Rumi

A semazen leans his head back while turning during a sema ritual at the Irfan Civilization Research and Culture Center in Konya, Turkey.

Turkey’s ‘whirling dervishes’ strive to keep the practice sacred amid tourist demand

Sacred Nation

In the city of Konya, adherents of a Sufi ritual meditation are torn between commercialism and tradition.

Black and white cover of composer Arooj Aftab

The ‘strange grace’ of singer Arooj Aftab

Movement

Love Song

Arts, Culture & Media
Turkish-American composer and musician Mehmet Ali Sanlikol is pictured here.

Explaining Muslim diversity through music

Music
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio arrives at the 22nd Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, California January 30, 2016.

Leonardo DiCaprio as a 13th-century Persian poet? Why not, says Hollywood.

Culture
The World

Global Hit – The Shams Ensemble

Arts, Culture & Media

Reporter Michelle Chang profiles the Iranian group, The Shams Ensemble. Its founder, musician Kaykhosoro Pournazeri, set out to preserve the traditions of the mystical stringed instrument — the tanbour