About
Sufism represents one of the most important forms of personal piety and social organization in the modern Islamic world. Sufi orders recruit from different social classes, age groups and gender. Both men and women become Sufis, and even children participate in Sufi ritual activities. Sufism is closely associated with popular religion, but it also has produced the most elite expressions of Islamic teachings.
Sufis are often seen as opposed to ulama, yet ulama have always been counted among its devotees. A huge literature of piety written by Sufi ulama on different aspects of knowledge esoteric and exoteric. The region known as the Islamic West includes historical Andalusia, North and West Africa has a long and rich Sufi heritage. Sufi orders such as the Shadhiliyya, the Tijaniyya and the Qadiriyya were all born in the Middle East and North African region, but their center of gravity shifted to West Africa.
The African Sufi Ziyara Program is designed to introduce students and aspirants to the study of this heritage. It includes trips to Morocco and Senegal, guided tours in Rabat and Fez in Morocco, Touba, and Medina Baye in Senegal, lectures by learned scholars, participation in spiritual activities in Sufi zawiya.
This program seeks to create awareness of this rich shared heritage by exposing participants to the history, spirituality, architecture of Sufism in the Islamic West. Through creative and on-site learning, the program brings together the necessary ingredients for learning about the history of Sufism in the Islamic West, and experiencing its lived reality in the modern context.
The program offers three packages: A North African only package (one week), a West African only package (one week), a North-West African package (two weeks).
Packages include a round trip ticket from Boston, accommodations, local transportation in air-conditioned buses, meals, guided visits in Rabat and Fez in Morocco, Dakar, Touba, Kaolack and the beautiful Iles du Saloum in Senegal, as well as opportunities for participants to participate in rituals in Sufi zawiyas in North and West Africa.
Dates
North-African only program: August 13th-20th 2021.
West-African only program: August 20th-27th. 2021
North-West African program: August 13th-27th, 2021.