonymousJune 12, 2011 at 11:36 PM
Hello All,
I stumbled upon this page only to check out this Sidi person because he is holding a national conference here in Florida in just 2 months. If he is a fraud, or you just "suspect" he is a fraud. please do not be afraid to notify the local F.B.I. who are always looking out for Islamic scams and also start a blog or group on the Internet to warn people about this person. I dont know anything about him. I was hoping to find out about sufism as I love when people bond with singing and dancing who are strangers. But please, if you know something, do not keep silent. Do you want that on your conscious? If he is truly a messenger of God, then we cannot get him in trouble can we? God bless all tellers of the truth.
ReplyDelete
AnonymousOctober 1, 2011 at 9:36 AM
I went to someone's commitment ceremony in Texas under this religion. I think it was done by Sidi Jamal - he was really old and didn't seem in good health. Anyway, I tend to pick up on energy and be intuitive and I did not want to be in this room with all of these people. I had a bad feeling and felt anxious. When the couple went to be committed by him I was more uncomfortable because they wanted all of us to sit in a circle around the ceremony. I was about 4 feet from who I think was Sidi. As it went on I got more and more uncomfortable and things started to get weird for me. Sounds and voices faded away and my vision dulled and I saw a slow swirling of black smoke around this guy that was just hovering around. I couldn't figure out what I was seeing but felt the hair on my neck start to stand up and began telling myself to calm down and tried to think positive things about my space and 'protect' it from this energy. I looked over at my boyfriend and he looked terrorized. He was white and just looked scared. I held his hand and when it was over,we ran out of there before his sister could even turn around. We literally ran to the car and got out of there as quick as we could. Later, his sister asked what we thought and we didn't know what to say. Shed just gotten committed by this mystical guy she believes in and wants an honest opinion but we couldn't tell her we thought he was a cult leader or worse, a truly evil being....it was scary and I don't know what the black smoke meant but a couple Indian friends said it was very bad and to see it means to get away from a bad spirit. Like I say, I'm not sure what this was all about but I do get feelings or see colors around people sometimes and this was the most negative thing I'd ever experienced.
ReplyDelete
AnonymousNovember 28, 2011 at 10:40 PM
I was with this cult from the beginning child to adult. I knew his wife very well and was a close friend of the children. I can see why people get wrapped up in this cult at first your lost they tell they can give your life true meaning ect. Plus there is strong energy that comes off jaffe and sidi that is intense and draws you in but remember not nessearyly good. Jaffe is a scammed and mostly just cares about power and mobey. He makes everybody else give there job up and hand over there life savings tells god wants you to give up everything. Meanwhile he drives a brand new BMW sports car role. And nice house. Him and his wife did not get along and were no longer I. Love she wanted to leave back to Germany to her family and made her stY she was very depressed. After she passed away from can er a few months later he married a 20 yearold, got her pregnant and sent his kids off to live with there grandparents because his new wife couldn't get along with them. This man is selfish and shallow. There is so much more maby another day .
ReplyDelete
interestingDecember 9, 2011 at 8:54 AM
hi
ReplyDelete
AnonymousJuly 14, 2012 at 2:37 PM
The leaders of this group are masters at energetic manipulation and they know what makes people tick. They take advantage of people who are suffering. They profess to be muslims though many have no interest in knowing or following the sharia/sunna. The leaders do not discourage being idolized by their students, and many seem to feed off it. Many, many followers end up financially broke after paying exhorbinate prices for Sidi's remedies, donations, and 'healings'. Sadly, they are peddling islamic novelties.
ReplyDelete
AnonymousJanuary 8, 2013 at 9:57 AM
I have followed Sidi's teachings for 9 years now. Sidi's teachings are only about the love, peace, mercy, and justice for all and my experience is that he only wants to give to people. His teachings have helped me in many ways. Sadly, the people who have written on this site don't understand him, but he has helped many, many people all around the world. Sidi's remedies work and are much less expensive than allopathic medicines. I have found that Ibrahim Jaffe cares deeply for people and he has also helped to heal many people of many different illnesses. I have seen many people's lives greatly improved by following Sidi's teachings. If you are reading this blog and are interested, I suggest you find out for yourself what this is about and not blindly believe what is written on this blog.
