Decolonial Devotion

& Sacred Creation

September 15-20, 2026 | Essaouira, Morocco

Decolonial Devotion is a retreat on the rural coast of Essaouira, Morocco for artists, activists, and healers living at the intersections of spirit, justice, creation and prayer, convened by Rawan Roshni, Taya Mâ Shere, Hadar Cohen and Medina Tenour.

Rooted in liberatory Muslim and Jewish lineages, Decolonial Devotion invites us into embodied remembrance of who we are, what we root in, and what we are here to heal. It is a return to the heart, to the joy and aliveness of being, to the wisdom that lives in breath, movement, and connection.

The weavers of this space align in solidarity for a Free Palestine, firmly against all forms of colonialism, occupation, apartheid, oppression and genocide. We come together in decolonial devotion, acknowledging that our mere union is in itself a political act. While our faiths have often been used to instigate and fuel violence, we gather to reclaim and repair, to renew and connect, to remember and pray.‍

Decolonial Devotion is an invocation of the sacred traditions of al-Andalus and the Maghreb—lands where Muslim, Jewish and Indigenous communities long coexisted, created, and dreamed together.

That time inspires us now as we stand in solidarity with Palestine and gather to rekindle relationships across differences and to imagine justice as a form of sacred living.

Through ritual, rest, learning, and creative expression, we open space for healing and transformation—attuning to the rhythms of body, land, and the divine.

Our retreat flow includes spacious mornings in prayer, afternoons in creative workshops and evenings in ritual.

Workshops include Sufi Women Mystics and Song Keepers in the Maghrebi-Andalus continuum, Scholartivism and the Sacred, Voice as Healing Instrument and Whirling As Devotional Practice.

Sacred Creation

Art, ritual, and creative inquiry as sacred acts

Decolonial Ways of Knowing

Reclaiming sacred traditions beyond systems of domination

Embodied Presence

Attuning to the sensory, welcoming pleasure and beauty

We gather in the tranquil seaside village of Sidi Ouassen, a 15 minute walk from the sea. Sidi Ouassen is perched near a cape, with stunning cliffs and an endless view of the Atlantic Ocean.

We are 20 minutes from the ancient medina of Essaouira and the Essaouira airport and 2.45 hours from Marrakesh airport (RAK).

Most rooms are shared, with four twin beds. A few private rooms are available at additional cost - please inquire. We’ll share three meals a day together prepared by a local chef, enjoying traditional Moroccan cuisine sourced from local ingredients and spiced with flavors of the region.

Located in tranquil Amazigh village of Sidi Ouassen, is a secluded oasis only twenty minutes drive from the vibrant and ancient medina and cultural center of Essaouira.

20 minutes from Essaouira airport and 2.45 hours from Marrakesh airport (RAK).

Our five-night retreat, including accommodations, food and programming is offered on a sliding scale of 750-1250 Euros.

Admission is rolling, with limited spaces.

APPLY HERE

A percentage of proceeds direct to mutual aid in Gaza.

Stay informed of future gatherings & offerings here.

Our gathering is convened by Rawan Roshni, Taya Mâ Shere, Medina Tenour & Hadar Cohen.

Together, we co-create a space in the spirit of what Sheikh Dr. Ibrahim Baba Farajajé calls scholartivism—where study becomes prayer, food becomes ritual, and where devotion and creation meet at the altar of life.

