Famous Tunisian Director Nacer Khemir visited the Institute for Sufi Studies

Tunisian Nacer Khemir, who is the director of dramas and documentaries such as Bab'Aziz, Whispering Sands, Looking for Muhyiddin and The Dove’s Lost Necklace, visited the Institute for Sufi Studies at Üsküdar University with his wife Nawara Khemir. During the visit, Khemir was informed on the works being carried out within the Institute.

Khemir, who was deemed worthy of the "Necip Fazıl International Culture and Arts Award" within the scope of the 2023 Necip Fazıl Awards, visited the Institute for Sufi Studies at Üsküdar University with his wife Nawara Khemir while he was in İstanbul to attend the award ceremony.

Meeting with Üsküdar University Sufi Studies Institute Director Prof. Elif Erhan and doctoral students, Nacer Khemir was informed about the graduate programs of the Institute for Sufi Studies.

Khemir, who also asked questions about the course process, made evaluations especially on Sufi text studies and comprehension of the poetic and aesthetic dimensions of Sufism. He was informed about the Sufi music studies carried out at the institute, the postgraduate theses on "zikr" and rituals in the tradition.

Khemir was told that Sufi literature, especially poetry and music, are being studied within the scope of the project carried out jointly by the institute and Kyoto University. In addition to the lectures on calligraphy and illumination from the Classical Islamic Arts held within the Institute, art history seminars were also mentioned.

Master director Khemir, who is one of the first names that come to mind when it comes to Tunisian cinema, has a filmography that emphasizes Islamic Sufi thought, especially against the increasing Islamophobic tendencies in the post-September 11 world.

Following in the footsteps of Muhyiddin Ibn al-Arabi, one of the greatest names in the Islamic thought tradition, Khemir embarks on a long journey into the spirit of Islam through his personal life with his epic 3-hour documentary Looking for Muhyiddin.

Bab'Aziz, one of his best-known and poetic films, deals with different states of love through the journey story of a grandfather and grandson.

The event is planned with Khemir...

In the coming days, the Institute for Sufi Studies plans to hold a program on cinema and Sufism as part of a joint study with Khemir.

Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)