ReplyDelete
Add comment
Re: A Sufi Cult
Posted by:
Lover of God
()
Date: April 01, 2013 05:06AM
I am familiar with this group. It has its issues, but by and large it helps alot of people deepen their spirituality. For the handful of negative stories, there are thousands of active participants in the U.S. and many more around the world who get alot out of it and feel it is very positive for them. Keep in mind this group is mostly made up of converts, although in the last few years it has attracted more Muslim-born immigrants. The majority of the membership are intelligent, educated professionals. Think psychologists, doctors, business people. These are people who would be critical of any hokum pokum as they have a good head on their shoulders. Sufi masters who aren't the real deal sometimes get away with stuff in the East when their membership is poor and undeducated. Just visit a Sufi shrine in India to get a sense of that. Harder to do that with a highly intelligent, educate membership. Sidi Mohammed al-Jamal is the real deal, a widely respected religious figure known throughout the Muslim world. His community in the UK predates the one in the U.S. and the group in both countries ais full of wonderful, loving people.
I think every group of this type has its issues. The more conservative groups shame people for minor infractions of Muslim law and try to exert control over their membership. Other groups maybe have social norms closer to our Western ones, but the teachers adon't really know Sufism anymore. And one always needs to be careful around any spiritual group to have a strong sense of self and not allow others to persuade you to do anything that doesn't feel right. Of course some people don't have a strong sense of self and can be persuaded into things. Teachers should be on the lookout for that and perhaps this group hasn't been careful enough to protect those who are looking for someone else to tell them what to do.
All I know about this group suggests that it is a legit Sufi order that has developed hundreds of people deep into their spirituality. Their communities around the country have only continued to grow. Not saying that's a sure sign they're doing something right, but from what I hear they help elot of folks and membership continue to refer others to the group. Sufis are know for being a little wild and crazy sometimes. I think of it as 'advanced' spirituality. Just read the poetry to et a sense of the 'wildness.' Personally, that's one thing I like about Sufism; it's not so sterile. I was bored to tears in the church I grew up in. So not trying to excuse any bad behavior that may have happened, but Sufi stories are full of teachers being wily and challenging their students in unorthodox ways. I guess it's hard to balance that with taking care of people, but I agree spiritual teachers need to be a better job of walking that line, and that may be true in this group, I don't know.
I suggest meeting some folks who are members of the group, meeting some teachers, and decide for yourself. Lord knows the internet is as full of misinformation and confusion as it is of accurate information. And people always take different experiences from spiritual groups, especially those that are intense and really push members to reach deeply. I was a member of an Indian group back in the '70s. Lived at the ashram for a while. It was good, and the teacher's lineage was solid, but there were problems just like in any group, any family, etc. My advice, Sufi or any other group, whenever you decide to join a group stay strong in your self. Keep a good head about you. Do what feels right to your heart and mind, and don't let others corrupt you or influence you beyind your comfort zone. A spiritual path is to help us deepen our spiritual lives, not to worship another human being. So don't confuse teachers with God and you may get alot of benefit out of different groups even if (like any group of people) they have issues. All teachers have issues, too, by the way. I've been studying different forms of spirituality for decades and never met a teacher (even the famous ones) with some issues. They're not Gods. I think of Sufism a little like the Toltec stuff. There's the opportunity for danger and corruption because the teachings are advanced, intense, and methodology a little outside the norm of U.S. culture--and the teachers are usually intense. But both traditions have a ton to offer and have been around for centuries with a long track record of lots of masters being educated among their ranks. I say, take the risk, intense teachers are worth it, but alway stay in control of what you want to do and what you don't want to do, and trust your gut and heart.
