Sufi leaders to visit Kashmir, appeal for peace

THE MOVE COMES AFTER AN ALL-PARTY DELEGATION TO

THE VALLEY FAILED TO BREAK THE ICE WITH SEPARATIST LEADERS

NEW DELHI: Heads of prominent Sufi shrines — including Ajmer Sharif and Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya — will visit the strife-torn Kashmir Valley to appeal for peace there.

The delegation of heads of eminent khanqahs and dargahs led by Dewan Syed Zainul Abedin Saheb, the spiritual head of Dargah Ajmer Sharif, met home minister Rajnath Singh on Monday and told him they would go to Kashmir to request the people there to contribute in creating peace.

The Kashmir Valley has been simmering with discontent since the July 8 killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani by security forces. More than 80 people have died in clashes following the killing.

The move by the Sufi heads comes after an all-party delegation led by Singh to the Valley failed to break the ice with separatist leaders. “The spiritual leaders said they were pained by the situation in Kashmir, which has been the centre of Sufism for over 700 years,” said a home ministry statement.

Sufism is a mystical and moderate form of Islam.

During their discussions with the home minister, the spiritual heads said those creating disturbances must know that there is no bigger power than the power of peace.

Violence can only bring more suffering and solve no problem of humanity, they noted.

“Worst, we see Islam, the religion of peace, being linked to many instances of violence and terrorism,” the ministry statement quoted the Dargah Ajmer Sharif head as saying.

The delegation consisted of the heads of some of the biggest dargahs in the country, including Dargah Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya (Delhi), Khwaja Banda Nawaz (Karnataka), Dargah Fatehpur Sikri (Uttar Pradesh), Dargah Maner Sharif (Bihar), Dargah Yusufain Nappalli (Andhra Pradesh), Dargah Ambetha Sharif (Gujarat) and Dargah Haradarwaza (Hyderabad).