A once-Catholic priest from the American state of North Carolina, who was influenced by 13th-century Muslim scholar, poet, and Sufi mystic Mevlana Jalaluddin al-Rumi, has embraced Islam and changed his name to Ismail. Craig Victor Fenter, 66, taught religious courses at U.S. universities for a decade but failed to fill the spiritual void inside him until he watched a Sema show, the mystic religious ceremony of the whirling dervishes. He now lives in central Turkey's Konya province, where he moved to two months ago.
A once-Catholic priest from the American state of North Carolina, who was influenced by 13th-century Muslim scholar, poet, and Sufi mystic Mevlana Jalaluddin al-Rumi, has embraced Islam and changed his name to Ismail. Craig Victor Fenter, 66, taught religious courses at U.S. universities for a decade but failed to fill the spiritual void inside him until he watched a Sema show, the mystic religious ceremony of the whirling dervishes. He now lives in central Turkey's Konya province, where he moved to two months ago.
