Sufi conference in Vienna: ‚Art as Zikr. Finding divine ecstasy in artistic expression‘

Name: Sufi conference in Vienna: ‚Art as Zikr. Finding divine ecstasy in artistic expression‘
Start: 2026-05-09T09:00:00+02:00
End: 2026-05-10T19:00:00+02:00
Location: Haus des Friedens

Schedule

Sat, 09 May, 2026 at 09:00 am to Sun, 10 May, 2026 at 07:00 pm

UTC+02:00

Location

Haus des Friedens | Wien, WI

International Sufi Conference in Vienna
May 9-10th, 2026
‚Art as Zikr.
Finding divine ecstasy in artistic expression“
Limited places in-person at Haus des Friedens, online Tickets.
Registration: [email protected]
and [email protected]
The Inayatiyya, the interfaith Sufi order of spiritual freedom active throughout the world, invites you to a conference on art and spirituality. Some great international spiritual leaders and visionaries will share their insights on the proposed theme, a contribution in a difficult historical moment in which humanity needs to rise above ignorance.
Artists are revolutionaries just like prophets and sages. Their creativity produces narratives and stimulates new ways of seeing and understanding. Whenever the world is on the brink of change, artists, writers, and thinkers are at the forefront of opening new horizons for human imagination and thought.
An artist is a spokesperson because they convey the message of divine majesty through the grandeur and beauty of their works.
By stimulating deeper thought and intriguing the observer, art has the ability to draw us into the mysterious depths of our soul, where we have the opportunity to encounter the Divine Artist: Al-Musawwir.
Can we turn to art to learn the wisdom of harmony, beauty, and mystery in the
simultaneous presence of a complexity of colors, lines, sounds, shapes, and structures?
Can we read in art the spiritual activity that creates myths that can guide us along the path of Ariadne's thread? Along a creative path, we must find our way through a labyrinth. We take wrong turns, we bump into walls, we get lost. This happens in order to find the treasure at the center of ourselves, the true magic of creativity.
When we succeed in giving birth to our creativity, we explode with ecstasy because in finding it we have found ourselves. It is the discovery of Al-Wājid: “the Seeker: He who has found and obtained everything.”
Programme:
SATURDAY, 09.05.2026:
9:00 – 10:15 Lecture 1:
Murshida Amat-un- Nur
Moses presents the ten commandments. (Raffaello around 1519)
An exploration of the depiction of the Horned-Moses in medieval art and sculpture as a symbol of veiled Divine Glory.
10:45 – 12:00 Lecture 2:
Muhammad Valsan
Calligraphie et science des noimbres dans le Coran-Dhikr.
Translated into English.
12:30 – 14:00 Lunch
15:00 – 16:15 Lecture 3:
Shaykh Hamdi Ben Aïssa
The Divine Song. Sacred Chant Across Traditions
From the Psalms and Sufi Odes to the Bhagavad Gītā and the Qur’an
17:00 – 19:00: Sacred Dance
Introduction: Neil Douglas-Klotz Saadi Shakur Chishti
The Art of Personality and Sacred Movement as Zikr
19:00 - 20:00 Dinner
Programme
SUNDAY, 10.05.2026:
9:00 – 10:15 Lecture 1:
Neil Douglas-Klotz Saadi Shakur Chishti
The Qur*anic Beautiful Names found in the Aramaic Words of Yeshua, Issa Ruh Allāh.
10:45 – 12:00 Lecture 2:
Murshida Fawzia Al-Rawi
Allāh is beauty and loves beauty.
The concept of beauty and majesty in Art
12:30 – 14:00 Lunch
15:00 – 16:30: Q&A
17:00 – 19:00
Healing Music Session / Painting
Introduction: Fawzia Al-Rawi
19:00 – 20:00 Dinner