While a Muslim, Bawa Muhaiyaddeen tried
to emphasize the universal quality of his message
that transcended religious labels. He centered his
message on the unity of God and human unity in
God and tried to so communicate the experience
of God as to speak to people of all religious back-
grounds. He understood a Sufi to be one who had
lost the self in the solitary oneness that is God. The
individual’s soul is the point of contact, where the
realization of God is possible. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen,
who died in 1986, recommended that his disciples
constantly affirm that nothing but God exists, try
to eliminate all evil from their lives, inculcate the
Godlike qualities of patience, tolerance, peaceful-
ness and compassion, and try to treat all lives as
one’s own life. These actions should lead naturally
to the practice of remembering God, the dhikr.
The fellowship makes numerous books, audio-
tapes, and videotapes of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen’s
presentations available to seekers through Fel-
lowship Press. Its headquarters complex in Phila-
delphia includes a building for public meetings, a
mosqUe, and a press. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen’s tomb,
located outside of Philadelphia, was dedicated in
- An estimated 5,000 adherents attend meet-
ings across the United states and in canada, the
United Kingdom, neW zealand, aUstralia, and
Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Fellowship’s internet
site is found at http://www.bmf.org/.
See also sUFism.
J. Gordon MeltonFurther reading: M. R. Guru Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, God,
His Prophets and His Children (Philadelphia: Fellowship
Press, 1978); M. R. Guru Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, Truth
and Light (Philadelphia: Fellowship Press, 1974); M. R.
Guru Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, The Truth and the Unity of
Man (Philadelphia: Fellowship Press, 1980).
bazaar (Persian: marketplace)
One of the most important public spaces in Islami-
cate lands is the urban district known as the bazaar
or marketplace (called a suq in Arabic-speaking
lands), the center of business and commerce. Found
in cities from North Africa to india and Central
Asia, it consists of small shops, warehouses, handi-
craft centers, banks, public bathhouses, bakeries,
cafes, street vendors, and inns. People from all walks
of life cross paths there—the wealthy and beggars,
men and Women, seniors and children, farmers
and soldiers, natives and foreigners, nomads and
sailors, the literate and the illiterate, the skilled and
the unskilled, men of religion and the laity, Muslims
and non-Muslims. The bazaar can be open air, but
Islamicate cities are also famous for their covered
marketplaces, with massive gateways that can be
closed at night for security. The bazaar is typically
subdivided into zones defined by craft or trade.
Thus, all of the spice shops are close together, as are
those of the goldsmiths and silversmiths, copper-
smiths, sword makers, carpenters, cloth merchants,
booksellers, tent makers, and so on. Businesses that
do not make large profits tend to be located in sec-
ondary bazaars and peripheral areas, as are the ones
that pollute, such as tanneries, slaughterhouses, and
pottery workshops.
Among the distinct buildings of the bazaar in
premodern cities is the caravanserai (also known
as the khan, funduq, or wikala), a large rectangular
structure with an open courtyard, storerooms,
and stables on the ground level and lodgings for
traveling merchants above. It is estimated that in
the 17th century cairo had as many as 20,000
shops and 360 caravanserais in its marketplace,
but most premodern cities had smaller commer-
cial zones. In rural areas, bazaars have not usually
been permanent parts of the landscape. Rather,
they have operated on a periodic basis according
to the days of the week, the most popular market
days being Thursdays and Fridays.
Islamic religious institutions have evolved
in close relationship to the marketplace. Grand
mosqUes for communal prayer are typically located
where the main business districts are. The income
from commercial properties in bazaars can be set
aside by the owners as charitable bequests (waqf)
to provide charity in perpetuity to the poor andK 96 bazaar