How the rise of Sufi Islam, brought about the rise of the coffee industry

How the rise of Sufi Islam, brought about the rise of the coffee industry

“Any soul that drank the nectar of your passion was lifted. From that water of life he is in a state of elation. Death came, smelled me, and sensed your fragrance instead. From then on, death lost all hope of me.”


—By Rumi, from the Thief of Sleep


Rumi’s mesmerizing stanza could be seen as a great example of the effect of coffee drinking on art, or on poetry as an art form. It is not a new phenomenon, that intoxicants can help to release the inhibited creative ability, which is released when being elevated into an almost spiritual like state. And maybe it was for this reason that in the early generations of coffee use by the Sufi orders, we saw the great birth of Islamic lyrical excellence. Apart from repetitive and faithful worship, during the long hours of the night, coffee was a substance and a link from the muddy ground of the harsh painful earth to the life of the heavenly realms of God. This is the state which Sufi worshippers work towards, making the spiritual connection during worship rituals. So it is not a surprise when this golden age of Islam which, in fact could be coined as the golden age of Sufism when we saw the flourishing of the arts and culture which were well supported by those in power, namely the Abbasid caliphate, who ushered in the dawn of the great Islamic golden age.

Whilst the Sufi orders were immersed in mystical worship whilst drunk with caffeine-induced intoxication, the Abbasids focused on the use of art as a form of social development.

Islamic art and architecture carries with it, it’s distinctive characteristics that has given many different nations its beautifully intricate influence. The movement of Islamic art and architecture across nations and borders has its foundations with the first Islamic Umayyad Caliphate, with the Umayyad Mosque of Damascus in Syria being one of the first and monumental examples of early generation Islamic architecture. This was amidst large social changes, where Persians were encouraged to immerse themselves within a unified Islamic states bringing with them of course their rich cultural influence which we see throughout the artistic remains of this period. 

One of the most famous works of this period, the One Thousand and One Nights, were well known stories passed orally within the Persian mystic circles of the time, prior to the establishment of Sufi orders. With the first seeds of the Sufi order being planted firmly during the time that coffee was discovered in Ethiopia, the father of the Sufi Shadhili Tariqa, Abul Hasan Ali Ash-Shadhili was astounded at the positive effects that coffee had on the body and mind and with this he started the trend in Sufi worshippers consuming what came to be known as Muslim wine.

In the backdrop of the Islamic Golden Age we saw the development of sciences, philosophy and most importantly, the literatures and the arts. During this time of cultural development came a time also when Persian, Arab and non-Arab peoples and different religions melted together, developing a rich cultural heritage. Caliph Al-Mansur had created a round city, an architectural wonder called Madinat Al Salam or better known as Baghdad, which consisted of a mosque at its centre and gates that led to bustling Souqs or markets and with Baghdadi houses designed in their unique style. This style became what we now know today as the typically Spanish style or moorish homes, featuring courtyard centre pieces and rooms with open balconies, originating from the Baghdadi Islamic architectural concepts brought to the Maghreb, and in turn taken to Spain during the period of the Cordoba Caliphate. Caliph Al-Mutawakkil of the Abbasid Caliphate had also designed The Great Mosque of Samarra which was known for its spiraling minaret. And amongst all this development and economic activity, the alley ways of Baghdad and Khorasan were scented with the scent of coffee amidst the faint sounds of the Sufi murmering of prayers throughout the nights.


The mesmerisingly beautiful Sema rituals performed by the Sufi Muslims of the Mevlevi Order had originated from Jalal Ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, or otherwise known simply as Rumi. Rumi being the epitome of poetic thought had really contributed towards shaping and defining the Islamic era and without a doubt, he would have done so whilst being in the realms of caffiene intoxication. Through his poetry were are able to understand his feelings through his mystical couplets. In turn through the Sema ceremonies, we see Dhikr or worship as a beautiful expression of spiritual art.

Sufi dhikr and the use of coffee during sessions of worship had helped dramatically heighten the demand for coffee domestically within Muslim lands and it signaled the coming of the coffee economy for the very first time. The demands for coffee increased with the spread of Sufism across the Islamic lands between the 12th and the 15th centuries and by the 16th century, coffee had taken its place in Yemen. A port was established for coffee trading, in a town called al-Mocha.

