Academic Research
MTO students passing out St. Nikolaus chocolates to the children of refugee families in a migration centre in southern Düsseldorf | 6 December 2018
My doctoral research examines the Sufi practices of adab (ethical self-discipline) and khedmat (service), focusing on their role in fostering social harmony and community well-being within and beyond Sufi communities. Through 14 months of ethnographic fieldwork from 2018-2019, with the Maktab Tarighat Oveyssi (MTO) Shahmaghsoudi School in Germany and the Tariqa al-Harraqiyya in Morocco, I explored how these practices operate in contexts where Muslims are a minority (Germany) and a majority (Morocco). Adab promotes personal virtues like tolerance and dignity alongside respectful external interactions, while khedmat emphasizes voluntary service beyond religious obligations, aiming to enhance spiritual well-being and social harmony. My findings build on the concept of insaniyat (humanity), highlighting how Sufi practices foster intercultural and interfaith collaboration, presenting religion as a force for peace rather than conflict.
3rd Casablanca Cultural Festival interfaith themed dinner, ‘The Indelible Imprint of Moroccan Jews in Influencing Moroccan Civilisation, its History and Scope’ | 20 June 2019
By integrating ethical self-cultivation with communal engagement, Sufi practices like khedmat demonstrate their potential to shape just peace through non-dominant, cooperative interactions. My research contributes to the understanding of religion’s role in international relations, emphasizing justice and equality as central to Sufi social harmony. Detailed fieldwork examples showcase how MTO fosters interfaith connections through community events and how the Harraqiyya community in Morocco exemplifies interfaith and intercultural coexistence. My research reframes religion’s potential in global peacebuilding efforts, showing how deeply rooted spiritual traditions can transcend cultural and geographical boundaries to promote social harmony.