Sara Kuehn | Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique / French National Centre for Scientific Research (original) (raw)

Books & Edited Volumes by Sara Kuehn

This volume brings together fifteen new perspectives on the angel in primarily Islamic contexts. ... more This volume brings together fifteen new perspectives on the angel in primarily Islamic contexts. The contributions examine the origin, evolution, visual representation, and conceptual elaboration of this vital class of beings that bridges the gap between divine and human realms. A detailed introduction surveys the history of research on this topic and maps out the key contemporary debates. Individual contributions shed light on Hellenistic and ancient Near and Middle Eastern precursors of the angel figure, as well as on Jewish and Christian traditions that can be recognised in the Islamic doctrine of angels. Islamic discourses on the nature, meaning, and types of angels are examined in their specific contexts, and pictured narratives and other elements of visual culture are considered in relation to the textual representation of these entities. The Intermediate World of Angels thus offers a nuanced and varied picture of the angel and provides new insights into the defining characteristics of this class of being and the pivotal role played by the figure of the angel in religious and cultural history.

This book is a pioneering work on a key iconographic motif, that of the dragon. It examines the p... more This book is a pioneering work on a key iconographic motif, that of the dragon. It examines the perception of this complex, multifaceted motif within the overall intellectual and visual universe of the medieval Irano-Turkish world. Using a broadly comparative approach, the author explores the ever-shifting semantics of the dragon motif as it emerges in neighbouring Muslim and non-Muslim cultures. The book will be of particular interest to those concerned with the relationship between the pre-Islamic, Islamic and Eastern Christian (especially Armenian) world.
The study is fully illustrated, with 209 (b/w and full colour) plates, many of previously unpublished material. Illustrations include photographs of architectural structures visited by the author, as well as a vast collection of artefacts, all of which are described and discussed in detail with inscription readings, historical data and textual sources.

This volume seeks to explain an enigmatic and paradoxical symbolism common to many of the world r... more This volume seeks to explain an enigmatic and paradoxical symbolism common to many of the world religions, both polytheistic and monotheistic—that of the cavernous maw of a great monster. Drawing on a broad array of comparative evidence, including examples from Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Christian and Islamic religions, it delves on the cross-cultural points of contact that may have contributed to the spread of such zoomorphic hybrids from Turkey, the Caucasus and Iran to the Indian subcontinent.

Straddling the boundaries between popular and textual traditions, the gaping jaws of a great monster is a mythical paradigm of the bivalence of a deep-seated historic force: the yawning orifice of all-consuming death can as well symbolize the power of life or generative power. This dual force can also be reflected in an abbreviated conceptualization visualized on opposite sides of a common axis. The outcome of the symbolic synthesis, which axiomatically unifies such vast, inexorably linked, seemingly irresistible potent forces, thus may suggest different shades of meaning—daunting, and yet again singularly attracting, humbling and at the same time exalting.

Articles & Chapters by Sara Kuehn

In a recent thought-provoking analysis of the iconography on the exterior of the Mantle of Roger ... more In a recent thought-provoking analysis of the iconography on the exterior of the Mantle of Roger II (r. 1105-1154), the Norman ruler of Sicily and southern Italy, William Tronzo has advanced a compelling hypothesis suggesting that the Mantle may actually have been intended to serve as Roger's shroud. This article examines the intriguing but rarely discussed figured silks found within the Mantle's lining to assess whether their iconography aligns with Tronzo's hypothesis, which focuses primarily on the Mantle's exterior. The interior consists of a patchwork of silk fragments inserted into the famous garment as a relic-like lining, revealing a fascinating but often overlooked iconography: knotted serpents. Continuing an earlier practice, the repetition of the knotted serpent motif appears to have been deliberately employed to reinforce a beneficial effect, perhaps invoking the notion of unceasing, everlasting protection. This study contextualizes the richly multivalent symbol of the knotted serpent within the broader realm of southern Italian iconography, as well as its significance in the wider Mediterranean world and beyond. In particular, the research incorporates a fascinating discovery: a previously unnoticed silk fragment from the Afghan province of Samangan, now in the Al-Sabāh Collection in Kuwait. This fragment bears striking similarities to the textiles used in the cloak's lining, further enriching our understanding of its cultural and historical import.

According to the Tuffāḥ al-arwāḥ wa miftāḥ al-arbāḥ, written around 715/1315, Sarı Saltuq (d. 697... more According to the Tuffāḥ al-arwāḥ wa miftāḥ al-arbāḥ, written around 715/1315, Sarı Saltuq (d. 697/1297) was a notable figure in Balkan history, being recognized as an exceptional dervish-warrior who was instrumental in early Turkish “missionary” activity in Rūmeli. He was associated with both the Rifāʿi and the Ḥaydarī Sufi communities, groups of dervishes known for rejecting traditional Muslim piety and celebrated for their remarkable deeds. Subsequent accounts of Sarı Saltuq that link him to other Sufi communities, particularly the Bektāshī and Saʿdī, shed light on the embellishments that have enriched the layered legends surrounding his numerous miracles. These stories also describe his extraordinary ability to “wear” and embody the identities of various Christian saints. His capacity for multiple embodiments in life persisted even in death, facilitating his association with diverse Sufi gathering places, mausoleums, and memorial sites across Eastern Europe. These places, particularly in Albania, Dobruja, Herzegovina, Kosovo, the Ohrid region, and Eastern Thrace, served as religious borderlands where the realms of Christianity and Islam intersected, interacted and at times “merged.”

Through an examination of visual materiality and ritual landscapes, this study takes a multidimen... more Through an examination of visual materiality and ritual landscapes, this study takes a multidimensional approach to unraveling the nuances of Sufi devotional aesthetics. It explores the convergence of religion and aesthetics, focusing on the sensory dimensions of religious expression. In line with the methodological trends inspired by the 'aesthetic turn,' the aim is to shed light on various facets of ethnographic experience within contemporary Sufi communities in the Balkans. Drawing on insights from a decade of fieldwork, two case studies are presented that illustrate how an immersive, multisensory, and collaborative approach to fieldwork can be effectively used to explore the instrumental role of Sufi mystical experience in shaping devotional aesthetics in the region.

This study examines three of the most iconic sites associated with Islamic mysticism, or Sufism, ... more This study examines three of the most iconic sites associated with Islamic mysticism, or Sufism, in Ottoman Hungary. These are three mausoleums located in Buda, Pécs, and Turbék, near Zigetvár. The first two are the final resting places of the Sufi mystics known as Gül Baba and Idris Baba. The third is Sultan Süleyman’s mausoleum next to a Sufi dervish lodge, the foundations of which were uncovered during recent excavations. The research sheds light on the (embodied) material practices associated with these sites, as well as their sensory engagement and synaesthetic experiences. The bodies of the spiritual leaders, presented in the first two cases, serve as living sites of mystical experiences, both through self destructive acts graphically represented on their bodies, and through bodily miracles such as hypercorporeality, multilocality, and dream visions. The third case concerns the body of a secular and a spiritual leader, the temporary burial of his disemboweled and embalmed body in the mausoleum at Turbék, and the tradition that his heart and entrails were kept in a reliquary-like vessel at the site, which interestingly paralleled contemporary Habsburg customs. Building on Thomas Csordas (1990) and Manuel Vásquez (2011), I explore the role of human and non-human “supernatural” actors interacting in these mystical networks, focusing on the role of their embodiment and materiality, their movement and their physically fragmented bodies.

In the South Asian discourse of Sufism, or Islamic mysticism, 'natural' functions can be transcen... more In the South Asian discourse of Sufism, or Islamic mysticism, 'natural' functions can be transcended and bodily boundaries are permeable. Defying species boundaries, this relational ontology entails a belief in the capacity for bodily transformation, or metamorphosis, from one category of being to another (as from human to nonhuman animal). In turn, both human and animal actors enter into conversation with mediating 'spirits'. To this day, these religious entanglements, passed down through generations, allow Sufi communities in Bangladesh and Pakistan to protect 'sacred' animals at shrines as vital refuges for wildlife species and to make an important contribution to their conservation. The relational dynamics allow for the cultural division between human and non-human life forms (plants, animals, and spirits) to be problematized, and permeable boundaries to be dissolved into liminal and dynamic zones of interaction. Deeply entangled, agents both human and non-human actively participate in shared ritual configurations that take place within and are nourished by a locally embedded Sufi spirituality. Ritual and devotional practices revolve around their intercessory mediation (shafāʿat) with the divine, which endows them with spiritual agency, as they engage in cycles of exchange, such as the practice of taking vows (mannāt). Within the framework of this Sufi-inspired, locally embedded spirituality, it is possible for animals to be genuine agents, to have spiritual 'agency' and to be involved in cycles of exchange.

This chapter follows the traces of Khiḍr and Ilyās (Arab. Khiḍr-Ilyās; Turk. Hıdırellez) and thei... more This chapter follows the traces of Khiḍr and Ilyās (Arab. Khiḍr-Ilyās; Turk. Hıdırellez) and their equation with various interchangeable figures in the Balkans, syntheses that were formed and developed in the context of cultural and religious interactions. Associated with spheres essential for human existence and the seasonal cycle of life, the “Green Men” Khiḍr and Ilyās evoke fertility and the annual renewal of vegetation, phenomena that depend heavily on water. The nature spirits of spring-summer have their counterparts in autumn-winter. They have their origins in the ancient vegetation and water deities, which disappear and reappear cyclically. The calendar was necessarily tied to these natural cycles of return. With the Ottoman expansion into the Balkans, Julian, Gregorian and even Byzantine cultic calendar dates were converted into Ottoman chronologies. This process created “new” mythical coordinates in space and time, which were then applied to the religious geography of Ottoman Balkans. The result was a convergence of sacred geographies, reflected in various intercommunal religious interactions. Popular versions of Islam and Orthodoxy cultivated common saints whose respective feast days not only represented key symbolic turning points in the Ottoman world, but also helped to facilitate a shared intercommunal existence.