The spread of Islam into Spain, meant the spread of Sufi traditions and spirituality and with it they brought with them coffee. It was during the Islamic golden age that Spain got its first taste of coffee, and of course the intricate poetic literal culture that came with it. Renowned Andalusian Sufi scholar, Ibn Arabi had completed important works of poetry, as well as studies into spiritual anthropology. Like Rumi, Ibn Arabi’s poetry was very mystical and deeply spiritual, and what he describes as “divine inspiration”. He believed that his works were at the “command of God, sent to me in sleep or through a mystical revelation”.

The Omani Fragrance Heritage: Legacy, Identity and modern Niche Perfumery

The Oman Fragrance Heritage: Legacy, Identity and modern Niche Perfumery

Omani frankincense which is the best of its kind in the world, today is still rooted deeply within Omani culture and the cultures of the neighbouring countries. In fact, it is seen as a very versatile product locally within the region, apart from its use as a fragrance. Omanis chew frankincense for health benefits as well as use it to drink in water as a type of juice, it is used as an essential oil, as a perfume mixed with other fragrance commodities and it is burnt as incense in Omani homes as part of hospitality rituals for guests. It releases this wonderful holy-like earthy, woody and sweet aroma that we can sometimes associate with church rituals with the only difference being that it is punctuated with the fragrant spicy-saffron scents of the Omani air especially when burnt in the surrounds of the spice quarter in the Old Muttrah Souq of Muscut. These practices, still prevalent today in Oman has been a tradition since the ancient days of trade, so although it is no longer a main form of trade on an international level, it still flourishes in its place of origin. The quality and type of frankincense differs, depending on how far it is cultivated from the coast, meaning those used for religious rituals can be different to those used for perfuming the body.

Frankincense and religion, promoting the flourish in trade

When we think of frankincense, those memories buried within our subconscious come alive with thoughts of those merry and jingly Christmases of our childhood, or playing a part in the school nativity play receiving the three wise men or the Magi bearing the gifts of myrrh, gold and frankincense. Churches have used the prized gifts from the Magi for generations as part of church ritual ceremonies, but what makes frankincense such an important part of religious ceremonies and rituals?


Mr. Shenouda Zakaria who belongs to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt and is Deacon of Saint John the Baptist church in Aysut, a city with a population of around 50% Coptic Christians, says that Frankincense has been important to Coptic Christians of Egypt, since the first century of Christianity. Zakaria says that it was “when Saint Mark the apostle of Jesus came to Egypt” that frankincense has been used as a sort of symbolic notion of holiness. Zakaria continues “In the Old Testament, when God used to appear to the people, they used to see something like smoke” and today priests use frankincense “as a symbol to remind them of God, just like when God appeared to the Jewish, there was smoke. In mass, the priest use it to remind the people that God is here now and it shows the presence of God.” When asked whether the use of frankincense was dependent on church denomination, especially in the Middle East in particular, he explained that some Protestant churches in Egypt do not use it at all as part of their rituals. Generally, however we can see the ritualistic significance of frankincense and the possible use of it as part of earlier Jewish tradition signifies that its use as part of religious tradition could be much much older than we think.

The modern fragrance market and competing commodities

Originally being a precious commodity from Oman with its heritage deeply routed within the silk route trade across Asia and the Arabian world, between the 1st and 2nd Century CE, frankincense travelled from Oman’s Khor Rori port through Yemen and up to the Levant and Egypt, finding their places in Christian homes and churches, exactly at the same time that St. Mark the apostle set off on his mission to Egypt and when Egyptians had adopted the new Christian religion. However, the modern globalised world that we live in today has kept our memories and usage of this prized commodity at bay and being a natural substance, frankincense like other formally precious-like-gold commodities such as musk, now have to compete with the immense ability of science which is able to produce more cost and time effective synthetic versions of them almost devaluing an original product due to our modern ability to reproduce like-for-like substances.

