The New Gaze Project
Une série d’exploration et de réinterprétation de notre héritage spirituel
Why A New Gaze?
Spiritual traditions have journeyed across the centuries, transmitting beliefs, practices, narratives, institutions, and distinctive ways of understanding the world.
Some of these transmissions have retained their relevance.
Others have evolved.
Still others have, at times, survived beyond the meaning that originally gave them life.
In the face of the profound transformations of our age, it has become necessary to revisit these inheritances with lucidity, freedom, and depth.
A Work of Reinterpretation
A New Gaze is a series of studies dedicated to the reinterpretation of the major concepts, practices, and references that shape our relationship with the Divine, the human being, nature, and the universe.
Its purpose is neither to defend tradition nor to attack it.
Nor is it to abandon the heritage we have received or preserve it blindly.
Rather, it seeks to examine it sincerely, distinguishing what is essential from what belongs primarily to the historical, cultural, or institutional contexts that have developed around it.
The Questions Guiding Each Exploration
Each series will focus on a particular theme and seek to explore a number of fundamental questions:
• What did this concept originally mean?
• How has it evolved over time?
• What functions did it fulfill within the society in which it emerged?
• In what forms is it lived and understood today?
• And above all, how might it be understood and embodied more meaningfully within the contemporary world?
Themes That May Be Explored
The various cycles of A New Gaze may therefore explore subjects as diverse as religious practices, foundational beliefs, spiritual institutions, human relationships, our relationship with nature, questions of authority and transmission, gender-related issues, and the great symbols of spiritual traditions.
A Laboratory of Reflection for Our Time
More than an educational program, A New Gaze aspires to be a laboratory of reflection dedicated to fostering the emergence of a lucid, mature spirituality capable of engaging thoughtfully with the realities of the twenty-first century.
Why Revisit Sufism Today?
This first six-part series explores several foundational concepts of the Sufi tradition.
Over the centuries, Sufism has developed a rich vocabulary, practices, institutions, and methods that have profoundly shaped the spiritual history of the Muslim world.
But are these concepts still understood in their original spirit? Do the structures surrounding them still fulfill their intended purpose? Should certain traditional forms be preserved, transformed, or reimagined?
Through six sessions, we will revisit key elements of the Sufi heritage to better distinguish spirit from form, principle from habit, and explore what remains alive, meaningful, and relevant for our time.
More than a conventional course, this series is intended as a study circle and a space for collective inquiry, where participants become companions in research, contributing to a shared exploration of Sufism in the contemporary world.
What We Will Explore
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In-Depth Study
Historical, linguistic, and conceptual analysis of key notions within the Sufi tradition.
A historical, linguistic, and analytical approach to the foundational concepts of the Sufi tradition.
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A Research-Based Approach
Exploring these concepts with rigor, discernment, and intellectual integrity, free from both rejection and blind adherence.
Some of the Themes We Will Explore
Throughout this webinar series, we will revisit some of the most important concepts of the Sufi tradition in order to explore their origins, their historical evolution, and their meaning for our time.
• What is a Tariqa?
• What is a Shaykh?
• What is a Murid?
• What is a Bayʿa?
• How have Sufi concepts evolved throughout history?
• Where does the boundary lie between spiritual experience and institution?
• How can we distinguish an original intention from its historical developments?
• Which elements remain essential to the awakening and maturation of the human being?
“A tradition remains alive when it allows itself to be examined with honesty, intelligence, and lucidity.” — Hamdi Ben Aïssa