Send us Fan Mail To contribute to the SSI year-end challenge match campaign, click here: https://scienceandspirituality.org/giving-tuesday/ In this episode, Richard interviews Dr. Zeynep Kuleli, a historian of Science and Technology. They discuss Dr. Kuleli’s research into Sufi spirituality and its implications for the vibrant floriculture in early modern Istanbul. After their conversation, Richard concluded this episode by sharing that what he has learned from Sufi spiritual insights and commitments can help him deepen his own spirituality and become a better Christian disciple, especially in the face of environmental crisis. Contents: The interview began with Dr. Kuleli describing her early life in Istanbul and interests, which eventually led her to enter the Ph.D. program in the History of Science and Technology at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Since she has just completed her dissertation, Richard also asked her to describe her doctoral research. From there, the conversation moved to Sufism, with Dr. Kuleli providing an introductory description of this special form of spirituality within Islam. Richard first met Dr. Kuleli at a conference in February, hosted by the Kripke Center for the Study of Religion and Society at Creighton University in Omaha. He asked her to describe the paper she presented at the conference, entitled “Sufi Orders and Floriculture in Early Modern Istanbul.” Dr. Kuleli described the social, cultural, and spiritual significance of this floriculture, with its focus on a small selection of flowers, including tulips, carnations, and roses. She described how the Sufis came to see these flowers as manifesting the highest attributes of God. From the Sufi perspective, there is not a sharp demarcation between nature, human culture, and the Divine. In her Creighton paper, Dr. Kuleli concluded, “"...when compared to their European contemporaries...the Ottoman perception did not rigidly demarcate the realms of nature, culture, and the divine, presenting a more fluid conceptualization of these entities." She discussed this conclusion with Richard and its implications for how we understand God. Finally, Dr. Kuleli describe what she has learned from this research project: it has taught her that we need to overcome our division and polarization within societies by recognizing that we are One in our existence with the Divine, nature, and one another. When we attack others, we are actually attacking ourselves. Following the interview, Richard picked up on this notion that we are One with nature, God, and one another. He believes that the Western impulse to demarcate God from Creation lies at the base of our inability to develop an environmental ethic, which celebrates and preserves the environment. He believes that we would be far more successful at addressing our environmental challenges, if we followed Sufism and other spiritual traditions in emphasizing the Oneness of existence that nature, humans, and God share together. He cautioned that this does not necessitate taking a pantheistic perspective. For more information about Sufism, see this YouTube tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc9k9nvIHOU To financially support this podcast series, go to www.scienceandspirituality.org/support To access Richard’s new Substack reflections, https://scienceandspiritualityblog.substack.com
