The group was founded by Sheikh Hamed Dawood in 2002. It consists of vocalists – singers of nasheeds (Islamic songs) – from the Shadhiliyya Sufi order, best whirling dervishes from Damascus, and leading soloists from Arabic orchestras. It is the most famous music group in Syria.
The group plays classical Arabic music, performs secular and sacred songs in authentic interpretations, using different improvisation techniques. The music played by the musicians intertwines with the dance of whirling dervishes, creating a visual effect of a journey to a trance-like state, which is both relaxing and uplifting.
The Sheikh Hamed Dawood Group is proud to present different musical performances of the Oriental traditions through concerts and music festivals around the world. The mission of the group is to maintain the Sufi music heritage of Damascus and to promote the Brotherhood values: tolerance, love and peace among all nations around the world.
Sheikh Hamed Dawood is a keeper of the 400-year-old mystical Sufi tradition greatly cherished by his father – Sheikh Suleiman Dawood. Sheikh Hamed Dawood is the president of the Damascus Association of Vocalists; he is the choir master at the Great Umayyad Mosque. He is known as one of the greatest reciters of the Koran.
