Iraq's dervishes attract young worshippers in Basra

Iraq's dervishes are attracting young worshippers in Basra

(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MEMBER OF THE KASNAZANI SUFI ORDER, AHMED ABDUL BASET, SAYING: "I started to be interested in the order when I was a child. I started to watch videos and became impressed by the order. I saw the religious issues and that their prayers are the right ones. I didn't like school, but the order made me more interested in it."

Sufism is generally understood to be the inner, mystical, or psycho-spiritual dimension of Islam

The Kasnazani is thought to be the largest Sufi order in Iraq

It's numbers have grown from 1,000 to 1,500 since 2018

most of whom are under 20, according to Baset