rising prices； plague and military defeat lies in our

forgetting the Islam of the time of our Glorious Prophet and falling sway to

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falsehoods。 Was the Prophet’s birth epic read in memory of the dead back

then？　Was　the　fortieth…day　ceremony　performed；　where　sweets　like　halva　and

fried　dough　are　offered　to　honor　the　dead？　When　Muhammad　lived；　was　the

Glorious Koran recited melodically； like a song？ Were the prayers called

haughtily　and　pompously　to　show　how　close　one’s　Arabic　was　to　an　Arab’s？

Was　there　such　a　thing　as　reciting　the　call　to　prayer　coyly；　with　the　flourish　of

a　man　imitating　a　woman？　Today；　people　plead　before　gravesites；　begging　for

amends。　They　hope　for　the　intervention　of　the　dead　on　their　behalf。　They　visit

the　tombs　of　saints　and　worship　at　graves　like　pagans　before　pieces　of　stone。

They tie votive pieces of cloth everywhere； and make promises of sacrifice in

return　for　atonement。　Were　there　dervish　sectarians　who　spread　such　beliefs　in

Muhammad’s time？ Ibn Arabi； the intellectual mentor of these sectarians；

became a sinner by swearing that the infidel Pharaoh had died a believer。

These　dervishes；　the　Mevlevis；　the　Halvetis；　the　Kalenderis　and　those　who　sing

the Koran to musical acpaniment or justify dancing with children and

juveniles　by　saying　”