Category: SUFI Journal

Out of the “Melting Pot” – The American Sufi Project

90CWASPSliderWebsiteSharib Khan and Dan Kurfirst in conversation with Sholeh Johnston

In the summer of 2012, tech entrepreneur Sharib Khan happened upon a dergah (Sufi meeting house) on his way to Friday prayers in New York City, and began to take part in the Thursday dhikr (devotional chanting) sessions. Inspired by the dhikr and the musicians he met there, Sharib set about forming a group to record an album of Sufi devotional music, encompassing all of the various Sufi traditions represented by those who gathered at his dergah. The result was the launch of the American Sufi Project (ASP) and their first album, (Vol 1). Sharib and Dan Kurfirst, Creative Director of ASP, sat down with us to share their story.

SJ: Tell us about the traditions of Sufi music represented in the album.

DK: We perform several traditional pieces of music from the Ottoman Turkish repertoire, and one traditional Kurdish piece from the Ahl-e Haqq tradition. There are also a couple of improvised pieces which feature recitation of classical Persian poetry accompanied by the Persian kemenche [stringed instrument played with a bow]. For the first album we focused on Iranian, Turkish and Kurdish traditions because our training, and that of our ensemble guest musicians, such as John Ferrara, Juliet Rabia Gentile, Mehdi Layegh, and Bahman Karimnia, is more extensive in these styles.

SJ: What place does music have in your spiritual practice?

DK: Music, if done with proper intention, has the potential to reveal tastes of Allah’s divine names, the beautiful qualities of God that manifest in this world. The subtleties of these qualities can be difficult to speak about within the limitations of the spoken word, so music can give us an opportunity to go a bit deeper.

SK: I’m not sure if anyone has ever quantified an expression for the effect of sound, but if a picture is worth a thousand words, I feel a musical note may be worth a few thousand experiences as well. Every time I hear these notes, you can almost hear the echoes of the eternal universal hum that binds us as all together resonate through your being. These sounds can ground you in the moment and take you inwards.

SJ: What are your plans for the future?

DK: Simply, we want to continue to do our best to create content, that has a positive spiritual effect on people and can elevate the culture of our times, and then do our best to bring that content to as many people as possible. Our next step is to perform several concerts in NYC before heading to Bangladesh and India to perform in the Sufi Sutra Festival 2016.

“Vol. 1” is available online and in CD format via the American Sufi Project website: www.americansufiproject.com

ARTWORK

1, 2 © courtesy The American Sufi Project

 

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Archives 90 – Winter Issue

90-Editors'NoteLatestIssueWebsiteFROM THE EDITORS

Editors’ Note
This, the 90th edition of SUFI, shines a light on how the skeins of human experience can untangle to reveal a glimpse of spiritual truth, and how they can be distilled to a living spiritual devotion as described by Alireza Nurbakhsh in his discourse on the Sufi term eradat. READ MORE

 

 

 

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90AngelEarthLastestIssueWebsiteDISCOURSE

12 Feb 2015, Kanchanaburi, Thailand --- A Buddhist monk plays with a tiger at the Wat Pa Luang Ta Bua, otherwise known as Tiger Temple, in Kanchanaburi province February 12, 2015. Thai officials last week raided the Buddhist temple that is home to more than 100 tigers and are currently conducting an investigation into suspected links to wildlife trafficking. Authorities from Thailand's Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation on Thursday checked 143 Bengal tigers living at the temple, and found them to be in good health. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha (THAILAND - Tags: ANIMALS RELIGION SOCIETY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) --- Image by © ATHIT PERAWONGMETHA/Reuters/Corbis

DEVOTION
by Alireza Nurbakhsh

ARTICLES

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TROUBLED WATERS
by Mark Nepo

90EdmondsonLatestIssueWebsiteLOSING THE NARRATIVE SELF
by Philip Edmondson

90GouldLatestIssueWebsite HASAN SIJZI OF DELHI
The Persian Ghazal
by Rebecca Gould

