Sufism has its roots in the congregations of Muslim believers in the 8th century,
who together recited and sung religious texts.
Sufism owes its popularity to the direct and personal expression of the believers religious feelings.
From the 13th century on, brotherhoods were formed.
In 1207, Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi, who formulated some of the principles of Sufism, was born in Balkh.
His son, Sultan Veled, founded the mevlevi brotherhood.
The great Western mystic, Saint Francis of Assisi, after returning from his travels to the Near East,
created a lay theology that resembles a lot to the rules of the muslim sufi-orders.

To those two brothers in spirit, Celaleddin-i Rumi and Saint Francis,
who saw themselves as God's light, God's mirror, and God's troubadour,
we dedicate a ritual inspired by the sema of the whirling mevlevi dervishes,
but with music from both, the christian and the muslim tradition.

The mevlevi dervishes' ritual is based on the inspiration of Celaleddin-i Rumi.
It invites people to unite with divine love, independent of their origin, religion or social class.

What seems as dance to us is in fact prayer. Constant turning, a symbol of perfection and unity,
leads the dervishes into the core of their true selves.
Thus the sema describes the spiritual journey of mankind to heaven, by turning towards truth, by growing in love,
by detaching oneself from the ego and attaining unity with divine love,
and finally by returning as a part and a servant of divine creation.