"The religion of love, from Rabiaa, Ibn Arabî, Rumi to today..." is the theme chosen for the ninth edition of the Fès Festival of Sufi Culture scheduled from 18 to 25 April. Meetings, debates, tributes, art exhibitions, music concerts..., this year, the event is preparing to repeat the success of its previous editions with a programme that is both rich and varied.
The cultural, spiritual, poetic, artistic and philosophical heritage of Islam is very rich. No one will argue the contrary! This richness has spread over the centuries from a great diversity of cultures from the East and the West. This is what lovers of Sufism and passionate debates around this culture will discover in Fès from 18 to 25 April. This will be within the framework of the ninth edition of the Fès Festival of Sufi Culture through a rich and diversified programme around the theme: "The religion of love, from Rabiaa, Ibn Arabî, Rumi to today..." It will therefore be a question of returning to the features of this invaluable intangible heritage through several meetings-debates, conferences, music concerts, shows, but also plastic arts exhibitions.
At the opening of this ninth edition of the Fès Festival of Sufi Culture, the public will have an appointment, on 18 April, with a pleasant musical concert in tribute to Rabiaa Adawiyya: "Intimate dialogues and illuminations". This concert will bring together on stage Samira Kadiri, Fatim Azzahra Kortobi, Marwane Hajji and Salah Eddîn Mohssine. But just before, there will be the general introduction of the festivities with Faouzi Skalli, Roderick Grierson and Bariza Khiari, followed by a musical and artistic moment.
The next day, Sunday 19 April, through a round table and poetic readings, the Festival will pay a vibrant posthumous tribute to the great Tunisian thinker Abdelwahhab Meddeb. Another round table will follow on the theme: "Is there a revival of Sufism in the Muslim world?" The same evening, from 8:30 p.m., the public is invited to a samaâ concert of the Tariqas Boutchichiyya Qadiriyya and Siqilliyya. Now for Persian mystical poetry which will be the subject of a round table on Monday from 10 a.m. This round table will be followed by another at 4 p.m. on the theme: "Listen to the sound of the ney", music of the Mevlevi "Kudsi Erguner". There will also be a debate coordinated by Kudsi Erguner, Roderick Grierson and Faouzi Skalli around the theme: "Mevlevi Visions: oriental and occidental descriptions of dervish groups". And there will finally, at 8:30 p.m., two music concerts, the first by Aşkin Sesi "The voice of Love" and the second by Kudsi Erguner "Mevlevi music for Ney". Tuesday 21 April, there will be two round tables respectively at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., "Rumi and the heritage of Persian music" and "Rumi and the Mevlevi: ecstatic poetry". And at 8:30 p.m., the public will have an appointment with a samaâ concert of the Tariqa Charqawiyya.
An equally varied programme is expected for the last three days of the Festival. There will be two round tables on Wednesday 22 April: "The scriptural foundations of the religion of love" at 10 a.m. and "Presence of Rabiaa" at 4 p.m., followed by a samaâ concert of the Tariqa Rissouniyya "Al Jawhara az Zarqae". The next day, Thursday 23 April, we note two round tables: "Amazigh Sufi culture and poetry" at 10 a.m. and "Cantors of spiritual love of the East and West" at 4 p.m. and from 8:30 p.m., there will be a concert in two parts: "Amazigh songs and poetry" and "Samaâ of the Tariqa Khalwatiyya of Chaykh Nur Allah Fatih" from Turkey. And in closing this edition, Friday 24 April, there will be two round tables: "Texts and poetry of spiritual love in Morocco and Andalusia", and "Culture and expressions of spiritual love in sub-Saharan Africa". These two round tables scheduled respectively at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. will be followed from 8:30 p.m. by a final concert in two parts, namely "Samaâ of the Tariqa Wazzaniyya" and "Sufi songs of Aleppo: Tribute to Jalaluddine Weiss".