But it is not just modern science that frankincense has had to battle with, it is also the growth of the international fragrance markets especially european fragrance markets, and the use of other commodities and their oils as perfume compounds in big brand perfumes. In the Middle East the oud commodity which has similar origins to frankincense, has been a fierce competitor in the regional fragrance market, with demand for oud based fragrances rising steadily. Today oud based fragrances have carved out their own exclusive high-end niche within western fragrance markets and although the oud component of fragrances in the west have been at the forefront of marketing campaigns, the frankincense fragrance note is used to complement many of the mukhallats or Arabian fragrance mixes available on the market today. Frankincense has become an important ingredient, making up the body of a perfume mix. But is the rise in the use of oud really bad news for frankincense?

Frankincense woven into the fabric of Arabian heritage

Apart from religious ritualistic use in the early days, Frankincense was used as a perfume product in its highly concentrated form, in Oman and the surrounding regions. Mukhallats were created with the use of other fragrance commodities such as saffron and these highly concentrated fragrance compounds were called Attar or perfumes. Attar is one of the many love-childs of the treasured silk route, a concept which originated in India. The use of frankincense as a way to fragrance the body, using attars and mukhallats, actually helped to propel and create a foundation for the coming Arabian perfume market – and as we see today, it has influenced the western perfume markets as well. This helped to bring about the Arabian fragrance industry that we know of today, woven into the fabric of Arabian heritage whilst expressing the colourful portrait of the fine commodities that were traded through the Arabian peninsula. This means that although the international trade quantities of Oman frankincense has dwindled, it has successfully claimed its place within the modern Arabian fragrance market and subsequently to some extent, the modern western perfume markets. This means that its characteristics will continue to be in demand, especially in the Middle East where there is demand for a less-synthetic and a more natural version of a fragrance product and in the west, we see that mainly synthetic fragrance compounds are used in perfumes.

Frankincense at the coming of the millennium and the growth of the Arabian fragrance market

Reaffirming the pan Arabia demand for the natural frankincense product in modern history, according to the Public Agency for Marketing of Agricultural Products (PAMAP), which was an Oman government institution, the UAE has been the largest importer of Oman frankincense since the early 2000’s and today manufacturing of Arabian fragrances occur mostly in the GCC region, with many factories located in the UAE. Out of all Oman’s exports of frankincense, the UAE accounted for 81.5% of them and although there are no clear figures for current Oman frankincense exports to the UAE, the healthy growth of the Arabian fragrance market could be a good indicator. Khalid Minhas, Manager at Sama Perfumes who also deals with the distribution of Rasasi fragrances into the UK fragrances market, says that “oriental type perfumes have a huge potential in western markets, because naturally, customers look for something new” and “oriental perfumes (continue to) enjoy enormous success in Middle Eastern markets.” Regional pan Arabia big brand fragrance houses, such as Abdul Samad Al Qureshi, Rasasi and Arabian Oud continue to use Oman frankincense as an important ingredient, with fragrances like La Yuqawam by Rasasi or the other various fragrance oil mukhallats available from Al Haramain perfumes which use Oman frankincense. Although these perfume houses like to keep true to tradition by using the purest form of the fragrance commodity, they have come to realise that in order to break through to western markets, adjustments have had to be made. Minhas mentions that “manufacturers have adjusted their products to suit individual markets by blending scents that are modern, yet maintain woody fragrances” and Mohamed Atit, Manager for Arabian Oud based in the UAE, confirms this further when he describes that “new companies come to the market with their own (newer) blends” in order to satisfy the palate of western markets. The rise of the need for Arabian fragrance houses to adjust their perfume blends for the needs of different markets, ultimately means the change of the types of commodities used to create fragrances shows us that frankincense is still in demand in the pan Arabia markets.

