Under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI and upon invitation by the Ministry of Habous and Islamic Affairs, more than 1000 Sufism affiliates hailing from some forty countries will gather in Marrakech and at Sidi Chiker from 10 to 12 July 2009 to meditate, reflect and discuss the role of Sufism in the modern world. Dozens of Sufi masters recognized in their respective countries, along with scores of their disciples and some one hundred specialists in the spiritual doctrine of Islam will participate in this tenth international get-together of Tasswuf advocates.

Morocco is rich in ancestral Sufi culture and lucid in its political, social and economic options. Options that have been developed in harmony with its faith and ethics, allowing the country to remain a true home for living in peace and spiritual advancement.

Sufism, an ethical way of individual and collective self-realization in Islam, more than ever before is being solicited in a world seeking enlightened and active spirituality injected with new blood in a culture of peace, love and good governance.

The Sufi advocate strives for ethics to be placed at the heart of human concerns and for the modern world to be thoroughly engulfed in the universal values of justice, equality, respect and living together.

The metaphor of the Sufi advocate calling for withdrawal from temporal, short-lasting life in order to concentrate on the essentials is the expression of detachment from everything that imprisons the human being, making it unjust, sectarian and insensitive to life in its ontological dignity, in the same way that it is inculcated into divine creatures. This approach is the source of guidance in perspicacity because, by targeting the polishing and softening of the soul, it sharpens the spirit of responsibility and commitment for the good of humanity while inciting development of the senses and the discovery of signs existing in the universe.

Good governance, the respect of human diversity, and the protection of our living spaces against degradation are all problems contained in the ethical message of Sufism for finding direction, in particular in the central concept of al mouhassaba, a deep-seated and permanent individual self-criticism tied to unfettered duty to Allah and His creation as a source of action and moral commitment. Therefore, the Sufi is not an inactive individual enclosed within himself, but rather a player moving along the way of excellence and feeling in his/her combat for rectitude and all the other implications tied to living in society. The moments of invocation and spiritual retreat are devoted to refreshing his/her faith for a healthy approach to the changes occurring in daily life but without excluding effort and endurance.

Moroccan Sufism accompanied the birth of the Moroccan State in its role of constituting one of the foundations of its society. Over its thousand year history, this has conferred thereto an approach stressing realistic moderation; but one that continuously strives to search for the ideal of perfection and highly demanding adaptability.

For the Sufi masters, Morocco is just that land, an inextinguishable source quenching the thirsty, charming the pious and conducive to the benefits of Unicity. From this, Amir al-Mouminine, His Majesty Mohammed VI, has derived the offering of a serene space where the affiliates of Sufism can gather, call upon Allah and reflect on the paths to be traveled for safeguarding their doctrines and the good of humanity.

The Sidi Chiker site has been chosen for international get-togethers of Tassawuf affiliates because of its historical preeminence, its neutrality with respect to the current affiliations, its spiritual content, its natural austerity and peaceful atmosphere, i.e. its capacity to federate the diverse trends along the same spiritual route in compliance with a tradition making its very own this highly spiritual and symbolic venue in the history of Islam and Sufism in Morocco.