Modern Day Sufism

Sufism is a dimension of Islam that emphasizes introspection and spiritual closeness with God while shunning materialism. Some of the most famous pieces stemming from Sufism are written by the poet Rumi. The modern view of Sufism is of love peace and tolerance which is why Sufism is sometimes targeted by extremist groups. I found an article about a terrorist attack on a Sufi mosque conducted in Turkey and became interested in the differences between the beliefs of these varying Muslim groups. The views of Sufi Muslims are viewed as a threat to the religion by fundamentalist Muslims. Many externalists believe that only a fundamentalist form of Sunni Islam is valid and the devotion to saints is viewed as inappropriate and disrespectful to God. Some attackers believe that Sufi Muslims in Egypt are tied to the government making them a targeted group. Overall, I found this story interesting because people tend to generalize Islam as one religion, however there are many different dimensions and styles of worship just as there are many different denominations of Christianity and other religions.