Taliban target shrine sacred to Pashtuns

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan | An attack by suspected Taliban militants on the mausoleum of a Sufi saint and poet has shocked Pashtuns living on both sides of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and threatens to alienate the Talibans’ ethnic base.

Officials said militants blew up the mausoleum of 17th-century saint Abdul Rahman Mohmand, commonly known as Rahman Baba, at Hazarakhwani in Peshawar, the capital of North West Frontier Province, on March 5. No one was injured in the blast, but the grave and mausoleum of the Sufi poet were severely damaged.

Caretakers of the complex said they had received a warning letter from purported Taliban militants three days before the attack threatening to blow up the mausoleum if women continued to visit it.

Specialists describe Sufism as a mystical dimension of Islam, which preaches love and inner peace. Though it has followers among Shi’ites and Sunnis, some Sunni sects consider it heretical and reject veneration of Sufi saints as idol worship.

During its rule in Afghanistan before the U.S. invasion in 2001, the Taliban had banned Sufism, locked Sufi shrines and put many of its followers behind bars.

In March 2001, the Taliban also destroyed the Buddhas of Bamyan, two ancient monumental statues carved on the side of a cliff.

Last March, militants destroyed the 400-year-old Abu Saeed Baba shrine near Peshawar. At least 10 people who tried to save the shrine were killed.

The latest attack is fraught with potential political significance. The Taliban are mostly Pashtuns, but not all Pashtuns are Taliban, and the destruction of the shrine could turn them against the militants.

Considered more than a Sufi saint, Rahman Baba is a highly respected poet in the Pashto language, and the attack on his mausoleum is considered an assault on the cultural heritage of Pashtuns.

“Rahman Baba preached through his mystic poetry divine love, peace and harmony among the people,” Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said in condemning the attack.

Every day hundreds of devotees and tourists visit the shrine of Rahman Baba, considered to be the most respected and noncontroversial personality in Pashtun history.

“Rahman Baba’s Diwan [collection of poetry] is a book of moralities. He preached love and peace. There is nothing in his poetry which could be offensive to followers of any religion and any sect,” renowned Pashtun poet Shams-ul-Qamar Andesh told The Washington Times.

Mr. Andesh said those who attacked the mausoleum want to damage the Pashtun brotherhood. “They know how much Pashtuns respect Rahman Baba. Motives behind this attack could be to pave way for a new conflict.”

Raj Wali Shah Khatak, chairman of the Pashtun department at the University of Peshawar, said the attack shocked all Pashtuns because Rahman Baba “is a symbol of Pashtun code of conduct.”

“He was the torchbearer of love, peace and tolerance. No other person in the Pashtun history has gained such popularity and respect,” Mr. Khatak said.

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