Justice, Surrender, and the Art of Seeing Differently with Courtney Erwin, JD Attorney / Human Rights Lawyer What happens when our understanding of justice, freedom, and human rights encounters cultures and spiritual traditions that challenge everything we thought we knew?
In this episode of Sacred Outlaw Temple, Cyren Naôs sits down with Courtney Erwin, an international human rights lawyer, educator, and Muslim whose life and work are deeply informed by the Islamic spiritual tradition of Sufism (taṣawwuf).
For more than two decades, Courtney has worked across the Middle East and North Africa at the intersection of international law, human rights, education, and religion. Her career includes work with the International Criminal Court, United Nations agencies, and Education Above All, as well as helping develop international protections for schools during armed conflict.
She currently serves on the board of the Moroccan-American Commission for Educational and Cultural Exchange, which administers the Fulbright Program in Morocco, and as General Secretary of Amal, a women's training nonprofit in Marrakech.
Our conversation begins with justice, law, and the limits of Western frameworks for understanding the world, before moving into more personal territory: the narratives surrounding Muslim women, the richness of Islamic spirituality, the practice of Sufism, and what sustains hope in an increasingly fractured world.
Together, we explore what becomes possible when we challenge inherited assumptions, resist simplistic binaries, and learn to encounter other cultures on their own terms.
Perhaps seeing the world differently begins with recognizing how much we've been taught not to see.
CONNECT WITH COURTNEY
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/courtneypaigeerwin/
EXPLORE COURTNEY'S MOROCCO RETREATS
Illuminated Tours:
https://www.illuminatedcourses.com/morocco
Eight-Day Yoga Retreat:
https://wonderingsoulsarah.com/yoga-retreats/morocco/
Morocco Nurses' Retreat, May 2027:
https://unwoundretreats.com/morocco-retreat-may-2027
SACRED OUTLAW TEMPLE: Exploring the intersections of art, culture, consciousness, power, and creative sovereignty.
https://www.quantummutiny.com/
To contribute to the Exiled Creative confessional, please visit: https://forms.exiledcreativeconfessional.com/?lang=en
Substack: https://substack.com/@sacredoutlawtemple
Thank you to the artists, musicians, poets, mystics, and intuitives - you are loved and seen