Category Archives: tassawuf

From Mods to Mecca

Posted on October 25, 2013 by Ian Whiteman

Nostalgia has always been big business. Look how the Victorians ached for a romantic gothic past and the Edwardians for a rapidly disappearing bucolic world with the arts and crafts revival. To find my own past the subject of a … Continue reading →

Posted in music, Publishing, religion, sacred knowledge, tassawuf, Uncategorized | 6 Comments

The Descent of Man

Posted on October 19, 2013 by Ian Whiteman

The latest L’Oreal TV ad goes like this: A beautiful female model pouts, “I believe in science, I don’t believe in miracles.” It’s a statement of faith. Odd, as they have a product called Revitalift Miracle Blur. So I don’t think L’Oreal … Continue reading →

Posted in language, miscellaneous, religion, sacred knowledge, science, tassawuf, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Rumi, Rihlas and Other Considerations

Posted on August 11, 2013 by Ian Whiteman

If you are Turkish, Afghan or Iranian, most likely you would consider your ‘bard’ to be Jalaluddin Muhammad Rumi the great poet and Imam who is buried in Konya, the capital of central Anatolia, Turkey. He was born in Balkh, … Continue reading →

Posted in language, miscellaneous, religion, sacred knowledge, tassawuf, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

A Worm in Your Ear

Posted on November 10, 2012 by Ian Whiteman

Ear worms crawl in your ear when you least expect and when you suddenly find yourself singing a melody in your head you didn’t really want to, over and over again. Apparently it is worse if you are musical. Worse … Continue reading →

Posted in miscellaneous, music, religion, tassawuf | 2 Comments

More from Sarajevo 1997

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Ian Whiteman

Bosnian Hafiz Alili recites here (mp3s below) some opening ayats of Sura Rahman which opened the Yusuf Islam concert put on in Sarajevo in 1997 to help promote Bosnian culture in war-wracked Bosnia two years after the war finished. Maybe … Continue reading →

Posted in language, miscellaneous, music, religion, tassawuf, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

A Complete Dip in the Ocean (and how to get it)

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Ian Whiteman

“Some of the great spiritual music of the world, rarely heard but strangely familiar – its thousand year-old tradition must have influenced a Northern Europe coming out of the dark ages -played and sung here by today’s greatest exponents,this is … Continue reading →

Posted in miscellaneous, music, religion, tassawuf | 7 Comments

Chocolate Bunnies

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Ian Whiteman

Easter is a strange time of year in Spain. As a puzzled young mother said to me: How do you explain what all the chocolate bunnies, crucifixions and fireworks mean to a two year old boy. How do you? I suggested … Continue reading →

Posted in miscellaneous, religion, tassawuf, Uncategorized | 1 Comment