About Us
It Began with a Vision
“Eat, dance, and pray together and you will bring peace to the world,” was Murshid Samuel Lewis’ message. Moineddin Jablonski embraced this and established the Southwest Sufi Community (SSC) in 1995, fulfilling the vision of a land-based spiritual community where the creation of a spiritual refuge, retreat facility, and healing center could be realized.
The SSC is comprised of three components: the Voice of the Turtle Retreat Center, the Khankah Gaia Noor Residential Community, and the Nature Preserve.
Located near Silver City New Mexico, the Southwest Sufi Community fosters a gathering place for people committed to inclusive spiritual practice within the sacred manuscript of nature.
LEARN ABOUT OUR HISTORY FROM A FOUNDING RESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE
We are affiliated with The Ruhaniat, a world-wide spiritual family walking in the footsteps of Murshid Samuel Lewis and his teacher Hazrat Inayat Khan who brought The Sufi Message of Spiritual Liberty from India to the West in 1910.
Our Offerings
Residential Community
Those who feel called to fulfill the mission of Southwest Sufi Community are the caretakers and stewards of the Land.
Bear Creek Nature Preserve
Southwest Sufi Community works with The Nature Conservancy of New Mexico to provide conscious stewardship to nearly 1,500 wild acres.
Southwest Sufi Camp
Every year we hold our Camp on the Land, offering an immersion into the Teachings of our Teachers from our lineage.
Spiritual Retreats
All are welcome to visit our rustic off-grid sanctuary where one may experience serenity and solitude while on personal spiritual retreat.
HELP SUPPORT OUR MISSION
Our Mission
Since 1995, when the SSC was established in fulfillment of the vision of Hazrat Pir Moineddin Jablonski, it has endeavored to fulfill this mission:
The Southwest Sufi Community serves as a rural khankah (a building designed specifically for gatherings of a Sufi brotherhood and is a place for spiritual retreat) of caretakers, including families, couples/partners, individuals and young adults, on an inclusive spiritual path.
Spiritual Training and Retreat, Ziraat (a heart-based approach to gardening and food production outwardly and to spiritual growth inwardly) and Permaculture, Sacred Dance and Walk, and the Healing Arts are the primary concentrations here.
Acting from a global perspective, the Southwest Sufi Community invites guests from sacred cultures around the world to visit and share their wisdom.
To promote understanding of the Sufi Message, the Southwest Sufi Community also sponsors workshops, retreats and camps.
Bear Creek Nature Preserve
Conscious stewardship of the Land, informed by a continuing study of the sacred scripture of Nature, is embraced by each member of our community. SSC is actively working with The Nature Conservancy of New Mexico to preserve the Gila Wilderness.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE NATURE PRESERVE
Our Board of Trustees
Bahaar Thomas
President | Silver City, NM
Bahaar came to Sufism as a young girl, meeting the Spirit of Allah in a dream, dancing and encircling within the Zikr. Soon thereafter, Bahaar spent her 16th birthday at the Abode of the Message, seeking silence and refuge, her first Khilvat. Meeting Pir Vilayat at Columbia University…
Pir Shabda Kahn
Member | Marin, CA
Shabda Kahn, a direct disciple of the American Sufi Master, Murshid Samuel Lewis, has been practicing Sufism since 1969 and since 2001, is the Pir (Spiritual Director) of the Sufi Ruhaniat International, the lineage tracing from Hazrat Inayat Khan and Murshid Samuel Lewis. He is…
Aziza Patricia Riely, MEd
Secretary | Columbia, MO
On the Sufi path since the 1980s, a ninth level Mureed of Pir Moineddin Jablonski and Mariam Baker, Ozark Sufi Camp Board Member, Soulwork Practitioner, Cherag Trainee, retired from a career in Educational and Counseling Psychology.
Khalil Mark Elliott
Member | Ashland, OR
Khalil has been a member of Sufi Ruhaniat International since the late 1980s. He is the parent of two beautiful daughters and four wonderful grandsons, lives in Ashland, Oregon, and is the founder and leader of the Ashland Sufi Heart Circle.
Bodhi Terry Daley
Member | Baja, CA
As a Canadian I have now taken up permanent residence in Baja California Mexico. I was initiated to the Sufi Ruhaniat by Yaqin in Prescott, AZ. I was also initiated into the Sufi Healing Order by Devi Tide. I am a member of the Sufi Circle Canada. I am grateful to be a part of the SSC and have a deep love for the land and those who go there and live there.
Rashad Dennis Wilson
Member | Silver City, NM
Rashad is a founding member of the Southwest Sufi Community, the SSC Bookkeeper, and the First President of the SSC Board of Directors. He was initiated into Sufi Ruhaniat International in 1973 and Nur Ashki Jerrahi Order in 2000 and is a retired therapist, nurse, and inpatient long-term facilities consultant.
A Letter from the President of the
Southwest Sufi Community
Subhan Allah.
Morning comes slowly here at Voice of the Turtle and Southwest Sufi Community. Birds begin their conversations well before first light; swallows, red tanagers, black tail hawks. The mountains awaken. People and critters living here begin their daily practices. A sunrise walk, a steaming cup of coffee, bells, breath, song on the wind. There are goats to milk and gardens to water as golden rays illuminate the sky and settle onto the ridges.
I remember, as a new mureed, sitting with Pir Moineddin, watching his eyes dance and his heart sing, as he spoke of this Land, the sanctuary he envisioned here, a blessing far and wide for humanity. Pir Moineddin, grounded in the Earth energies of the great cosmos, recognized the resonance embedded in this desert landscape of color and form, vast sky, living waters, and mistral winds.
