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 Bukhara, Central Asia |
The center was founded in 1616, by the Bukhari family. The family came from the town of Bukhara in Uzbekistan, in order to teach the nakshabandi Sufi meditation and to help travellers. Another target was to form a bridge of cooperation, understanding and love. The center gradually became a conference meeting ground for pilgrims.
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The center includes a mosque for prayer and meditation as well as a library rich with old transcripts, written by the sheiks of the quarter. The books are unique. The library contains 300 books, as well as other books collected through out the years.
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The center also has a graveyard where the sheiks of the quarter are buried. In it lies the former sheik, my father Sheik Mousa Bukhari, who passed away in 1973. Visitors used to donate in order to support, sustain and enable the center, and to supply help needed by the pilgrims and the poor in Jerusalem.
After 1967, the Six Day War, along with the closure of the borders between Israel and the Arab countries, pilgrims suffered many hardships, but still some pilgrims came from Turkey, South Africa and Europe. Donations ceased to cover the expenses of the center, which include renovation, taxes and sustenance.
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Among other activities at the center, we have dialogue between different religions, seminars on peace and Sufism, and we bring together people from different religions for the sake of peace.
Other issues discussed are the role of religious people in playing a part in peace and cooperation, receiving delegations arriving in the Holy Land and holding conferences for Sufi followers.
In spite of the hardships the center faces, it still tries to fulfil the objectives handed down by my ancestors over the years. I try to prepare my offspring to pass on the ways and teachings of love and peace that were passed down by my ancestors.
In these hard conditions the center must pay its taxes and continue renovations. Last year our taxes were 67,450 NIS. I pay a sum of 1000 NIS monthly. In 2001 a sum of 60,435 NIS was demanded. The center faces many difficulties, in part due to scarce donations.
Please support the Naqshabandi Center In Jerusalem.