The American calligrapher, Mohamed Zakariya said that “calligraphy is music for the eyes,” and the Reed Society for the Sacred Art and the West African Calligraphy institute invite you to join us in a symphony for the soul. For our third annual retreat in Abiquiu, New Mexico we are shifting the focus of our experiences to emphasize not only calligraphy, but also art, music, community, and spirituality. Based on the organic development of the retreats in the last two years, we offer more space and time to connect deeply with each other, the New Mexican landscape, and the beauty and serenity of Dar al Islam. We hope to bring to the center the art forms our organizations support, a growing community, and our mission to increase human understanding and compassion through artistic expression.

Islamic spiritual and artistic practice draws on the written word and diverse cultures so that people can approach and find oneness in creation. In this retreat, we embrace the richness of Islamic expression, from regions that are both at the center and the periphery of Islam, and learn from practitioners of different schools and traditions. We also celebrate how diverse cultures continue to evolve and find new ways of weaving our past, present, and future. It is our hope that through this retreat, participants from all backgrounds can nurture their abilities to express devotion, love, beauty, and peace, while showing gratitude for the diversity of experience and knowledge we are blessed to learn from in this life.