Universal Sufism

In this first edition of New Religion, we’ll focus on Islamic esotericism, the mystical branch of Islam which seeks hidden truths (in the Qur’an) through revelation and intellection. The most known current of Islamic esotericism in the West, popularized by the 13th-century poet Rumi, is Sufism. Interestingly, since the 20th and 21th century there's a trend of Westerners converting or ‘reverting’ to a new form of Sufism: Universal Sufism. In this programme, we'll delve into how and why Westerners are drawn to Universal Sufism with Dr. Liana Saif, an expert on Islamic esotericism. We will also be joined by Alim Braakman, a second generation sufi and poet, who will give us an insight from within and who will perform works from Rumi, Hafez and his own. And last but not least, we will receive a reading from Hafez by Safa Kamdideh, who is a trans-disciplinary artist and researcher. The session will be moderated by our student-in-residence Sam Kailani, who studies Religion Sciences at the University of Amsterdam. For this first edition of the New Religion series, we invite everyone to join us for a drink after the programme in VOX-POP.

Practical information

Doors will open at 16.30 and the programme will start at 17.00. Entrance and drinks are free. Please register for this event in advance.

Speakers

Liana Saif (PhD, 2012) recently joined the Centre for the Study of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents as Assistant Professor in the History of Esotericism in the Middle Ages. Saif’s work focuses on Islamic esotericism and the occult sciences, with a special interest in the exchange of esoteric and occult knowledge between the Islamic and Latin ecumenes. Her book The Arabic Influences on Early Modern Occult Philosophy was published in 2015. She is currently preparing a long-awaited critical translation from Arabic into English of Maslama b. Qāsim al-Qurṭubī’s (d. 964) Ghāyat al-ḥakīm (the Picatrix in Latin). She has conducted research on the tenth-century secret brotherhood Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ (The Brethren of Purity), the pseudo-Aristotelian Hermetica, and Jābir ibn Ḥayyān (Geber in Latin). She also worked as a project curator at the British Museum, deepening her interest in the material and artistic manifestations of the occult and the esoteric.

Alim Braakman is a second generation sufi, who holds a MSc from Utrecht University in Cultural Anthropology. He works as a coach, wherein he helps people to achieve (mental) well-being. As a poet, he has been renegotiating the terms in which we comprehend the world as well as creating space for new life to emerge in the world we share. He also is a chef, and most importantly a father. Together with his family, he lives on a arboretum in France from where he tries to discover how we as a people can make this world a better place.

As a trans-disciplinary artist and researcher, Safa Kamdideh is dedicated to dwelling in the intersections of art, culture, and mysticism. With years of experience in Iran and Europe, their unique approach to Mysticism encompasses performance art, Tarot readings, and the mystical poetry of Rumi and Hafez, providing transcendental insight and guidance. Their recitals and readings bring audiences on a journey to the deepest corners of themselves, offering profound knowledge and wisdom along the way.

New Religion

In the public programme series ‘New Religion’, we’ll investigate the trend of secularization and the evolving perception of religion. During this three-part series, we’ll be joined by academic scholars, experts by experience, activists, believers, practitioners and artists to try to understand what religion really encompasses. Through examining contemporary movements, we aim to uncover any hidden spirituality within them.

In our first session, we'll investigate how 'old' traditions inspire new movements, focusing on the trend of Westerners embracing Universal Sufism. The second session will challenge traditional criteria for defining religion, exploring whether movements like the Climate Movement can be considered forms of religious belief. In the final session we’ll dive into the future; will AI become a spiritual leader for people, develop its own spirituality, or offer insights into the supernatural? New Religion aims to broaden the notion of religion and spirituality. It hopes to serve as a mirror to discover if we already are part of a current that might be (somewhat) spiritual afterall.

About our student-in-residence Sam Kailani

Sam’s curiosity for the different ways people give meaning to their lives brought him to the field of Religion Sciences. It was within this field, he started to understand how difficult it actually is to define religion. He noticed how the public had this old fashioned idea of what it entails, but he also noticed how self-proclaimed secular people were part of social groups that had certain rituals, even dogma’s, and he asked himself: isn’t this just a new form of religion? It fuelled the idea for this programme series wherein he wants to investigate the broadness of the spectrum of religion and spirituality and he hopes the series can serve as a mirror for people to reflect on their own spirituality. Sam is currently doing his Bachelor Religious Studies at the University of Amsterdam.