Life is struggle. Qur’anic verse 90:4 confirms that this is the natural order of things, saying, “We have created humankind into toil and difficulty.” The trouble is not evenly distributed – some of us endure relatively minor discomforts while others are made to bear the unbearable. The difficulties of each are unique and yet we share together in the struggle to overcome or resign ourselves to physical or psychological challenges, oppressive circumstances, or even just the daily grind. What does it mean when the Qur’an says that we are created into this? And what are we to do? The point of this talk and conversation will not be to try and figure anything out, but…

This class will focus on developing singing skills as well as rhythms and improvisational techniques (such as kaside) used in zikir. We will work on familiarizing ourselves with the basic makams (music scales) through ilahis: find out what makams are about and how they can be recognized; and further, go over rel- evant rules of Ottoman Turkish Sufi music about using them. Attention will be given to voice and breathing techniques that help produce better sound quality. We will also work on ear training. Ahmet Erdogdular is one of the most important musicians of the new genera- tion in Turkish classical music. He was a visiting scholar at Columbia University and City University of New…