Roj Bash Kurdistan

Pakistani morns singer Amjad Sabri'



One of Pakistan's best-known Sufi musicians, Amjad Sabri, was shot dead by unknown assailants riding a motorcycle in Karachi on Wednesday, triggering an outpouring of grief over what police described as an "act of terror".

Sabri, aged around 45, was travelling by car from his home in the city's eastern Korangi area to a television studio, when a motorcycle pulled up alongside the vehicle and the attackers opened fire, Farooq Sanjarani, a police officer told AFP.

Sabri was hit by five bullets and was declared dead at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital while a companion, named as a relative, Saleem Sabri, was in critical condition, a hospital source added.

"It was a targeted killing and an act of terrorism," Muqaddas Haider, a senior police officer said, without naming possible suspects.

Grisly mobile phone footage of the scene of the crime shot by an onlooker showed the singer's head slumped on his right shoulder and a pool of blood on the ground by the driver's side where he sat.



- Targeted sect -

Sabri was a "Qawwal", or singer of "Qawwali", which is a traditional form of Islamic devotional music that is popular across South Asia with roots tracing back to the 13th century.

The music is closely associated with Sufism, a mystical sect of Islam that is viewed as heretical by hardline groups such as the Taliban.

The Taliban and other Islamist groups have carried out major attacks on Sufi mosques and shrines in recent years, including the 2010 bombing of the Data Darbar shrine in Lahore that killed more than 40 people.

Sabri, the son of another legendary Qawwali singer, Ghulam Farid Sabri who died in 1994, was a fixture on national television and regularly performed on a morning show during the ongoing holy Muslim month of Ramadan.

In May 2014 he was asked by a court to respond to blasphemy charges following the broadcast of a controversial song-and-dance routine that was set to a Qawwali piece about the wedding of the Prophet Mohammed's daughter to his cousin.

- 'Mission of love' -

His killing was met with shock and condemnation. Neighbours congregated outside the singer's home to offer condolences to his relatives, while TV channels broadcast recordings of his music in tribute.

"Totally shocked to hear the news of @AmjadSabri. May Allah bless him with Jannah (heaven) for he praised Him & His Prophet beautifully all his life," tweeted Ayaz Sadiq, the speaker of Pakistan's parliament.

"Shocked and saddened by news of the killing of Amjad Sabri, not just a crime but an attack on our culture and heritage," added Mustafa Qadri, a human rights researcher at Amnesty International.

While the motive behind the killing was not immediately clear, Arieb Azhar, another popular Sufi singer, told AFP he believed Sabri may have been targeted because of his religious views.

"Our own dear Amjad Sabri, son of Ghulam Farid Sabri and nephew of Maqbool Sabri, the renowned Sabri brothers, was a true lover of God, life and all that's good," he said.

"His mission of love has tragically been cut short by those who spread hate in the world, and is a great loss for all the divided people of our country," he added.

Karachi, a city of 20 million and Pakistan's economic hub, is frequently hit by religious, political and ethnic violence.

Paramilitary forces began a sweeping crackdown on militants in the city in 2013, which has led to a substantial drop in overall levels of violence.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/ar ... error.html

Celebrated Sufi singer Amjad Sabri killed in drive-by shooting in Karachi

The Qawwali fraternity in India is in a state of shock after Pakistani sufi singer Amjad Sabri, of the Sabri Brothers, was killed by gunmen in Karachi.

Amjad and an associate were travelling in a car when unidentified gunmen fired at their vehicle, critically injuring them.

The two were rushed to Abbasi Shaheed hospital, where Amjad died of his injuries.

Amjad Sabri’s relatives, particularly his father Ghulam Farid Sabri, are considered the most critically-acclaimed proponents of Qawwali in the subcontinent and beyond.

Amjad Sabri started his journey in the niche genre of music when he was just nine years old. Only a few years later, when he was 12, he began to perform on stage with his father.

Chand Nizami, who belongs to the group Nizami Bandhu, told reporters: “I came back from a recording and heard the shocking news. I am shocked, and filled with sadness to hear of his passing. He was a great Qawwali singer, and was both a great artiste as well as a person. Even more unfortunate is the fact that he was killed during Ramzan.”

Yousuf Khan Nizami, who sings with the Nizami Brothers, added: “I was completely shaken when I heard the news. I had met him many times, and he was a very good friend of my nephews who live in Pakistan. He came to India many times to perform, and had even performed at the Nizamuddin dargah. He was an incredible person, and the news of his death is extremely shocking. Bas yeh hi dua hai ki Allah unhe jannat mein jagah de.”

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/in ... rachi.html

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. A faction of the Pakistan Taliban claimed Wednesday's attack.

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

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.

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

The Pakistan 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

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.

The early Muslim preachers who came to India tended to assimilate with the local culture, and created a more tolerant and colourful version of the religion, unlike the revivalist creed of today's Taliban.

The shrines of those preachers became sites of pilgrimage for followers from across the religious divide, while devotional music and dance (already forming part of the Hindu faith) became a part of the ritual.

Qawwali music may have begun as spiritual music performed at the shrines of Sufi saints, but as now become a popular commercial music genre as well.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-36603847

I am truly sickened by the comments on the death of Amjad Sabri

Please go to the BBC youtube video and read the disgusting comments

I am NOT a Muslim but why are people insulting Islam when we should be mourning a truly remarkable man who never did anything wrong in his entire life

He loved everyone, had time for everyone and everyone loved him

He had no ego at all even thought he had such a wonderful voice

R I P Amjad Sabri