Of Sufi Islam....

A prominent organization of Sunni clerics has urged Muslims to reject hardline Wahabi Islam, which it said was giving the community a bad name, and called for limiting the influence of Saudi Arabia, which it blamed for meddling in the affairs of Indian Muslims by pumping in petrodollars. At a mahapanchayat in Moradabad, UP, the All India Ulama and Mashaikh Board (AIUMB), which claims the support of a majority of Indian Muslims, rooted for Sufi traditions of Islam propagating tolerance and harmony. Spokesperson Syed Babar Ashraf said 80% of Indian Muslims followed the Sunni Sufi tradition while Wahabis wielded control over just 13-14% of the community. He said Wahabi-inspired outfits like Deoband, Jamiat Ulamae-Hind and Ahl-e-Hadees were importing a “foreign ideology” into India. The board urged the Centre to set up a central madrassa board. The funding of madrassas should be audited to check the influx of Saudi petrodollars, it said. The board’s leaders claimed Wahabi-inspired outfits were feeding on the frustration of Muslims and indoctrinating them in radical Islam. Unlike the Sufis, Wahabis are against praying at dargahs (shrines) and graves.