The Order of the Whirling Dervishes is a branch of the Sufi or mystic tradition of Islam. The universal values of love and service - considered the way of Rumi, the great Persian mystic and poet who died in Turkey - are shared by all Sufis and symbolized by the stages of their ritual dances.
Sufism is based on a well-founded interpretation of Islam which focuses on love, tolerance, worship of God, community development and personal development through self-discipline and responsibility. A Sufi's objective is to reach union with the divine through love, and to desert the ego or false self. Sufism did a lot to spread Islam in the Anatolian peninnsula and the Indian sub-continent.
The beautiful postcard was based on an exceptional lithograph and published by what was probably a French publisher based in Istanbul, E.F. Rochat.  |
