Encyclopedia of Islam

Further reading:  The Gathas (Katwijk, Netherlands: 

Servire, 1982); Fazal Inayat Khan, Old Thinking: New 

Thinking (New York: Harper and Row, 1979); Hidayat 

Inayat Khan, Sufi Teachings (Victoria, Canada: Ecstasis 

Editions, 1994).

Sufi Order International

The Sufi Order International is a religious orga-

nization whose primary aim is to promote the 

universalist Sufi teachings of i

nayat

 k

han

 (1882–

1927) and his son, Pir Vilayat Khan (b. 1916). 

Inayat Khan was a renowned Indian musician 

who became a disciple of Abu Hashim Madani, 

a Sufi master from a branch of the famed c

hishti

s

UFi

  o

rder

 in i

ndia

. Before his 

death

, Madani 

asked Khan to bring s

UFism

 to the West. Khan 

arrived in the U

nited

 s

tates

 in late 1910 and both 

taught Sufism and performed music in eastern and 

western coastal cities before traveling to e

Urope

and Russia to organize formal Sufi centers. The 

seeds of future division were sown at this time, as 

different disciples (

murids

) were placed in charge 

of national centers in Europe and North America. 

The American leader, Rabia Martin, having been 

rejected by the members of Khan’s family, led 

the American followers into a relationship with 

Indian teacher Meher Baba.