The chapter explores the spiritual practice of solitary devotions (khalva) as depicted in medieva... more The chapter explores the spiritual practice of solitary devotions (khalva) as depicted in medieval and early modern visual and textual sources. The findings reflect the interaction with Buddhism during the Islamisation of Eastern Iranian culture. This is evidenced in the Islamic collective term khalvatiyân, or followers of khalva, which is also used to allude to a certain group of Buddhist monks (Persian bakhshî, pl. bakhshiyân, from Sanskrit bhiksu) who practiced rigorous ascetic exercises in seclusion from society. The same designation became an identification marker of the Khalvatî (Turkish Halvetî, from Arabic khalva, ‘seclusion’, ‘retreat’) Sufi path. The close resemblance between the pictorial depictions of the Buddhist monks and the Islamic dervishes led to the adoption of the overall features of wandering Buddhist figures (often characterised by asceticism and religious mendicancy) to portray Islamic antinomian dervishes. In this context, it is of interest to note that several members of the early Khalvatiyya were also known to have led a wandering life and had an antinomian air about them.
Moreover, the ascetic withdrawal from society to the quiet of remote wilderness was of central importance in the order. In particular, the tree as the locus of the paradigmatic ascetic habitat (bayt al-khalva) was exemplified by the ‘founding’ pîr of the Khalvatî order, ʿUmar al-Khalvatî. This finds reflection throughout the Turko-Mongol and Turko-Iranian cultural milieu, in which certain trees were in themselves objects of worship. The time-honoured practice continued well into the Ottoman period, where it was not uncommon for Khalvatî and other dervishes to seek shelter at the foot of a venerable tree, especially for oneiromantic purposes. It became a prominent trope in fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Islamic visual sources, well before the oral narratives of later Khalvatî shaykhs were preserved in seventeenth-century Ottoman hagiographical texts. Significantly, in Sufi teachings, the tree is likened to the perfect human being (al-Insân al-Kâmil) as manifestation of the divine names and attributes.

In this article, I bring premodern and contemporary Bektaşi perspectives to the current ethical d... more In this article, I bring premodern and contemporary Bektaşi perspectives to the current ethical debate on gender equality in the Bektaşi Sufi order. While there is tremendous potential in the historical legacy of Kadıncık Ana, the spiritual successor of Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli (d. ca. 1271), and her peers who served as female spiritual leaders in the proto-Bektaşiyye, the institutionalization of the Bektaşi order resulted in the marginalization of women and their exclusion from certain opportunities and positions in religious practice and leadership. This article explores the spiritual journey of Güllizar Cengiz (today also known as Neriman Aşki Derviș after becoming a Bektaşi “dervish”), including her foundation of an Alevi-Bektaşi cultural institute in Cologne, Germany, in 1997 and the opening of a Bektaşi Sufi lodge (dergah) in the Westerwald near Bonn in 2006. I explore the impact of Hacı Bektaş’s teaching that both men and women have the same spiritual potential to become the ultimately ungendered insan-ı kamil, or spiritually and ethically completed human being. I also discuss the time-honored Bektaşi principle of “moving with the times and staying one step ahead of the times” and how it can inform contemporary understandings of ethical and spiritual prerogatives within Bektaşism.

Albera, D., Kuehn, S. and Pénicaud, M., “Introduction: Religious Sharing, Mixing, and Crossing in the Wider Mediterranean,” Religiographies 1/1: Holy Sites in the Mediterranean, Sharing and Division (2022), 14–21

This article examines the work of seven contemporary artists whose aesthetics exemplify the “live... more This article examines the work of seven contemporary artists whose aesthetics exemplify the “lived” experience of Islamic mysticism or Suﬁsm (Arabic tasawwuf) within a European context. The work of artists born in Islamic majority countries and familiar with “traditional” Suﬁ idioms and discourses, but now immersed in Western culture, is often associated with “diasporic art”. From this hybrid perspective some of their artistic narratives reconﬁgure or even subvert the “traditional” Sufi idioms, and do so in such a way as to provoke a more profound sensory experience in the viewer than traditional forms of art. Drawing upon recent methodological tendencies inspired by the “aesthetic
turn”, this study explores post- and decolonial ways of thinking about Suﬁ-inspired artworks, and the development of a transcultural Suﬁ-inspired aesthetic within the context of migration and displacement over the last half-century.

In the Balkan borderlands, a region characterized by religious (and so cultural) ambiguity, the M... more In the Balkan borderlands, a region characterized by religious (and so cultural) ambiguity, the Muslim allocation of an equivalent saint in the ‘pantheon’ of Christianity was facilitated by a certain ‘rapprochement’ between the two religions: an ongoing fusion of disparate elements into a new language occurred that often blurred religious distinctions. The polymorphic figures of two ‘saints’, Sarı Saltuk and St. Nicholas, are emblematic of this process of cultural intermingling, ensuant act of translating and mixed worship. Their cult is a refraction of conquest and appropriation, tempered by interfaith circulations, joint pilgrimage, and cross-cultural accommodation. The ‘interactions’ and attendant double identity of the two saints will be examined from the perspective of mixed places of worship and the entanglements between the Christians and Muslim worlds taking place within these sites in the longue durée.

From time immemorial humans have tried to communicate with the world beyond, attempting to link t... more From time immemorial humans have tried to communicate with the world beyond, attempting to link the immediate, temporal world with the universe and eternity in order to acquire the spiritual vision during their lives. In Die Himmelsreise der Seele (The Ascent of the Soul to the Heaven), published over one hundred years ago, the German theologian W. BOUSSET (1865-1920) points out that there is always a relation between visionary journeys to heaven and the supposed journey of the soul after death. This, in turn, is always related to mythical cosmologies.
Ritual pathways for the ascent of the soul, a characteristic expression of Zoroastrian piety, often arose during times of crisis when the traditional understanding of the universe came into question. The literature of the Sasanian period informs us of methods used in order to achieve certainty in faith, which involved such journeys and visions along with a return or descent, experiences which were often triggered by narcotics. Both in the ancient Vedic rites of India and in the rites preserved by the surviving representatives of the ancient Iranian religion, the Zoroastrians, a ritual potion (Ved. sōma, Av. haoma) appears as a central element. The sacred haoma plant was thereby regarded as chief among the medicinal herbs. The drink, made of the haoma seed, intoxicated the drinker and imbued him or her with heightened divine powers and mantic wisdom. It is believed that the use of this intoxicant arose among speakers of Proto-Indo-Iranian while they were living somewhere within the area of Central Asia, that has been predominantly Iranian in culture from the earliest period of recorded history.

Providing spiritual ‘safe spaces’, the Sufi shrine-world throughout the Indian Subcontinent is ge... more Providing spiritual ‘safe spaces’, the Sufi shrine-world throughout the Indian Subcontinent is generally open to those who do not identify with conventional gender categories. Ajmer Sharif Shrine (dargāh) in the northern Indian town of Ajmer in Rajasthan is renowned for being particularly ‘inclusive’. It accepts all pilgrims without discrimination, including the so-called ‘third gender’, often referred to as hĳras or kinnars, terms that transgress the socially-defined binary gender divide. Marginalized, and often socially stigmatized, these groups are naturally drawn towards liminal spaces such as Sufi dargāhs which encourage the transcendence of socio-religious boundaries. This paper explores certain typological aspects of traditional Sufi ritual and belief that make it particularly receptive to hĳras, and the way in which hĳras in turn appropriate and reconfigure Sufi religious belief to negotiate the tension between the liminality of their lived experience and the exclusive duality of the society around them. As well as utilizing fieldwork undertaken at the 808th ʿurs festival in 2020, the paper also draws upon the experiences of the fictional protagonist Anjum of Arundhati Roy’s second novel The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, together with those of Mona Ahmed (1937–2017), the inspiration behind Roy’s novel and the most famous hĳra of Delhi.

Das Kapitel gewährt einen Einblick wie man sich Ästhetik im Islam, in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart... more Das Kapitel gewährt einen Einblick wie man sich Ästhetik im Islam, in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart, vorstellen kann und bietet Ansätze, wie diese den Studierenden vermittelt werden können. Es beginnt mit einem anschaulichen Lehrstück, einer allegorischen Erzählung über eine visionäre Erfahrung des iranischen Philosophen und Mystikers Shihāb al-Dīn Suhrawardī (gest. 1191), das ein Gefühl für die Rolle der Ästhetik in der mittelalterlichen islamischen Philosophie und Mystik vermitteln soll. Es folgen Impressionen von Aspekten des ästhetischen Erlebens des Korans sowie Veranschaulichungen und Kostproben verschiedener islamischer ästhetischer Theorien und Traditionen der islamischen Kunst – unterteilt in Musik sowie bildende Kunst und Architektur. Die Beispiele sollen persönliche Anteilnahme, Mitwirkung und subjektive Auseinandersetzung mit ästhetischen Prozessen im Islam initiieren, die zu einem Er-Fühlen, Er-Riechen, Er-Schmecken und Er-Leben führen und körperlich-sinnlich und möglicherweise sogar emotional wahrgenommen werden. Die Darlegungen ergeben, dass die Koexistenz verschiedener Sinneserfahrungen und -modalitäten, zu denen auch die wissenschaftliche Schulung gehört, gegen eine monolithische Wahrnehmung der Genese der Ästhetik im Islam spricht. Vielmehr suggeriert der Text, dass der Vielfalt und Multidimensionalität ästhetischer Kommunikationsformen im Islam Rechnung getragen werden sollte, die von einer pluralistisch-offenen, intersensorischen, synästhetischen Perspektive konzipiert werden.

