2022 Sufi Festival to be held in Glasgow later this month

Image by sufifestival.org

The 2022 Sufi Festival is coming to Glasgow this month in what is termed as a deep dive ‘into the art and culture of Sufism, from music, poetry and theatre, to art and craft, storytelling, and ritual ceremonies of devotion’. 

Set to take place on the 23^rd and 24^th of July across The Tramway and The Hidden Gardens in Scotland’s biggest city, the festival will also see events being held in Southside areas of Pollokshields and Govanhill.

Inaugurated in 2019, the festival has become a popular attraction for many who attend to understand Sufism in more depth. The event this year will see many highly regarded academics and Sufi scholars talk about the ‘history, ideas and relevance of Sufism in the world today’ along with ‘a visual art exhibition by Turkish photographer Omer Saruhanlioglu’.

On Saturday, 23 July, Egyptian-British scholar and Director of the Ihsan Institute, Shaykh Ahmed Saad al-Azhari, and Syrian-American scholar, author and Director of the Madina Institute and Professor of Theology at the University of Atlanta, Georgia, Shaykh Dr Muhammad al-Ninowy, will hold talks as part of the Sufi Conference, the first of its kind to be held at the festival. On Sunday, 24 July, the main programme of the festival will be held.

Guests at the special reception for the event will include the Archbishop of Glasgow William Nolan and Senior Rabbi of Scotland Moshe Rubin – alongside the Lord Provost, elected members of local government and leading international Islamic scholars.

The festival is taking place in partnership with Penny Appeal, Tramway Theatre / Glasgow Life, Artzi-i (UK’s largest dedicated Islamic art gallery), the University of Edinburgh Al Waleed Centre, Awaz FM and British Muslim TV. It is being funded by Creative Scotland, Arts and Business Scotland, and the Glasgow Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund. Tickets are available online for free on www.sufifestival.org through Eventbrite. A paid evening concert will also be held with performances from Shah e Mardan, a Qawwali ensemble that will be spearheaded by a former trainee of the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, known to be as the greatest Sufi singer of all time.