Tahir Shah on The Idries Shah Foundation

[@sylfestshahsarmounihaug8669]

Tusen takk, Tahir. Noe slikt har jeg fryktet en tid. Jeg fortsetter til jeg er finished. ♡

[@xeropunt5749]

One must have teeth & speak truth. Having faith that whatever happens as a result, will be the best that can. It’s not ‘safe’ to speak & never will be so… All the BEST to your endurance & inevitable triumph ☀️

[@jjjjjjjjjvgf]

Hi, Tahir ! Greetings ! I have just come across this public address of yours. I am so sorry to hear about this schism, I suppose we must call it to use an objective term , that has occured within or without The Idries Shah Foundation . Surprisingly , it is the first I have heard about it, a year later . I was teaching in Africa when your father died , peace upon him, and please accept my condolences, and have all his published writings, minus those borrowed ,( enough said), plus some of those notes sent out to us in his study groups, from 1968 when he was Director of Studies of what was then the Society for the Understanding of the Foundation of Ideas and subsequently, the Institute for Cultural Research, until the mid 70s - I think - when the Bath Group, of which I was a member and Henry Boys was Deputy, was wound up . In addition , I have notes I made when I had the privilege of being with your father, and you and the rest of your family, at Langton House . In addition , I have many memories of things your father said to me privately, and observations made to groups of us during "working weekends" at Langton , and casual but pointed remarks and admonitions made ad hoc at various times during the year I was with you all. I remember his parting remark he made to me when I took my leave. He said, wryly, perhaps, " We must hang together, or we will hang separately ! " Quite so ! In the space of time which has elapsed since then, I have had the opportunity to read and re-read a lot of this published and unpublished material, plus materials recommended by your father, and other Sufic reading materials alluded to by him in his writings . Without knowing this recent history of events and machinations that are alluded to within the ISF, I cannot imagine how the Foundation could be "slipping off the rails" - except perhaps, that those who might be straying from the way have not read very deeply or inwardly digested much of this vast corpus of deep knowledge. He who tastes, knows. He who tastes not, knows not ("The Story of Tea")

[@marcosbenavides6403]

Now I understand what I was reading lately in the ISF post on Instagram. Too bad. Best wishes

[@georgemartinez7015]

Very well said. I begin to wonder whether those that have taken control of ISF have indeed read your father's books or were just turning the pages.

[@Mullana_Nusruddin]

Thankyou for your honesty. I’m so sorry ISF has lost its way. I pray that the decline will be curtailed and that the good name of your father will not be tarnished further. And that you and your sisters will be protected from any ongoing damage by association…..

[@arvidlinde6196]

Dear Tahir, In the video above, you cover it well. I felt very sad, and angry when you had to contend with dishonesty, and also betrayal from long term family friends. Your father also battled often against waves of Invincible Ignorance. A number of his stories describe the occasional seekers real (terrible) nature revealed - in spite of his pledges of sincerity, loyalty, obedience. I think company higher echelon aspiring members should be mandated to read Idries Shah's Reflections, and then be given proof of having genuinely read it, and SOME evidence of understanding this book. I will support you as best as I am able. I hope you and your sisters stick together. The Real ISF will flourish, whatever names it has. "In time, all this will be a long time ago." Quoting Amina Shah in one of your books.

[@mickmaphari6606]

Glad that Saira Shah is still hanging in there! Met her once briefly and she is very much in the tradition that your father has always expounded. I recall reading that passage from 'In Arabian Nights' How could it all come to this? but then your father had predicted it so ... I for one shall hope to continue learning from the books. With all good wishes to you Tahir Shah!

[@kevanbowkett1857]

So sorry you and your sisters should have to spend part of your precious energy to deal with this. I wish you had that energy freed up for traveling and creating and helping people, as you do.

[@ronaldtailor8491]

I wish you and yours the best. Hang in there, Tahir! And let us know how we can help, please. (Perhaps you have already. I will look around.)

[@tameron8277]

I hope you and your sisters have lawyered up as well, and that you are not using the same lawyers who put you into this situations, i.e. had you resign originally because you own the copy rights without protective mechanism so that this couldn't happen.

[@imosyaeternal8170]

Please continue the legacy. Who has the rights to your father's work?

[@farrahqureshi32]

I am so sorry. Obviously these people do not understand Idries Shah or his work. So sorry for them. A money making opportunity??? Another venture. Glad I have stopped ordering with them.

[@bobpignatti8740]

I am so sorry to hear about this unfortunate turn of events at ISF. How to stay in contact with you and your sisters for future updates. Do you plan to start another platform for disseminating your fathers work?.

[@carlgrove8793]

The actions taken by the present administrators of the ISF are clearly utterly disgraceful. But it leaves those of us who frequently recommend your father's work in a quandary -- it is easy to provide a link to the Foundation website and the chance of sampling his books free of charge must encourage many to read them online, which is obviously a good thing. My guess is that just recommending his books in the hope that people will purchase them instead is a more chancy business. Hard to see the answer to this.

[@docsavagemanofbronze6362]

There can be very few people now with any reason whatsoever to continue to follow the ISF. I guess it falls to you to provide a reason for anyone to follow your father’s work beyond the often repeated statement that “ his books are the teacher. “

[@JSTNtheWZRD]

There is no other way to buy the books, that is because they were put out by the group. And if I need a book from your father's catalog, I don't see any other pressings from another publishing house under another society in the near future. Unless you have another recommendation? I hate to bother you about this, but the society just reprinted all the books long out of print.

[@carlgrove8793]

If the Estate of Idries Shah holds the copyright, surely they can prevent ISF publishing any further books?