Sufi Muslims perform eye-popping acts at festival in India

Sufi Muslims perform eye-popping acts at festival in India

Mangalore Today News Network

Rajasthan, Apr 19, 2016: These pictures show Indian Muslim devotees perform eye-popping acts while on pilgrimage to the shrine of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer, Rajasthan.

The holy men are gathering for the annual Urs festival which is held for six days to commemorate the anniversary of the death of the Sufi saint.

To show devotion to their faith, the holy men place swords and knives into their eye sockets, pierce their cheeks and drive skewers into their backs

The annual Urs Festival sees thousands of followers of the branch of mystic Islam take to the streets to commemorate the founder of Sufi, Moinuddin Chishti

Other parts of the festival feature night-long singing by worshippers and the symbolic firing of cannons

Unlike other branches of Islam, Sufis devote themselves to saints - a concept other strands of Islam do not recognise

Sufism is a branch of Islam that traces its principles from the prophet Muhammad through his cousin and son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib