Inayatiyya International Board

Inayatiyya International Board Newsletter, February 2024

Inayatiyya International Board
News, February 2024

As the Inayatiyya International Board, we have some news to share with you. 

Changes in Norway

We are happy to announce a new leadership team in Norway. Rabia Eli-Anne Skarholt has been appointed as the new Head of the Inner School. Along with the two other heads of activities in Norway, Basira Kjersti Opstad (head of Knighthood) and Qalbi Nadia Siddique (Shefayat in the Healing Activity), they will create a shared leadership model to help the Inayatiyya flourish. Magdelena Eli Eikeland will be supporting them in their work.

Alia Sura Arnesen and Shams Uwais will no longer be representing the Inayatiyya in their work going forward. We wish them the best in all their endeavors.

The Hope Project

Within the Inayatiyya, one of the ways that the Kinship activity is expressed is through the Hope Project in India. Kinship inspires people to work together to serve those in need, to protect and restore the web of life on Earth, and to create a more just and beautiful world. We are happy to share the annual report from the Hope Project which highlights the excellent work that is being done in Delhi.

Inayatiyya International Board Newsletter, January 2024

Inayatiyya International Board
News, January 2024

As the Inayatiyya International Board, we have some news to share with you. 

World Wide Message Council Transitions

Our good friend, Tarana Jobin, has served as the Vice President of the Music Activity for the last four years. We are incredibly grateful for the immeasurable ways that she has enriched this activity. During this time, Tarana has hosted a multitude of samas, convened a multi-semester Mysticism & Music course, developed a music curriculum in collaboration with Ophiel, collected all Inayatiyya-related songs and taught them to others via meshk, published The Nirtan Songs, initiated and nurtured the Inayatiyya Musicians’ Guild, and galvanizing hundreds of Sufi musicians from around the world. 

Latifa Noor Anderson has agreed to be the next one to take up the mantle as Vice President of Music in North America. Latifa Noor is a professional cellist with a deep knowledge of Western and Indian classical music, performing in major venues around the world. She holds Bachelor of Music degrees from the Juilliard School and California State University at Sacramento and a Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music. LatifaNoor is also a meditation teacher, retreat guide and, as a Representative within the Inayatiyya’s Inner School, founder of the Light of Harmony Center—Inayatiyya of Dobbs Ferry, New York, just north of Manhattan.

International Board New Members

We are also delighted to welcome three new trustees to the Inayatiyya International Board.

Thomas Munawar Aubepart is an entrepreneur and trainer. He’s a genuine all rounder with a special interest in tea, poetry, environment, diversity, and engineering. He was a lobbyist during the COP21 in Paris, then worked as a strategy consultant before starting his own business in the tea industry. Thomas received a master degree in management with a special focus in environment, sustainability and development economics. As a volunteer, he was chair of the NGO Empow’her and the theater company Alkimia. Thomas first came in contact with Inayatiyya in 2016.

Oona Eager is an entrepreneurial and collaborative leader, working primarily on innovative communications and community-building projects in the philanthropic and impact investing spaces.She has been a student of Sufism since 2019, first with Hurqalya Center, and now as an alumni of Suluk Academy class Lulu wa Marjan. She is Canadian, having grown up on the sacred and unceded territories of the Coast Salish, Nuu-chah-nulth and Kwakwaka’wakw peoples. She is currently based in Amsterdam where she enjoys cycling absolutely everywhere!

Helena Doku has been part of the Sufi family for more than five years. She is passionate about using the wisdom of the Sufi path to find healing solutions to the ecological and social justice issues in the world. With this great foundation, she was inspired to co-found Haywanat, an Inayatiyya young adults network for collective healing. This  network is flourishing and provides a sacred space where young adults can share ideas about spiritual practices and sacred activism as well as on how to find creative solutions to the ecological crisis. Helena lives in Royal Leamington Spa in England and she loves playing with her sons, walking, dancing, and meditating in nature. 