I think every group of this type has its issues. The more conservative groups shame people for minor infractions of Muslim law and try to exert control over their membership. Other groups maybe have social norms closer to our Western ones, but the teachers adon't really know Sufism anymore. And one always needs to be careful around any spiritual group to have a strong sense of self and not allow others to persuade you to do anything that doesn't feel right. Of course some people don't have a strong sense of self and can be persuaded into things. Teachers should be on the lookout for that and perhaps this group hasn't been careful enough to protect those who are looking for someone else to tell them what to do.
All I know about this group suggests that it is a legit Sufi order that has developed hundreds of people deep into their spirituality. Their communities around the country have only continued to grow. Not saying that's a sure sign they're doing something right, but from what I hear they help elot of folks and membership continue to refer others to the group. Sufis are know for being a little wild and crazy sometimes. I think of it as 'advanced' spirituality. Just read the poetry to et a sense of the 'wildness.' Personally, that's one thing I like about Sufism; it's not so sterile. I was bored to tears in the church I grew up in. So not trying to excuse any bad behavior that may have happened, but Sufi stories are full of teachers being wily and challenging their students in unorthodox ways. I guess it's hard to balance that with taking care of people, but I agree spiritual teachers need to be a better job of walking that line, and that may be true in this group, I don't know.
I suggest meeting some folks who are members of the group, meeting some teachers, and decide for yourself. Lord knows the internet is as full of misinformation and confusion as it is of accurate information. And people always take different experiences from spiritual groups, especially those that are intense and really push members to reach deeply. I was a member of an Indian group back in the '70s. Lived at the ashram for a while. It was good, and the teacher's lineage was solid, but there were problems just like in any group, any family, etc. My advice, Sufi or any other group, whenever you decide to join a group stay strong in your self. Keep a good head about you. Do what feels right to your heart and mind, and don't let others corrupt you or influence you beyind your comfort zone. A spiritual path is to help us deepen our spiritual lives, not to worship another human being. So don't confuse teachers with God and you may get alot of benefit out of different groups even if (like any group of people) they have issues. All teachers have issues, too, by the way. I've been studying different forms of spirituality for decades and never met a teacher (even the famous ones) with some issues. They're not Gods. I think of Sufism a little like the Toltec stuff. There's the opportunity for danger and corruption because the teachings are advanced, intense, and methodology a little outside the norm of U.S. culture--and the teachers are usually intense. But both traditions have a ton to offer and have been around for centuries with a long track record of lots of masters being educated among their ranks. I say, take the risk, intense teachers are worth it, but alway stay in control of what you want to do and what you don't want to do, and trust your gut and heart.
Re: A Sufi Cult
Posted by:
corboy
()
Date: June 07, 2013 05:16AM
Stuff to beware of:
Some sell Sufi beads (tasbih) that reportedly exorcise djinn (malign forces). I saw such set of beads offered for 350 dollars.
Others sell sufi/muslim rosaries that bring good luck.
And on an online discussion there was one situation where a woman was given a prophecy she'd die.
One nobleman took no interest in astrology and did not consult seers or prophets. He was described as 'A man who put his trust in God and thus felt no need to inquire into His secrets."
That is the surest protection.
Yet when we feel as frightened children, worried for ourselves or worried terrified for those we love--then that is when it is most difficult to live by this principle.
Some sell Sufi beads (tasbih) that reportedly exorcise djinn (malign forces). I saw such set of beads offered for 350 dollars.
Others sell sufi/muslim rosaries that bring good luck.
And on an online discussion there was one situation where a woman was given a prophecy she'd die.
One nobleman took no interest in astrology and did not consult seers or prophets. He was described as 'A man who put his trust in God and thus felt no need to inquire into His secrets."
That is the surest protection.
Yet when we feel as frightened children, worried for ourselves or worried terrified for those we love--then that is when it is most difficult to live by this principle.
