THE SUFI PATH TO PAKISTAN’S HEART A Multimedia Story

Abstract

Over the past few centuries, as the World has come under the thrall of modern innovations and industrialization, Sufism has gradually lost its meaning and its luster. Most of the western nations believe in the practical and what they can see and have collectively stopped believing in religion as a way of life. Even Muslim nations like Turkey and Saudi Arabia have abolished or suppressed the practice of Sufism to focus more on the literal side of Islam. Sufis, Walis (Friends of Allah) have gradually dwindled in number as the World shifts towards a more "modern" way of life. Sufism is a devoted way of prayer and offering, spending the life in the love of the Allah and distancing oneself from the worldly woes to embark on a journey of self-realization (Burckhardt, 1995). As lifestyles changed with time, believers took the liberty to conform to views that were more convenient with respect to the newer eras, somehow killing the real meaning of Sufism. The Sufi saints (or the living-dead) have a large disciple crowd in the subcontinent, followers who devoutly follow their pirs and live their lives according to their teachings but their beliefs and practices have been distorted as times progressed (Hassanali, 2010). However, the unique cultural diversity of the subcontinent means that Sufism holds a special place in its history for its ability to connect people from different castes, creeds and cultures. Many historians attribute the work of early Sufi scholars like Shaykh Ali Hujwiri and Khwaja Gharib Nawaz for the spread of Islam in the subcontinent and their teachings are considered a fundamental pillar of the faith of the majority of people in Pakistan. We 7 went around exploring and analysing what the devotees' practice at the shrines of their celebrated Sufis, what the legitimate old practices were, and how have they changed over the years. Ultimately we felt the need to discover more about the "shrine culture" in Pakistan, and how much people know about it. The need to develop content that gives people the feeling of really experiencing the aura at the shrines lead us to work on a project where the audience gets to visualise the distinctive cultural qualities of these renowned shrines. There is no initiative yet that highlights the cultural exclusivity of the shrines in terms of Pakistan's peculiar identity. Thus, our project brings to viewers an interactive and informative journey of what "cultural peculiarity" the shrines took on from their saints, their successors, and what the disciples believe and practice there now.