Sufi Center Berlin

History

The Sufi Centre Rabbaniyya and the head of the Centre, Sheikh Eşref Efendi belong to the Naqshbandi Sufi Order. The title of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order has changed throughout the centuries. According to the handed-down tradition of Sufi masters, the lineage of the Sufi order can be traced back to the Prophet Mohammed himself.

The knowledge and the secrets of the Prophet Mohammed have been passed down throughout the centuries in an unbroken chain of 40 grandsheikhs (silsila) up until today. The wisdom and knowledge is embodied today by Grandsheikh Nazim al Rabbani.

Grandsheikh Nazim Al Rabbani gave his student, Eşref Goekcimen, the duty to give seekers in Germany, Bosnia and Turkey spiritual advice and to guide them in the Naqshbandi tradition.

In 1994 a small group of people met up with Sheikh Esref Efendi in the Bellermanstrasse in Wedding to become the nucleus of the community. In 1998 after Bosnian War Sheikh Esref Efendi and some of his students went to Bosnia to offer humanitarian aid and assistance to people there.

Subsequently the group, which had grown to have approximately 40 members, travelled to Cyprus in 1999, to live there among the community of their Grandmaster, Maulana Sheikh Nazim el Rabbani. They stayed there for about six months until 2000.

As they returned to Berlin the meetings initially took place in private residences, until the Sufi Centre Berlin opened its doors in the Reuterstrasse in Neukoelln in 2003. In 2008 the Centre moved to the Wissmannstrasse 20, also in Neukoelln.

In October 2010 Grandsheikh Nazim declared the global solution, all believers shall unite as "servants of God", which is expressed in Arabic with the word "Rabbaniyya". As a response to this declaration the Sufi Centre Berlin changed its name into Sufi Centre Rabbaniyya.

After Nazim al Rabbani died in 2014, the groupe restructured in November 2014, closed the center in berlin, opened a new one in Cologne and moved to "sufiland" in Eigeltingen-Reute (Lake Constance), which was newly opened too.

Prevalence

The community of the Sufi Centre Berlin comprises approximately 500 women, men and children, who meet on a regular basis for sohbets (spiritual speeches/addresses) and dhikrs (spiritual chanting) or watch live broadcasts of such. The majority of the members of the community practice their practices at home and only visit the Centre from time to time whenever they need advice for important matters of life, which they can receive from the head of the Sufi Centre, Sheikh Eşref Efendi.

It is unknown how many people would consider themselves as being a member of or as belonging to a Sufi Order. People who are interested in Sufism or are practicing can come and go whenever they wish. “Come whoever you are…”, as Rumi’s saying expresses the motto of his Order of the Whirling Dervishes, the Sufi Centre Rabbaniyya also welcomes its guest under the same premise every weekend.

It is not common for a small group or a Sufi Order in general to operate a membership list, or any type of registration of members. There are small groups or individuals in all areas of Berlin who meet in private to pray or meditate together.

Governing

Eşref Goekcimen was born in Mersin, Turkey, in 1964. Being a direct descendant of advisors to the Ottoman Sultans, he and his sisters and brother were raised by his parents in the tradition of Islamic beliefs. The family moved to Berlin in 1972. During his adolescence he frequently visited many libraries and mosques where he could study old works of religious literature.

In 1995 he met the last Grandsheikh of the Naqshbandi silsila, Grandsheikh Nazim al Rabbani. He bagan to study Sheikh Nazim’s teachings and accepted him as his teacher and joined the Naqshbandiyya. The silsila (or golden chain) of the Naqshbandi tradition can be traced back through all grandsheikhs to Muhammed, who in Islam is regarded as the last and hence the seal of the prophets. Grandsheikh Nazim Al Rabbani is a descendant of the bloodline of Mohammed himself. He has authorized Sheikh Eşref Efendi in 1996 to serve as a spiritual guide and advisor in the tradition of the Naqshbandi tariqa.

As it is custom in the tradition, Sheikh Eşref Efendi began delivering sohbets (spiritual addresses) in Berlin and quickly a community of people gathered around him. In 1998 he took off to Bosnia with some of his students to offer reconstructing and humanitarian aid after the war in Bosnia. In a joint effort they helped with the reconstruction of the burial site of Sari Saltuk (also known as Baba Sari Saltik or Saltuk Baba), a 13th-century saint.

