The Berlin Institute for Islamic Theology (BIT) at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU) will welcome the musician, author and composer Sedat Anar on 10 and 11 June 2026. Sedat Anar is regarded as one of the leading contemporary performers on the santur, a traditional Persian stringed instrument. In his music, he combines classical Oriental musical traditions with spiritual and poetic forms of expression.
The event will open on 10 June with the lecture “Multisensory Royal Mevlid Ceremonies in Sultan Ahmed Mosque” by Dr Damla Gürkan-Anar (formerly of Boğaziçi University). The lecture examines 17th-century Ottoman Mevlid ceremonies as multi-layered, sensorially experiential rituals within the context of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque. The focus is on analysing the interplay of sound, scent, taste and visual splendour as integral components of religious practice. Drawing on historical sources, these celebrations are reconstructed as deliberately designed multisensory spaces of experience. This will be followed by a joint concert by Dr Damla Gürkan-Anar and Sedat Anar.
At a glance
Lecture: “Multisensory Royal Mevlid Ceremonies in Sultan Ahmed Mosque” by Dr Damla Gürkan-Anar
- When: 10 June 2026, 5.15 pm
- Where: Berlin Institute for Islamic Theology, Säulenhalle, Hannoversche Straße 6, 10115 Berlin
- Programme and registration: Free admission
Concert by Dr Damla Gürkan-Anar and Sedat Anar
- When: 10 June 2026, 6.30 pm
- Where: Berlin Institute for Islamic Theology, Columned Hall, Hannoversche Straße 6, 10115 Berlin
- Programme and registration: Free admission
Workshop “Sound Lab: Poetics – Breath – Sound”
On Thursday, 11 June 2026, Prof. Tuba Işik also invites you to the experimental workshop “Sound Lab: Poetics – Breath – Sound” with Sedat Anar. The workshop explores the relationship between sound, breath, voice and poetic language. It will focus on questions regarding the aesthetic and spiritual dimensions of sound, as well as the role of rhythm, breathing and musical resonance in contemplative and artistic practices. The workshop is aimed at students, researchers and anyone interested in music, spirituality and performative forms of expression.
The series of events is organised by Prof. Tuba Işik, chair of Islamic Religious Education and Practical Theology at HU. The lecture evening and the workshop form part of the Research Laboratory for Aesthetic-Islamic Education (FORLÄB), initiated by Tuba Işik and based at BIT.
- When: 11 June 2026, 9.30 am to 5.00 pm
- Where: Berlin Institute for Islamic Theology, Hannoversche Straße 6, 10115 Berlin, Room 1.03