Someone i'm acquainted with went to the mosque of sayyidina Hussain, arguably on of the most pivotal religious places in Cairo. There are several so-called saints buried in and around the city and many Muslims seize the opportunity to visit men and women of such supreme spiritual dignity. The three women sayyida Nafeesa, sayyida A'isha and sayyida Ruqayya are by many considered the patron saints of the city even. Female patron saints of a city so much dominated by machismo-culture is interesting itself and I might write about this at another point.
Sainthood plays a very important part in Islam in Egypt but it is not of course an uncontested part of popular practice. Asking for a saint’s intercession is regarded as an idolatry Sufi innovation by the puritanical post-modern Muslims that ascribe to the Salafi rite and there has been incidents of physical confrontation between the two over shrines that have been attacked by people that seemingly think that the shrines best serve the religion by being demolished.
Many of the saint's tombs are hidden away in the southern cemetery al-Qarafa and is therefore more of a matter for those already so inclined. Sayyidina Hussain however, is a huge mosque-mausoleum set in the middle of the city by the entrance to the famous bazaar-quarters of Khan el-Khalili just opposite of al-Azhar university and mosque. It is as it happens quite impossible to miss if one is touring Cairo.
The mausoleum is said to contain the head of sayyidina Hussain, the son of Ali ibn abi Talib, the fourth caliph and more so the cousin and son-in-law of the prophet Muhammed, peace be upon him.
Veneration of the prophet's family is central in many aspects of Muslim practice and beliefs and though certainly not exclusive in Sufism, it is perhaps more easily observed in Sufi litany than in other expressions of Islam. Within this belief is also that the spiritual station of the prophet extends through his blood-line down in generations. Anyone related to him is either a sayyid or a sharif and has traditionally held a good social status. It is popularly believed that one may petition with the ashraf (pl. of sharif) in order to seek out the special spiritual blessing that they enjoy, whether alive or dead.
Veneration of the prophet's family is central in many aspects of Muslim practice and beliefs and though certainly not exclusive in Sufism, it is perhaps more easily observed in Sufi litany than in other expressions of Islam. Within this belief is also that the spiritual station of the prophet extends through his blood-line down in generations. Anyone related to him is either a sayyid or a sharif and has traditionally held a good social status. It is popularly believed that one may petition with the ashraf (pl. of sharif) in order to seek out the special spiritual blessing that they enjoy, whether alive or dead.
As mentioned earlier the act of visiting tombs, petitioning with the saints in their graves and other related practices are not universally accepted and some Muslims claim that the custom is outright heretical. I believe that my acquaintance is leaning towards this later position based on how he describes his visit to sayyidina Husain's mosque.
What he describe is peoples at the mausoleum involved in the act of shirk (idolatry). Women in niqab (face veil) and men with beards to their bellies all involved in the most heinous act described in the holy Qur'an, putting something or someone at God's side. He concludes that it goes to tell how one can never judge a book by it's cover and that people (in general) need to be educated.
What I find interesting in his reaction is the reaction itself. Why does one assume that donning the niqab or growing the beard long is proof of any particular form of Islam? When a stunning majority of the Egyptians voted for the Muslim Brotherhood or the Salafis, why was there an assumption that they necessarily agree with the religious beliefs of said groups? (Considering the relatively low voter turnout though makes the actual result somewhat more moderate) A more nuanced analysis would be that people agreed to the politics and promises thereof rather than buying the entire philosophy, lock, stock and barrel. Wearing a niqab does not make a salafi or a MB-supporter seems to be the immediate lesson to be learned.
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| Photograph © Max Dahlstrand |
If my acquaintance, who is a European born Muslim, can be seen as a representative of an Islam prevalent with some of the more modernistic interpretations, it may help in understanding why they are so successful at an organizational level (for example in Sweden) yet why they seem to fail in attracting a real popular support amongst the bulk of the Muslim population. It may be that they lack understanding of the people they want to be the representatives of. A quick guess of how this comes to be maybe explained by utilizing a class perspective.
Many Middle East scholars, like Khaled Hroub, have stated that the different islamist movements, not less so in Egypt, have their roots in the (secularly) educated middle class. A cadre of engineers, doctors and lawyers with university background telling street vendors, waiters and bus drivers what the religion really says and that they are akin to unbelievers in practicing a form of Islam that not only their fathers did but that was also sanctioned by many of the religious scholars throughout Islamic history. Perhaps there is also a hint of class hate in the staunch rejection of popular practices of the working class by the middle class? It is impossible to say at this point but the attempt of a class perspective in analyzing combatting Islamic interpretations would be an interesting study.
As I am writing these lines another whiff of ancient tradition passes by my window. The musahhar (the waker-upper) beating a small drum telling people to get up and have breakfast before dawn arrives. I have been told they too are a disappearing particularity of Cairo. I guess that's also something that I shall write about in the coming weeks.