Today he is known as Sheikh Eşref Efendi and founder of the Sufi Centre Berlin (Europäische Mitte für interspirituelle Begegnungen = European Center for Inter-spiritual Encounters). He has also initiated the launch of Sufi Centres in Radolfzell/Bodensee (Lake Constance), Cologne, Eigeltingen/Reute and Ludwigshafen. His events and sohbets (spiritual addresses) are visited by people from all over Europe, people of various cultures, traditions and beliefs. Due to the growing interest Sheikh Esref Efendi’s influence has also spread to Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Switzerland and Slovenia.

Furthermore, he authored the books „Schlüssel zur Pforte der Schöpfung“ (keys to the gate of creation) and „Trinke aus der Quelle der Weisheit“ (drink of the source of wisdom). He also conceptualized the Hayy-Kraft-Yoga.

Sheikh Eşref Efendi receives frequent invitations by various institutions and authorities to deliver speeches as a representative of Sufism and Islam due to his respectful attitude towards all religions, traditions and cultures.

Sheikh Esref Efendi is regarded as a public figure and an authoritative representative of Islam and as such receives invitations throughout Germany and Europe to various events such as for example consular launch events or memorial services. Among others he was invited to partake in the funeral and memorial service of Paul Spiegel, the late president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, which took place in 2006.

Since 2006 Sheikh Eşref Efendi has been regularly invited to many different events of other spiritual schools of thought for the purpose of addressing the audience as a representative of Sufism and master of the Naqshibandi order. In 2006 he held the closing speech at the „Kriya Yoga Centenary Celebrations: 100 years Paramahamsa Hariharananda“ in Berlin. In 2008 he addressed an audience at the „Wege zum inneren Frieden“ Festival ( ways to inner peace). In 2009, 2010 and 2011 he spoke at the „Zukunft Erde Festival“ (Future Earth Festival) in Berlin.

Amongst some very special encounters are the meetings with the Peruvian shaman Gerardo Pizarro, the former Franciscan monk Brother Benno of the island Weerd (Lake Constance/Switzerland), the Dao master Tian Chenyang (Barcelona, Spain), Hare Krishna Sacinandana Swami, the Buddhist Domo Geshe Rinpoche (Wisconsin, United States) and the Tian Gong master Tianying (Berlin, Germany).

Sufism

Sufism can be found in Judaism, Christianity, Islam and in every heavenly religion. Sufism is the call of the divine love, which created an entire existence out of non-beingness. „Come“ the divine love calls, „whoever you are!“ (Jellaludin Rumi). Sufism is a spiritual path, which leads to divine love by practicing loving kindness towards others. Sufism is the essence, the seed of all religions.

Sufism relates of this truth: As long as people do not love one another and do not accept each other as they are, they do not love God in a true sense. Because it was Him who created all people differently and individually.

Sufism shows us the different stations leading to unity. There are four levels or stations:

The first station is the understanding of the distinction between „me“ and „you“. This means that the human at this station or level learns to understand about his boundaries and the boundaries of others. The second level or station is the station of „yours is mine and mine is yours“. At this station the human learns that whatever he desires for himself he has to grant others and thus is cleansed from selfishness.

The third station is the station of „neither mine nor thine“. This is the station where the Sufi learns that nothing is owned by humans, but everything comes from the Lord. The human is freed of the shackles of materialism and is raised to the station of angels.

At the fourth station there is „neither me nor you“. If a human can be raised up to this level they lose any sense of duality. There is neither you nor me, but only He exists. Only the One and nothing else.

All Prophets, from Adam to Moses, Jesus to Mohammed, they all came to raise humans unto these highest stations of divine love.

(Excerpt of one of Sheikh Eşref Efendi’s addresses).

Naqshibandyya

The followers of the Naqshibandyya tradition live within an Islamic framework of belief, i.e., they believe in the Torah of Moses and the Gospel of Jesus, as well as the Quran of Mohammed. Their life is directed by the example and the rules of the last messenger, Mohammed.

The greatest distinction between Sufism and many other Islamic pathways is the practice of the quiet or loud dhikr. The continuous remembering of God can support the human soul in finding back to its origin and realizing its true value.

