Qasidah Burdah "The poem of the cloak"

The Burdah or The poem of the cloak, is a masterpiece of Arabic literature and contains 10 sections, a total of 160 verses. The poem is about the love for the prophet Muhammad PBUH and his life. It is sung everywhere in the Muslim world from Morocco to Malaysia. Written 700 years ago by an Egyptian called Imam Sharafuddin Busiri (c1211-1294).

Ulfah Arts worked with a group of women over 10 weeks where we studied the poem. The group was then encouraged to write something of their own which they did. These ideas where then presented as part of the Collide festival and then further developed and presented in a concert.