OMDURMAN DERVISHES

 

In Omdurman near Khartoum, members of the Qadiriyya sufi order meet every weekend in front of the tomb of their former leader, Sheikh Hamed al-Nil, at the cemetery bearing his name. Sudan has one of the largest Sufi communities in the world. Sufism is a branch of Islam often seen as mystical due to its followers’ pursuit of a personal, inner path to God. The ceremony‘s popularity has long since extended beyond the Qadiriya order and is now the largest regularly-held Sufi event in Sudan.