The students of the Naqshibandi order believe in the prophecies of Prophet Mohammed. According to these prophecies the current times are humanity’s last days or the days of Armageddon. At the height of these dark times they are expecting the appearance of a saviour, Imam Mahdi, and the second coming of Jesus.

Rabbaniyya

Rabbaniyya means "true servanthood". Rabbaniyya is the way to live as a servant of the creator. This is the essence, the seed of every spiritual path. The most important purpose of all religions is to lead humanity to the divine love and the art of true servanthood.

Sohbet

„Our path is the way of the sohbet (association)“ said Shah Naqshband, the 12th grandsheikh of the Silsila. The tradition of the cleaning of the heart through the word of God and the breath of a Prophet or a Saint can be traced back to the Prophet Mohammed and all other Prophets of the Bible and the Torah, who have come before him. They all had the task to talk to humanity in parables about God and the soul as well as delivering messages, commandments and rules which would lead humanity onto a God-pleasing path and would ease their lives. Just like Jesus did, parables and metaphors are used for easy comprehension.

In the Sufi Centre Berlin such sohbets take place at least once per week, usually on Fridays. The master Sheikh Eşref Efendi or one of his authorized students speak at about 8pm. Such an address may generally last anything from 45–90 minutes, but there is no pre-set time limit. Sohbets are delivered without preparation and they offer that which is of benefit to all attendants.

Dhikr

Dhikr is the remembrance of God and is equivalent to chanting of mantras in other religions. Dhikr includes praises of God, recitations of his names, certain surahs of the Quran and remembrance of the Prophet. Dhikr can be performed either quietly in a meditation style manner or loudly in a group with a dervish whirling in the middle or with Haḍra. The Sheikh or an authorized student is leader of the dhikr. He determines the contents and the intensity of the chanting and the dancing.

The Holy Scripture

The exercise of Sufism is built upon the laws and rules that have been handed down through prophets and such following of a religious path can be found in every heavenly religion. Hence, the holy scriptures and sources of wisdom and insight for a Sufi are the Torah of Moses (Musa in Islam) as well as the true Gospel of Jesus (Isa in Islam) and the Quran of the Prophet Mohammed. Furthermore, there are the hadiths, which are traditions and sayings passed down from the Prophet Mohammed. They consist of Prophet Mohammed’s guidance, actions worthy to be followed, advice, approval of behaviour of others and especially information about forbidden actions and warnings of a moral-religious nature, which are not explicitily mentioned in the Quran.

Considering that Mohammed is seen as the last Prophet sent by God and that the Quran embodies the revelation of the most complete and accomplished knowledge about creation of the earth and humanity, the most accomplished exercise of Sufism and its practices are bound by the life and the laws of the Prophet Mohammed and the religion of Islam.

Current developments

In 2006 students of Sheikh Eşref Efendi received the authorization to guide the local communities of Eigeltingen/Reute near Lake Constance, Cologne and Ludwigshafen in the Naqshibandi tradition. They were authorized by Sheikh Esref Efendi to perform sohbets (addresses) and lead dhikrs.

In 2009 Sheikh Eşref Efendi was given a new task by grandsheikh Nazim and the Sufi Centre became the „Europaeische Mitte fuer interspirituelle Begenungen“ (the Centre for Inter-spiritual Encounters).

Since then the interspiritual and interfaith dialogue has been promoted even more. On many occasions representatives of other religions and traditions have been invited to facilitate talks about their own paths and visit with their students.

Many German members of the community go on spiritual trips and pilgrimages to Islamic spiritual centres with Sheikh Eşref Efendi and his longstanding students. For example, big groups have travelled to visit grandsheikh Nazim al Rabbani in Cyprus. There have also been trips to the holy places of Damascus, Bosnia and umrah and hajj pilgrimages to Mecca and Medina.

Organisation

Der wahre Mensch e.V. ( The True Human, non-profit organization)

In 2004 About 25 members of the Sufi community have founded the non-profit organization „Der wahre Mensch e.V.“ In 2007 the organization received approval of the status of a charitable foundation.

