Sufism comes to Nicosia - North gears up for a week of religious and cultural festivities
By Simon Bahceli from Cyprus Mail, December 2, 2005
WITH SUFISM being one of the fastest growing religious/philosophical cults in the West, the upcoming week-long festivities organised by the Rumi Institute in north Nicosia are likely to raise interest both locally and abroad.
Even those unfamiliar with Sufism, will have heard of the Whirling Dervishes. But their dancing is not simply an enchanting visual spectacle: it is steeped in culture, belief and tradition.
The Sufi tradition sprung from the Anatolian city of Konya – a city once the capital of the Selcuk and Ottoman Empires. Its leader and chief inspiration was the poet Jelaluddin Rumi (also known as Mevlana) who hailed originally from Afghanistan and spoke and wrote in Persian.
The week-long festivities are a commemoration of Mevlana’s death, which followers of the Mevlana refer to as the Shebu Arus or ‘wedding night’.
The founder of the Rumi Institute Gokalp Kamil explains: “The day the Mevlana died is seen by Sufis as the day when his soul was wedded to God. We celebrate this because death is for us the most meaningful moment in life; the moment which one spends one’s whole life preparing for.”
As a branch of Islam, Sufism both resembles and differs from mainstream Muslim practices. It is seen as non-fanatic and non-dogmatic, says Kamil.
“One of our primary maxims is: ‘The religion of love transcends all other religions: for lovers, the only religion and belief is God.’
“Imagine a mountain, and you want to get to the top of it. There are undoubtedly many paths that lead to the summit. It doesn’t matter much which road you take, as long as you manage to arrive at the peak,” Kamil adds.
There are other things that attract admirers and followers from the West. Jesus is highly regarded among Sufis. His ascetic life, his denial of possessions and his purity of the soul make him among the favourite prophets for Sufis.
Then there is the Mevlana’s poetry, which holds great appeal with its references to spiritual ecstasy and heightened awareness of God and nature.
Music too provides part of the attraction. Unlike more austere branches of Islam, which condemn music as frivolous and decadent, Sufism uses music in its rituals to lift the soul to higher levels.
The dancing of the Whirling Dervishes, of course, is accompanied by beautiful and haunting music. The ney – a woodwind instrument with a distinctively flowing sound – has become an integral part of the Sufi tradition.
And of course the dancing, or whirling, attracts people from all races and religions simply as a result of its unique and spellbinding nature.
But despite Sufism’s obvious attractiveness to westerners – especially at a time in history when individualism is king and confusion reigns over the validity of moral values – Kamil is keen to stress that it should not been seen as a fashion by those who would adopt it in order to anchor themselves to a larger cultural group.
“We should not confuse fashion with civilisation. Fashion is a reflection of our times, whereas civilisation is the accumulation of hundreds of years of local tradition knitted together with universal values.”
This is fourth year the Mevlana week has been celebrated and Kamil is hopeful that in time it will become an important part of Cypriot cultural life. The variety of events taking place is impressive, ranging from lectures on the philosophy and history of the Mevlana, and his book the Mesnevi, to concerts, dance performances and exhibitions.
This year’s Mevlana week is the most auspicious yet, Kamil insists
“For the first time we have a truly international flavour to the events with contributors coming from the US, France, Britain and Turkey to join those from Cyprus.”
The Mevlana week, to which “all are invited” kicks off on December 5 at 4pm with a ney recital by Sadreddin Ozcimi, Turkey’s most renown Sufi neyzen, and poetry at the Mevlevihane near Kyrenia Gate in Nicosia. Later in the evening at Ozcimi will perform again at greater length at the Ataturk Culture and Congress Centre at the Near East University in Dikomo, north of Nicosia. The performance is titled “The Voice of Love”.
On December 7 at 7.30pm another ney performance by two of Turkey’s top players Erol Soytac and Muzzafer Ahad will take place at the Ataturk Culture and Congress Centre, followed by poetic dialogues on the meaning of the Mesnevi.
December 8 and 9 see two days of symposiums on the cultural, historical, spiritual and artistic heritage of Sufism involving an awesome array of academics from across the globe. Those wishing to attend should be aware that the symposium on the 8th will be in Turkish while the one on the 9th will be in English. Both begin at 9.30am and take place at the Ataturk Cultural and Congress Centre.
But for many, the highlight of the week will be the Sema (Whirling Dervish) performances. These will take place at the Mevlevihane at 4pm on December 9, at 7.30pm at the Ataturk Cultural Centre, at 7.30pm on December 10 at the Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU), at 7.30 on the campus of the Middle East Technical University (METU) near Morphou, and at the Kyrenia American University (GAU) at 7.30pm on December 12.
Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2005
Saturday, January 07, 2006
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Saturday, January 07, 2006
Sufism comes to Nicosia - North gears up for a week of religious and cultural festivities
Sufism comes to Nicosia - North gears up for a week of religious and cultural festivities
By Simon Bahceli from Cyprus Mail, December 2, 2005
WITH SUFISM being one of the fastest growing religious/philosophical cults in the West, the upcoming week-long festivities organised by the Rumi Institute in north Nicosia are likely to raise interest both locally and abroad.
Even those unfamiliar with Sufism, will have heard of the Whirling Dervishes. But their dancing is not simply an enchanting visual spectacle: it is steeped in culture, belief and tradition.
The Sufi tradition sprung from the Anatolian city of Konya – a city once the capital of the Selcuk and Ottoman Empires. Its leader and chief inspiration was the poet Jelaluddin Rumi (also known as Mevlana) who hailed originally from Afghanistan and spoke and wrote in Persian.
The week-long festivities are a commemoration of Mevlana’s death, which followers of the Mevlana refer to as the Shebu Arus or ‘wedding night’.
The founder of the Rumi Institute Gokalp Kamil explains: “The day the Mevlana died is seen by Sufis as the day when his soul was wedded to God. We celebrate this because death is for us the most meaningful moment in life; the moment which one spends one’s whole life preparing for.”
As a branch of Islam, Sufism both resembles and differs from mainstream Muslim practices. It is seen as non-fanatic and non-dogmatic, says Kamil.
“One of our primary maxims is: ‘The religion of love transcends all other religions: for lovers, the only religion and belief is God.’
“Imagine a mountain, and you want to get to the top of it. There are undoubtedly many paths that lead to the summit. It doesn’t matter much which road you take, as long as you manage to arrive at the peak,” Kamil adds.
There are other things that attract admirers and followers from the West. Jesus is highly regarded among Sufis. His ascetic life, his denial of possessions and his purity of the soul make him among the favourite prophets for Sufis.
Then there is the Mevlana’s poetry, which holds great appeal with its references to spiritual ecstasy and heightened awareness of God and nature.
Music too provides part of the attraction. Unlike more austere branches of Islam, which condemn music as frivolous and decadent, Sufism uses music in its rituals to lift the soul to higher levels.
The dancing of the Whirling Dervishes, of course, is accompanied by beautiful and haunting music. The ney – a woodwind instrument with a distinctively flowing sound – has become an integral part of the Sufi tradition.
And of course the dancing, or whirling, attracts people from all races and religions simply as a result of its unique and spellbinding nature.
But despite Sufism’s obvious attractiveness to westerners – especially at a time in history when individualism is king and confusion reigns over the validity of moral values – Kamil is keen to stress that it should not been seen as a fashion by those who would adopt it in order to anchor themselves to a larger cultural group.
“We should not confuse fashion with civilisation. Fashion is a reflection of our times, whereas civilisation is the accumulation of hundreds of years of local tradition knitted together with universal values.”
This is fourth year the Mevlana week has been celebrated and Kamil is hopeful that in time it will become an important part of Cypriot cultural life. The variety of events taking place is impressive, ranging from lectures on the philosophy and history of the Mevlana, and his book the Mesnevi, to concerts, dance performances and exhibitions.
This year’s Mevlana week is the most auspicious yet, Kamil insists
“For the first time we have a truly international flavour to the events with contributors coming from the US, France, Britain and Turkey to join those from Cyprus.”
The Mevlana week, to which “all are invited” kicks off on December 5 at 4pm with a ney recital by Sadreddin Ozcimi, Turkey’s most renown Sufi neyzen, and poetry at the Mevlevihane near Kyrenia Gate in Nicosia. Later in the evening at Ozcimi will perform again at greater length at the Ataturk Culture and Congress Centre at the Near East University in Dikomo, north of Nicosia. The performance is titled “The Voice of Love”.
On December 7 at 7.30pm another ney performance by two of Turkey’s top players Erol Soytac and Muzzafer Ahad will take place at the Ataturk Culture and Congress Centre, followed by poetic dialogues on the meaning of the Mesnevi.
December 8 and 9 see two days of symposiums on the cultural, historical, spiritual and artistic heritage of Sufism involving an awesome array of academics from across the globe. Those wishing to attend should be aware that the symposium on the 8th will be in Turkish while the one on the 9th will be in English. Both begin at 9.30am and take place at the Ataturk Cultural and Congress Centre.
But for many, the highlight of the week will be the Sema (Whirling Dervish) performances. These will take place at the Mevlevihane at 4pm on December 9, at 7.30pm at the Ataturk Cultural Centre, at 7.30pm on December 10 at the Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU), at 7.30 on the campus of the Middle East Technical University (METU) near Morphou, and at the Kyrenia American University (GAU) at 7.30pm on December 12.
Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2005
By Simon Bahceli from Cyprus Mail, December 2, 2005
WITH SUFISM being one of the fastest growing religious/philosophical cults in the West, the upcoming week-long festivities organised by the Rumi Institute in north Nicosia are likely to raise interest both locally and abroad.
Even those unfamiliar with Sufism, will have heard of the Whirling Dervishes. But their dancing is not simply an enchanting visual spectacle: it is steeped in culture, belief and tradition.
The Sufi tradition sprung from the Anatolian city of Konya – a city once the capital of the Selcuk and Ottoman Empires. Its leader and chief inspiration was the poet Jelaluddin Rumi (also known as Mevlana) who hailed originally from Afghanistan and spoke and wrote in Persian.
The week-long festivities are a commemoration of Mevlana’s death, which followers of the Mevlana refer to as the Shebu Arus or ‘wedding night’.
The founder of the Rumi Institute Gokalp Kamil explains: “The day the Mevlana died is seen by Sufis as the day when his soul was wedded to God. We celebrate this because death is for us the most meaningful moment in life; the moment which one spends one’s whole life preparing for.”
As a branch of Islam, Sufism both resembles and differs from mainstream Muslim practices. It is seen as non-fanatic and non-dogmatic, says Kamil.
“One of our primary maxims is: ‘The religion of love transcends all other religions: for lovers, the only religion and belief is God.’
“Imagine a mountain, and you want to get to the top of it. There are undoubtedly many paths that lead to the summit. It doesn’t matter much which road you take, as long as you manage to arrive at the peak,” Kamil adds.
There are other things that attract admirers and followers from the West. Jesus is highly regarded among Sufis. His ascetic life, his denial of possessions and his purity of the soul make him among the favourite prophets for Sufis.
Then there is the Mevlana’s poetry, which holds great appeal with its references to spiritual ecstasy and heightened awareness of God and nature.
Music too provides part of the attraction. Unlike more austere branches of Islam, which condemn music as frivolous and decadent, Sufism uses music in its rituals to lift the soul to higher levels.
The dancing of the Whirling Dervishes, of course, is accompanied by beautiful and haunting music. The ney – a woodwind instrument with a distinctively flowing sound – has become an integral part of the Sufi tradition.
And of course the dancing, or whirling, attracts people from all races and religions simply as a result of its unique and spellbinding nature.
But despite Sufism’s obvious attractiveness to westerners – especially at a time in history when individualism is king and confusion reigns over the validity of moral values – Kamil is keen to stress that it should not been seen as a fashion by those who would adopt it in order to anchor themselves to a larger cultural group.
“We should not confuse fashion with civilisation. Fashion is a reflection of our times, whereas civilisation is the accumulation of hundreds of years of local tradition knitted together with universal values.”
This is fourth year the Mevlana week has been celebrated and Kamil is hopeful that in time it will become an important part of Cypriot cultural life. The variety of events taking place is impressive, ranging from lectures on the philosophy and history of the Mevlana, and his book the Mesnevi, to concerts, dance performances and exhibitions.
This year’s Mevlana week is the most auspicious yet, Kamil insists
“For the first time we have a truly international flavour to the events with contributors coming from the US, France, Britain and Turkey to join those from Cyprus.”
The Mevlana week, to which “all are invited” kicks off on December 5 at 4pm with a ney recital by Sadreddin Ozcimi, Turkey’s most renown Sufi neyzen, and poetry at the Mevlevihane near Kyrenia Gate in Nicosia. Later in the evening at Ozcimi will perform again at greater length at the Ataturk Culture and Congress Centre at the Near East University in Dikomo, north of Nicosia. The performance is titled “The Voice of Love”.
On December 7 at 7.30pm another ney performance by two of Turkey’s top players Erol Soytac and Muzzafer Ahad will take place at the Ataturk Culture and Congress Centre, followed by poetic dialogues on the meaning of the Mesnevi.
December 8 and 9 see two days of symposiums on the cultural, historical, spiritual and artistic heritage of Sufism involving an awesome array of academics from across the globe. Those wishing to attend should be aware that the symposium on the 8th will be in Turkish while the one on the 9th will be in English. Both begin at 9.30am and take place at the Ataturk Cultural and Congress Centre.
But for many, the highlight of the week will be the Sema (Whirling Dervish) performances. These will take place at the Mevlevihane at 4pm on December 9, at 7.30pm at the Ataturk Cultural Centre, at 7.30pm on December 10 at the Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU), at 7.30 on the campus of the Middle East Technical University (METU) near Morphou, and at the Kyrenia American University (GAU) at 7.30pm on December 12.
Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2005
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