Dr Kamran Ahmad launched his second book, Tareeqat - Seven Elements of Living Sufism in Pakistan, under Mehergarh Publications among an intimate gathering of academics, representatives of various international organisations, members of civil society organisations and human rights activists.
His first book was the research-based Roots of Religious Intolerance in Pakistan and India, in which he focused on the fluidity of spirituality, contrasting with the intolerance arising from an emphasis on stagnant forms.
Ahmad is an academic, with a PhD in South Asian spirituality in addition to other disciplines.
He has taught religion and psychology at universities in Pakistan and the US, and has travelled around the world exploring spiritual sensibilities in Buddhist monasteries.
Through this book, Ahmad is attempting to instil awareness in the Pakistani consciousness of the inherent spirituality in our everyday practices and traditions.
He emphasised on the spirit within everyday life and relationships instead of a misplaced focus on relearning religion or spirituality. “We just need to recognise it for what it is, embrace it with love, and live it with pride, in its eternal flow, in its ever-changing forms,” he said.
Furthermore, Ahmad’s work elucidates the importance for Pakistanis to reclaim their spiritual plurality as a nation. He fears that terrorism and extremism have become the uniform ‘spiritual’ face of Pakistan.
Ahmad regretfully reminisced about a terrorist attack at his office two years ago. The suicide bombing took the lives of friends and colleagues. Feeling partially responsible for what happened, he now believes that “such acts of terrorism and extremism would not thrive in our country if there were not a significant number of people ready to justify or excuse the acts of these terrorists.”
Despite the serious subject matter, the launch had a light and welcoming aura as incense burned and Farrukh Mehdi, a trained classical singer, performed sufi poetry and the ghazals of Buleh Shah, Baba Ghulam Farid, Sachal Sarmast, Waris Shah and Shah Husain.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 30th, 2011.
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