Topic: Mysticism | Sufism

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Cover of Tayfun Guttstadt's album "Tarapzade" (source: www.tayfunguttstadt.com)

Dialogue of cultures

Tarapzade – "Seek it in yourself"

Tayfun Guttstadt’s debut album “Tarapzade” is a cultural voyage of self-discovery through two seemingly opposite musical worlds. Marian Brehmer had a listenMore

Music in the Middle East: Attuned to a different classicalKudsi Erguner's “La Melancolie Royale”: Ney music with a missionDeath of Grup Yorum singer Helin Bolek: Against the death cult
Sufi Master Hayat Nur Artiran (image: Marian Brehmer)

750th anniversary of Rumi’s death – Part 2

A message of love, tolerance and peace

How is Rumi’s legacy preserved in the Mevlevi order today? An interview with Sufi Master Hayat Nur Artiran from Istanbul. By Marian BrehmerMore

750th anniversary of Rumi’s death – Part 1: Seeking the essence of lifeMarking the anniversary of Rumi's death in Konya: From traditional to lifestyle SufismThe hidden treasures of Sufism: In the footsteps of Rumi
Mural by Rumi in a cultural centre in Mazar-i Sharif, Afghanistan (image: Marian Brehmer)

750th anniversary of Rumi’s death – Part 1

Seeking the essence of life

Seven-and-a-half centuries after the death of Muslim mystic poet Rumi, his verse has lost nothing of its profundity and transformative power. By Marian BrehmerMore

Marking the anniversary of Rumi's death in Konya: From traditional to lifestyle SufismGod's love for all: Sufism is not just MuslimThe hidden treasures of Sufism: In the footsteps of Rumi
Karachi street scene, Pakistan (image: Imago/Xinhua)

"Sufi Hotel" by Juergen Frembgen

Karachi's hidden underbelly

Juergen Wasim Frembgen's new book "Sufi Hotel" is a milieu study of Karachi's underworld that shines a light on a totally unfamiliar side of Pakistan. Marian Brehmer read it for Qantara.deMore

Islam in Pakistan: The land of the SufisPakistan turns 75: Islamabad has serious issues Pakistan's troubled province: Balochistan – tradition versus globalisation
Supporters of Islamist group Tehreek-e-Labbaik rallying against France in Pakistan in 2021 (TLP) (image: Mohsin Raza/REUTERS)

Freedom of speech in Pakistan

Islamabad's shift towards Islamism

By curtailing free speech and doubling down on blasphemy laws, Islamabad is endangering its relationship with Europe and the United States, argues Kunwar Khuldune ShahidMore

Human rights in the Islamic world: Battle cry "blasphemy"Execution for a Facebook post? Why blasphemy is a capital offence in some Muslim countriesAuthoritarianism and underdevelopment in the Islamic world: Islamic clerics and statesmen in an unholy alliance
Whirling dervishes in Konya, Turkey (image: Marian Brehmer)

The future of Islamic mysticism

Is Sufism under threat?

Sufis today are under attack from fundamentalists and modernists alike. At the same time, a new form of Sufism is emerging in the West. By Marian BrehmerMore

Sufism in Egypt: Cairo's mystic revivalMarking the anniversary of Rumi's death in Konya: From traditional to lifestyle SufismGod's love for all: Sufism is not just Muslim
Young Sufis celebrate the birthday of Imam al Hussein in Saida Zeinab, Cairo (image: Hassanein Hamady)

Sufism in Egypt

Cairo's mystic revival

Egyptian Sufis have been on the defensive against the country's Islamists for decades. Meanwhile, interest in mysticism is growing among the young members of Cairo’s middle and upper classes. By Marian BrehmerMore

Sufism in Egypt: Sufis, sheikhs and charlatansMarking the anniversary of Rumi's death in Konya: From traditional to lifestyle SufismGod's love for all: Sufism is not just Muslim
Symbolic image: child marriage (image: Christoph Hardt/Future Image/Imago)

Forced marriage in Turkey

Turkish state fails child bride in sect marriage

All eyes in Turkey are on a court hearing scheduled for January 30 into a child abuse case that allegedly occurred with the knowledge of one of Istanbul's most powerful Islamic sects. The little girl was failed by the state not once, but several times. Ayse Karabat reportsMore

Turkey: AKP under scrutiny for ties to ultraconservative Islamic communityViolence against women: Femicide on the rise in TurkeyThe Istanbul Convention and women's protection: Bombing the heart of the family in Turkey?Women in Turkey: Trapped in the gender gap
Rumi's mausoleum with an advertising banner in Persian (photo: Marian Brehmer)

