Who We Are
Seven centuries later, Hz. Mevlânâ Rûmî’s voice may be more urgent than ever:
We have abundance, yet often lack meaning.
We have many words, yet little silence.
We have speed, yet long for stillness.
In the opening verse of the Masnavî, Hz. Mevlânâ Rûmî tells us how we complain about the pain of being separated from the source of love and how we long to be reunited with the source of love.
Hz. Mevlânâ Rûmî asks us:
“How long will you remain a slave to gold and silver?”
We are a small learning community of people from a variety of different backgrounds and countries. We feel a deep and strong connection to Hz. Mevlânâ Rûmî (1207–1273).
The timeless wisdom of Hz.Mevlânâ Rûmî inspires us as we follow a spiritual learning path together.
Hz. Mevlânâ Rûmî’s message of love, silence, and adab resonates with people regardless of their religion, language, and culture.
We prefer to see ourselves as servants: fellow travelers on the path, each with a role, in sohbet, in music, in hizmet.
His invitation is: Turn, return to your heart, return to love.
In this way the Dutch Mevlevi School, our learning community, wants to be a place where his words can be heard once again. Hz. Mevlânâ Rûmî can once again be heard:
'Come, whoever you are,
believer or non-believer,
Come, for this path is
The path of love."
This path, connected to Hz. Mevlânâ Rûmî, which once started in Konya, invites us to live in the present moment with attention and dedication in the company of others. As a learning community, we are connected to the Uluslararası Mevlâna Vakfı (UMV) in Konya.
The root of our tradition lies in Konya. This was the place where Hz. Mevlânâ Rûmî inspired his companions with his knowledge, which he expressed in words and often in verse. A stream originated from this source, flowing from Konya to Eastern Anatolia (modern-day Syria) and Iran, and onward to Western Anatolia, reaching Europe and the Netherlands.
Together, we are working to create a place where the beauty and fragrance of the tradition can spread and find a place in our present times and environment.
Our Lineage
Hz. Mevlânâ Jalâluddîn Rûmî (1207–1273) was not an ordinary teacher but a sun of knowledge and love. Born in Balkh into a family of scholars and nobles, he journeyed with his father, Sultânu’l-Ulemâ Bahâ’ al-Dîn Veled, until they settled in Konya.
It was there that he became a master and teacher of theology. It was after his encounter with the wandering dervish Shams of Tabriz that his spiritual awakening took place.
Who was Hz. Mevlânâ Rûmî?
The Mevlevî order is a living stream. It is not a system, but a path of love, tawhîd, and adab, carried in sohbet, semâ, and zikir.
The Mevlevî order is rooted in the legacy of Hz. Mevlânâ Rûmî and nourished by the Qur’an and the path of the Prophet ﷺ. It is a path of love, adab, and inner refinement.
Hz. Mevlânâ Rûmî said of himself:
“As long as I live, I am a servant of the Qur’an. I am the dust on the path of Muhammad ﷺ, the Chosen.”
For him, tasawwuf was inseparable from Qur’an and Sunnah, but also from love. He said:
“The path of our Prophet ﷺ is love. We are born of love, and love is our mother.”
From this perspective, spirituality is not regarded as being separated from religion, but rather as the breath within religion: the movement that keeps religion alive, beyond form and dogma. This vision offers a way of moving towards and creating a space for slowing down, listening and connecting. It offers a way to stand in the world with more softness and clarity.
Mevlevî Order
Our Postnişîn
Our Postnişin, Yıldırım Ekin was born in Konya, Türkiye and grew up in the Netherlands. Studied in technology and innovation, his heart was drawn early on to the spiritual tradition of Hz. Mevlânâ Rûmî.
He received his first lessons in religion and spirituality in the 1980s from scholar and writer Nevzat Akaltun. As a child, his mother introduced him to the Masnavî, sparking a lifelong love for remembrance and devotion.
Alongside his studies and career, he explored personal development, complementary
medicine, and consciousness work. He came to see these as mirrors of the classical
teachings on the inner dimensions of the human being (latâif and the stages of the nafs).
He received his icâzet in 2015, from Farûk Hemdem Çelebi (22nd-generation descendant of Hz. Mevlânâ Rûmî), to represent the Mevlevi path in the Netherlands.
Since then, he has served as Postnişîn in the Netherlands, not as a bearer of a title but as a servant of this path and a bridge between Konya and the Netherlands, under the present leadership of Makam Çelebî Farûk Hemdem Çelebi.