Sufism Comes to United States - Timeline Event
Founder
Hazrat Inayat Khan
Time Period
1910
Description
Born in India to a family of musicians and a well-known musician himself, Hazrat Inayat Khan (1882-1927) was a devotee of the great Sufi teacher, Mohammed Abu Hashim Madani. In 1910, following the death of his beloved teacher, Inayat sailed to America to fulfill his teacher’s wishes that he “spread the wisdom of Sufism abroad.”
For the next several years, he traveled across the U.S., giving lectures and concerts as he introduced this mystical movement of Islam, which uses music, dancing, poetry and other arts as part of its spiritual practice.
Inayat’s particular interpretation of Sufism was one of unity with all faiths, and his Sufi Movement Organization continues to work toward this unity. Currently there are several Sufi groups in America, though statistics are difficult to attain.
For the next several years, he traveled across the U.S., giving lectures and concerts as he introduced this mystical movement of Islam, which uses music, dancing, poetry and other arts as part of its spiritual practice.
Inayat’s particular interpretation of Sufism was one of unity with all faiths, and his Sufi Movement Organization continues to work toward this unity. Currently there are several Sufi groups in America, though statistics are difficult to attain.
Interactive Timeline(s)
Browse Related Timeline Entries
Religious Groups
Timeline Entries for the same religious group: IslamicIslamic: Other ARDA Links
Islamic: Religious Family Tree
Photographs
Inayat Khan and The Royal Musicians of Hindustan- Hathi Trust- from Songs of India by Inayat Khan and Jessie Duncan Westbrook
Hazrat Inayat Khan portrait- Internet Archive- from Pearls from the Ocean Unseen by Zohra Mary Williams
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Welcome Sign at the Abode of the Message, a Sufi Inayati Order community- Flickr- photo by SOI Toronto Centres (CC BY 2.0)
Web Source(s)
https://www.techofheart.com/2009/07/history-of-sufism-and-sufi-communities.htmlSRA News Nexus, "A Short History of Sufism and Sufi Communities in American"
Web Page Contributor
Sandi DolbeeAffliated with: Former Religion and Ethics Editor, The San Diego Union-Tribune