Drawing on recent methodological tendencies inspired by the ‘aesthetic turn’, this two-day interd... more Drawing on recent methodological tendencies inspired by the ‘aesthetic turn’, this two-day interdisciplinary conference will focus on the aesthetic engagement of contemporary artists with Sufi practices, rituals, and discourses.

Drawing on recent research regarding the visual-material turn in the study of religion, this inte... more Drawing on recent research regarding the visual-material turn in the study of religion, this interdisciplinary conference will focus on the often-overlooked role of women in contemporary Islamic mysticism and in the socially-engaged dimension of Sufi belief and practice. This trend in visual-material studies has been accompanied by a broadening of analytical perspectives. Attention is now increasingly paid to religious practices, rituals, and discourses in terms of their connection to certain types of artefacts. Scholars have also begun to focus on the sensory perceptions and the social effects or atmospheres evoked by visual-material engagements. The conference focusses on the sensorium in visual-material culture and on its religious, cultural, and social connections/implications. In doing so, we hope to present a more nuanced and polyvocal understanding of the role and place of women within mystical Islam and Sufism, a tradition that is in constant dialogue with society and its political, cultural, and economic dynamics.

Sufism and the Body Conference, 2019

Drawing on recent literature regarding sensation, embodiment, and the material turn in the study ... more Drawing on recent literature regarding sensation, embodiment, and the material turn in the study of religion, this conference assesses the role of the human body in Sufism. Sufism can often seem ambivalent with regard to the human body. Iconoclastic notions such as the inexplicable annihilation of the Sufi in God, as well as the need to subdue the body under the authority of the soul and detach oneself from worldly concerns, sit side by side with a rich repertoire of bodily practices (including techniques to deny and enjoy bodily pleasures) and a complex body-related material culture. As such, the theoretical and corporeal aspects of Sufism are not always treated together. This conference attempts to highlight the interconnection between the spiritual and corporeal in Sufism by examining the body in Sufi thought, practice, literature, and figural representation, through an interdisciplinary approach.

https://sensis.sites.uu.nl/2019/08/06/international-conference-sufism-and-the-body/

Organised as part of the European Research Council funded SENSIS project

“Paylaşılan Kutsal Mekânlar” projesi, Akdeniz, Ortadoğu ve Balkanlar’da üç Semavi dinin paylaştığ... more “Paylaşılan Kutsal Mekânlar” projesi, Akdeniz, Ortadoğu ve Balkanlar’da üç Semavi dinin paylaştığı mekân ve pratiklere bakıyor. Proje Fransa’dan Fas’a, Türkiye’den Mısır’a dinlerin birlikte yaşadığı çeşitli bölgeleri ele alıyor ve günümüzü niteleyen özcülük, içe kapanmacılık ve nefret politikalarının ötesinde kültürlerarası bir çoğulculuğun tarihte ve günümüzde yaşandığını ve mümkün olduğunu gösteriyor.
Bu üç din, teolojik farklılıklarına rağmen, inanışlar, ayinler, kutsal figürler ve mekânlar bakımından birçok ortak unsura sahip. Öte yandan, bu kesişmeler muğlaklıktan tamamen uzak olmadığı gibi kimi zaman da çatışmalara yol açabiliyor. Akdeniz dünyası paylaşımın birçok örneğini sunduğu gibi, bölünme ve ayrışmayı da içeriyor.
“Paylaşılan Kutsal Mekânlar” bu hadiseyi, farklı bağlamlara sahip çeşitli örnekler vasıtasıyla konumlandırarak ve iç içe geçmiş mekân ve pratikleri, sembol ve figürleri öne çıkararak araştırıyor. İstanbul “Paylaşılan Kutsal Mekânlar”ın hikâyesini anlatmak için ideal bir konuma sahip; bunun yegâne sebebi üç tektanrılı dinin tarihsel olarak burada gelişmiş olması değil, Bizans ve Osmanlı dönemlerinde yüzyıllar boyu birarada var olmayı sürdürmeleri de.
Güncel sanat, fotoğraf, etnografik malzeme ve dijital medyayı biraraya getiren sergi, hac ve “kutsalı paylaşma”nın çok duyulu deneyimini, konu edilen coğrafyalardaki kutsal mekânların ve manzaraların görsel olarak etkili boyutunu ve İstanbul’un dinsel çeşitlilik ve biraradalık geçmişinin zengin ve çok katmanlı yapısını aydınlatıyor.
Yıllar süren antropolojik ve tarihsel araştırmaya dayalı, çok yönlü bir proje olan “Paylaşılan Kutsal Mekânlar”, her bir tekrarında yeniden yazılmasıyla sergiyi kendi içinde bir “hac yolculuğu”na çıkarıyor. Gerçekten de genel tema aynı kalmakla beraber biçim, içerik ve bağlam her yeni şehirde değişiyor. Bu serginin farklı versiyonları, Marsilya Avrupa ve Akdeniz Medeniyetleri Müzesi (Mucem) (2015), Tunus Bardo Müzesi (2016), Paris (2017), Selanik (2017), Marakeş (2018) ve New York’ta (2018) düzenlendi. Sergi bu sonbahar Ankara’da açılacak.
The “Shared Sacred Sites” project examines a diverse range of locations in the Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Balkans where the three Abrahamic religions have coexisted. The sites represented in the exhibition are examples from a vast geographic territory that spans from France to Morocco to Turkey to Egypt. The project argues that cross-cultural co-existence has been a viable way forward, out of the essentialism, isolationism, and hatred that have often come to characterize the present day.
Despite theological differences, the three religions share a number of elements in terms of beliefs, rites, holy figures and sites. These crossovers, however, are not devoid of ambiguity and can sometimes also lead to conflict. The Mediterranean world thus offers many examples of sharing, but also of partition and division.
“Shared Sacred Sites” explores this phenomenon by locating it through various examples in different contexts and by highlighting the entangled places and practices, symbols and figures that define it. Istanbul is ideally positioned to tell the story of “Shared Sacred Sites”, not only because the three monotheistic religions have historically flourished here but also cohabited for centuries through the Byzantine and Ottoman periods.
By combining contemporary art, photography, ethnographic material and digital media, the exhibition highlights the multisensory experience of pilgrimage and “sharing the sacred”, the visually compelling dimension of sacred sites and landscapes in the Balkans and the Mediterranean and Istanbul’s rich and multi-layered past of religious diversity and co-existence.
Based on years of anthropological and historical research, the multifaceted “Shared Sacred Sites” project is characterized by a rewriting in each iteration of the exhibition –a “pilgrimage”, in and of itself. Indeed, the overall topic remains the same, but form, content, and context change from one location to another. Versions of this exhibition were first held at the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations (Mucem) in Marseille (2015), then at the Bardo Museum in Tunis (2016), Paris (2017), Thessaloniki (2017), Marrakesh (2018) and New York (2018). The exhibition will be opening in Ankara this fall.

Der Workshop betrachtet eine Vielzahl von sexuellen und geschlechtsspezifischen Rollen, die mit b... more Der Workshop betrachtet eine Vielzahl von sexuellen und geschlechtsspezifischen Rollen, die mit bestimmten Arten von Homosozialität verknüpft werden können, ein Phänomen, das besonders deutlich in traditionellen islamischen Gesellschaften auftritt, in denen eine strenge Geschlechtertrennung oft die Regel war. Konzepte gleichgeschlechtlicher Beziehungen, Päderastie oder Transvestismus werden im Kontext vormoderner islamischer Gesellschaften thematisiert, in denen diese Ideen viel fließender verstanden wurden und nicht unbedingt die negativen Konnotationen trugen, die diese im Laufe der Zeit und in Bezug auf bestimmte kulturelle Milieus erworben haben. Untersucht werden wechselnde Ansätze für die Darstellung wirkungsmächtiger Bilder/Bildinhalte/Motive erotischer und sexueller Themen, die in der islamischen visuellen und textuellen Narration bezeugt sind. Beispiele für geschlechtsübergreifende Rollen, geschlechtsspezifische‚ homosexuelle‘ Muster, Cross-Dressing und geschlechtliche Ambiguität werden thematisiert.

Angels appear in Near Eastern traditions as manifestations of the transcendent in different conte... more Angels appear in Near Eastern traditions as manifestations of the transcendent in different contexts. They are often imagined in a semi-human figuration with attributes of the elusive as powerful representatives of the Hidden.
The concept of intermediating angelic and celestial beings between a seen and an unseen sphere is a transconfessional phenomenon, even if the imagination, the representation, and the assessment of their concrete function, their nature, and their role might differ in specific issues. Angelic and celestial beings might be imagined and represented as elusive messengers of the Divine, as transmitters of knowledge and as actors of a divine order in an eschatological context. They might provide humankind with civilization, accompany human beings and protect or punish them. They might even be seen metaphorically as natural or sometimes as ideological forces. They might resemble beautiful human beings, even if they are not humans. Yet because of their ontological in-between-status and their intermediating function between visible and imagined spaces they are highly ambivalent beings.
Islamic traditions provide us with rich materials on angels and celestial beings. However while there are a number of studies about angels in different religious traditions, the specific entanglement of Islamic traditions with regard to substrates of a Near Eastern setting has been studied only rudimentarily.
The international conference Angels and Mankind. Nature, Role and Function of Celestial Beings in Near Eastern and Islamic Traditions seeks to investigate the multiple concepts of Near Eastern and notably Islamic conceptions of nature, role and function of angelic beings by focusing on theological, literary, visual and material representations in the context of Near Eastern traditions.
A point of focus of the conference will be to trace the persistence and inspiring features of religious, literary and artistic expressions in Islamic and Near Eastern traditions. The aim of this conference is to provide, and promote, an interdisciplinary forum for scholars investigating issues that may include questions of the physiology of heavenly beings, the topography and the hierarchical scheme of the heavenly host but also the mission and agency of angels, their nomenclature and iconographic representation in Islamic and Near Eastern sources.