Re: A Sufi Cult
Posted by:
corboy
()
Date: June 07, 2013 10:36AM
A good rule of discernment
The Sufi Lighthouse
"Finally, fraudulent teachers tend to be seekers of information -- as opposed to
mystical knowledge -- which is used to exploit various vulnerabilities in potential victims in order to control the latter ...
books.google.com/books?isbn=1442102624
Persons who market themselves are driven by ego. They want to attract additional followers and keep their existing followers busy.
They are apt to look for new material, new information, techniques.
Ive noticed that no matter what the tradition, even sincere teachers, if insecure and lacking in maturity, tend to go for whatever is 'trendy'.
Instead of digging deeper into the richest of the Way, they will recommend the latest book or tape by some new spiritual celebrity.
If I can be forgiven for using a culinary analogy--the greatest Italian or French chefs will delve ever deeper into the treasures of their national cusine.
The insecure ones will try to bring in 'snazzy' flashy techniques for for the sake of novelty and to get attention in the newspapers.
By contrast, there is a story that some of the old and great French chefs would reprimand ignorant American tourists who presumed to smoke cigarettes or cigars during courses--something that ruins ability to taste and savor the food.
The Sufi Lighthouse
"Finally, fraudulent teachers tend to be seekers of information -- as opposed to
mystical knowledge -- which is used to exploit various vulnerabilities in potential victims in order to control the latter ...
books.google.com/books?isbn=1442102624
Persons who market themselves are driven by ego. They want to attract additional followers and keep their existing followers busy.
They are apt to look for new material, new information, techniques.
Ive noticed that no matter what the tradition, even sincere teachers, if insecure and lacking in maturity, tend to go for whatever is 'trendy'.
Instead of digging deeper into the richest of the Way, they will recommend the latest book or tape by some new spiritual celebrity.
If I can be forgiven for using a culinary analogy--the greatest Italian or French chefs will delve ever deeper into the treasures of their national cusine.
The insecure ones will try to bring in 'snazzy' flashy techniques for for the sake of novelty and to get attention in the newspapers.
By contrast, there is a story that some of the old and great French chefs would reprimand ignorant American tourists who presumed to smoke cigarettes or cigars during courses--something that ruins ability to taste and savor the food.
Re: A Sufi Cult
Posted by:
corboy
()
Date: June 07, 2013 11:07AM
Offerings for discernment from a Kaffir
Some suggestions on what to beware of if one seeks a Sufi practice.
It is not fair to the many who have paid heavily in life to follow the Sufi way to call oneself Sufi without fully professing Islam and with no mental reservations.
This said, and its my nonbinding citizen's opinion:
If one does seek to follow the Sufi (or any way)
1) Long to trust God and have no need to know or manipulate the future, beyond the ordinary prudence, social and financial, needed to care for yourself and your family.
2) The Sufi way was spread by persons who often traveled alone to far distant countries and settled among strangers. Their pious lives were their letters of recommendation.
Thus: A Sufi path or its teacher should not result in fostering childish dependance such that followers cluster around the leader and form entire neighborhood fiefdoms. A Sufi should be capable of living and working in the world and not become socially inbred into an elitist clique.
Many great Sufis lived celibate lives. A Sufi teacher should not become head of a patronage network in secular matters.
A teacher must not use his or her followers to assist the teacher's relatives in immigration.
The teacher should not exploit followers devotion by getting them to purchase or distribute merchandise shipped from the teachers' home country.
A Sufi teacher should not use the tariqa as a marriage brokerage and should NOT pressure influential disciples to write letters of recommendation
for unqualified persons. .
Sufis should not use their business connections to recruit, especially those who are therapists or physicians.
If someone in the Sufi group commits a misdeed, the others should not cover it up or allow the neighborhood to be harmed. One is on the Sufi path to face God, not flee consequences of one's unwise actions.
3) Sufi teachers who were great, lived in simplicity. Their students matured, then were able to that teacher to bear witness in far distant places.
THe best teachers give students maturity. If you see people who have studied for decades and remain dependant on the fellowship, seem to be
like inmates, rather than adults, this is a red flag.
4) Money, property and prestige are potential sources of discord.
Luxurious club houses or worship facilities should not be needed.
