6/3/2003: Iraqi Dervish

I've always heard the term "whirling dervish" and never understood it.

It turns out that "dervish" is a Muslim sect especially in Turkey and Iran/Iraq. It's a fanatical sect (of Islam? surprise), a branch of the Sufi Islam which seems to be a bit more peaceful than the others (not a reach). I don't know but it seems like the Sufis turn their devotion inwards instead of outwards, and focus on their own behavior instead of the behavior of the rest of us. That's respectable.

Sufis believe that their primary goal is purifying their hearts and souls of thoughts other than of Allah, so they take on all kinds of activities that they figure will help them do that. That's what this guy is really trying to do. The "whirling" aspect is similar; not all dervishes do it, but it involves swaying and chanting and slowly building up to a frenzy of prayer. This frenzy often builds up to whirling, thus the term.

I can think of similar activity in other religions. The yogic flyers of Transcendental Meditation bounce up and down until they really believe they are levitating. "Speaking in tongues" remains a concept of Christian fundamentalists in this country.

Oh, also, that must be one of the finest unibrows ever displayed.

The whole dervishkabob thing is strange just to look at. But can you imagine what'll happen when he needs to cough or sneeze? Ewwww.

I wonder why there is no blood. Have they been in so long
they've healed? Even if the blood has coagulated wouldn't
any movement cause more bleeding? I think I'd rather tithe.

No; another picture, which was taken just before this one, shows the guy inserting the pins. Maybe the bleeding begins when he takes 'em out?

I'd be thinking ouch ouch ouch rather than allah allah allah.....

The places that he pierced himself don't really bleed, I don't think.

The idea with sticking metal objects through your face is, if your mind is completely filled with Allah, then you'll feel no pain. So it's like a test of their religious devotion.

I saw a video of this in an anthropology class, and it had 12 year old kids going through this ceremony as a sort of religious graduation. There was a lot of rhythmic drumming and dancing, and then it all built up to a crescendo, whereupon the kids would lick red-hot pokers. It was quite something to see. Apparently, if you're really, really devoted to Allah, you can lick red hot metal and not feel a thing!

[insert adolescent mocking from the perspective of Western materialism of a many-centuries-old spiritual tradition here]

Re: 6/3/2003: Iraqi Dervish

Re: Re: 6/3/2003: Iraqi Dervish

I saw a video on snake handlers, too. They'd actually throw the snakes across the room at each other, repeatedly! But the funniest thing was, they'd shake the snakes in the vicinity of the people who hadn't contributed money yet, to try to scare them into tithing. Yep, gotta love those Christian fundamentalists.

Um.... Snake handlers are extremists. not fundamentalists

Re: Re: Re: 6/3/2003: Iraqi Dervish

Unless

Unless it's proving it to their buddies.

Faithfuler than thou!

<i>I've always heard the term "whirling dervish" and never understood it.</i>

And you still don't. Sufism/dervishes and this picture are totally unrelated.


<i>It turns out that "dervish" is a Muslim sect especially in Turkey and Iran/Iraq. It's a fanatical sect (of Islam? surprise), a branch of the Sufi Islam which seems to be a bit more peaceful than the others (not a reach). </i>

Sheer idiocy on your part. "Dervish" is not a sect, it is simply a word meaning "student". Instead of showing the world what a moron you are, you might consider consulting an encylopedia once in a while.

The sufis are not a sect either; sufism is simply a spiritual dimension of mainstream Islam. To say sufism is fanatical is like saying 'psychology is a cucumber'. If you would like to learn about American sufi practioners (including the real Whirling Dervishes), check out http://www.sufism.org

Anyhow, I just have to point out for those that don't know: You are really, really dumb. Really. You remind me of Cliff Claven from Cheers-- making up things as you go along, in a futile attempt to look like you know something.

That's fine -- my info, in this case, came from the official caption, probably written by the AP. And they are often a little confused.

I was under the impression the Muslims followed the teachings of Mohammed and the Koran. Who gave this M.J. Rumi the authority to tell people how to go about following Mohammed's teachings. Is he like the "pope" of Islam? Or in the catagory of Ghandi?

The problem with scholars is it comes from schoolers. As any student can tell you, the only way to successfully graduate is to agree with the teacher. Then, when the student becomes the teacher, the same ideas are carried on. When a scholar develops an independent line of thought, he can lobby his peers to accept it. But, it seems in Islam, anyone with independent thought is branded a heretic and killed.

