‘A Real-Life Jātaka Tale’: Seeking Inspiration from the Life of Pīrzadi-Shahīda Noor-un-Nisa Inayat Khan

Description

The path-breaking declaration of Zia Inayat Khan (b. 1971), Pīr of the Inayati Sufi order, to include the name of his aunt Noor-un-Nisa Inayat Khan in the spiritual and genealogical lineage (silsila) of the Inayatiyya is bound to open up new spaces for women’s spiritual leadership, moving a step closer to the vision of Hazrat Inayat Khan (1882–1927; who developed globally Chishtī Sufi teachings and founded the largest Sufi community in the West, known today as Inayatiyya) of the ‘hour’ “when woman will lead humanity to a higher evolution.”

In the wake of Pīr Zia’s unprecedented announcement, the devotional representation of Noor-un-Nisa (‘Light of Womanhood’) is gradually developing as the Inayati community constructs a system of visual communication that will transform idiosyncratic features of Noor into an “available protocol of devotion” (to borrow the words of religious studies scholar David Morgan). In this paper, I explore chronologically the evolving narratives and progressive development of the ‘image’ of the first female saint in the Inayati silsila who was executed at Dachau concentration camp in Germany in defense of her faith on 13 September 1944 and is recognized for conducting “spiritual idealism in action and not just in words.” Consecrated to aid devotion, Noor’s imagery ‘travels’ both physically and mentally through media and mediation appealing to the whole sensorium of the viewer. Against this background, I then turn to the way in which it serves today as an integral part of Inayati visual practice and pivotal medium of Inayati piety; and how Noor—as historical figure and literary and visual icon in our time—became a subject of increasing attention and inspiration for the Inayati community and other audiences who envision, articulate and celebrate her vita which is in the process of being turned into a martyr’s passio.

Period	16 Oct 2020 → 18 Oct 2020
Event title	Female Visions: The Religious Visual Culture of Contemporary Female Islamic Mysticism, Online Conference, Stuttgart-Hohenheim,16–18 October 2020.
Event type	Conference
Location	Stuttgart, Germany, Baden-WürttembergShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International