Veils of the Heart
A Sufi Woman's Spiritual Journey
by Munirah Maclean

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Eastern and Western philosophy and experience clash as Munirah Maclean seeks to sustain her faith and values and find a place within the movement around the Sheikh. This far-reaching memoir follows Munirah as she converts to Islam, marries, and is initiated into an ancient Sufi lineage, the Naqshbandi. Her relationship with Sheikh Nazim is transformative, taking place before he becomes a worldwide spiritual leader. Following Sheikh Nazim she tries to live the role of a “traditional Ottoman woman.” However, as his recognition grows, she finds she can’t align with the model of his North American representative, wherein spirituality has become another aspect of consumerism, which does not reflect the Sufi path. The conflict between a woman’s “traditional role” and the demands of late capitalism and individualism has brought about huge societal changes, which many people are struggling to negotiate. How will she raise her family in North America and still stay on the mystical journey? On her spiritual quest, Munirah learns that one the most important parts of the spiritual path is to follow your heart and your own inner connection with ultimate truth. She shares her personal story here, acknowledging its subjectivity while authenticating the spiritual realities she experienced. Veils of the Heart is a heartfelt portrayal of the place of women in traditional Sufism and an affirmation of them.

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‘The Sheikh was sitting in this room, alone. An older, small- statured man with a long grey and white beard, he was wearing a large white turban wrapped around a green pointed hat. He wore a long dark green overcoat and next to his chair was a walking cane. His face was a combination of beauty and gentleness with a smooth skin which glowed with an inner light. In his right hand he held what I recognized as ‘prayer beads.’ The sparse room of the chalet was full; full of a light which bathed everything with a gentle presence. I felt an almost palpable certainty that here was truth,- ‘Haqq.’ The simple wooden furniture just sang with it....'

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Munirah Maclean has a Bachelors degree in comparative Religious Studies from Lancaster University, UK and a graduate diploma in Religious Education from Durham University, UK. She met Sheikh Nazim before he became a “spiritual celebrity” and spent time with his family in Cyprus and North America. She is one of the few women with Western education who were initiated into Sufi lineages. She is affiliated with the Naqshbandi, Shadhilli and Darqawi tariquats. She is an active member of the Muslim community of Montreal and has been a member of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women, and the Quebec Writers’ Federation. She took courses at Concordia University, Montreal, in Creative Writing and is now part of the Eye of the Heart Center (eyeoftheheart.org) which is her writing community. Her work has been published in Saima Hussein’s anthology of Muslim women’s writing, The Muslimah Who Fell to Earth (Mawenzi House, 2016) and has published book reviews (including in the New York Times) and articles for trade journals. Munirah’s writing has been inspired by Sufism, Islam, Christianity, mindfulness, meditation, comparative religion, and psychology. Munirah lives in Île-Perrot, Canada, near a forest with plants and birds, practising Sufi Islam, writing and contemplation.

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Munirah Maclean