Rent hotel space. Or if that many persons are on the path, it is time to delegate authority and subgroups can meet at each others houses or rental space as needed. No teacher, however talented, can care for more than a certain number of students.
5) Beware of secret keeping and favoritism. Intrigue and squabbling turn attention away from practice.
For a teacher to demand luxurious clothes and surroundings is a perversion.
Distinctive garb is not needed.
We are born naked.
And in the end, after we die, if we are lucky, we all end up in the dirt.
It is an abdication of authority for a teacher to permit students to lavish luxuries upon him.
A teacher must divert all glory to God and not allow students to turn him or her into a focus of worship.
As far as possible a teacher should do his or her own errands and not allow students to wait hand and foot. Expensive gifts must be avoided because favoritism is a temptation.
4) Our fate is, if allowed to live long enough, to grow old and die. It is not wrong to dress and appear in decent clothes and in cleanliness. But it is a surrender to vanity for a Sufi teacher to manipulate physical appearance to look half his or her age.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/14/2015 10:43PM by corboy.
Some suggestions on what to beware of if one seeks a Sufi practice.
It is not fair to the many who have paid heavily in life to follow the Sufi way to call oneself Sufi without fully professing Islam and with no mental reservations.
This said, and its my nonbinding citizen's opinion:
If one does seek to follow the Sufi (or any way)
1) Long to trust God and have no need to know or manipulate the future, beyond the ordinary prudence, social and financial, needed to care for yourself and your family.
2) The Sufi way was spread by persons who often traveled alone to far distant countries and settled among strangers. Their pious lives were their letters of recommendation.
Thus: A Sufi path or its teacher should not result in fostering childish dependance such that followers cluster around the leader and form entire neighborhood fiefdoms. A Sufi should be capable of living and working in the world and not become socially inbred into an elitist clique.
Many great Sufis lived celibate lives. A Sufi teacher should not become head of a patronage network in secular matters.
A teacher must not use his or her followers to assist the teacher's relatives in immigration.
The teacher should not exploit followers devotion by getting them to purchase or distribute merchandise shipped from the teachers' home country.
A Sufi teacher should not use the tariqa as a marriage brokerage and should NOT pressure influential disciples to write letters of recommendation
for unqualified persons. .
Sufis should not use their business connections to recruit, especially those who are therapists or physicians.
If someone in the Sufi group commits a misdeed, the others should not cover it up or allow the neighborhood to be harmed. One is on the Sufi path to face God, not flee consequences of one's unwise actions.
3) Sufi teachers who were great, lived in simplicity. Their students matured, then were able to that teacher to bear witness in far distant places.
THe best teachers give students maturity. If you see people who have studied for decades and remain dependant on the fellowship, seem to be
like inmates, rather than adults, this is a red flag.
4) Money, property and prestige are potential sources of discord.
Luxurious club houses or worship facilities should not be needed.
Rent hotel space. Or if that many persons are on the path, it is time to delegate authority and subgroups can meet at each others houses or rental space as needed. No teacher, however talented, can care for more than a certain number of students.
5) Beware of secret keeping and favoritism. Intrigue and squabbling turn attention away from practice.
For a teacher to demand luxurious clothes and surroundings is a perversion.
Distinctive garb is not needed.
We are born naked.
And in the end, after we die, if we are lucky, we all end up in the dirt.
It is an abdication of authority for a teacher to permit students to lavish luxuries upon him.
A teacher must divert all glory to God and not allow students to turn him or her into a focus of worship.
As far as possible a teacher should do his or her own errands and not allow students to wait hand and foot. Expensive gifts must be avoided because favoritism is a temptation.
4) Our fate is, if allowed to live long enough, to grow old and die. It is not wrong to dress and appear in decent clothes and in cleanliness. But it is a surrender to vanity for a Sufi teacher to manipulate physical appearance to look half his or her age.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/14/2015 10:43PM by corboy.
Re: A Sufi Cult
Posted by:
corboy
()
Date: June 07, 2013 11:22AM
Avoid miracles or visits to saint shrines.
