The 3rd Annual Edinburgh International Festival of Middle Eastern Spirituality and Peace will bring together artists, scholars, and distinguished Middle Eastern musicians.

All of the principal faith and spiritual traditions of Scotland have been invited to participate in this celebration of peace and understanding. Its non-political nature allows for an exceptional diversity among the participants. The Festival, jointly organized by the Edinburgh International Centre for World Spiritualities and the Edinburgh Institute for Advanced Learning and with the support of many others, will have over 120 events.

Professor Tariq Ramadan and Greek Orthodox Bishop Kallistos Ware will lead the field of speakers. Professor Tariq Ramadan will give the 2006 Middle East Festival Lecture on 'Islam and the West in a Quest for a Just and Peaceful World,' and Bishop Kallistos Ware will participate in the conference, Pathways of the Heart, and give the 2006 Middle East Festival Conference Lecture, 'Acquiring Inner Peace.'

The Festival musical highlights include: Internationally distinguished musicians and artists participating including Yair Dalal, Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Davod Azad, Latif Bolat, Beth Bahia Cohen and Yasmin Levy. Yair Dalal, Omar Faruk Tekbilek and Yasmin Levy are each BBC World Music short-listed musicians.

Yair Dalal, composer, violinist and oud player is probably the most prolific Israeli ethnic musician today. Omar Faruk Tekbilek is honoured as a peacemaker and virtuoso who brilliantly interprets the Sufi, Folk, and Contemporary music of the Middle East. Davod Azad is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and vocalist mastering in the Iranian Classical music, the Azeri folk music, the Ancient Persian music, and the Persian Sufi music. One of the most distinguished Turkish musicians in the United States, Latif Bolat plays the folk and spiritual music of Turkey on a traditional instrument called a baglama (saz). Beth Bahia Cohen is a master of the violin and various bowed instruments from the Middle East and the Balkans. In her deep, spiritual and moving style of singing, Yasmin Levy preserves and revives the most beautiful and romantic songs from the Ladino/Judeo-Spanish heritage, mixed with Andalusian Flamenco. Waterboys’ lead singer Mike Scott will play a solo set in the One World Peace Concert in the Queen's Hall on 18 February 2006, as will Heather Heywood and Bharati Bundhoo, and Neyzen Ilhan Barutcu will perform Classical Turkish Sufi Songs of Love and Devotion.

Festival Co-Directors Neill Walker and Dr Neil Douglas-Klotz said: “The Festival positively affirms the diversity contained within the religious and spiritual traditions of the Middle East, as well as those here in Scotland. The Festival takes no fixed position on any political, ethical or cultural question. We intend rather to create a forum in which we can listen to one another more deeply and learn with more open minds and hearts. The emphasis of the Festival is on spirituality, and on spiritual, educational and artistic and cultural approaches to peace and understanding. The Festival is a celebration of spirituality and peace, of the Middle East, and not least of Scotland.”