E-MAIL THIS LINK
To: 

Algeria fights insurgency with Sufism
[Al Arabiya Latest] After using police raids, arrests and gun battles in its fight against Islamist insurgents, Algeria is now deploying a new, more subtle weapon: a branch of Islam associated with contemplation, not combat.

The government of this North African oil and gas producer is promoting Sufism, an Islamic movement that it sees as a gentler alternative to Salafism espoused by many of the militants behind Algeria's insurgency.

Sufism places a great focus on prayer and recitationThe authorities have created a television and radio station to promote Sufism and the "zaouias" or religious confraternities that preach and practice it, in addition to regular appearances by Sufi sheikhs on other stations. All are tightly controlled by the state.

Sufism, found in many parts of the Muslim world, places a greater focus on prayer and recitation and its followers have tended to stay out of politics.

In Algeria it has a low profile, with most mosques closer to Salafism -- though not the violent connotations that sometimes carries.

Exact numbers are hard to come by, but George Joffe, a research fellow at the Centre of International Studies, Cambridge University, estimates there are 1-1.5 million Sufis in Algeria, out of a total population of 34 million.

Salafism has its roots in Saudi Arabia and emphasizes religious purity. Adherents act out the daily rituals of Islam's earliest followers, for example by picking up food with three fingers and using a "Siwak" -- a toothbrush made out of a twig.

" We are doing a lot to encourage people to come back to our traditional Islam: a peaceful, tolerant and open-minded Islam. And thanks to God, people are much more attracted by our message than by the Salafi message "
Mohamed Idir Mechnane
Officials believe Sufism could help bring peace to Algeria, a country still emerging from a conflict in the 1990s between government forces and Islamist rebels that, according to some estimates, killed 200,000 people.

"I disagree with the Salafi ideology because it doesn't take into consideration the particular nature of Algeria," said Mohamed Idir Mechnane, an official at the Ministry of Religious Affairs. "We are doing a lot to encourage people to come back to our traditional Islam: a peaceful, tolerant and open-minded Islam. And thanks to God, people are much more attracted by our message than by the Salafi message," he told Reuters.
Posted by: Fred 2009-07-09
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=273926