Reema Abbasi is truly a citizen of the world and one who is able to bridge many gaps in our world. Her first book, Historic Temples in Pakistan: A Call to Conscience, about the state of temples in her own country, was a trailblazer. This time she crossed over the border to write on Khwaja Garib Nawaz Moinuddin Chisti. This is a much-needed book in times of bigotry and growing misconceptions about people whom we think of as ‘the other’. Here I am in conversation with the wonderful author whose book is just steeped in spirituality, love and our shared heritage.
Rana Safvi: Are you very spiritually inclined? How would you differentiate between spirituality and religiosity?
Reema Abbasi: Spirituality is always personal. We are now most intolerant of the privacy between a believer and an object of belief. Even of a non-believer. This self-given right to intrude lies at the core of the exclusive nature of attitudes that surround us. So it is important that I do not state my inclination. The primary difference between the two is the confusion around both. Spirituality springs from the heart of a particular belief system. Eg. Sufism emerges from Islam; where it differs from ‘religiosity’ is in its mission to unite. For me all ancient faiths seek to unite. But zealots take the path of supremacy and that is often mistaken for the path of Truth.