Celebrating Queer Divinity
Celebrating Queer Divinity
A Sama open to all in honor of Queer Pride Month!
Saturday, June 1st, 2024
3:00 – 4:30 pm ET / 9:00 – 10:30 pm CET
The aim of the mystics is to stretch their range of consciousness as widely as possible, so that they may touch the highest pride and the deepest humility. The only fall for mystics is to fall beneath the level of their ideal. ~ Sayings of Hazrat Inayat Khan – Aphorisms
Join us in sacred celebration and affirmation of truth, love and all the unique forms of beauty in the garden.
To celebrate the start of Queer Pride month, the Queer Pride Affinity Group is hosting a sama with special guest Pir Zia Inayat Khan.
We invite any and all travelers on the Sufi Path who identify within one or more sexual and gender minorities (LGBTQIA2S+, hijra, lesbian, gay, bi, pan, trans, queer, intersex, two-spirit, asexual, aromantic, androgynous, questioning, gender non-binary, gender-fluid, gender-queer, +), as well as our friends and allies, to come together for an afternoon of poetry, music, zikr, prayer and testimonies.
This is a free gathering, but we ask that you please register on Eventbrite. The Zoom link will be included in the confirmation you receive upon your registration.
As ever, we deeply appreciate your love and support as we stroll together on this path.
If you have questions about this gathering, please contact us at astana@inayatiyya.org. We will help connect you with the organizers.
Speakers
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Pir Zia Inayat KhanPir Zia Inayat Khan, PhD, is a scholar of religion and teacher of Sufism in the universalist Sufi lineage of his grandfather, Hazrat Inayat Khan. Pir Zia is president of the Inayatiyya and founder of Sulūk Academy, a school of Sufi contemplative study and practice. He is the author of Immortality: A Traveler’s Guide; Mingled Waters: Sufism and the Mystical Unity of Religions; Saracen Chivalry: Counsels on Valor, Generosity and the Mystical Quest; and the editor and compiler of Dream Flowers: The Collected Works of Noor Inayat Khan, for which he also wrote the critical introduction. Pir Zia divides his time between Richmond, Virginia and Suresnes, France. inayatiyya.org
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Mumtaz KammererMumtaz Kammerer, a murid since 1976, lives in Baltimore, Maryland. He spreads the Message of Love, Harmony, and Beauty as a representative and guide of
the Inayatiyya Inner School, the center leader for Sufi Order Baltimore, a
Universal Worship siraj, a Sufi Healing Order conductor, a Ziraat farmer, a
Knight of Purity, and a certified leader of the Dances of Universal Peace. He
currently serves on the Universal Worship board of trustees and on the
Knighthood Council, and formerly served on the board of trustees for Sufi
Order International and the Abode of the Message. Retired from a career in
management, Mumtaz enjoys spending time with his husband of 43 years,
gardening, and volunteering as a docent at Evergreen Museum and Library. -
Muiz BrinkerhoffMuiz Brinkerhoff has been a murid since 1975, and is a leader and guide in the
Ruhaniat living in Santa Rosa, California. For the past 43 years he has led
the Dances and Sufi Practice at seminars, camps, and retreats around the
USA, in the UK, Europe, and Africa, as well as via Zoom. His particular
approach to Waking Up combines embodied practice, cultivating kindness
and a radiant attitude, taking personal responsibility for integrating
psychological shadow issues, apologizing for mistakes, and above all, not
taking self too seriously. His 46-year practice is deepened by a variety of
life experience and interests. Artistically and creatively, he has danced
Hawai’ian Hula, created Tiffany-style stained glass, and is constantly expanding his extensive photography portfolio. These experiences, leavened with a keen appreciation of the absurd and some irreverent humor, help him avoid getting stuck in two of the major pitfalls on the Path—ungrounded ecstasy and joyless sobriety. -
SkyeSkye (they/them) is a queer and trans murid living, working and praying as a white settler on the stolen homelands of the T’Sou-ke Nation in so-called BC, Canada. They were initiated into the Inayatiyya by Pir Zia in 2011 and currently practice as a Golden Herald in the Knighthood path. They graduated with the Gulzar Suluk class (2015), and went on to help coordinate Season of the Rose for several seasons pre-pandemic. During covid they were active with online organizing of Race Justice Equity & Love project(s) and contributed to the creation of the Inayatiyya Queer affinity space. In their work, Skye is passionate about transformational change… in people, organizations and communities. A passion proven with 20+ years of experience as a facilitator, project coordinator and organizational change consultant.
