PBS Reports on Sufism in the U.S.

November 8, 2002

Source: PBS

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week610/profile.html

On November 8, 2002 PBS reported that "there is a mystical tradition among Muslims that was once widely popular, drawing followers from every branch of Islam and from other religions too. It's Sufism, which is under attack now by Muslim fundamentalists for being too liberal, but which is drawing more and more interest in the U.S. It's best known in the West for the dance of the whirling dervishes. Sufism, which flowered within Islam more than a thousand years ago, is gaining new followers today in America. Its central ideas -- universal love, mystical union with God, and openness to different spiritual paths -- are being spread by teachers, musicians, and poets from around the world."