I didn't take rumi's advice and look it up in an encyclopedia. I looked it up in the dictionary. Just now.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=dervish

For the record then, all of the definitions given:

<li>A member of any of various Muslim ascetic orders, some of which perform whirling dances and vigorous chanting as acts of ecstatic devotion.

<li>One that possesses abundant, often frenzied energy.

<li>Word History: The word dervish calls to mind the phrases howling dervish and whirling dervish. Certainly there are dervishes whose religious exercises include making loud howling noises or whirling rapidly to induce a dizzy, mystical state. But a dervish is really the Muslim equivalent of a monk or friar, for the Persian word darvsh, the ultimate source of dervish, means “religious mendicant.” The word is first recorded in English in 1585.

<li>One of the fanatical followers of the Mahdi, in the Sudan.

<li>A Turkish or Persian monk, especially one who professes extreme poverty and leads an austere life.

<li>An ascetic Muslim monk; a member of an order noted for devotional exercises involving bodily movements

So there it is, and rumi, oh dear, none of them mention the word "student". I won't rub it in too hard though, because I'm a nice guy.

Dervishes are not a sect. They are student initiates in sufi orders. Sufism is not a sect either; they are brotherhoods/sisterhoods that Muslims (and occasionally some Christians and Jews) belong to. The definitions you cite are at best incomplete. The fellow in the photograph is more likely a circus performer than a sufi dervish.

I am very pleased, however, to see that you're taking the time to learn more. Keep it up, and I'm sure we'll see less inaccurate/xenophobic statements from you. If you really want to understand what it means to be a dervish, check out the aforementioned http://www.sufism.org and http://www.uga.edu/islam/ (written by U of Georgia professors). It's fascinating stuff. The latter is an incredible source of information, from an American perspective.

Well thanks for the links. Seems the basic difference with the Sufi's is they encourage letting your freak flag fly to find god. This pisses off the rest of Islam, particularly those scholars that have secured the ability to get the straight scoop over the rest of the gang. I'll keep trying to learn.

rumi, my user title used to be "sometimes wrong", until people made me change it because they got tired of looking at it.

I imagine I'm dead wrong about 20% of the time and somewhat incorrect another 20% of the time. But I can't tell the difference between the things I'm wrong about and the things I'm right about, because everything I write and say comes out of my own perspective, with imperfections all around.

I think that's probably the case with just about everyone.

Not me. I'm about 90% wrong 10% right but watch yerself when I think I got that 10% mojo risin. I'll have to look over rumi's links but it sounds like sufis parallel the mystics in RCism, Buddism, and elsewhere, just looking for that transcendent experience which often has little to do with the way the religion they're rooted in is organized. But now I have to follow the link so I don't get picked off.

I'm acutality right 100% of the tiem.

But keep arguing and discussing i'm enjoying this thread.


<i>-----------------
I like how after you click the "Submit Reply" button it says "Thank you for Contributing" because it never seems like i'm actualy doing that. </i>

It turns out that "Rumi' is the name of an important Sufi poet. Winds of Change, a blog I read, links to this poem today:

http://www.libertyadvance.org/rumi.m....shepherd.html

In it, Allah speaks to Moses to tell him that any way of worship is a good way:

What seems wrong to you is right for him.
What is poison to one is honey to someone else.

Purity and impurity, sloth and diligence in worship,
these mean nothing to Me.

I am apart from all that.
Ways of worshipping are not to be ranked as better
or worse than one another.

Hindus do Hindu things.
The Dravidian Muslims in India do what they do.
It's all praise, and it's all right.

It's not Me that's glorified in acts of worship.
It's the worshipers! I don't hear the words
they say. I look inside at the humility.

Rumi, preaching tolerance in the 13th century. It is excellent.

Rumi's writings are very cool, BUT....

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&l...wshoes&spell=1

TURKEY
Culmination of my coverage for the November 1987 article on Süleyman the Magnificent was photographing the dervishes of the Mevlevi Order in Istanbul. Each December the group commemorates the death of their founder in 1273 by performing this ritual dance with the right hand facing heaven, left hand facing earth. Their spinning symbolizes the planets revolving around God.