Derviš na poušti – Aul Josef (2024)

In the novel Dervish in the Desert, we venture into the alleys of holy Bukhara, an ancient Uzbek city, at the height of its glory when it was a pulsating spiritual center of Islam. The main character, Omar, the son of a Bukhara imam, befriends the washer of the dead, Sajjid Murád-i-Sheikh, who gradually reveals to him the mystical dimension of Islam. His father, Abú Alí Síná, is on a sacred pilgrimage to Mecca at that time. Within Omar, the contradictions of a young, torn soul are at war. Should he follow the path of his father's scholastic Islamic faith, or open his heart to the untamed dervish mysticism? Should he become a wandering dervish and live in asceticism, or marry the beautiful Saltana? The author, Josef Aul, experienced traditional old Islamic society firsthand during World War I and transformed this unique experience into a historical-philosophical novel. He authentically depicts the remarkable world of Islamic mysticism and doctrine, as well as the world of witchcraft and popular superstitions about evil djinns. The 1937 book is published in a new edition with illustrations by Jindřich Janíček by the publishing house 65. pole.