Inayatiyya International Board Newsletter, May 2023

Inayatiyya International Board
May 2023 Newsletter

Update on changes in the Organisation

Our friend Alia Sura Kirsten will be stepping down from her role as European Vice President of the Knighthood of Purity. She is the first person to have taken on this role since the Knighthood Activity was re-instigated in the 2000s. We are grateful for the breadth and range of her work during the last six years. She has been instrumental in building an infrastructure for the Knighthood Activity both globally and in Europe, in co-developing the Adab curriculum for Knights with Suhrawardi Gebel and offering a number of events and retreats, including the first International Gathering of the Knighthood Activity.

Alia is a firm believer in shared leadership and she created and held a network of the heads of the Knighthood Activity in Europe. This group has been meeting regularly since, and has worked collectively and individually to develop Knighthood activities in various European countries. In terms of her succession, the group has decided to adopt a shared leadership model and will be rotating this position amongst the group.

The current leadership is held by Qayyima Clainchard with support from Kabir Clainchard from France. Qayyima has been a student of the Inayatiyya path for the last 25 years. She was a journalist for a large press group in France, has been involved in several voluntary activities including working with a Hungarian and Jewish survivor of the Shoah (Magda Hollander-Lafon), and is an author of the book The Future is in US (published in 2014). Kabir will support Qayyima in this role. He too has been on this path for 25 years. He was a clinical psychologist for forty years in a hospital environment and dealing successfully with children, drug addicts and teenagers. Today, he is very involved in associations linked to migrants, and he is President of an Association in the city of Rennes working with issues related to young people.

We are grateful to them and the whole group for all the work they are doing.

We are also saying thank you to our dear friend Nicolas Ikram Enjalbert, who has been a trustee on the Inayatiyya International Board (IIB) for the last three years. We will miss his presence in our regular meeting where his strategic thinking, commitment and passion to getting things done and his desire to ensure that we put the voices of those we are serving at the centre of our work have been vital in shaping our work. The good news is that he is staying on as an advisor.

Inayatiyya International Board Newsletter, January 2023

Inayatiyya International Board
Monthly Newsletter, January 2023

This month we commence with a monthly newsletter from the Inayatiyya International Board (IIB). The IIB is leading on our global strategy, working closely with the World Wide Message Council, National Boards, the Astana, and Pir Zia. We have a few updates to share with you. 

Worldwide Message Council

Over the last three years, Firos Holterman of Germany has served as Dar-us-salam/Vice President of the Ziraat Activity in Europe. He is now transitioning out of the role due to some wonderful new opportunities in his life. We would like to thank him for his dedicated and inspired work for the Ziraat Activity and for his serving as a vital part of the Worldwide Message Council. 

The European Dar-us-salam/Vice President of Ziraat role will now be shared by two people:

Tasnim Stupac is originally from Bosnia and now lives in Switzerland where she has worked with Refugees and Victims of Torture and War. Tasnim is passionate about permaculture and  is a graduate of the Suluk Tuba class.

 Raqib Kittel, a murid since 1980, has been involved in many roles within the Inayatiyya. Raqib is a social worker and supervisor in Germany, where he lives with his wife and two children. He is a graduate of the Suluk Zindarud class.

For next month’s The Zephyr, we will post a full list of Worldwide Message Council members. 

Inayatiyya International Board

Qahira Wirgman has completed her three-year term as a member of the IIB and is moving into the role of advisor. She is being replaced on the board by Mehrunnisa Dilek Ekşi Bilgin from Turkey who brings her expertise of  Software Design and Project Management, as well as her love and dedication to the Message. Mehrunnisa has translated the Jataka Tales by Noor Inayat Khan into Turkish and is a graduate of the  Suluk Zindarud class. 

Pir-o-Murshid’s 96th Urs 2023

The year, Murshid’s Urs Celebration will take place in Delhi, India between the 3-5th of February, 2023. Here is some information about the programme, including who to contact for additional details.

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