We will explore the history and origins of the Halveti Order, and discuss the emergence of the Halveti-Jerrahi branch in Turkey. We will profile the lives of several sheikhs who led different branches of the Halveti Order in the Middle East, the Balkans, and Africa. We will also consider the close relationship between the Halveti-Jerrahi Order and the Ottoman sultans. Special attention will be paid to Pir Umar Khalwati and Pir Nureddin al-Jerrahi.
Dr. Zasha Ganovskaya is currently teaching in the Department of Anthropology at Columbia University. For her research on Sufism, Islamic jurisprudence, and politics in Central Asia and Eastern Europe, she is currently an Edward A. Hewett Policy Fellow, a Visiting Research Fellow at the American University of Central Asia in Kyrgyzstan, an American Councils Research Scholar, and an IREX Research Fellow. Prior to teaching at Columbia, Dr. Ganovskaya taught in the Department of Near Eastern Languages & Civilization at Harvard, where she served as a Research Fellow for the Islamopedia Initiative of the Islamic Studies Program, and received an award for excellence in teaching.
