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Here you will find an overview of our latest newsletters and announcements:Announcements
Tribute to Karim C van Gils
Karim was a longstanding, faithful devotee of Pir O Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan. He succeeded Kafia Blauw at the Rotterdam Sufi Movement Centre. Throughout the years Karim addressed many centres as a speaker, spreading the Message. Karim also worked for many years with Munira van Voorst van Beest at the Nekbakht Foundation, (the Biographical Department), Suresnes, France. One of his last major contributions to the Foundation was to write an inventory of the contents.
Berthi van der Bent, who worked for the Foundation for twenty years, adds: ‘Karim was a mentor for me, sharing his insights and information relating to the Biographical Department, for which I am extremely grateful.’ Karim died in January 2015 at the age of 96
Tribute to Dr. Michel Guillaume
The Nekbakht Foundation heard with sadness that Michel Guillaume died on Saturday 17th May 2014. He leaves behind a remarkable body of work: many translations of Murshid’s books, in particular the Gayan, Vadan, Nirtan, the Bowl of Saki, the website Soufi Inayat Khan, as well as his own work and his newsletters to his group. Sharif Munawwir Graham told me that whenever the Foundation published a text in French (in those cases where the original English was lost, but the French texts existed) Michel would very carefully check the French and helped decipher the sometimes very tricky French handwriting. Thus he contributed directly to the Complete Works. In addition, as a doctor, he cared for both Nekbakht (Sakina) Furnée and later Munira van Voorst van Beest
Personally, I have happy memories of his open-hearted welcome to me when I first arrived to work at the archives. Despite his busy life, he found time to meet with me over tea and biscuits when he would tell me stories of early mureeds, his own experiences and we would exchange different documents. We wish him a blessed and safe onward journey.
Tribute to Anneke Strijbos
Anneke Strijbos (Annie Machteld Strijbos) was born on June the 16th 1928 in Heemstede, the Netherlands. She was brought up in a liberal atmosphere with a love of nature which remained with her all her life. Anneke studied psychology at the University of Leiden and worked as a children’s psychologist. She found the Sufi Path in the late fifties and was initiated as a mureed in 1960 by Gawery Voûte, an initiate of Inayat Khan. She was a valued member of Vereniging Soefi-Contact (Sufi Contact association) and became the head of the Healing Activity of that organization. After her retirement in the 1990s she successfully campaigned with two friends against government plans to modernize an age old dike system (Bomendijk: dike of trees). A unique and beautiful landscape near the village of Voorst - in the IJssel valley in the Netherlands (where she lived at the time) was saved.
For the Biographical Department Anneke transcribed the shorthand records made by Kismet Stam of lectures of Inayat Khan during his tour of America in 1926. Kismet used a French shorthand system (Aimée), which is not used anymore, which made the records inaccessible. Anneke taught herself the shorthand system and then transcribed all of Kismet’s shorthand in the 1980s. She executed this task with exemplary thoroughness, leaving the material complete for publication. This finally happened in 2010/2011 when the two Volumes of Inayat Khan’s lectures of 1926 were published. Her many hours of work, combined with her fine attention to detail, made it possible for the Nekbakht Foundation to edit the two volumes of Inayat Khan's American tour in 1926. Everyone who feels the importance of Inayat Khan's message owes her a large debt of gratitude.
Anneke passed away peacefully on July 5th, 2015 in Oosterbeek, the Netherlands. You can see a photograph of her in the Past Workers folder in the gallery.
Qahira (Anne Louise) Wirgman
Nekbakht Newsletters
20/02/19- Winter News
27/04/19- Spring News