Author Archives: Jennifer Wittman

Submitted by Halim Bruno Knobel, VP Kinship Europe (Switzerland) Basira Hela Hasemann (Germany) It is part of the tradition of the Kinship branch of the European countries in our Inayatiyya family to hold a meeting every two years in Suresnes, a city on the outskirts of Paris. This is the location of the former homeContinue reading “Pilgrimage 2021 to Fazal Manzil (The House of Blessings)”

Submitted by Anna Latifa Vandevenne (Belgium) Join us with your prayers! Fifty years ago, I joined the human rights organization, Amnesty International by writing letters on behalf of people whose Human Rights were violated. In that time, before computer availability, handwriting letters for “prisoners of conscience” was for me an occasion for prayer and meditation.Continue reading “Nayaz-Sister-Brotherhood Project”

Submitted by Shams Kairys Over the last year-and-a-half, the Kinship Activity has presented a series of virtual gatherings hosted by Shams Kairys that bear witness to current threats to the natural world while fostering a sense of the sacred and a spirit of positive engagement. The upcoming event on December 17 at 3:00 ET featuresContinue reading “Responding to the Global Ecological Crisis”

Submitted by Deb Hirabai (USA) The Prison Book Project (PBP) continues to serve incarcerated people around the country, reaching out to prison libraries, pastors, and organizations such as the Human Kindness Foundation to find inmates needing great reads! They can choose one of our three recommendations or pick any book by Hazrat Inayat Khan. AsContinue reading “Prison Book Project”

from Batina Sheets Mid-July 2021 brought extensive flooding to parts of Germany and Belgium. Wahhab and I inquired about the welfare of our dear friend, Daena Thelen-Daniel, who lives in Cologne. She responded with a series of emails and photos, which she has agreed to share with our Kinship Community. In response to our originalContinue reading “Daena Thelen-Daniel Supports Flood Victims in Germany”

by Majid David Vowells, Kinship Coordinator, New Zealand There are many rhythms in our lives marking the passage of time, and those of an annual event bring a particular sense of anticipation and pleasure. So it was when we met on another Saturday morning in July for Kinship weekend, celebrating Hazrat Inayat Khan’s birthday, andContinue reading “New Zealand Kinship Weekend”

Moksha Sommer and Jemal Wade Hines – Interviewed by Batina Sheets, member of the Kinship Council. Batina: Your music, and what I know of your activities, seem to me to be very kinship oriented. What you’ve done with your music, the arts, and your activism in general feels like your way of reaching out toContinue reading “Kinship, Music, and the Arts: An Interview with HuDost”

Last September the Kinship Activity organized Racial Inquiry Groups to bring together people who were interested in reflecting upon our personal awareness of race, racism and the process of racial acculturation. We utilized some of the contemplative questions and processes developed by the Buddhist teacher, Ruth King, who wrote the book, Mindful of Race. More thanContinue reading “Racial Inquiry Groups Conclude after 9 Months”

On May 15, 2021, family, friends, colleagues and community members celebrated Onaje Jua Eagle Heart Muid on his extraordinary journey to becoming Dr. Muid. This celebration was in honor of Onaje’s persistence in self-development and as shining example for his community. Onaje received his Doctorate in Social Work from the University of Southern California and hasContinue reading “Community Updates June 2021”

by Wali Via In 2016 I initiated a new activity in our community simply titled “Spiritual Conversations”.  My motivation was three-fold, all closely related. I felt there was tremendous wisdom within the membership of the community that was not being given adequate opportunity to be heard. The typical format for our varied Sufi offerings wasContinue reading “Inviting Spiritual Conversations: enlivening the “horizontal dimension””