Lunch with Bokara
THE HEART OF ISLAM
A Conversation with Shaykh Ahmed Sidi Kostas

Available on DVD and video cassette

Select a Program from the Series:
Meditation, Emotions & Body Language
Food for the Soul
Healing, Family & Community
The Monk & The Rabbi
Transformation and Mindfulness
Zen and the Art of African Initiation
Compassion in Action
The Heart of Islam
Myths, Money and Meaning
The Taoist and the Activist
Peace through Dialogue
Our Place in the Cosmos
God is Everywhere...and Nowhere

Islam is arguably the most misunderstood and feared religion in the world today. Yet, few people know th at sufism, the mystical branch of Islam, much like the core teachings of Christianity, is built around the concept of Love - Divine Love and love for all Creation. From the ecstatic bliss of the whirling dervishes to the multi-layered mystical poetry of Jalaluddin Rumi, sufism has recently become more well- known in the west, as a practice which promotes tolerance and acceptance among all peoples and faiths.

Shakyh Ahmed Sidi Kostas, a Moroccan sufi of the Qadiri Order and a senior official in the Moroccan Ministry of Islamic Affairs, joins Bokara for a unique one-on-one lunch discussion, exploring a number of engaging topics from a sufi perspective, including justice, the veil and "Divine intoxication".

"Sufis talk about the cup. The cup is the heart. Once it is filled with this faith in God, then it has a taste. It tastes sweet. And then this sweetness gradually gets deeper and deeper until it becomes what the sufis call, Divine wine. So you get intoxicated in this sweetness, and then you see the Divine wherever you look."
Shaykh Ahmed Sidi Kostas

"It's high time for social justice to prevail throughout the Arab world. It's high time that people would think of democracy as part of their lives. And it's also time for people who've been confined to their own culture and only see the world through their own culture to open up and exchange with others."
Shaykh Ahmed Sidi Kostas