Guiding principles

A „true human“ is enabled to balance the spiritual and worldly aspects of himself and thus keep a harmonious equilibrium. According to the understanding of the Sufis this ability can be seen in how people control their lives within any given social structures on one hand and in inner peace and orientation towards universal truths on the other hand.

Accordingly, they are working towards mutual tolerance and respect in society, they promote the idea of different cultures living together peacefully and in a considerate manner. Above all, they encourage respect for the laws of life regardless of faith or culture.

They regard their mission as giving hope to people who feel hopeless and in supporting people who are in need of help. They want to help those who have lost their way in finding orientation through lasting and sustainable values and they would like to give those who feel stable within their lives the opportunity to work on balancing and harmonizing society.

The purpose of the work

The members of the foundation have set following aims to their work: Alleviation of social hardship, integration work for different districts of town, improvement of the understanding of diverse cultures and ethnic groups amongst each other, encourage cultural exchange of different ethnic groups in society, conveyance of general values that reach beyond culture and religion, prevention of discrimination and facilitation of education through group activities.

Hierarchy

Directorship and the highest level of decision making power in regards to all matters relating to the Sufi Centre are held by Sheikh Eşref Efendi. His students and several other members of the foundation take care of other areas such as being of assistance to the members of community, taking care of the youth, planning programmes, overseeing domestic matters such as the kitchen and catering, administration, support and advice, co-ordination and organization of general community matters and group trips.

Finance

All activities of the charitable foundation and the upkeep of the centre are financed by donations of members and guests. Travel and accommodation expenses are paid by each member themselves if they take part in a group excursion or trip. The organizers always attempt to keep the costs of such trips as low as possible as to make it more affordable for families, the elderly and the unemployed.

Publishing

The „New Ottomans Verlag“ (New Ottomans Publisher) was founded in 2004 and collaborates with Spohr Verlag. They publish literature on Sufism and Islam as well as all works of Sheikh Eşref Efendi (see literature). Various periodicals published articles about the spiritual path and the teachings of Sheikh Eşref Efendi.

Youth work

The foundation places special emphasis on offering meaningful spare time activities. A weekly address or speech is on offer for the youth. Young people are often given tasks to support the community, e.g., helping with house moves and other supporting activities.

One major aim is the prevention of violence and drug abuse as well as the integration of young people with ethnic minority background.

Charitable activities

The Sufi Centre offers many services for free such as: spiritual counselling, individual meetings with authorized members, social support (e.g., ALG II, crisis support, mediation, psychological counselling (couple and family supervision and conflict solving), Sufi healing methods (e.g., natural health modalities, yoga, meditation, Sufi whirling), mutual support for renovations, house moves and family problems.

Interfaith dialogue

In 2009 Sheikh Eşref Efendi was given a new task by Grandsheikh Nazim and the Sufi Centre became the „Europäische Mitte fuer interspirituelle Begenungen“ (the European Center for Interspiritual Encounters). Since then the interspiritual and interfaith dialogue has been promoted even more.

On many occasions representatives of other religions and traditions have been invited to facilitate talks about their own paths to God and their own methods. The various Sufi centers have hosted other spiritual/religious teachers and their students numerous times.

Increasingly more and more institutions refer to the Sufi Centre Berlin as an authority regarding questions on Islam and Sufism. Radio stations and TV channels as well as various university students of subjects such as anthropology, communication studies, cultural science, theology, Islamic studies, etc. contact the centre for information or interviews. Even school pupils visit the centre or invite representatives of the centre to their school in order to teach pupils about Islam and Sufism.

The Sufi Centre Berlin is registered with the district council as a religious association in Berlin Neukölln. Representatives of the centre are frequently invited to cross-cultural and interfaith events organised by the senate.

Critics of the Sufi Path

Orthodox scholars hold the opinion that music and dance, especially a dance type dhikr, are of gentile origin and hence are not Islamic. However, the Sufi perspective is totally different as they say that the Prophet Mohammed was welcomed with music by the people of Medina as he entered the town. When the question arose if the music shall stop, the Prophet answered that the people should celebrate happy times with music. The Sufis regard music as an expression of bliss in the divine presence. Also, some orthodox Muslims regard the following of a master/sheikh and the adoration of saints as shirk and therefore as a great sin.

Publications by Sheikh Eşref Efendi