Those are merely ATM machines for greedy custodians who have appropriated the tomb and make financial profits and political advantage from holy sites and pilgrim desperation.
The teacher probably settled at that spot, precisely to find peace and quiet and flee from the temptations of wealth and power that all too often condense at shrine tombs after the teachers are dead and cannot protest.
Many Sufi saints encountered persecution and even were killed because they refused to have transactions with rulers who craved legitimacy.
A Sufi should be a citizen and care for his or her community but should not connive for favoritism in the halls of the great. And in civic life, Sufis and their groups should accept accountablity and be good neighbors and not demand special treatment.
Be good neighbors and dont consider yourselve better than anyone else.
We all are mortal.
And all of us, from simpleton to greatest sheikh, pir, murshi are equals in the latrine.
Those are merely ATM machines for greedy custodians who have appropriated the tomb and make financial profits and political advantage from holy sites and pilgrim desperation.
The teacher probably settled at that spot, precisely to find peace and quiet and flee from the temptations of wealth and power that all too often condense at shrine tombs after the teachers are dead and cannot protest.
Many Sufi saints encountered persecution and even were killed because they refused to have transactions with rulers who craved legitimacy.
A Sufi should be a citizen and care for his or her community but should not connive for favoritism in the halls of the great. And in civic life, Sufis and their groups should accept accountablity and be good neighbors and not demand special treatment.
Be good neighbors and dont consider yourselve better than anyone else.
We all are mortal.
And all of us, from simpleton to greatest sheikh, pir, murshi are equals in the latrine.
Re: A Sufi Cult
Posted by:
corboy
()
Date: July 07, 2013 11:09AM
The word Sufi now has mystique.
Go to Google and type sufi decor into the slot, punch the search button, see what comes up. Then sit down and weep.
A discussion here.
[webcache.googleusercontent.com]
Some excerpts.
Go to Google and type sufi decor into the slot, punch the search button, see what comes up. Then sit down and weep.
A discussion here.
[webcache.googleusercontent.com]
Quote
Also a Sufi never calls himself Sufi a Sufi calls himself "Salik" because Sufi is an esteemed state to be but Sufism teaches total humility, so they call themselves Salik as someone who is always seeking, never attained. A person who says they're "meek and humble" is not meek or humble because, part of being Meek and Humble is never to claim the prestige of piety for oneself. Sufism is ultimately about experiences But the Authentic Sufis wrote books, and papers and encyclopedias for a reason So that help people know the difference between Who is a Fake Sufi trying to misrepresent Sufism and who is legitimate. So when you say "Sufism is about experiences" You're really just saying what the Authentic People have said not your own experiences.
The Basics standards of Sufism from ALL the Authentic Sufi Schools which are in UNANIMOUS agreement
a.) Sufi must advocate following Shari'ah
b.) Sufi must follow the Shari'ah
c.) Sufi must not seek material wealth
d.) Sufi must seek spiritual goals and only does worldly things JUST for sustenance ONLY himself/family etc and guide others But never any more than that. Not to be "successful"
e.) Sufi prefers seclusion to mixing with others or socializing; but is involved only in guiding society
f.) Sufi does not worry about things like Nationalism/Ethnicity
g.) Sufi honors all of the Authentic 'Urafa
Quote
The adoptation of the term "sufi" is an attempt to hoodwink the people, but will not work as it did not do so in the past.
It mainly works on Westerners or estranged Mashriqis since they've lost touch with their heritage; most of them are completely ignorant of the Sufi Heritage; only people who explore and study know that Badlun and Osho are just imposters. People who have grown up at least in tandem to the Sufi culture will know the difference right from the get go.
Yet these Imposters are preaching everything that contradicts Sufism; how can they be Sufis? well simple answer, they aren't.
