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Amjad Sabri: Pakistanis mourn singer killed by Taliban

Pakistan is mourning one of its most famous singers, Amjad Sabri, who was shot dead in Karachi by militants.

Thousands paid their respects, throwing rose petals over an ambulance carrying his coffin. He was killed on Wednesday in an attack claimed by the Taliban.

Sabri performed Qawwali devotional music from the Sufi tradition, an Islamic practice opposed by extremists.

He will be laid to rest in Paposhnagar Graveyard next to his father, Qawwali legend Ghulam Farid Sabri.
 

At the scene: Riaz Sohail, BBC Urdu, Karachi

Pakistani people and relatives attend a funeral ceremony of renowned Pakistani Sufi singer Amjad Sabri who was killed in Karachi, Pakistan, 23 June 2016
Unusually, women were also present at the funeral
 

I have never seen so many people come out for a funeral. A river of human faces, from all walks of life, filled up Liaquatabad's main avenue.

One reason for this huge attendance may be because Amjad Sabri was so well known across the country.

Sabri was also a friendly character. Neighbours said he would often play a carrom board game with boys from the area on the pavements outside their houses. And he was on intimate talking terms with shopkeepers running tea stalls, grocery shops or cigarette booths along the narrow street leading to his house.

Another unusual thing was the presence of women, who are normally never a part of funeral processions. Dozens of women lined up along the pavement and a nearby pedestrian bridge.

Several announcements were made from the public address system asking the women to climb down from the bridge as it could break. I saw there women aged 17 to 70 years.

One woman said it was hard for women to leave home during Ramadan because there was so much work, but "we have come because he was like a brother to us, and because he earned his fame by praising God".

There were demonstrations overnight in Lahore and Islamabad, condemning the killing of Sabri.

He died after two gunmen fired on his car in the busy Liaqatabad area of the city. A relative in the vehicle was also injured.

Pakistani relatives comfort Mujjudid Sabri (C), the son of Pakistani Sufi musician Amjad Sabri, who was killed in an attack by unknown gunmen in Karachi on 22 June 2016.
AFP
Mujjudid Sabri (C), the son of Amjad Sabri, was comforted by relatives
 
 

Sufism, a tolerant, mystical practice of Islam, has millions of followers in Pakistan but is opposed by extremists.

The Taliban have been blamed for previous assaults on targets linked to Sufi Islam, although this is the first such attack in several years.

The militant group views Sufism as heretical because Sufi worship involves music and dance, and the veneration of saints.

A blasphemy case was filed against Sabri last year after he mentioned members of the Prophet Muhammad's family in a song.

It is not known if the shooting is related to that incident.

Qawwali music and Sufi Islam

Qawwals perform at the Baba Farid shrine
Performers and spectators enter a trance-like state seeking to get close to the divine
 

Qawwali music is the words of Sufi saints set to music, which aims to bring listeners into a trance-like state that helps them establish a close link with God.

The spiritual songs are a lyrical expression of love with a divine being, kept in time to the beat of Eastern musical instruments such as the "Tabla" drums and harmonium.

The devotional music, which dates back several centuries, is also known as "the music of the shrines", and has a special place in the indigenous Islamic faith of the Indian sub-continent.

Source: BBC News:

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