En parallèle de l’exposition temporaire Lieux saints partagés programmée au MuCEM du 29 avril au ... more En parallèle de l’exposition temporaire Lieux saints partagés programmée au MuCEM du 29 avril au 31 aout 2015 http://www.mucem.org/fr/node/3442, ce colloque international portera sur cette thématique qui pose la question des identités religieuses et de leurs interrelations dans l’espace méditerranéen.
Un lieu saint peut-il être partagé par plusieurs religions ? À première vue, cela semblerait impossible dans un horizon monothéiste, marqué par la soumission exclusive et jalouse à un dieu unique. Pourtant, de multiples formes d’appropriation et d’utilisation commune des espaces sacrés se produisent, hier comme aujourd’hui, en Méditerranée. Loin d’être des ensembles monolithiques, les religions apparaissent « traversées » par des pratiques transfrontalières. Ces phénomènes s’inscrivent dans un voisinage qui est à la fois physique et spirituel. La Mer intérieure est marquée, tout au long de son histoire, par une forte contiguïté entre populations de confessions différentes. Malgré les écarts théologiques, les trois religions du Livre possèdent de nombreux éléments communs : conceptions, valeurs, croyances, épisodes, rites, personnages saints… Le jeu des proximités et des porosités fait que certains lieux saints fondateurs sont reconnus par plusieurs religions à la fois. Dans ces sites chargés d’histoire, le partage est parfois antagoniste, voire conflictuel. Il peut impliquer la partition de ces lieux. L’investissement commun d’un même lieu saint se reproduit dans des situations moins centrales, en général de manière plus apaisée. La demande d’une aide concrète devient prépondérante, le poids de la desévénements fondateurs moins écrasant. Peu éclatantes et souvent silencieuses, ces circulations interreligieuses représentent une sorte de basse continue, derrière le tumulte des croisades et des guerres de religion.
Ce colloque permettra de faire un état des lieux de la recherche récente en ce domaine en plein essor à l’échelle internationale. Ce sera aussi l’occasion pour de jeunes chercheurs d’exposer leurs travaux innovants devant des spécialistes confirmés (anthropologues et historiens) dont plusieurs font partie du comité scientifique de l’exposition.

Vor allem sind es auch Mystikerinnen, die Religionen prägen. Ihr Stellenwert, den sie in der Über... more Vor allem sind es auch Mystikerinnen, die Religionen prägen. Ihr Stellenwert, den sie in der Überlieferung des Christentums und im Islam einnehmen, soll hier zur Sprache kommen. Liegt die Besonderheit ihrer mystischen Erfahrung darin, dass sie Frauen sind? Und kann man daher von einer eigenen weiblichen Mystik sprechen?

Islamic Theology in Europe in Changing Times: New Perspectives on Knowledge, Environment and Spir... more Islamic Theology in Europe in Changing Times: New Perspectives on Knowledge, Environment and Spirituality, Moderation: Mag. Dr. Rahel Fischbach, University of Innsbruck, Department of Islamic Theology and Religious Education, 15 June 2023

In vielen Teilen der Welt haben Sufis Wege gefunden mit unterschiedlichen religiösen Traditionen ... more In vielen Teilen der Welt haben Sufis Wege gefunden mit unterschiedlichen religiösen Traditionen zu koexistieren, indem sie Gemeinsamkeiten betonen und auf deren Vielfältigkeit Bezug nehmen. In meinem Vortrag untersuche ich diesen pluralistischen Ansatz aus interdisziplinärer Perspektive anhand von drei ausgewählten internationalen Sufi-Gemeinschaften: der von Pir Zia Inayat-Khan (geb. 1971) geleiteten Inayatiyya, der von Sheikh Khaled Bentounès (geb. 1949) geleiteten Shadhiliyah-Darqawiya-Alawiya und der von Sheikha Fariha al-Jerrahi (geb. 1947) geleiteten Nur Ashki Jerrahi-Gemeinschaft. Ich werde auch einen Blick auf drei „geteilte“ religiöse Orte in Europa werfen, d.h. Orte, die gleichzeitig oder zu unterschiedlichen Zeiten von mehr als einer Religionsgemeinschaft genutzt werden und die aktuell sowohl von christlichen als auch von muslimischen Gläubigen, insbesondere von Anhängern verschiedener Sufi-Gemeinschaften, frequentiert werden: die orthodoxe Crkva Sveti Nikola (St.-Nikolaus-Kirche) in Makedonski Brod im heutigen Nord-Mazedonien, die die Türbe von H’d’r Baba beherbergt; das Kloster Sveti Naum in Ohrid, ebenfalls in Nord-Mazedonien, wo das Grab des Hl. Naum als das seines muslimischen Pendants Sarı Saltuk in seiner Eigenschaft als Heiler und Wundertäter verehrt wird und das enge historische Verbindungen zum benachbarten Albanien hat; sowie die christlich-islamische Wallfahrt zum bretonischen Sept Saints, den Sieben Schläfern von Ephesus/Aṣḥāb al-kahf, im Nordwesten Frankreichs, die 1954 von Louis Massignon (1883–1962), einem Vordenker der Verbundenheit von Islam und Christentum, initiiert wurde. Dabei hinterfrage ich die Darstellung von Sufi-Gemeinschaften und Pilgerstätten als Plattformen gelebter Toleranz, Frieden und Harmonie und thematisiere Fälle von Spannungen und Konflikten.

The Prophet Muḥammad’s Footprints (Qadam Rasūl Allāh) in Stone in the Indian Subcontinent Muṣṭa... more The Prophet Muḥammad’s Footprints (Qadam Rasūl Allāh) in Stone in the Indian Subcontinent

Muṣṭafā’s footprint is the place where the bearers of the Divine Throne prostrate themselves.
— Tapish Rahmat ʿAli

From early on, the sensory experience of physical relics and artifacts of the Prophet Muḥammad and his followers has been cultivated in Islamic culture. Among the various Prophetic ‘traces’ (athar), the veneration of the footprints left by the Prophet Muḥammad (Qadam Rasūl Allāh), was an integral part of medieval Islamic worship and popular piety. Deriving their meaning from sensory engagement involving diverse practices of consumption (ingestion, touching, viewing, smelling), such relics and artifacts invoked individual as well as communal sensory experiences. Most of the relics were acquired in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina by mystics, merchants, or sultans who ‘retrieved’ them and brought them to different parts of the Islamic world. Specimens can be found throughout the Indian subcontinent. In this presentation I will focus on some of the famous shrines in the Subcontinent (India and Bangladesh) that house imprints of the Prophet in stone. These include the Qila Qadam Sharif in Paharganj, Delhi, India, the Qadam Rasul in Nabiganj, Narayanganj district, Bangladesh, the Qadam Mubarak Mosque in Anderkilla, Chittagong, Bangladesh, and the Qadam-e Rasool (relic of the Prophet) on one of the three sacred hillocks on Moula ʿAli in Hyderabad, India.

From early on, the sensory experience of physical relics and artifacts of the Prophet Muhammad an... more From early on, the sensory experience of physical relics and artifacts of the Prophet Muhammad and his followers has been cultivated in Islamic culture. In addition to the various ‘traces’ (athar) left by Muhammad - hairs, fingernails, teeth, clothing, sandals, utensils, accoutrements, weapons, and especially footprints - the veneration of saintly remains was part of medieval Islamic worship and popular piety, especially at shrines and pilgrimage sites (Sunni and Shiʿi). These material ‘mediators’ of the human-divine dyad invoked bodily as well as spiritual and sensory experiences through diverse practices of individual as well as communal consumption: viewing, touching, kissing, rubbing, smelling, ingestion.
This panel aims to bring together papers that explore the sensory aspects of prophetic and saintly relics in medieval Islamic personal piety, miraculous healing, the performance of rituals, and the celebration of festivities and memorial days. The panel further aims to open up a discussion around how sensory experiences of medieval Islamic relics and artifacts can (or cannot?) be captured and reproduced in a contemporary museum context. Cross-cultural, multi-religious and comparative perspectives are particularly welcome.

The discovery of a “wisdom book that was hidden from humanity until its time has come” in the Ina... more The discovery of a “wisdom book that was hidden from humanity until its time has come” in the Inayati archives in 2017, prompted Pīr Zia Inayat Khan (b. 1971), the spiritual leader of the Inayati Sufi community, to issue a path-breaking declaration. He admitted the first woman to the Inayati spiritual and genealogical lineage (silsila): his aunt Pīrzādi-Shahīda Noor-un-Nisa Inayat Khan, who was executed at Dachau in 1944.

