Sufi Center Rabbaniyya

The followers of the Naqshibandyya tradition live within an Islamic framework of belief, i.e., they believe in the Torah of Moses and the Gospel of Jesus, as well as the Quran of Mohammed. Their life is directed by the example and the rules of the last messenger, Mohammed.

The greatest distinction between Sufism and many other Islamic pathways is the practice of the quiet or loud dhikr. The continuous remembering of God can support the human soul in finding back to its origin and realizing its true value.

The students of the Naqshibandi order believe in the prophecies of Mohammed. According to these prophecies, the current times are humanity’s last days or the days of Armageddon. At the height of these dark times they are expecting the appearance of a saviour, Imam Mahdi, and the second coming of Jesus.[7]

Rabbaniyya means "true servanthood". Rabbaniyya is the way to live as a servant of the creator. This is the essence, the seed of every spiritual path. The most important purpose of all religions is to lead humanity to the divine love and the art of true servanthood.

"Our path is the way of the sohbet (association)" said Shah Naqshband, the 12th grandsheikh of the Silsila. The tradition of the cleaning of the heart through the word of God and the breath of a prophet or a saint can be traced back to the Prophet Mohammed and all other prophets of the Bible and the Torah, who have come before him. They all had the task to talk to humanity in parables about God and the soul as well as delivering messages, commandments and rules which would lead humanity onto a God-pleasing path and would ease their lives. Parables and metaphors are used for easy comprehension.

In the Sufi Centre Berlin such sohbets take place at least once per week, usually on Fridays. Sheikh Efendi or one of his authorized students speak at about 8pm. Such an address may generally last anything from 45–90 minutes, but there is no pre-set time limit. Sohbets are delivered without preparation and they offer that which is of benefit to all attendants.

Dhikr is the remembrance of God and is equivalent to chanting of mantras in other religions. Dhikr includes praises of God, recitations of his names, certain surahs of the Quran and remembrance of the Prophet.[8] Dhikr can be performed either quietly in a meditation style manner or loudly in a group with a dervish whirling in the middle or with Haḍra. The Sheikh or an authorized student is leader of the dhikr. He determines the contents and the intensity of the chanting and the dancing.

A "true human" is enabled to balance the spiritual and worldly aspects of himself and thus keep a harmonious equilibrium. According to the understanding of the Sufis this ability can be seen in how people control their lives within any given social structures on one hand and in inner peace and orientation towards universal truths on the other hand.

Accordingly, they are working towards mutual tolerance and respect in society, they promote the idea of different cultures living together peacefully and in a considerate manner. Above all, they encourage respect for the laws of life regardless of faith or culture.[10]

They regard their mission as giving hope to people who feel hopeless and in supporting people who are in need of help. They want to help those who have lost their way in finding orientation through lasting and sustainable values and they would like to give those who feel stable within their lives the opportunity to work on balancing and harmonizing society.

The members of the foundation have set following aims to their work: Alleviation of social hardship, integration work for different districts of town, improvement of the understanding of diverse cultures and ethnic groups amongst each other, encourage cultural exchange of different ethnic groups in society, conveyance of general values that reach beyond culture and religion, prevention of discrimination and facilitation of education through group activities.

Directorship and the highest level of decision making power in regards to all matters relating to the Sufi Centre are held by Efendi. His students and several other members of the foundation take care of other areas such as being of assistance to the members of community, taking care of the youth, planning programmes, overseeing domestic matters such as the kitchen and catering, administration, support and advice, co-ordination and organization of general community matters and group trips.

All activities of the charitable foundation and the upkeep of the centre are financed by donations of members and guests. Travel and accommodation expenses are paid by each member themselves if they take part in a group excursion or trip. The organizers always attempt to keep the costs of such trips as low as possible as to make it more affordable for families, the elderly and the unemployed.

The company New Ottomans Verlag (New Ottomans Publishing) was founded in 2004 and collaborates with Spohr Verlag. They publish literature on Sufism and Islam as well as all works of Efendi (see literature). Various periodicals published articles about the spiritual path and the teachings of Efendi.[11]

The foundation places special emphasis on offering meaningful spare time activities. A weekly address or speech is on offer for the youth. Young people are often given tasks to support the community, e.g., helping with house moves and other supporting activities.

One major aim is the prevention of violence and drug abuse as well as the integration of young people with ethnic minority background.

The Sufi Centre offers many services for free such as: spiritual counselling, individual meetings with authorized members, social support (e.g., ALG II, crisis support, mediation, psychological counselling (couple and family supervision and conflict solving), Sufi healing methods (e.g., natural health modalities,[12] yoga, meditation, Sufi whirling), mutual support for renovations, house moves and family problems.

In 2009 Sheikh Eşref Efendi was given a new task by Grandsheikh Nazim and the Sufi Centre became the Europäische Mitte fuer interspirituelle Begenungen (the European Center for Interspiritual Encounters). Since then the interspiritual and interfaith dialogue has been promoted even more.

On many occasions representatives of other religions and traditions have been invited to facilitate talks about their own paths to God and their own methods. The various Sufi centers have hosted other spiritual/religious teachers and their students numerous times.

Increasingly more and more institutions refer to the Sufi Centre Berlin as an authority regarding questions on Islam and Sufism.[13] Radio stations[14][15] and TV channels as well as various university students of subjects such as anthropology, communication studies,[16] cultural science, theology, Islamic studies, etc. contact the centre for information or interviews. Even school pupils visit the centre or invite representatives of the centre to their school in order to teach pupils about Islam and Sufism.

The Sufi Centre Berlin is registered with the district council as a religious association in Berlin Neukölln. Representatives of the centre are frequently invited to cross-cultural and interfaith events[17][18][19] organised by the senate.[20][21][22]