The Naqshbandi dervish monastery in the northern Cypriot town of Lefka has often been described to me in almost identical terms by different people: “It is like a United Nations with myriad languages spoken at the same time.” The monastery, whose disciples flocked from all over the world but are mostly British, was headed by Sheikh Nazim al-Qubrusi, who died on May 7 while being treated in a hospital. His crowded funeral in Nicosia was attended by government officials, among them Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Dervis Eroglu and Prime Minister Ozkan Yorgancioglu, as well as many disciples and ordinary citizens. The sheikh was laid to rest in the courtyard of his monastery, a former Ottoman mansion.

The sheikh’s long journey ended at age 92. He was a man of humor and wit with the easygoing temper of an islander, belying the solemnity of the turban on his head. He made headlines with amusing declarations and prophesies. Most recently, the hoots of an owl stranded in Famagusta’s ancient walls led him to prophesy: “The seven-headed dragon is crying out. It is an omen of the apocalypse.” And when four of the 33 Chilean miners who had been trapped underground for 69 days in 2010 paid him a visit in Cyprus, the sheikh told the miners they owed their lives to a prayer he allegedly said for them 700 meters underground. On another occasion, he declared Prince Charles to be a Muslim.

His antics were met mostly with smiles and came to be seen as the hallmarks of his humorous nature. Scores of people from various countries were attracted to his colorful, benevolent, straightforward and relaxed persona. To others, however, he was freak, flippant and full-mouthed. He was a self-styled sheikh. The additions he made to his given name — Nazim Adil — reflected the enchanted self he imagined in his mind: Sheikh Muhammad Nazim Adil al-Qubrusi al-Haqqani al-Rabbani.

Advocating peace in Cyprus