Called Aède of the Ocean and Land, the discovered “wisdom book” is the only play Noor-un-Nisa wrote. Told in the light of the twelfth-century Sufi classic “The Conference of the Birds” by Farīd al-Dīn ʿAṭṭār (d. c. 1220), it retells one of the great foundational stories of Western civilization, Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, the journey of the Greek hero Odysseus being seen as an allegory of Inayat Khan’s spiritual journey in the West. The play has seven acts, each corresponding to one of the valleys in ʿAṭṭār’s famous story, which have to be crossed by the birds of the earth in their yearning for the divine. Similarly, in Noor-un-Nisa’s story, Ulysses’ heart transforms in the course of his journey, as he becomes a renunciate with a Sufic vision of detachment.

In this paper, I use the example of the live music-cinema Zoom performance of Aède performed on the day after the anniversary of Noor-un-Nisa’s death (ʿurs) on 13 September 2020 to explore the role of Aède in Inayati teachings today. Directed by Elli Papakonstantinou with music composed by Shirish Korde, the visual and auditory language employed in this virtual performance drew on classical South Asian as well as contemporary American and European sources.

This paper examines the work of seven contemporary artists whose aesthetics exemplify the “lived”... more This paper examines the work of seven contemporary artists whose aesthetics exemplify the “lived” experience of Islamic mysticism or Sufism (Arabic tasawwuf) within a European context. The work of artists born in Islamic majority countries and familiar with “traditional” Sufi idioms and discourses, but now immersed in Western culture, is often associated with “diasporic art”. From this hybrid perspective some of their artistic narratives reconfigure or even subvert the “traditional” Sufi idioms, and do so in such a way as to provoke a more profound sensory experience in the viewer than traditional forms of art. Drawing upon on recent methodological tendencies inspired by the “aesthetic turn”, this study explores post- and decolonial ways of thinking about Sufi-inspired artworks, and the development of a transcultural Sufi-inspired aesthetic within the context of migration and displacement over the last half-century.

Providing spiritual ‘safe spaces’, the Sufi shrine-world throughout the Indian Subcontinent is ge... more Providing spiritual ‘safe spaces’, the Sufi shrine-world throughout the Indian Subcontinent is generally open to those who do not identify with conventional gender categories. Ajmer Sharif Shrine (dargāh) in the northern Indian town of Ajmer in Rajasthan is renowned for being particularly ‘inclusive’. It accepts all pilgrims without discrimination, including the so-called ‘third gender’, often referred to as hijras or kinnars, terms that transgress the socially-defined binary gender divide. Marginalized, and often socially stigmatized, these group(s) are naturally drawn towards liminal spaces such as Sufi dargāhs which encourage the transcendence of socio-religious boundaries. This presentation explores the lived religious communication and belief that make these sacred spaces and their materiality particularly receptive to hijras, and the way in which hijras in turn appropriate and reconfigure Sufi religious belief and artifacts used in ritualization (Morgan 2017) to negotiate the tension between the liminality of their lived experience and the exclusive duality of the society (‘Duniya’) around them. It also focuses on the hijra body as religious agent. As well as utilizing fieldwork undertaken at the 808th ʿurs festival in 2020, the paper also draws upon the experiences of the fictional protagonist Anjum of Arundhati Roy’s second novel The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, together with those of Mona Ahmed (1937–2017), the inspiration behind Roy’s novel and the most famous hijra of Delhi.

Since the founding of the Bektashi Sufi order, bacılar (literally, sisters; female members of the... more Since the founding of the Bektashi Sufi order, bacılar (literally, sisters; female members of the order) have been accepted as initiated members who participate in secret Bektashi ritual ceremonies (attended exclusively by the initiated members of the order) in the company of male initiates (canlar, or ‘souls’; a term also used for a group of Bektashis collectively). This is due to the important role of Kadıncık Ana (also known as Fatma Hatun), the woman considered to have been the first to recognize and support the thirteenth-century ecstatic holy man Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli. A leader, or ‘mother,’ of the itinerant religious group bacıyan-ı Rum (‘women/sisters of Rum’), Kadıncık Ana was considered to be Hacı Bektaş’ designated spiritual successor. According to the Ottoman chronicler Aşıkpaşazade (1400–1484), she founded the order that bears his name with the help of her disciple Abdal Musa. The descendants of Kadıncık Ana’s children are said to be bel evlatları, the ‘children of the sperm [of Hacı Bektaş]’.
In spite of the legacy of this female Bektashi spiritual master and the tradition of Hacı Bektaş that “there is no difference between man and woman,” namely that both men and women have the same spiritual potential to become a perfect human being (İnsan-ı Kamil), women were, and still are, mostly confined to the lower ranks of the order, as aşıks (sympathisers with the order who cannot participate in Bektashi ritual ceremonies) or muhibs (lay members who took their first vow). Only few women rose to the rank of a fully initiated Bektashi derviş (dervish) and, except Kadıncık Ana, no other woman ever became a Bektashi spiritual leader, usually referred to as baba (literally, father). Today there is but one female Bektashi derviş, Gülizar Cengiz, who since the mid-1980s is based in Germany. The paper sheds light on her spiritual career during which she founded an (Alevi-)Bektashi cultural institute in Cologne and opened a Bektashi dargah (lodge) on a hill between Cologne and Bonn which, tellingly, is named ‘Kadıncık Ana’. How does this female Bektashi dervish negotiate her Sufi tradition in a transnational context?

In Ottoman Turkish, calligraphy is referred to as ḥüsn-i khaṭṭ or ‘beautiful writing’. This art f... more In Ottoman Turkish, calligraphy is referred to as ḥüsn-i khaṭṭ or ‘beautiful writing’. This art form can be apprehended as a pathway involving a disciplined training system that also requires the development of ethical qualities and virtues necessary to increase both the artistic and the spiritual mastery of the practitioner until he attains the authorization to teach the art of calligraphy. Once the calligrapher has received the license (ijāza), he bears the responsibility of transmitting the art to his students.

In this presentation I will focus on the influence of mystical teachings in the development of the Ottoman calligraphic tradition. My exploration of this theme starts with the symbolism hidden behind physical calligraphers’ tools, storage boxes, tables, reading stands, and pen cases, paper, ink, book bindings, moving on to an examination of the symbolism of the point and the letters as well as different forms of calligraphic creations. I will pay particular attention to experimentation and innovation in the Ottoman calligraphic tradition, especially its symmetrical compositions, mirror-image writing and pictorial calligraphy, that is “figurative scripture or scriptural figuration” (to cite Valérie Gonzales), which evolved in the context of the Sufi communities in the Ottoman realm, and includes letters, words, and phrases shaped into a range of animate and inanimate forms such as animals, humans, ships, swords, ewers, oil lamps etc. These are considered in terms of their ẓāhir, the ‘apparent’ or exoteric teachings, and their corresponding bāṭin or ‘inner’, esoteric interpretation. I will also consider religious calligraphic forms that emerged over time as protective devices like the votive tablets and talismanic charts bearing striking textual ‘portraits’ of the Prophet Muhammad (hilye), verbal descriptions of his physical being (height, hair colour, demeanour), calligraphed within circular medallions that serve as focal points of the artworks as well as compositions with the most beautiful [ninety-nine] names of God, calligraphic examples of ghubar or ‘dust-like’ miniscule script, and the art of découpage, or paper cutting.

Like all other areas of Islamic thought, Sufism, or Islamic mysticism, has—in the words of religi... more Like all other areas of Islamic thought, Sufism, or Islamic mysticism, has—in the words of religious studies scholar Sa‘diyya Shaikh—been characterized by tensions between patriarchal inclinations and gender-egalitarian impulses. Yet mysticism has the capacity to disrupt gender norms and established hierarchies—theological and political—by giving women a public voice extending across geographic regions. In an interview in 2018 the New York-based Shaykha Fariha al-Jerrahi said that “this is the age of the woman, of woman taking the guidance, which is very necessary now because of the qualities inherent in the feminine”, by which she meant to say that the baton of guidance has come in the hands of women, the presence of the feminine, because of the jamāli (‘beneficent’ or ‘beautiful’) qualities as reflected in the divine attributes and names, known by the epithet the ‘Most Beautiful Names’, which are often seen as having ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ connotations, associated respectively with ‘active’ and ‘receptive’ types, exemplified by the synergy of the two opposing and complementary principles of Beauty (jamāl) and Majesty (jalāl). So in this paper I will address the important, yet often-overlooked role of contemporary female teachers in the socially-engaged dimension of Sufi belief and practice in a western context.

In the Balkan borderlands, a region characterized by hybridity and religious ambiguity, the Musli... more In the Balkan borderlands, a region characterized by hybridity and religious ambiguity, the Muslim allocation of an equivalent saint in the “pantheon” of Christianity was facilitated by a certain “rapprochement” between the two religions through what Mikhail Bakhtin calls an “organic” hybridization: an ongoing fusion of disparate elements into a new language which had culturally productive effects. The polymorphic figures of two “saints”, Sarı Saltuk and St. George, are emblematic of this process of cultural translation. Their joint hagiolatry is a refraction of conquest and appropriation, tempered by pilgrimage and cross-cultural accommodation. Their joint hagiolatry will be examined from the perspective of shared cultural spaces and the entanglements taking place within these spaces.

Sufism is often considered the mystical dimension of Islam, a way of nurturing its pure essence. ... more Sufism is often considered the mystical dimension of Islam, a way of nurturing its pure essence. The Sufis, who choose a path of spiritual and ethical self-improvement, are less concerned with fathoming God on a theoretical level than with their own spiritual, as well as physical, experience of the divine presence, which appeals to all the senses.

