The Mevlevi Center in Hawaii has been meeting regularly for over thirty years, lead by Postneshins Karim and Valerie Noor Kerima. We meet multiple times a week to do group practices in the Mevlevi tradition. New students are welcome to join!
- 2nd and 4th Saturdays, 6:30-9pm: Class for old and new students OR public zikr
- 1st and 3rd Wednesdays, 5:30-6:30pm: Beginner’s class (senior semazens also welcome)
- 2nd and 4th Tuesdays, 6:30-7pm: Tesbih practice
- 1st Sundays, 6:30pm: Zikr/potluck
- Thursdays at 6:30am: online Mesnevi study
We also travel to the outer islands from time to time to bring together Mevlevi students and musicians. There are also periodic Family Promise program participation opportunities. Please contact Valerie Noor Kerima for more information.
Supporting Senior Students: Aisha, Padmani, Mufide
Postneshin Valerie Noor Kerima, MA, LCSW, studied with Jelaleddin Loras and Suleyman Hayati Dede at Claymont, a mystical school in the Gurdjieff tradition, in 1979-1980, then moved to Hawaii with Karim, where she has been co-leader of the Honolulu Mevlevi community with him, under Jelaleddin’s direction, ever since. She works as a bereavement social worker for a hospice organization. She strives to help students remember who we truly are as human beings through the poetry and teachings of Rumi and the practices of the Mevlevi tradition.
Postneshin Kim Karim Payton, PH.D. – has followed the Mevlevi tradition since Suleyman Hayati Dede brought the tradition to Hawaii in 1976. He has been a student of Makampostneshin Jelaleddin Loras since he arrived in Hawaii in 1979. Karim is a consulting organizational psychologist working with people to create conditions that make it possible for people to live as full human beings in the workplace. Karim serves as Ser Tariq for the Mevlevi Order of America.