From American Pastor to Whirling Dervish

Emily Wither (0:03)

The musicians are warming up their instruments.

Craig Fentor (0:06)

You can see Hakan is putting the pudra, the talcum powder, down on the area where they're turning, and it makes it easier to turn instead of just working on concrete. And these are some of the semazens coming here.

Emily Wither (0:21)

I'm Emily Wither, and for this edition of Heart and Soul from The Documentary on the BBC World Service, I'm in Konya, in Turkey's central Anatolia region. I'm about to watch a group of semazen or whirling dervishes perform a sema ritual, a form of whirling meditation and prayer used by the Mevlavi order.

Craig Fentor (0:42)

There's something special about being able to do sema in the shadow of Rumi's tomb, to be here with guests from around the world that have come here looking for love, looking for something.

Emily Wither (0:56)

He's just chasing away a cat that's gone on to the spot where the dervishes will be performing this evening.

Craig Fentor (1:07)

Welcome. Which language do you speak?

Emily Wither (1:10)

English.

Craig Fentor (1:10)

English, welcome. Welcome.

Emily Wither (1:15)

Many people will think of the whirling dervishes as a performance, and there are obviously people coming to watch tonight.

Craig Fentor (1:21)

Yes.

Emily Wither (1:22)

But the dervishes are not whirling for us. They're not dancing for us.

Craig Fentor (1:27)

No, we're not dancing at all, actually. We are doing sema. We are making sema. The dervishes start with their hands crossed over their chest, and then as the semazens ask permission to whirl, they begin to whirl, and then gradually, like a flower, open their arms up to the sky. And the symbolism is that from the right hand we receive from God, passes through the heart, and with the left hand we give to the world. So as they turn, they're giving blessings to everybody. And that's how I like to describe it, is blessings. Could be love, could be justice, all the things that God has to give. This is the journey our souls need to make, to receive from a law, and to give to everybody. But what we tend to do is to take from a law, demand from a law, and keep to ourselves. And so that's why the journey of the dervish is so important, because it's about receiving and giving.

Emily Wither (2:23)

And I'm here to learn about Ismail Fenter's journey to becoming a whirling dervish. Raised in Los Angeles, he was once a Christian pastor, before converting to Islam, changing his name from Craig, and uprooting his life after falling in love with the teachings of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi, a 13th century Persian poet, Islamic scholar, and Sufi mystic, whose writings on divine love and the soul's journey toward God has inspired people across faiths. They transformed Ismail's life.

He moved to Konya permanently four years ago, the spiritual center of Rumi's legacy and his final resting place. After Rumi's death in 1273, his followers founded the Mevlevi Order dedicated to his teachings. They're famous for these summer ceremonies, where dervishes dressed in white robes and tall felt hats slowly spin in prayer, with their arms outstretched towards the sky.

Craig Fentor (3:33)

It's not just when we open our arms, it's like a rose. No, it's like a bird flying. It's like an angel flying. Rumi tells us in his stories, he says, don't you know that you're like a falcon? You're like a falcon who sits on the arm of the shah, and you should be able to fly free, not living in the ruins. So yes, Sema is also like that. There are moments where you fly, has moments where you can transcend, and you go up, and sometimes you stay up for a while, but then you come back down. But that moment you go up, you've gone to that place of no place, if that makes sense. And at the same time, you're aware, because there are other people around you, you know there are people around you, and yet you're not there, and yet you are. So there is a mystical moment that can happen in making Sema. Sema is a hosh geldiniz. So my dear friends, guests, lovers of Hazreti Mevlana, welcome to our Sema, and if you are Iranian, welcome to the same place.

On every turn, we are saying Allah's name. All you hear is Allah's name. What does the word sema mean? To hear. It means to listen. In Judaism, it's shema, same thing. Listen, Israel. Sema is the same word to listen, but what do you hear in sema? In yourself, you hear Allah, Allah in yourself, but you also hear everybody around you saying Allah.