The photo exhibition provides a glimpse into the lived Sufi tradition in Europe. While Sufism has evolved and diversified over several centuries in Eastern Europe, Sufi orders in Western Europe have only existed since the beginning of the 20th century, with Sufi teachings permeating all areas of society. This spiritual culture of Sufism is increasingly strengthened by transnational Sufi networks. The term 'Sufism' covers a wide spectrum of spiritual practices and beliefs within Islam, and it is difficult to define Sufism in a single, definitive way. The influx of converts in some Sufi communities also leads to great cultural and religious fluidity. This fluidity, in which professions of indulgences and forbearance are put into practice in interactions with followers of other religions, makes Sufism a dynamic laboratory in the development of contemporary Islam.

Rituals of lived, devotional Sufism in Europe are presented, which often differ from the formalism of 'orthodoxy'. These include ecstatic forms of ritual performance, such as the rhythmic recitation (dhikr), or the whirling dance accompanied by music (samaʿ), but also pilgrimages to Sufi graves and shrines of Muslim saints.

It is important to keep in mind that for many Sufis, with their spiritual language of love, these rituals and practices provide a window into the inner spiritual experiences and the purification of one's inner self, that is, they are often focused on the esoteric meaning of things, rather than the external, visible world. A famous quote from the great Persian Sufi mystic Jalal ad-Din Rumi speaks to the central tenet of Sufism that the path to union with the divine starts with looking within oneself. According to Rumi, the light of the divine is not to be found in the external world, but instead, it can be found within each individual's own heart. This idea reflects the Sufi belief that the ultimate goal of the spiritual journey is to purify one’s heart and cultivate a deep connection with the divine, allowing the light of the divine to shine from within. This process often leads to a shift in their perspective and behavior, as they strive to live in accordance with this spiritual teaching and to serve their families, communities and society in general.

The “Shared Sacred Sites” project examines a diverse range of locations in the Mediterranean, the... more The “Shared Sacred Sites” project examines a diverse range of locations in the Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Balkans where the three Abrahamic religions have coexisted. The sites represented in the exhibition are examples from a vast geographic territory that spans from France to Morocco to Turkey to Egypt. The project argues that cross-cultural co-existence has been a viable way forward, out of the essentialism, isolationism, and hatred that have often come to characterize the present day.
Despite theological differences, the three religions share a number of elements in terms of beliefs, rites, holy figures and sites. These crossovers, however, are not devoid of ambiguity and can sometimes also lead to conflict. The Mediterranean world thus offers many examples of sharing, but also of partition and division.
“Shared Sacred Sites” explores this phenomenon by locating it through various examples in different contexts and by highlighting the entangled places and practices, symbols and figures that define it. Istanbul is ideally positioned to tell the story of “Shared Sacred Sites”, not only because the three monotheistic religions have historically flourished here but also cohabited for centuries through the Byzantine and Ottoman periods.
By combining contemporary art, photography, ethnographic material and digital media, the exhibition highlights the multisensory experience of pilgrimage and “sharing the sacred”, the visually compelling dimension of sacred sites and landscapes in the Balkans and the Mediterranean and Istanbul’s rich and multi-layered past of religious diversity and co-existence.
Based on years of anthropological and historical research, the multifaceted “Shared Sacred Sites” project is characterized by a rewriting in each iteration of the exhibition –a “pilgrimage”, in and of itself. Indeed, the overall topic remains the same, but form, content, and context change from one location to another. Versions of this exhibition were first held at the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations (Mucem) in Marseille (2015), then at the Bardo Museum in Tunis (2016), Paris (2017), Thessaloniki (2017), Marrakesh (2018) and New York (2018). The exhibition will be opening in Ankara this fall.
This exhibition is realized with the support of Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and French Cultural Center.

Τhe exhibition “Shared Sacred Sites in the Balkans and the Mediterranean”, a collaboration betwee... more Τhe exhibition “Shared Sacred Sites in the Balkans and the Mediterranean”, a collaboration between the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, the Thessaloniki Museum of Photography and the Municipality of Thessaloniki, opened on September 23rd.

The inauguration event took place in the Macedonian Museum, in the presence of the city’s Mayor, Mr. Yannis Boutaris. The Stavros Niarchos Foundation is the Lead Donor of the exhibition.

Through photos, archival material, contemporary artworks and anthropological documents, the exhibition delves into the rather permeable boundaries between the Christian, Muslim and Jewish communities, bringing to the fore the interweaving symbols and forms, practices and sites that define this “sacred sharing”, the timeless phenomenon of religious coexistence, at both an institutional and everyday level. The exhibition will be complemented by workshops, performances, educational programs and guided tours.

Thessaloniki, a city in which all three monotheistic religions have historically flourished, is the first stop of the exhibition which runs until December 31st. Different dimensions of the three part exhibition will be presented in three venues, the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, the Thessaloniki Museum of Photography and the Yeni Cami mosque (former Archaeological Museum).

The choice of Thessaloniki is of particular importance as the Mediterranean world offers many examples of sharing and reciprocity but also division.

La question des identités religieuses est l’une des plus sensibles parmi celles qui se posent au ... more La question des identités religieuses est l’une des plus sensibles parmi celles qui se posent au « vivre ensemble » en Méditerranée. De ce point de vue, la mer Intérieure semble être l’espace de la séparation et du conflit.

A chacun son Dieu, ses écritures, ses saints. Les échanges se déclinent au pire sous la forme de guerre de religions et de choc des civilisations, au mieux sous celle de dialogues érudits, laborieux et souvent stériles.

Un phénomène religieux peu connu du grand public mais très présent en Méditerranée est porté à la connaissance des visiteurs du Mucem : les lieux saints partagés par des fidèles de religions différentes.

Fruit de plusieurs années de recherches scientifiques conduites au sein du CNRS et de l’Université d’Aix-Marseille, l'exposition pose un regard différent sur les comportements religieux des populations méditerranéennes et mettra en évidence l’un des phénomènes les plus intéressants (et aussi parmi les plus méconnus) de la région, à savoir le partage, l’échange entre communautés religieuses.

Elle focalisera son attention sur des situations de contact dans lesquelles des lieux et des figures de la sainteté mettent en communication des traditions distinctes. Sans tomber dans la rhétorique creuse du « dialogue des cultures et des religions », il semble important, au milieu des débats concernant le choc des civilisations, de montrer que la distanciation et la détestation de l’autre ne sont pas des modalités nécessaires de l’interaction entre les religions en Méditerranée.

«Même si les dogmes des trois religions monothéistes semblent incompatibles, elles partagent en réalité des figures bibliques, des saints et des lieux. »

L’objectif principal de l’exposition est de faire connaître à un large public ces phénomènes méconnus qui concernent pourtant, hier comme aujourd’hui, des millions de personnes autour de la Méditerranée. En faisant découvrir des lieux, des figures et des pratiques, l’exposition est conçue comme une invitation à parcourir cette Méditerranée inédite.

Pour faire face à la montée des fondamentalismes et des théologies exclusivistes, il faut de nouvelles clés pour comprendre au mieux la complexité des échanges entre religions méditerranéennes. C’est ce que l’exposition souhaite offrir à ses visiteurs.

A mythological, astrological, literary, and iconographic theme of inextricable complexity, the dr... more A mythological, astrological, literary, and iconographic theme of inextricable complexity, the dragon has lured many heroes, artists, and savants to unravel its meaning. This latest book, by Sara Kuehn, shows little explicit keenness to challenge or refute earlier attempts at interpretation, proposing instead a lucid synthesis through the presentation of an unparalleled wealth of material, yet by doing so, it supersedes a great deal of previous writing. Leaving aside for a moment the classification and interpretation of the dragon as offered by the book, the set of about 400 illustrations alone brings our understanding of the subject to a wholly new level. Monumental dragons from rarely visited and remote sites, barely visible and overlooked ones from what we believed to be well-known buildings, as well as hidden examples from the margins of manuscripts and the handles of metal vessels converge for the first time to strengthen the argument. If there is one major thesis in the volume, it might be that the student of a theme, as varied as the dragon, must keep the door open for many different and often contradictory explanations, in keeping with the multifarious nature of the subject itself. In her discussion of the dragon, Kuehn convincingly argues that the overriding characteristic of the motif is precisely its ambiguous nature. She shows that an emphasis on its ferocity and the consequent negative aspects would lead to a one-sided interpretation. By contextualising the ancient and mediaeval dragon– drawing, among others, on Calvert Watkins' linguistic reconstruction of the Indo-European dragon-slayer formula–, Kuehn arrives at the recognition that it mostly, if not always, reveals its destructive features in dualist schemes in which the creature often finds itself deterministically positioned so as to provoke its " evil " features to manifest. By revealing them, the dragon is forced further to enact the role of the necessary " other " , as it is played off against the hero who represents " our " side. Be it an embodiment of the untamed nature, illness, religious dissent, or politico-military opposition, the dragon of such dualist constructs will be duly defeated by the holder of just power. In addition to being a helpful vehicle for this conceptual othering whereby conflicts can be conveniently visualised and the participants identified, Kuehn demonstrates that the dragon displays inherent " positive " associations as well, hence its ambiguity. Just like the snake sheds its old skin, the dragon, a composite creature assimilating diverse zoomorphic features, can change its shape and

Heilige Hochzeit mit dem göttlichen Geliebten – Zum 750. Todestag des Sufi-Poeten Rumi Jährlich ... more Heilige Hochzeit mit dem göttlichen Geliebten – Zum 750. Todestag des Sufi-Poeten Rumi

Jährlich am 17. Dezember wird in der türkischen Stadt Konya eine „Heilige Hochzeit“, „Urs“, gefeiert – der Todestag des muslimischen Gelehrten und Mystikers Dschalal ad-Din Mohammed Rumi (1207-1273), der mit Drehtanz-Ritualen der Mevlevi-Derwische zelebriert wird. Heuer wahrscheinlich besonders intensiv, wird doch Rumis 750. Todestag begangen. Vor seinem Ableben soll er seine Anhänger und Anhängerinnen aufgefordert haben, nicht zu trauern, sondern stattdessen zu tanzen – was sie auch ausgiebig getan haben, so wird überliefert. Denn für Rumi bedeutete sein Tod das Überschreiten einer Schwelle zur Vereinigung mit dem göttlichen Geliebten, wie er in manchen seiner Verse anklingen ließ. Doch wer war Rumi, heute oft respektvoll „Maulana“ oder Türkisch „Mevlana“ („unser Meister“) genannt? Sein Leben war eine faszinierende Reise – physisch und spirituell. Sufi-Gruppen beziehen sich auf seine Liebesmystik, auch im Westen: Seine Poesie, die nicht nur Weisheit, sondern auch einen gewissen Humor kennt, ist Weltliteratur und inspiriert Menschen bis heute über alle Grenzen hinweg. Lise Abid mit einem Porträt des Mystikers und Dichters.