For example I am NOT a Sufi and I have never claimed to be; HOWEVER, My Kaka (treh) is one of the Khilafah of Sheikh Muhammad Ataullah Faizani (rah) and my grandfather was a Qadiri Sufi whose Murshid was Sayyid Hasan al-Jilani(rah). So I'm "aware" of the culture; I went to these halaqas and stuff. My mom's side of the family are ALL Ba'Alawiyah. Even she was initiated into Ba'Alawiyah (which is a branch of Qadiri and part of how my parents met but I won't get into that) when she was younger, but not really "following" it. My point being I've grown up with some aspect of people who stress Sufism in their lives ALL around me.
I know the difference I know how REAL Sufis are like, I know how the act what they do, what they're concerned about.
GRANTED I actually have my contentions with Sufism and certain Sufi doctrines; BUT unlike other Mu'tazilah I don't shun it on principles of our better understanding of the psychological dimensions of spiritual practice. However one thing I know is that the Sufis, the genuine ones (sadly Sayyid Hasan's son doesn't represent his father's grace but rides off of his father's name) were NON-WORLDLY, abstained from worldly pursuits.
Some excerpts.
Re: A Sufi Cult
Posted by:
corboy
()
Date: July 07, 2013 11:23AM
[webcache.googleusercontent.com]
Quote
Quote
It is interesting to note that some say the word "Sufi" has its origin in the phrase "Ashab as-Suffah" (people of the platform of the Prophet's mosque) - and that many of these early seekers of knowledge, and followers of the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him and his family) were homeless.
In the "west," especially the United States - "Sufism" is by and large an upper middle-class phenomena. The myriad of tariqas in the US are filled with either mostly Whites and/or upper-middle class immigrant professionals (or, they are students well on their way to becoming part of that class). There are a few exceptions that can be pointed to, I’m sure… But these are exceptions.
The US Sufi Shaykhs themselves come from similar backgrounds, and their circle of friends, family, and acquaintances are often from this same class. This is not to say they don’t have anything to offer, they certainly do, many have a very deep understanding of some aspects of Islam. But there is a disconnect when “Sufism” separates itself from Islam’s strong emphasis on social justice, struggles against oppression, and providing a space for the most marginalized.
This is in stark contrast to Muslim majority countries, where the dargas are filled with very poor people, drug addicts, homeless, sick, and mentally ill. The larger, and more well known shrines are a place of refuge for some of the most marginalized individuals of society. But it appears that this is also changing, as “Sufism” becomes a fashion statement, and the upper and so-called “educated” classes of those societies also join the proliferating tariqas. And so, if this fad does not fade soon, we may well see dargas becoming gentrified, and "cleansing" may take on a whole new meaning: the mentally ill, the sick, the homeless will be sent off somewhere miles away - so as not to disturb the slick of the liberal rich.
Not surprising, since the upper classes of most Muslim majority countries owe their loyalty to the “west.” And , it is a part of US policy (as outlined in the infamous Rand Report) now to promote “Sufism” as an alternative “good Islam.” Supporters of the neo-cons, and the Bush regime can now even join their very own Muslims for Bush sufi group.
In the US, masajd that do work (however flawed) with, say, substance abusers, those homeless, and against inner-city violence, are primarily African-American, and located within some of the most severely impacted communities. As an imam of one such masjid said at a recent talk: that fluffy nice moderate/liberal/progressive version of “Islam” floating around has little or nothing to offer to those of us who are facing harsh realities of watching our sisters and brothers succumb to violence, drugs, and severe health problems such as HIV and environmentally caused cancer. Few, if any, of these new age Rumi lovers will step outside of their zones of comfort to face, and act in solidarity with communities that have experienced the worst of rampant Capitalism and corporate globalization.
Cultivating taqwa is not some abstract exercise, being Allah conscious means being conscious of what is around, and within us, and taking concrete steps towards changing our condition. And if “Sufism” is all about journeying towards Allah, then we might also consider this hadith of Imam Ali (AS) attributed in the Nahjul Balagha:
Go towards Allah as oppressed and do not go towards Him as oppressors.
And then there is that little business of the Abu Dharr mall... but thats another story for another time...
Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.