Rawan Roshni is a Palestinian/Balkan, Global Citizen, Arab Woman, based in Jordan, Waging Love across the world. She uses her voice as an Artivist through her singing/songwriting and facilitation of brave spaces focusing her work in the SWANA region. Her facilitation over the past decade has ranged from issues such as conflict transformation, collective liberation, decolonization, catalyzing community, emotional processing tools, conscious relating, consent, women's work and more! She fuses Sound, Movement and Intuitive Rituals as tools in her work, bringing elements such as group singing, sound work through vocalization, whirling dance, and intentional nature-based practices. She has co-founded multiple interfaith and world music projects and most recently has been touring her solo tri-lingual live-looping Music & Poetry performance Al-Tuyoor: Messages from the Birds for 2 years across 7 countries and counting! She began her journey with plant teachers in 2019 and is a humble student of the plantcestors, in service as a voice and a bridge for the healing of our human species as but a part of our larger ecosystem of creation. @rawanroshniofficial

Taya Mâ Shere is a ceremonialist embracing embodied, earth-honoring devotion as liberatory spiritual practice. She serves as a professor of Organic Multi-Religious Ritual at Starr King School for the Ministry and as Associate Director of the Center for Multi-Religious Studies, where she co-convenes The House of Dates. Taya Mâ is founder of from the deep, an emergent mystery school of earth, sea and soma and currently offers online courses and individual sessions in ancestral exuberance. She created & hosted the acclaimed Jewish Ancestral Healing podcast and The Sarah & Hajar Series: Sacred Practice and Possibility at the Intersections of Judaism and Islam. She co-founded the Kohenet Hebrew Priestess movement as well as Makam Shekhina multi-religious Jewish and Sufi Muslim community committed to counter-oppressive devotion. Taya Mâ’s albums of sacred chant have been heralded as "cutting-edge mystic medicine music" and "transmissions which tap into collective memory." @tayatransforms

Medina Tenour Whiteman is an author, poet and singer-songwriter born into a highly creative British-American Sufi convert family in Granada, Andalusia in 1982. Having studied anthropology, languages, history, religion and literature at SOAS through the lens of Africa, she returned to her city of birth in 2005, where she has been raising three children and several iterations of productive and medicinal gardens more or less ever since. She has also been learning from local herbal medicine and permaculture practitioners, as well as classical Andalusi mystics, poets, botanists and farmers through the literary, musical and agroecological traditions of Al-Andalus. Medina believes that it is only by reconnecting the spiritual and the embodied domains that consciousness can bear fruit in the tangible world, and facilitates workshops around voice, plants, and mysticism to this end. Find out more about Medina here and read her blog here. @medinatenour

Hadar Cohen is an Arab Jewish scholar, mystic, and artist whose work focuses on multi-religious spirituality, politics, social issues, and community building. She is the founder of Malchut, a spiritual skill-building school teaching Jewish mysticism and direct experience of God. She teaches and consults in a variety of settings and formats, from one-on-one coaching to online group classes and in-person retreats. Her podcast, Hadar’s Web, features community conversations on spirituality, healing, justice, and art. Hadar is a 10th-generation Jerusalemite with lineage roots also in Syria, Kurdistan, Iraq, and Iran. Subscribe to her Substack for access to her latest writings, offerings, and media appearances. @hadarcohen32

This retreat is co-sponsored by
Malchut and Makam Shekhina

Malchut is a mystical school led by Hadar Cohen for those seeking to cultivate a personal relationship with God. Our teachings focus on relating to life’s experiences as channels to the Divine and understanding the self as the portal to liberation. The transformation of the self is inseparable from the world we live in—shifting one brings healing and renewal to the other. Through our two core offerings, God Fellowship and Jewish Mystical School, we provide pathways for spiritual growth, integrating ancient wisdom and modern perspectives, timeless practices with modern approaches. Our purpose is to support participants in ending cycles of trauma and suffering within themselves, creating the foundation for a more liberated and compassionate world.

Makam Shekhina is an evolving expression of multi-religious Jewish and Sufi Muslim counter-oppressive devotion co-founded by Taya Mâ Shere and Sheikh Dr. Ibrahim Baba Farajaje.

Our album Makam Shekhina: Hebrew & Arabic Chants of Counter-Oppressive Devotion is an invitation to immerse in lush, pulsing prayer in Hebrew, Arabic & English and counter-oppressive Jewish and Muslim multi-religious devotion as woven by Ibrahim Baba, Taya Mâ & Makam Shekhina beloveds.