Idries Shah maintained that, for a Western audience, Sufi ideas are better presented within psychology than religion. Read the latest article in Saira Shah’s series looking at this startling claim.
News
Borges: An interview with Giovanna Comani
An interview with Giovanna Comani, on April 2, 2025, the author of Jorge Luis Borges: Sources and Illumination, (Octagon Press, 1978, written under her surname by marriage, Giovanna de Garayalde).
Happy New Year 2025 – A message from Saira Shah
I wanted to make this update a little bit more personal than we’ve done before. It seems important, in what would have been Idries Shah’s hundred and first year, to put my name beside my words to show that there is family continuity in all that we do.
Celebrating The Sufis at 60 – the 20th century’s most influential book on Sufism
The publication of The Sufis in 1964 was a watershed for the development of Sufi philosophy in the West. It remains a dynamic book of instruction for modern times.
Watch our animated ‘Tale of the Sands’
We all fear change and yet change is the very essence of life. How does a stream cross the mighty, desolate desert? Can it allow itself to change its very form to survive the journey?
Patti Schneider 1934-2023
We’re sad to announce the passing of ISF’s friend, Aubrey Davis, the Canadian writer and master storyteller.
Rumi’s Enduring Influence
We visit the tomb of the 13th century Afghan-born Sufi, Jalaluddin Rumi, in Konya, Turkey. Idries Shah drew extensively from his teaching, adapting Sufism — just as Rumi did — to his time and environment. Watch the video below or in Full HD on YouTube
Blog: Octagon Rumi Backlist
Beginning in 1979, just as the soon-to-be-popular (and popularised) books on Rumi and his poetry began to flood the western market, The Octagon Press, the publishing predecessor of ISF, printed two important titles on Rumi. Both books were produced for the general public and remain authentic landmark works about the Sufi luminary. Those titles are: … Read More
We visit the ‘birthplace’ of Mulla Nasrudin – and the centre of the Earth
On World Storytelling Day, the Idries Shah Foundation is celebrating the eternal appeal and exploits of the incomparable, incredible and inimitable folk legend, Mulla Nasrudin.
Celebrating World Storytelling Day
On World Storytelling Day, the Idries Shah Foundation is celebrating the eternal appeal and exploits of the incomparable, incredible and inimitable folk legend, Mulla Nasrudin.