Frankincense as a part of Oman’s ethnic identity

Going back in time, during the first century, the frankincense trade through the Khor Rori port of Oman was of such immense importance that it actually became one of the reasons for the migrations of the Arab tribes into what is today’s modern day Oman, helping to create the ethnic make up of the country. The Yemeni Himyarites Kingdom’s capture of modern day Oman had attained its goal: the control of the Khor Rori port and benefiting immensely from the economic fruits of the frankincense trade. The Land of Frankincense Museum, located in Salalah, Oman preserves and documents the history of the trade along with access to views of the prized Khor Rori port which was the gem in the crown of the ruling Kingdoms of the time. With the coming of Islam, Oman cemented its prized commodity, to become an important part of its hospitality tradition and it’s a tradition that the current Sultan of Oman, Qaboos bin Said al Said continues to embrace along with the royal families of the neighbouring Gulf nations who personally commission regional perfume houses to create bespoke fine Arabian fragrances for their own personal use. So here we have it, a fine commodity celebrated through fine fragrances within its homeland. So where does that leave foreign markets, who to some extent are lacking access to the high quality natural form of frankincense? Minhas, representative of Rasasi perfumes says “a lot of the big brands entered the market to provide scents that combine French and oriental fragrances thus creating interesting and unique fragrances.” This is of course the need to adapt according to the palate of the market. And with that, it would be safe to say that although the demand for frankincense has decreased over time, it still retains its magic within its homeland, ensuring that it will arouse the interests of many generations to come, especially abroad.

An Image of the Heavens on the Earth: The Natural Beauties of the Oriental World

We are going to go on a short trip, around to some of the oriental world’s fantastic areas of natural beauty, with a lot of them having interesting historical heritages to match.

Here are some of the many amazing retreats that we tend to not hear about …so lets go on a short journey through the natural beauties of the oriental world.

The United Arab Emirates

When thinking about the UAE, we automatically think about skyscrapers, the Dubai Mall, the

luxurious lifestyle and all the first class features of that world class city. But the UAE away from the stereotypical glitz and the glamour, has other precious hidden jewels within the desert. One of these is the Al Maha Desert Conservation Reserve, where one can retreat to away from the hustle and bustle of modern Dubai life. The conservation allows you to connect to nature and the real essence of the Middle East – its desert and wildlife origins. Fantastically preserving the natural habitat of the desert, the conservation houses over 6,000 indigenous trees and its shrubs as well as the freely roaming herds and the endangered oryx and many other forms of precious wildlife. This is the country’s first National Park, of astounding natural beauty and firmly claiming its place as part of the country’s natural heritage.

Lebanon

With its perfect Mediterranean location and its fantastic history, Lebanon in itself is a country of renowned natural beauty. Lebanon is the location of the the Cedar’s of God, or Arz Al Rabb, as described in Arabic, a forest protected by UNESCO world heritage. It is of intense natural beauty with significant Holy status with importance since the ancient times for the trade of cedar wood and timber. It lies within the Bsharre region of lebanon, spanning beautiful awe inspiring views of snow capped mountains, beautifully laid lush green cedar trees and the Qadisha valley. Skiing is available nearby along with of course mountain top panoramic views. The region is punctuated with its amazing historical heritage, with monasteries and caves echoing the near-silent supplications from the days gone by.

Pakistan

Lake Saiful Malook is classed as one of the highest alpine lakes of Pakistan. Located within the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province region, you would be forgiven for thinking you have been transported into one of those picture postcard locations of Switzerland. The crystal-clear sparkling lakes, surrounded by the snow capped mountains, of course cannot exist without its own unique story, which is a common theme amongst the natural beauties of this part of the world. The park is associated with the poetic story of the Persian Prince, written by a renouned Sufi poet, Mian Muhammad. The Prince called Saiful Malook fell in love with a fairy called Badr Ul Jamal. On his search for his beloved, he came across a holy man who set upon the love-stricken Prince various tests of his love for the fairy, who he was allowed to marry only after passing each test. It is said that he found his love within the natural beauty of this region.

Egypt

Egypt is home to many treasures, whether cultural, historical or natural. Egypt is a treasure box of discoveries which can never be kept of the list of places to visit, especially at least when it comes to its natural treasures. Ras Muhammad National Park, named as such because it is shaped looking like the head of a man with a beard, is a treasure trove of underwater marine adventures, filled with coral reef along its coast and well over 100 different sea species. Many visit for its fabulous diving opportunities and camping alike. You will find yourself catching your breath whilst you take in the sparkling beauty of the pure azure waters, golden sands with the clearest skies above you. Its not an adventure that you will forget soon.

Whats your favorite jewel of the oriental world?