Al-Qalam 
Distinguished local Ulama, members of the core planning committee, and international guest scholars gather on stage at the conclusion of the historic International Sufi Conference.
To convene an international gathering dedicated to Tasawwuf: the inner, spiritual dimension of Islam—at this specific juncture in human history invites the inevitable question: Why now?
On Saturday, 16 May 2026, the Cape Town Ulama Board hosted the first-ever International Sufi Conference in Cape Town, bringing together a vast collective of local and international guests. Yet, outside our venue walls, the world felt progressively fractured. Gaza is burning. A devastating genocide unfolds on our screens in real-time, global geopolitical systems are fracturing, and the drums of wider regional wars beat with terrifying consistency. In the face of such visceral, industrial-scale cruelty, critics might ask how an assembly focused on the purification of the heart and the quietude of the soul can make any tangible difference. Is it not a form of spiritual escapism?
The answer, as articulated by the profound collective of local Ulama and international scholars who graced our platform, is a resounding no. The Sufi Conference 2026 was not an exercise in isolation, nor was it disconnected from the bleeding edges of global reality. Speakers repeatedly brought the plight of Palestine to the forefront of the discourse.
But more fundamentally, the conference sought to re-establish a critical, forgotten truth: Tasawwuf is not an exotic addition, a separate sect, or an alien branch grafted onto the faith—it is Islam. It is the living manifestation of Ihsan (spiritual excellence), the third pillar of our Deen established in the famous Hadith of Jibril alongside Islam (submission) and Iman (faith).
Throughout the day, the core of our scholarly talks and discussions focused intensely on Purification (Tazkiyah), Uprightness (Istiqaamah), Inner Peace, and Spiritual Growth. We delved deeply into the necessity of continuous Change, seeking an unshakeable Closeness to Allah, and implementing rigorous Spiritual Training (Tarbiyah). In essence, all of these internal disciplines are not meant to keep us passive; they are explicitly designed to cultivate the spiritual stamina required to assist us in standing up against global and systemic injustices.
For South Africans, this understanding is woven into the very soil we walk upon. The preservation, survival, and eventual spread of Islam across our country did not happen in a theological vacuum; it was forged on the spiritual paths of exiled Sufi masters. Consider the trajectory of Shaykh Yusuf of Macassar, a master of multiple Sufi turuq (orders). Shaykh Yusuf did not separate his deep spiritual litanies (adhkar) and inner purification from his commitment to human liberty. His Tasawwuf was his armor. At the farm of Zandvliet, his sanctuary became the foundational node of Islam in South Africa, a refuge for runaway slaves and political exiles.
This was the same path walked by Tuan Guru (Imam Abdullah ibn Qadi Abdus Salaam), a master of the Ba ‘Alawi Sufi tradition, who was imprisoned on Robben Island. It was these Sufi masters who laid down the tarbiyah that kept the light of Islam burning through the dark centuries of slavery, colonialism, and Apartheid. They proved that a heart close to Allah is a heart that cannot be enslaved by man.
By hosting this inaugural conference, the Cape Town Ulama Board aimed to remind attendees that Tasawwuf is the living, breathing heart of the Deen. It is the science that teaches us how to keep our hearts alive when the world around us is drowning in spiritual death.
How does a Sufi conference make a difference while Gaza burns? It makes a difference because it cultivates the exact type of human being capable of standing for Gaza effectively. It trains the soul through Tarbiyah to seek justice not out of a desire for vengeance, but out of a deep, unshakeable devotion to truth, uprightness, and divine balance. It reminds us that peace is not merely the absence of war, but the presence of justice, and justice can only be established by those who have achieved peace within themselves.
True Tasawwuf commands us to witness the suffering of the world, to feel the burns of Gaza in our own chests, and to respond with an unyielding, dignified activism that is anchored in closeness to the Divine. Only when our resistance is purified can it truly begin to heal a broken world.
Sayed Ridhwaan
Lead Convenor of the Sufi Conference 2026
Cape Town
