Mikey Aboutboul is a third-year first generation immigrant student pursuing a BA in ethnomusicology at UCLA. His research involves the ayin— the mystical ceremony of the Mevlevis, a Turkish sufi group who follows Rumi’s teachings. Mikey looks at how the change of the ayin from a sacred ritual to a cultural phenomenon affects current conceptualization of what is sacred and what is secular in modern Turkey. He also contextualizes his research within the religious political landscape in Turkey and wishes to understand how these socio-political shifts play on the sustainability of the ayin—either as a ritual, an art, or a cultural phenomenon. Mikey has been studying the ney, the reed flute central to this ceremony, since 2017. He learned Turkish and visited Turkey three times to study with Master’s from the tradition. He also revived the Ethnomusicology Undergraduate Student Organization at UCLA. Mikey wishes to pursue an MA degree in ethnomusicology in Turkey before applying to a PhD in the United States and to study music across political differences.