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90EdmondsonLastestIssueWebsiteINTERVIEWS

90FoxInterviewLatestIssueWebsiteTHE LIVING CHRIST AND CREATION SPIRITUALITY
Interview with Matthew Fox
interviewed by Joe Daoud Martin

90GregoryInterviewLatestIssueWebsiteSUFISM IN PRACTICE
Interview with a Sufi Shaykh
interviewed by Mary Gossy

CULTUREWATCH

90CWGibranInterview-LatestIssueWebsiteTHE PROPHET – KAHLIL GIBRAN FILM
Roger Allers in conversation
with Sholeh Johnston and Melissa Rothmann

 

90CWASPLatestIssueWebsiteOUT OF THE MELTING POT
The American Sufi Project
Sharib Khan and Dan Kurfirst in
conversation with Sholeh Johnston

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90GouldLatestIssueWebsite
CULTUREWATCH
BOOK REVIEWS

Inside the Miracle: Enduring
Suffering, Approaching Wholeness
by Mark Nepo
reviewed by David Paquiot

Memoirs of a Moth: The Life of Shaykh Tosun Al-Jerrahi
by Tosun Bayrak
reviewed by Jawid Mojaddedi

POETRY

SECRETS OF LOVE
by Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh

90SecretsofLovePoemLatestIssueWebsiteGAME OF HEARTS
by Roger Loff

THE ROAD FLOWS OVER A HILL
by Gunilla Norris

SOMETHING INSIDE
by John Wolf

GO! GO!
by Jeni Couzyn

FEATURED POET
Gunilla Norris

90FeaturePoetNorris-LatestIssueWebsite

FEATURED ARTIST
Rob Mulholland

90FeatureArtistMulhollandLatestIssueWebsite

 

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Print and digital subscriptions available. Buy SUFI now.

 

 

Archives 89 – Editors’ Note

89_FRONTCOVER_SLIDEREditors’ Note

At the heart of nearly every spiritual tradition is the figure of the spiritual guide or leader whom seekers turn to for guidance and inspiration and choose to follow as disciples. In this issue of SUFI, various facets of the role of the guide are explored across different spiritual paths,

Archives 89 – The Spiritual Guide

89-DISCOURSE-Sliderby Alireza Nurbakhsh

A guide is only a channel to aid the traveler in arriving at the truth. Guides by definition, therefore, cannot be the objects of spiritual quests; their only function is to show followers the right path in a wilderness full of dangers and pitfalls. We cannot overcome our shortcomings by ourselves.

Archives 89 – Tibetan Buddhism

8-VALENTINE-Sliderby Jay Valentine

Teacher-Student Relationships in Tibetan Buddhism. The importance of a strong relationship with an authentic teacher is absolutely essential. In the esoteric traditions, the lama comes to be the student’s physical and spiritual connection to the lineage of masters

Archives 89 – Irada / Devotion

89-IRADA-SLIDERby H. Talat Halman

The Space Where Sufism Happens. The disciple must become a lover of the Master’s sainthood, so that he can depart from the power of his own longing, and the desirer (murid, i.e. the disciple) can become the one desired (murad, the Master). — Gharib

Archives 89 – The Guide: Interview with a Sufi Shaykh

89-INTERVIEW-SliderInterview by Safoura Nourbakhsh

Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh was the master of the Nimatullahi Sufi Order for 55 years before his passing on October 10, 2008. It is still difficult for most of his disciples to talk about him in the past tense. His photographs continue to grace the walls of the khaniqahs,

Archives 89 – Transcendent Being or Fallible Human?

[caption id="attachment_9791" align="alignright" width="300"]Monuments and Heritage sites Monuments and Heritage sites[/caption]

by Angela Burt

In Search of the Authentic Guru in the Gaudiya Vaishnava Tradition. The qualities and qualifications of a guru who is worthy of offering guidance and who can help the disciple to become free from material existence