|  SUFI
SOHBET
AND PRACTICE
Sherif Baba
Sufism reflects the mystical side of Islam and its teachings
focus on developing love, tolerance, and wisdom in a human
being. The Sufis employ the use of several practices to awaken
one’s true nature. In this workshop, Sufi teacher Sherif
Baba will introduce the practice of sohbet or mystical conversation.
In the practice of sohbet, teachings are transmitted from
teacher to students through storytelling, presence, and sacred
space. A sohbet can encompass the physical and mundane or
the metaphysical and sublime. Sufism is nondogmatic and people
of all faiths are welcome.
For centuries, the Sufis have also used movement, sound,
music, repetition of sacred phrases, and the circle of friends
to remember the Divine Presence. Sherif Baba will offer the
practice of zikr (remembrance) on the Saturday evening after
the workshop.
| Sherif Baba
was born in Turkey. He began his religious training
at the age of six in a school where he learned
to memorize the Quran, Islam’s holiest book,
and continued his education at the age of 17 at
a traditional medresse (Islamic seminary). At
33, he felt the need for a larger perspective
and found it in the spiritual teachings of Sufism.
Sherif Baba received his Sufi training from the
Rifa’i-Marufi, Halveti, Qadiri, Bektashi,
and Melami Sufi orders in Turkey. He is currently
the spiritual head of the Rifai-Marufi order and
teaches regularly throughout the United States
and Turkey. He is the host of the annual Rumi
Festival in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
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