Rumi. Musik, Dichtung und Lebensgefühl Zum 750. Todestag des Sufi-Mystikers 16. Dezember 2023, 1... more Rumi. Musik, Dichtung und Lebensgefühl
Zum 750. Todestag des Sufi-Mystikers

16. Dezember 2023, 19:05

Am 17. Dezember wird in der türkischen Stadt Konya jährlich der "Urs" gefeiert - der Todestag des Mystikers Dschalal ad-Din Mohammed Rumi, der mit Drehtanz-Ritualen der Mevlevi-Derwische begangen wird. Heuer ist Rumis 750. Todestag, er starb am 17. Dezember 1273. Vor seinem Ableben soll er seine Anhängerinnen und Anhänger aufgefordert haben, nicht zu trauern, sondern stattdessen zu tanzen - was sie auch ausgiebig getan haben sollen. Denn für ihn bedeutete sein Tod das Überschreiten einer Schwelle zur Vereinigung mit dem göttlichen Geliebten, wie er in manchen seiner Verse anklingen ließ.

Doch wer war Rumi, heute oft respektvoll "Maulana" oder Türkisch "Mevlana", auf Deutsch "Meister", genannt? Sein Leben war eine faszinierende Reise - sowohl physisch als auch spirituell. Sufi-Gruppen beziehen sich auf seine Liebesmystik, auch im Westen; seine Poesie, die nicht nur Weisheit, sondern auch einen gewissen Humor kennt, ist Weltliteratur und inspiriert Menschen bis heute über alle Grenzen hinweg.

Die Lampen sind verschieden, doch das Licht ist das gleiche Sara Kuehn, Lektorin am Institut für... more Die Lampen sind verschieden, doch das Licht ist das gleiche
Sara Kuehn, Lektorin am Institut für Islamische Theologie der Universität Wien, zum 750. Todestag des persischen Mystikers Rumi

16. Dezember 2023, 06:57

Rumis zentrales Thema ist die universelle Liebe, die er als höchste Kraft ansieht.

Der göttliche Ursprung der Liebe liegt nach Rumi in der bedingungslosen Gnade Gottes gegenüber seiner Schöpfung. Die Schöpfung wird als Akt freier Liebe verstanden:

"Meine Schöpfung erfolgte nicht, um einen Nutzen zu haben, sondern um Gutes für die Menschheit zu bewirken. Da das Universum selbst durch Gottes Liebe existiert, muss der Mensch lernen, Gott zu lieben, und dadurch wird er auch lernen, alles zu lieben, was Gott geschaffen hat - seine Mitmenschen, die Natur und alle Dinge."

Rumi argumentiert, dass die Religion der Liebe dogmatische Grenzen übersteigt. Er betrachtet alle Religionen als Zweige eines großen Baumes und betont, dass die Güte des Menschen unabhängig vom Glauben von Bedeutung ist. Sein berühmter Ausspruch: "Die Lampen sind verschieden, aber das Licht ist dasselbe.", verdeutlicht, dass alle Religionen trotz äußerer Unterschiede, aus derselben Wahrheit schöpfen. Auch wenn äußere religiöse Formen variieren, erstrahle ihr göttliches Licht identisch, denn sie alle würden von derselben Wahrheit erhellt.

In einem der mystischen Gespräche, die Rumi mit seinen Schülern und Schülerinnen führte, betonte er, dass wir als Suchende auf dem spirituellen Weg Kinder des Augenblicks sind. Die Sufis glauben: Wir sind Kinder des ewigen Jetzt, des Augenblicks. Unsere Geburt findet im Moment statt, in dem wir den Geliebten hier und jetzt erleben. Wir werden in diesem Moment erweckt. Rumi unterstreicht, dass es auf dieser Ebene keine Uneinigkeit über den Weg gibt, denn wir alle beteten zu Einen, zu dem uns der Pfad führe. Der Augenblick - wenn wir das Antlitz des Geliebten sehen - ist unser Erwachen, so Rumi. Auf dieser spirituellen Ebene gibt es keine Streitigkeiten, nur Hingabe an den Weg.

Rumis Schülerinnen Zum 750. Todestag des persischen Mystikers Rumi – In der Mevlevi-Sufi-Traditi... more Rumis Schülerinnen

Zum 750. Todestag des persischen Mystikers Rumi – In der Mevlevi-Sufi-Tradition, die auf Mevlana Rumi zurückgeht, wurden Frauen immer tief respektiert, geehrt und zur Beteiligung an sämtlichen Aspekten des spirituellen Weges eingeladen.

15. Dezember 2023, 7.00 Uhr

Es gab Mevlevi Shaykhas, spirituelle Lehrerinnen, die sowohl Frauen als auch Männer unterwiesen. Mevlana selbst zählte viele Schülerinnen zu seinen Anhängern, und Frauen wurden ermutigt, an der Sema teilzunehmen, der musikalischen Wirbelzeremonie der Mevlevis.

Die Frau ist ein Strahl Gottes

Frauen hielten üblicherweise ihre eigenen Semas ab, jedoch gab es auch gemeinsame Zeremonien mit Männern. Eine der bedeutendsten Schülerinnen von Mevlana war Fakhr an-Nisa. Vor einigen Jahren beschloss man, ihr Grab zu rekonstruieren, da es renoviert und verlegt werden musste.

Das frühere geistliche Oberhaupt des Mevlevi-Ordens, Shaykh Suleyman Hayati Dede, der 1986 starb, war anwesend, als Fakhr an-Nisa exhumiert wurde. Er berichtete, dass ihr Leichnam nach der Exhumierung völlig unversehrt gewesen sei und einen Rosenduft verströmt haben soll.

Rumi spricht in seiner Poesie oft wunderschön über das Weibliche und stellt die Frau als das vollkommenste Beispiel der schöpferischen Kraft Gottes auf Erden dar. In seinem Masnavi sagt Rumi:

„Die Frau ist ein Strahl (nūr) Gottes. Sie ist nicht nur die irdische Geliebte: Sie ist schöpferisch, man könnte sagen, sie wurde nicht erschaffen.“

Das Sema-Ritual

Rumi ermutigte Frauen dazu, religiöse Schulen zu besuchen, und er begrüßte ihre Teilnahme am Sema-Ritual. Bei diesen Sema streuten die Schülerinnen Rosen- und Jasminblüten über Rumi und folgten ihm in wirbelnden Tanz. Aus diesen Rosenblättern fertigten die Frauen später Segensgaben an.

Umgeben von Rosen sprach Rumi bis Mitternacht „mystische Bedeutungen und Geheimnisse“. Ein zeitgenössischer Bericht beschreibt, wie die verzückten Frauen in Ekstase gerieten, als Rumi mit der Aufführung des Sema begann. Ein ekstatischer Zustand überkam die Versammelten, sodass sie nicht mehr zwischen ihren Köpfen und Beinen oder ihren Schleiern und Socken unterscheiden konnten.

Der Klang von Gottes Thron Sara Kuehn zum 750. Todestag des persischen Mystikers Rumi 14. Dezemb... more Der Klang von Gottes Thron
Sara Kuehn zum 750. Todestag des persischen Mystikers Rumi

14. Dezember 2023, 06:57

Das Sema-Ritual, ein getanztes Gebet der wirbelnden Derwische, entfaltet seine Zeremonie stets mit der Lobpreisung des Propheten Mohammed und dient den Sufis als Mittel zur Vertiefung ihres Gebets zu Gott, dem Zikr.

In seiner Gänze stellt es die verschiedenen Etappen auf dem Pfad zu Gott dar, wobei jedem Element der Zeremonie eine tiefe symbolische Bedeutung zukommt. Mit dem Abwurf des dunklen Umhangs lassen die Derwische die weltlichen Belange hinter sich und beginnen sich in tiefer Versunkenheit zu Gott zu drehen.

Im Ritual symbolisiert der Derwischhut den Grabstein und das weiße Gewand das Sterbegewand des Egos. Wenn zu Beginn des Sema die Derwische den schwarzen Umhang ablegen, repräsentiert dies eine Neugeburt in der Wahrheit. Die gekreuzten Arme symbolisieren die Zahl "Eins" als Zeugnis für die Existenz des einen Gottes ("Allah" bedeutet "der eine Gott").

