Founders

Seyyedeh Dr. Nahid Angha
Co-Director of the International Association of Sufism (IAS), the Executive Editor ofthe quarterly journal, Sufism: An Inquiry, and founder of the International Sufi Women Organization, Seyyedeh Dr. Angha is the main representative of the IAS to the United Nations (NGO/DPI) and the first Muslim woman inducted to the Marin Women's Hall of Fame. Seyyed Dr. Angha, the daughter of Moulana Shah Maghsoud, the twentieth century Persian Sufi of the Uwaiysi School of Sufism, was the first women appointed to teach in her father's school. She was also the first women to sit at the center circle with Muslim leaders from around the world to lead meditation at the international Sufism Symposium.

An internationally published author, featured in media and publications including White Fire: A Portrait of Women Spiritual Leaders in America and Women in Sufism: A Hidden Treasure, she is one of the major Muslim scholars of the present time with over fourteen published works.

Her dedication to peace has led her to serve in various leadership roles in large-scale international interfaith organizations. Dr. Angha has given lectures and taught classes nationally as well as internationally.

Her leadership roles include:

• President of the Board of Directors of the Interfaith Center at the Presidio
• Assembly member of the Parliament of the World Religions, Cape Town, S. Africa
• Assembly member of the Parliament of the World Religions, Barcelona, Spain
• Member of a committee to represent San Francisco Bay Area interfaith community to the Goldin Institute, Manresa, Spain
• Scholar Advisor for the Interfaith Sacred Space Design Competition, Barcelona
• Member of the Advisory Board of the Institute for World Religions
• Member of the Organizational Design team of the United Religions Initiative
• Founding member of the URI Council for Women
• Founding and Board Member for the Foundation for Advancement of Women in Religion
• Main representative to the United Nations of which IAS is a non-governmental organization (NGO/DPI)

• United Nations-NGO annual conferences, United Nations, New York
• "Humanitarian Intervention: A Way towards Global Peace," UN, New York
• "Women in Islam" Parliament of the World Religions, Cape Town
• "Millennium Peace of Religious Leaders," United Nations, New York
• "Sufism: Literature and Poetry" at the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D. C.
• "The Vision for the 21st Century" which commemorated the 50th anniversary of the United Nations, in New York City as well as at the University of California, Berkeley
• Women Spiritual Leaders at the Women's Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equity, New York
• Participant at His Majesty Mohammed IV's First International Conference on Sufism, Morocco

Shah Nazar Seyyed Dr. Ali Kianfar
Co-founder and co-director of the International Association of Sufism and the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Sufism: An Inquiry. The spiritual son of Uwaiysi Sufi Master Moulana Shah Maghsoud, Seyyed Dr. Kianfar began his study and devotion to the discipline of Sufism in his twenties. Later appointed to teach in the Uwaiysi tarighat, Seyyed Dr. Kianfar was among the first of Moulana Shah Maghsoud’s students (numbering in the thousands) to be given this honor. To commemorate the significance, Moulana Shah Maghsoud gave Seyyed Dr. Kianfar the honorary title Shah Nazar (The Sight of the King).

Seyyed Dr. Kianfar has taught Sufism and Islamic Philosophy for over forty years. He holds traditional Sufi gatherings regularly throughout North America, Europe, and the Middle East. In addition, Seyyed Dr. Kianfar has given lectures and taught classes nationally as well as internationally. This includes speaking engagements at the United Nations, UNESCO, the University of California, Berkeley, the California Institute of Integral Studies, and the United Religions Initiative.Seyyed Dr. Kianfar is actively involved in the interfaith community, helping to raise awareness about the peaceful dimensions of Islam and spirituality and to open the lines of communication for a better understanding of humanity. Among his books are: The Zekr, Fatimah (in Farsi), History of the Robe, and An Introduction to Religion. In addition, Seyyed Dr. Kianfar publishes regularly in Sufism: An Inquiry.

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