Those of you who came to the St John’s Lent course will remember the final session on the Sufi tradition within Islam, that rich seam of mystical reflection best known through the poetry of Rumi, a 13th century spiritual teacher.
I am writing this in Konya, in Turkey, where Rumi is known as Mevlana ‘the master’ – where he found sanctuary with his family from Afghanistan and where he lived, taught and died. It was once the Roman city of Iconium, visited by Paul and Barnabas (see Acts 13.51ff) one of many places where there is evidence of ancient Hittite mythology and Greek and Roman religion morphing into Judaism, Christianity and Islam, giving Konya a long, rich and noble history. Sometimes those faith communities lived in gentle mutual tolerance, as taught by Rumi. Sometimes it was more fiercely and violently adversarial as in the Seljuk and Ottoman empires. Together with Ataturk’s secularising 20th century legacy, and President Erdogan’s more recent religious conservatism, Konya today is the cultural holy hub for Turks in the way that we Anglicans might think of Canterbury or Roman Catholics might think of Rome.
Such a rich mixture of religions and cultures is educational and humbling. Visiting Iconium/Konya (and the ruins of other once great cities on the silk route) is a reminder that peace is a good thing. It creates stability, sustainable opportunities and vision. A commitment to the way of beauty and love in public structures is one I often grieve for in London where city-wide planning is not always given so much care. Buildings matter.
Yesterday we visited Rumi’s shrine. It rang with birdsong and schoolchildren, a place of pilgrimage and joy. Although technically now a museum, it had space for prayer and reflection. After his death, the shrine complex grew to be home to a community of Rumi’s Sufi followers and only closed in 1925 when Ataturk was embarking on the creation of the modern state. Ataturk was no iconoclast, but he saw the danger of religious nationalism and the power of the many Islamic cults. The relationship between religion and the state, as we know from our own history of reformation, is seldom straightforward. The Sufis, like other groups, were suppressed – but not crushed. Their spiritual vision of beauty, spirituality, loving compassion is – like Rumi himself – a significant focus still for all those who long for better understanding between the world’s religions. His poetry cries out for appreciation of music and beauty, alongside dialogue and philosophical struggle, as the way to deepen our love for God and God’s universe.
‘Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshipper, lover of leaving. It doesn’t matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. come, even if you have broken your vows a thousand times. Come, yet again’. Mevlana Celaledin Rumi
This month the church celebrates the great feast of Pentecost – the day when the first witnesses of the resurrection were empowered for their mission. Travelling to ancient Iconium (now Konya) I have been struck by the courage and resilience shown by Paul and Barnabas and wondered at the spiritual resources which sustained them.
The stunning cities of Anatolia, and the poetry and mystery to which Rumi’s poetry of divine love also leads us, are inspirational. For the Sufis mutual tolerance and love of human community is fundamental – putting inter-faith understanding at the roots of peace with justice. Rumi’s profound universalism is not unlike Jesus’ ministry and Paul’s mission. The description of a universal Pentecost in Acts 2 offers us backbone to sustain love, hope and beauty in dark times:
‘Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene’ Acts 2.8
– a reminder that there have been times when religious people did not always need to be at each others’ throats. We too can lean deeply into the loving heart of the universe and, like Sufis and the early apostles, trust and follow the path set before us however mysterious.
With Love
Georgie Bell
Now read about Dances, Demonstrations and Dangers in May here
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