The View from Fez was very fortunate to be invited to a private Sufi ceremony held in the beautiful grounds of the Fez Hadara. It was a wonderful follow-on from the screening earlier in the day of Simon Broughton's film, Sufi Soul.
The Sufism is the popular mystical form of Islam with traditions based around music induced trance. As Broughton's film stated, the love of God rather than fear lies at the heart of the Sufi path. The word Sufi comes from the the Arabic word for wool; a reference to the garments worn by early Sufis.
The split with Wahabist Islam, which teaches that music is sinful, is really an expression of their distaste with the Sufi claim of a personal connection with the divine. Critics of the Sufis argue that a personal connection with God is a threat to Wahabi power.
The ceremony we attended was conducted by the Fassi brotherhood, Tariqa Aissaouia. Descendents of Sheikh Lhadi ben Aissa who died in Meknes in 1526. We have commented before on the therapeutic quality of their chanting and music, we can now also say that its ability to evoke spectacular trance states is simply amazing.
The brotherhood is renowned for working with disabled and mentally handicapped people and also have a reputation for fine music. We thank them and the organisers for allowing us to attend and take photographs.
For those that were there, photographs are available for free download. Simply email: suzanna.clarke@gmail.com and include the name of the English media director for the Fez Festival and we will email you the link.
Tags: Morocco Fes, Maghreb news
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