The following posting was sent to a Group List, which shall go unanmed. The heading for the posting was: 'Look before taking a leap of faith'.

The message was not intended to evoke a discussion, nor to create controversy, Rather, the posting was meant to be a low-key, generic reminder that those who are seeking the Sufi Path, or who are thinking about becoming involved in some manner with tasawwuf, should exercise some caution before committing themselves to this or that alleged spiritual guide.

Although the particular List to which the following message was sent is Sufi-oriented, the purpose of the Group List was not really meant to serve as a forum for discussing issues. However, the moderator for the Group posted a message inviting people to respond to the issue being raised by my message -- and, then, the 'fun' began ... it was like a week in a World Wide Wrestling Federation training camp for tag-team, no-holds-barred wrestling techniques.

Here is the posting. It will be followed by a few observations.

Salaam,

As a result of my own experiences, as well as those of a number of people with whom I have come in contact over the last decade, I would advise people who are looking around in their own localities in order to discover someone, or a place, through which to participate in allegedly Sufi activity, to be careful, for there are an increasing number of sharks in the waterways leading to the Ocean, and, quite frequently, these denizens of the coastal waters are disguised as friendly, kindly, intelligent, charming, and gifted dolphins.

With warmest regards,

Dr. Anab Whitehouse

During the week following the above posting, when all manner of views were given expression through a variety of participants in the Group List, a number of things became very clear. First, quite a few people have vested interests to protect and treat the Sufi tradition as if it were their own, private preserve. Secondly, quite a few people seem to believe that adab, or spiritual etiquette, has nothing to do with tasawwuf. Thirdly, quite a few people harbor a hidden -- and, sometimes, not so hidden -- arrogance which maintains a double standard that likes to critically reflect on the ambience of society in general, but not on the ambience of so-called Sufi society in particular. Fourthly, quite a few people become easily spooked, as well as very defensive, paranoid, and aggressively angry when anyone raises the topic that, perhaps, not all so-called 'spiritual guides' are necessarily authentic. Fifthly, quite a few people do not wish to open up for discussion the problem of having to differentiate between authentic and inauntentic teachers -- wishing, instead, to consider everyone who calls herself or himself a spiritual guide as being authentic, and, then, treating spiritual abuse as an anomalous condition among, otherwise, authentic shaykhs -- apparently, not realizing that being inauthentic is the 'mother' of all forms of spiritual abuse among those individuals who consider themselves to be spiritual guides but, in fact, are not. Finally, there were a few souls -- all too few -- who seemed to understand the crucial nature of the problem being explored.