The Sufi Saint of the Twentieth Century
Shaikh Ahmad Al- Alawi
Martin Lings http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Lings

After building the zawiya, the fuqara asked Shaikh Ahmad Al- Alawi if they can have a festival to celebrate ite inauguration. The Shaikh gave his consent. Martin Lings was surprised because this was contraty to his taste for solitude. The Shaikh said, "You are right. Such things are superfluous. But one must take men as they are. Not all can find complete satisfaction in pure intelligence and contemplation. They have a need now and then to gather together and to feel that their own ideas are shaed by a great many others. It is simply a union to share ideas and communal prayers.