In the 21st century, the Sufi voice has become an important symbol for representing Islam as peaceful, tolerant, and accessible to non-Muslims. In Morocco, Sufi sam?` (sung devotional poetry) is often presented in festivals as an expression of universal spirituality, spirituality that anyone, regardless of background or religion, can partake of if only they listen (Kapchan 2008). However, festival presentations often ignore exoteric practices and textual meanings in favor of a stress on esoteric spiritualities of sound, which separate Sufism from Islam (Bohlman 1994). My work with munshidin (Sufi singers) in Fez, Morocco who participate in these festivals reveals discrepancies between their intentions and those of festival organizers. While the festival organizers attempt to transform Sufism in order to bring it to a transnational and multi-faith audience, the munshidin attempt to transform listeners in order to bring them to Islam. In this paper I focus on the munshid Haj Muhammad Bennis of Fez, who has been instrumental in re-contextualizing devotional music for diverse audiences and is adept at negotiating the multiple intentions involved in promoting and performing sam?` in public concerts. Haj Bennis argues that the esoteric and sonic elements of sam? can lead listeners to textual meaning, exoteric practice, and ultimately to conversion to Islam. Amidst heated debates about the proper contexts for Islamic devotion, Haj Bennis’ narratives highlight a discursive ethics of listening that defends the appropriateness of performing sam?` outside of its normative devotional contexts. For him the Sufi voice indeed has the power to transcend cultural, linguistic and religious borders. However, Haj Bennis claims that this voice is rooted in the Maliki Sunni Islam of Moroccan Sufism. Therefore, for him the Sufi voice is not an expression of universal spirituality but the universality of Islam. Expressing this voice in the performance of Moroccan Sufi sam?` gives it the power to gather diverse audiences and create Islamic subjectivities through an ethical listening grounded in Islam.