Amnesty International potsted this story several months ago, but I thought it is important to revisit due to the current issues involving Iran and the Bush Administration.
The Sufis' are the mystical aspect of Islam, like the Gnostics are the mystic side of Christianity. Sufism is gaining popularity in Iran and the government there is fearful of it.
I want to post some of the poetry of one of the most famous Sufi poets in order to provide a bridge, a link, to those in Iran who also Love Humanity and who seek Peace. I am speaking of Rumi, a 12th century poet/mystic. By reading Rumi's poetry one can hopefully feel this linkage and image Love and Light flowing out to our Brothers and Sisters in Iran.
here is what the Rightwing Fundies in Iran are doing to our Brothers and Sisters:
Amnesty International is calling on the Iranian authorities to order an immediate, independent investigation into the violent suppression of an apparently peaceful demonstration by Nematollahi Sufi Muslims in Qom on 13 February, 2005. Hundreds of demonstrators, including women and children, were injured when police, and the Hojatieh and Fatemiyon groups (organized pro-government groups), broke up the protest, apparently using excessive force, and as many as 1200 are believed to have been arrested. Most have now been released, but some 200 of those detained are still being held. Amnesty International is calling for them to be released immediately and unconditionally unless they are to face recognizably criminal charges and to receive fair and prompt trials in accordance with their rights under international law.
The Nematollahi Sufi, who are also known as dervishes or mystics, are Shi'a Muslims, who emphasise the spirituality of their faith. They had gathered to protest against an order, issued a few days earlier, to evacuate their place of worship- known as a Hosseiniye - in the city of Qom, by February 11. The Hosseiniye is located next to the home of the Sufi group's principal preacher in Qom and was built three years ago, apparently legally and with the permission of the municipal authorities.
The Sufi are reported to have begun their protest on 9 February, with some members inside the place of worship, and others stationed outside, and they held a mourning and prayer ceremony on 10 February, the day of the Shi'a Muslim festival of Ashoura. This was peaceful but the number of protestors swelled as hundreds of Nematollahi Sufis travelled from other parts of the country to attend. The demonstrators included many woman and children offering white flowers and cake to local residents.
snip
The security forces then moved in at around 4:00 pm, supported by the Hojatieh and Fatemiyon groups, attacked the protestors outside the centre and stormed the building, using tear gas and explosives. They beat many protestors, some so badly that they required hospital treatment and, according to some reports, set light to the centre - eyewitnesses later described the Qom sky as polluted with tear gas, smoke and fire. Some 1200 protestors are reported to have been detained and taken away on buses to unknown locations.
With the Sufi place of worship cleared of protestors, the security forces moved in bulldozers and trucks in the early hours of 14 February and demolished the building and neighbouring houses, including the home of the main Sufi preacher.
The protest and its repression by the authorities came amid concern about what appears to be increasing "demonization" of the Sufi Muslim group. In September, a religious jurist in Qom, Ayatollah Hossein Nouri-Hamedani, called for a crackdown on Sufi groups in Qom, labelling them a "danger to Islam". Recent weeks had seen hostile articles published in the Jomhouri-ye Eslami newspaper and the Kayhan newspaper, warning of their popularity, and people's tendency to follow them.
Some Rumi Poetry
There is some kiss we want
with our whole lives,
the touch of Spirit on the body.
Seawater begs the pearl
to break its shell.
And the lily, how passionately
it needs some wild Darling!
At night, I open the window
and ask the moon to come
and press its face into mine.
Breathe into me.
Close the language-door,
and open the love-window.
The moon won't use the door,
only the window.
Poem about Peace
"... Move beyond any attachment to names." Every war
and every conflict between human beings has happened because
of some disagreement about
names. It's such an unnecessary foolishness, because just
beyond the arguing there's a long
table of companionship, set and waiting for us to sit down.
What is praised is one, so the praise is one too,
many jugs being poured
into a huge basin. All religions, all this singing,
one song.
The differences are just illusion and vanity. Sunlight
looks slightly different
on this wall than it does on that wall and a lot different
on this other one, but
it is still one light. We have borrowed these clothes, these
time-and-space personalities,
from a light, and when we praise, we pour them back in.
mevlana jelaluddin rumi
Web Sites with Rumi Poetry
Prayers
Love and Ecstacy
Sunlight
Moses and the Shepard (it is about tolerance)
Poem