The Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies (Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies ASAFAS, Kenan Rifai Center for Sufi Studies), Kyoto University, in cooperation with the Institute of Sufi Studies, under the direction of Prof. Yasushi Tonaga, organized "Comprehensive Study of Sufism: Through Metaphysics, Literature, Music and Rituals" (A Comprehensive Study of Sufism: Through Metaphysics, Literature, Music and Rituals" under the direction of Prof. Yasushi Tonaga. The project will last for 6 years and is supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), an organization that funds scientific research in Japan.
Within the scope of the project, on August 28, 2023, "Bridging Mystical Philosophy and Arts in Sufism: Poetry, Music and Sama' Ritual" was organized on August 28, 2023. Simultaneous interpretation in Turkish and English was provided at the symposium.
“Bridging Mystical Philosophy and Arts in Sufism:
Poetry, Music and Sama’ Ritual”
Date: August 28th Monday, 2023
Time: 10.00-18.15
Venue: Nermin Tarhan Hall
10.00-11.30
Opening Session
Welcoming Speeches
Cemalnur Sargut
Adviser to the Rector, Üsküdar University, İstanbul, Türkiye
Founder of Kerim Foundation
Mahmud Erol Kılıç, Ph.D., Prof.
Research Center for Islamic History, Art, and Culture (IRCICA)/
The Institute for Sufi Studies, Üsküdar University, İstanbul, Türkiye former Ambassador to Jakarta
Yasushi Tonaga, Ph.D., Prof.
“Aim and Scope of the Joint Research ‘Comprehensive Study of Sufism:
Through Metaphysics, Literature, Music, and Rituals”
The Kenan Rifai Center for Sufi Studies, Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
Hikmet Koçak, MD. Prof.
Vise Rector of Üsküdar University, Medical School of Üsküdar University
Break 15 minute
11.45-12.45
Session１Mystical Thought of Sufis
Chairperson: Kenan Gürsoy, Ph.D., Prof.
Former Ambassador to the Vatican and (Emeritus) Professor of Philosophy
President of the Board of Trustees and Executive Board of Cenan Foundation
Petek Kutucuoğlu, MA.Stu.
“Ahmed Avni Konuk’s Mathnawi Commentary and the Concept of Predisposition”
The Institute for Sufi Studies, Üsküdar University, İstanbul, Türkiye
Azusa Fujimoto, Ph.D.-C.
“New Spirituality and Sufism in Turkey:
Focusing on New Age Interpretations of Mawlana”
Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
Reşat Öngören, Ph.D., Prof.
“Dimensions of Sufi Thought in Mawlana Jalal al-Din Rumi”
The Institute for Sufi Studies, Üsküdar University, İstanbul, Türkiye
12.45-13.00 Q&A
14.30-15.25
Session 2 Literature of Sufism
Chairperson: Masayuki Akahori, Ph.D., Prof.
Faculty of Global Studies, Director, Institute of Islamic Area Studies (SIAS),
Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan
Yasushi Tonaga, Ph.D., Prof.
“Akbarian Interpretation of Sufi Poems: Dawud al-Qaysari’s Commentary on al-Ta’iya al-Kubra by Ibn al-Farid” (tentative)
Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies,
Director, The Kenan Rifai Center for Sufi Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
Emine Yeniterzi, Ph.D., Prof.
“Mawlana Jalal al-Din Rumi’s Influence in Turkish Sufi Literature:
Stories from Mathnawi”
The Institute for Sufi Studies, Üsküdar University, İstanbul, Türkiye
15.25-16.15
Session 3：Sufi Music
Chairperson: H. Dilek Güldütuna, Ph.D., Asst. Prof.
The Institute for Sufi Studies, Üsküdar University, İstanbul, Türkiye
Manami Suzuki, Ph.D., Asst. Prof.
“Ney in Mevlevi: Forming the Sacredness of Ritual Instruments through
Mythology and Practice”
The Kenan Rifai Center for Sufi Studies, Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
V. Emre Ömürlü, Ph.D., Prof.
(Ph.D.-C)
“Mawlawi Collations (Muqabalah) in Mawlawi Rites and
Types of Practicing Dhikr in Some Tariqas”
The Institute for Sufi Studies, Üsküdar University, İstanbul, Türkiye
Break 15 minute
16.30-17.45
Session 4：Ritual of Sufism
Chairperson: Yasushi Tonaga, Ph.D., Prof.
H. Dilek Güldütuna, Ph.D., Asst. Prof.
“Wayfaring (Sayr wa Suluk) Symbolism in Sama’ Ritual”
The Institute for Sufi Studies, Üsküdar University, İstanbul, Türkiye
Masayuki Akahori, Ph.D. Prof.
“Reviewing Anthropology of Sufism: Changing Perspectives”
Faculty of Global Studies, Director, Institute of Islamic Area Studies (SIAS), Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan
F. Cangüzel Güner Zülfikar, Ph.D., Asst. Prof.
“Mawlawi-khana as Civilized and Civilizing Spaces”
The Institute for Sufi Studies, Üsküdar University, İstanbul, Türkiye
17.45-18.15
General Discussion:
Towards a Comprehensive Understanding of Sufism
Chairperson: F. Cangüzel Güner Zülfikar, Ph.D., Asst. Prof.
The Institute for Sufi Studies, Üsküdar University, İstanbul, Türkiye