Während sich die Derwische von rechts nach links drehen, umarmen sie symbolisch in Liebe die gesamte Menschheit. Mit ihrer rechten Hand, nach oben zum Himmel geöffnet, erbitten sie Gottes Gnade und Empfang seiner Barmherzigkeit, während die linke Hand, auf die der Semazen seinen Blick richtet, zur Erde zeigt und so Gottes Gaben weiterreicht. Rumi erklärte, dass "die Sufis während des Semas einen anderen Klang hören - den von Gottes Thron".

Inmitten der zunehmenden Ekstase der tanzenden Derwische wird die Trennung aufgehoben und eine Verbindung mit dem Kosmos hergestellt. Die Drehungen der Derwische symbolisieren diese kosmische Verbindung, ähnlich den Planeten, die um die Sonne kreisen. Gemäß der sufischen Lehre verbindet die Liebe als die alles bewegende Kraft des Kosmos den Mittelpunkt, also Gott, mit den ihn umkreisenden, von ihm angezogenen Einzelnen, also den Planeten.

Das Lied der ewigen Sehnsucht Sara Kuehn zum 750. Todestag des persischen Mystikers Rumi 13. Dez... more Das Lied der ewigen Sehnsucht
Sara Kuehn zum 750. Todestag des persischen Mystikers Rumi

13. Dezember 2023, 06:57

In den einleitenden Zeilen seines mystischen Werks, dem Masnavi, dass für viele Menschen - nicht nur Musliminnen und Muslime - von besonderer Bedeutung ist, überträgt Rumi die traditionelle Klage der sufischen Poesie über die Trennung von Gott auf das Lied der Schilfrohrflöte:

Höre, wie dieses Schilfrohr klagt,
wie es von seinem Trennungsschmerz erzählt:
"Seit man mich vom Röhricht abgeschnitten hat,
klagen Mann und Frau in meinen Flötentönen.
Ein Herz, zerschmettert durch die Trennung, sehnt sich danach,
dass ich ihm von der Qual der Sehnsucht berichte."

Das Lied der Rohrflöte, der Ney, ist auch ein unverzichtbarer Bestandteil der Mevlevi-Musik. Eine Improvisation auf der Ney symbolisiert den ersten göttlichen Atem, der allem Leben einhaucht. Die klagende Musik der Ney, die erst aus dem Schilfrohr herausgeschnitten werden musste, soll die Menschen daran erinnern, dass sie - nach sufistischem Verständnis - einst in ihrer Ursprünglichkeit ungetrennt von Gott, dem Ursprung des Seins, waren und erst durch den Akt der Schöpfung in die Welt der Zweiheit gelangten.

Symbolisch steht sie für die Vereinzelung des Menschen, für seine Trennung vom Schöpfer. Weiterhin betont Rumi: "Jeder, der weit von seinem Ursprung entfernt ist, sehnt sich danach, wieder mit ihm vereint zu sein." Der Ursprung ist Gott selbst bzw. das als Gott imaginierte All-Eine, das kosmische Ganze.

Zu den Klängen der Ney und anderer Instrumente drehen sich die Derwische bei der Sema-Zeremonie, einer meditativen Musik- und Tanzform, die vor allem mit dem Wirbeltanz des Mevlevi-Ordens in Verbindung gebracht wird. Wie in Trance drehen sie sich mit einer Hand nach oben und der anderen nach unten um die eigene Achse und symbolisieren so die Menschheit mit ihrer Verbindung zwischen Himmel und Erde.

Rumi war wie Brot, das jeder essen muss Sara Kuehn zum 750. Todestag des persischen Mystikers Ru... more Rumi war wie Brot, das jeder essen muss
Sara Kuehn zum 750. Todestag des persischen Mystikers Rumi

12. Dezember 2023, 06:57

Der Tod von Mevlana Rumi am 17. Dezember 1273 war ein einschneidendes Ereignis für die damalige Bevölkerung Konyas.

Scheich Sadr ad-din Konevi, ein weiterer Mystiker aus Konya, der das letzte Gebet für den verstorbenen Mevlana sprechen sollte, fiel vor Kummer in Ohnmacht. Berichten zufolge nahmen neben seinen Anhängern auch zahlreiche Juden und Christen an Rumis Beerdigung teil und vergossen Tränen über den Verlust dieses bedeutenden Mannes. Einige Priester im Trauerzug äußerten sich:

"Er war unser Messias, in ihm haben wir den Geist und die Seele von Moses und Jesus gefunden. Er war wie die Sonne, die nicht nur auf einen Ort (also in der muslimischen Welt) schien, sondern auf das ganze Universum (also auf die ganze Menschheit)."
Ein griechisch-orthodoxer Priester, der sich die Tränen abwischte, soll in seiner Trauerrede gesagt haben:

"Rumi war wie Brot, das jeder essen muss. Gibt es einen Hungrigen, der sich dem Brot verweigert?"

Es ist bekannt, dass sowohl Rumi als auch sein Sohn Sultan Valad auf Griechisch sprachen und dichteten. Rumis Engagement für das soziale und kulturelle Leben der Christen und Christinnen in Anatolien war ziemlich weitreichend, insbesondere da Rumis zweite Frau, Kira-Khatun, die er nach dem Tod seiner ersten Frau heiratete, aus einer christlichen Familie stammte.

Nach Rumis Tod wurde die Qubbat-i khadra, die grüne Kuppel über seinem Grab, errichtet, die zu einem Wahrzeichen Konyas wurde. Später wurden insgesamt 55 weitere verstorbene Familienmitglieder und spirituelle Weggefährten neben Rumi bestattet. So entstand nach und nach die sogenannte Sufi-Tekke, ein Ort der Versammlung, des Studiums und des Wohnens für die Derwische, die sich zu meditativen Praktiken in kleine Zellen zurückzogen.

In Harmonie mit dem Universum Sara Kuehn zum 750. Todestag des persischen Mystikers Rumi 11. ... more In Harmonie mit dem Universum
Sara Kuehn zum 750. Todestag des persischen Mystikers Rumi

11. Dezember 2023, 06:57

Zum 750. Todestag des persischen Mystikers Rumi – Der islamische Mystiker Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi gilt vielen als der bedeutendste Meister spiritueller Dichtung im Islam.

Als Sohn eines angesehenen mystischen Theologen in Balch, im heutigen Nordafghanistan, geboren, floh Rumi als Jugendlicher kurz vor dem Einfall der Mongolen im Jahr 1220 mit seiner Familie in den Westen. Nach einer langen Wanderung ließ sich die Familie im anatolischen Konya, der damaligen Hauptstadt des Seldschukenreichs, nieder, wo Rumi bis zu seinem Tod lehrte.

Rumis Şeb-i Arûs oder Hochzeitsnacht

Rumi beschrieb, wie es für Sufis typisch ist, den Tod mit der Metapher der „Hochzeit“, eine Art intensivere spirituelle Vereinigung mit Gott. Der Todestag des berühmten islamischen Mystikers, der am 17. Dezember 1273 in Konya verstarb, wird als Şeb-i-Arus bezeichnet. Das bedeutet wörtlich übersetzt „Brautnacht“ oder „Hochzeitsnacht“, die als „Wiedervereinigung“ des Mystikers mit seinem „Geliebten“, also Allah, verstanden wird.

Sara Kuehn
ist Lektorin am Institut für Islamische Theologie der Universität Wien

In einem Vers in seinem Divan findet sich folgende Aussage:

„Wenn du mein Begräbnis siehst, sprich nicht von Trennung. Es ist Zeit, mich mit dem Geliebten zu vereinen.“

Rumi erkannte also den Tag seines Todes als „Wiedersehen mit dem Schöpfer“. Für Rumi entsteht die Beziehung zwischen Gott und Mensch jedoch nur, wenn eine gegenseitige dynamische Liebe zwischen dem Gläubigen und dem Geglaubten aktiv wird:

„Der Liebende sucht die Vereinigung, auch wenn sein Geliebter ihn nicht suchte.“

Noch heute strömen jedes Jahr viele Pilger aus aller Welt in die zentralanatolische Stadt Konya, um Rumis Şeb-i-Arus beizuwohnen. Sie besuchen das Grab des Mevlana, „unseres Meisters“ – wie Rumi genannt wird – und sprechen gemeinsam Bittgebete (dua).

In September 2019 the Inayati community, a religious community that ascribes to the mystical Sufi... more In September 2019 the Inayati community, a religious community that ascribes to the mystical Sufi dimension of Islam (formerly the Sufi Order in the West), opened ‘The Sufi Museum’ at their Dutch headquarters in The Hague (Anna Paulownastraat 78; est. 1920). They are opening another museum at their European Headquarters at Fazal Manzil (‘House of Blessing’) in the suburbs of Paris (13 Rue de la Tuilerie, 92150 Suresnes; est. 1922), the European home of the family of the founder of this Sufi movement, Inayat Khan (d. 1927). It comprises the ‘Universel Temple’, the memorial of Inayat Khan’s daughter, Noor Inayat Khan (d. 1944 at Dachau concentration camp), situated on its grounds. The private religious museums (complemented by libraries and archives) give insights into the material practices of assemblages of religious matter that are are—emically speaking—considered to be living and exhibiting agency set in spaces of religious devotion. Their exhibitions build a theoretical understanding of their belief by means of texts, illustrations, photographs, installations, audio-visual media, but give also insight into the pluralistic Inayati ways of conceptualizing and interpreting material reality. Contrary to secular museums, these museums approach their religious objects and installations from an emic (‘insider’s’) perspective inviting visitors to ‘connect’ with their religious heritage. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with exhibition makers and visitors as well as on collections analysis, this paper intends to look both at the emic meaning-making of the Inayati Sufis with regard to the public display of their living religious heritage and its etic construction.