Rumi and the Whirling Dervishes: Being an Account of the Sufi Order Known As the Mevlevis and Its Founder the Poet and Mystic Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi - Softcover

Friedlander, Shems; Uzel, Nezih

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0930407598 ISBN 13: 9780930407599

Publisher: Morning Light Pr, 2003

Synopsis

This book, beautifully illustrated with rare photographs of dervishes, tells the tale of the Sufi order and of one of its founders, poet and mystic Mevlana Jalalu’ddin Rumi. After Rumi’s death in 1273, the whirling dance, or sema, was established as part of the Mevlevi’s prayer ritual, and it has been performed by them ever since. The sema survives to this day, a statement of a timeless and passionate yearning toward God.

With a special section devoted to Mevlevi music and introductions by Annemarie Schimmel and Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Rumi and the and the Whirling Dervishes offers an unparalleled glimpse into the Mevlevi’s ecstatic practices.

About this title

About the Author:

Shems Friedlander is a senior lecturer at the American University in Cairo and the author of Rumi: The Hidden Treasure, Ninety-Nine Names of Allah, and Submission: Sayings of the Prophet Muhammad. He has had several photography and painting exhibitions and received more than 30 awards, including the Silver Award of the New York Art Directors' Club annual exhibition of graphic design.

From Publishers Weekly:

The popularity of the legendary Sufi poet and mystic Mevlana Jalalu'ddin Rumi (1207-1273) continues to grow in the West even as Islam has come under critical scrutiny because of radical Islamic terrorism. Much is known about Rumi, of course, as well as about the Mevlevis, the Sufi order he founded. So the essays here, while useful to a beginner and of interest to cognoscenti for their pedigree (Schimmel, who died earlier this year, and Nasr are arguably the world's two foremost scholars of Islam, while Friedlander, himself a Mevlevi dervish, is a senior lecturer at the American University in Cairo) carry less import than what really sets this book apart from others on Rumi and the Mevlevis: the illustrations. Myriad b&w photographs by Friedlander, numerous additional historical illustrations and the splendid color cover photo of whirling dancers capture the longing, the rapture and the God-graced mindfulness of the Sufis in contemplation, at prayer and at dance. The text itself is popular yet authoritative, detailing the life of Rumi, the evolution of his thought and poetry, the history of the Sufis and of Rumi's legacy, and-in the rarer contribution by Uzel-the history of and thinking behind dervish music. Words plus photos work together to make for an unusual, informed and remarkably appealing introduction to Rumi and his astonishing celebrations of the Divine.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Morning Light Pr
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0930407598
• ISBN 13: 9780930407599
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 167