Marking the anniversary of Rumi's death in Konya

From traditional to lifestyle Sufism

In 1925, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk had the Sufi orders shut down. In modern-day Konya, the city council uses whirling dervishes in its marketing campaigns. Marian Brehmer on Islamic mysticism in TurkeyMore

New release to mark 750th anniversary of Rumi's death: Complete edition of the "Masnavi" in GermanThe hidden treasures of Sufism: In the footsteps of Rumi"This Pale" – Rumi set to music: A celebration of the complexity of lovePhoto gallery: Whirling dervishes honour Rumi
Image of Rumi on a marketplace (photo: Marian Brehmer)

New release to mark 750th anniversary of Rumi's death

Complete edition of the "Masnavi" in German

For the first time ever, a complete edition of Rumi's "Masnavi" has been published in German in verse. At the Sufi Festival in Hamburg in late November, Marian Brehmer met translator Otto Hoeschle and spoke to him about the significance of this masterpiece of Islamic mysticismMore

God's love for all: Sufism is not just MuslimThe hidden treasures of Sufism: In the footsteps of RumiAttar’s "The Conference of the Birds": There is no person whose soul has not suffered
Cover of Gudrun Kramer's "Der Architekt des Islamismus. Hasan al-Banna und die Muslimbrüder" (published by C.H. Beck)

Hasan al-Banna and the Muslim Brotherhood

Who was the architect of Islamism?

Renowned scholar of Islamic Studies Gudrun Kramer has just published the first well-founded biography of Hasan al-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood. Joseph Croitoru read the bookMore

Egyptian army and the Muslim Brotherhood: Competitors in commonMuslim Brotherhood texts: Once valued, now proscribedEgypt′s Muslim Brotherhood: The seed of violence
Sufi shrine to Mustafa Devati in Istanbul (photo: Marian Brehmer)

God's love for all

Sufism is not just Muslim

Sufism has fluid boundaries. Just like Islam, Sufism is inconceivable without its late antique roots. Then again, it has also exerted an influence on Hinduism. Moreover, the Sufic doctrine of divine love exists independently of Islam. By Stefan WeidnerMore

Islamic mysticism: Understanding the SufisIslam in Pakistan: The land of the SufisWomen and Islamic studies: Annemarie Schimmel’s pioneering take on Islam Qantara dossier: Islamic mysticism | Sufism
Illustration from Fariduddin Attar's "Vogelgespraeche" published by Edition Orient 2022 (source: Edition Orient)

Attar’s "The Conference of the Birds"

There is no person whose soul has not suffered

Fariduddin Attar’s "The Conference of the Birds", one of the seminal works of Islamic mysticism, has recently been published in sumptuously illustrated German translation. It makes an excellent introduction to the Persian poet. By Gerrit WustmannMore

Women and Islamic studies: Annemarie Schimmel’s pioneering take on Islam The hidden treasures of Sufism: In the footsteps of RumiLaury Silvers' "Sufi Mysteries Quartet": Sleuths on a Sufi pathQantara dossier: Mysticism | Sufism
Ferdousi Begum (l) describes her symptoms to Sufi leader Syed Emdadul Hoque (R) at the Maizbhandar Darbar Sharif shrine in Maizbhandar (photo: Munir uz Zaman/AFP)

Mental health and Islam

Bangladeshi mystic fights demons with psychiatry

Evil spirits bedevil the families that seek blessings from an elderly Sufi mystic – but he knows his prayers alone are not enough to soothe their troubled mindsMore

Islamic mysticism: Understanding the SufisAttar’s "The Conference of the Birds": There is no person whose soul has not sufferedClimate change in Bangladesh: The end of the line for climate migrants in Dhaka
Brightly dressed pilgrims stand in line outside the Grand Mosque in Touba

Millions of faithful make pilgrimage to Senegal

Each year, millions of Muslims set out on a pilgrimage to Touba, in central Senegal. The annual event even surpasses the number of faithful who undertake the traditional hajj to Saudi Arabia. More...More

″Touba″ – a film documentary: Pilgrimage to Sheikh BambaQantara photo essay: The Sufis of KhartoumQantara photo essay: Sufi shrines – the spiritual heart of Istanbul
In the Sufi shrine of Sidi Bel Abbas, Marrakesh (photo: Marian Brehmer)

Sufism in Morocco

A cure for extremism?

Morocco's Sufi traditions go back centuries. Now King Mohammed VI is trying to use them to combat extremism. His programme of reforms includes the promotion of Sufi movements and moderate Islamic thinkers. By Marian BrehmerMore

Islam in Pakistan: The land of the SufisIslamic mysticism: Understanding the SufisJames Morris on Ibn Arabi's vision for a fully human global civilisation

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