Pir Moineddin’s vision took root, and we prepare a place for you in this wilderness Khankah. As we expand our capacity to host guests at the retreat center, we envision you Being here…..Inshallah, at our annual Sufi Camp, in Khilvat (supported solitary retreat), service retreats, full moon dances, house concerts, intimate gatherings of mureeds, Murshids Circle gathering, a residential stay, Sufi Sesshin, Universal Worship, a spring, summer or autumn internship, a wedding, a honeymoon….The Dance Pavilion is in progress… under the wise hands of a master builder and artisan. Ya Fattah! Pir Moineddin’s vision lives on: In this sacred place to sing and dance, zikr and yoga, gathering in groups, or taking a solitary walk through the meadow.
Alhamdullilah!
As we plant the foundational posts for the new Dance Pavilion, make the beds, pour the water, dig the earth, prepare for winter rest, we are participating in the present moment of Life on the Land. This winter there will be fires in the hearth, and snow in the mountains; long purple shadows in the canyon. In every season we anticipate inviting seekers from all over to experience this life, participating with us in community, helping to build the retreat center for our family far and wide, maybe milking a few goats along the way. Join us in the creation of a mandala garden, a food forest, pond and stream restorations, a home and sanctuary under the canopy of stars in this sacred earth temple.
This is an exciting time as we feel the expansion from within. This summer is a window to further sow the seeds of renewal. The Board of SSC has enthusiastically joined with Residents to remodel the Ranch House, Adobe of the Message guest cabin, and Casita Jami to provide an improved kitchen, sleeping accommodations, and spacious shower facilities to serve our family. Light and airy glamping tents (glamorous spacious tents with extra comfy cots, pillows, warm natural bedding) will provide additional bedrooms for a short or extended stay during the warmer months.
Love, Harmony, and Beauty
These are no small endeavors. Inshallah, it will only take 2-3 years to complete these restoration/beautification projects. We invite you to join us here in our wilderness community! If you have skills, desire to learn and be of service, resources and/or tools to share, please, do get in touch! If you are looking for an apprenticeship or internship opportunity, please do get in touch! If you are feeling the call of the wild sunset, desiring a time of personal khilvat in this earth temple, do give us a call! If you are looking for a way to serve our family far and wide, while feeding yourself on the pure water, clean air, community, and the wilderness, please let us know! We are seeking new Residents to fulfill our vision for a diverse residential community. Please do use our donation links to share your love generosity, which is tax deductible. Any amount is heartfully appreciated!
From the Jewel of the Gila with Love,
Bahaar
Board President
Our Advisory Council
Chant Thomas
SSC Resident | Silver City, NM
Chant has lived in wilderness community for nearly 50 years diving deep into the Wild, embedded in the embrace of Divine Creation. Chant first encountered Sufis in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park after an all-night Grateful Dead concert in December 1972. Sam’s tribe…
Peter Lipa
SSC Participant | AZ
Joined the Sufi caravan in 1979, and became an official resident of the SSC in 1997. Moineddin became an inspiration for exploring the inner life, and what has ultimately helped me become a witness/watcher on the path. Over the last quarter century have visited the SSC numerous times…
Waduda Welsh
Accountant | Boulder, CO
Khalifa Waduda Welsh has been studying Sufism since the late 70’s. She has three daughters and six grandsons and she enjoys sharing spirituality, sword fighting and nature with them. She is a leader of Dances of Universal Peace, a sufi guide and a mureed of Pir Shabda Kahn. Waduda…
Our Member Donors
We are deeply grateful for our Member Donors, listed below in no particular order, who have contributed at least $3,000 in money or work/trade hours in support of the Southwest Sufi Community:
- Quan Yin Lyn Williams
- Shaheeda Pierce
- Katherine Jensen
- Khadija Julia Goforth
- Asha Lela
- Michael H. Tindall
- Richard Lindley
- Janet Haqqikah Williams
- Saladin & Samia Pelfrey
- Shemsuddin Barksdale
- Hafeez Gavin Perry
- Zakir & Aziza Twaddle
- Jim Brumfield
- Amina Rae Horton
- Elena & Akbar DeJardin
- Susan Ayesha Maginnis
- Amrita Skye Blaine
- Azima Abbe Anderson
- Hasibuddin Mark Smeder
- Wali Ali Meyer
- Kaf-I-Mariam Ellen Fietz Hall
- Shakura Mary Jane Young
- Rahma Jackie Davis
- Siddiq & Majida Middlebrooks
- Jean Pierre David
- Susanne Bell
- Jemaluddin Carl Hall
- Peter Lipa
- Azima Lila Forest
- Patrick Shakur Linkenhoger
- Linda Morrow
- Jami Frank Milan
- Ushidarena Janet Aniline
- Zahir Barker
- Suka Jon Thompson
- Lilith Jean Speck
- Darren Craig
- Chris & Ahura Henke
- Selim Bill Lockhart
- Paul Wikstrom
- Martha Blacklock
- Sophia Shunny
- Rashad Wilson
- Samia Wakkinen
- Darwesh & Malika Walker
- James J. Childress
- Tom Morris
- Jeremiah Kidd
- Anandamayi Sherry Magee
- Ghani Odell
- Oliver Payne
- Kate Moitoret
- Sasha Bell
- Marilyn Rea
- Sufi Ruhaniat International
- Lynda Aiman-Smith
- Alexi Charter
- Rick Shems Lambert
- Qayyum Dennis Klein
- Cathy Owens
- Jelaluddin Shuffield
- Munir Michael Hagmeier
- Boudewijn Boom
- Shanna Bomberger
- Tavis Habib Schmidt
- Ali & Khalila Charles
- Keith Berry
- Sue Rabia Holstrom
- Pir Shabda Kahn
- Amos England
- Zardhusht Chet Van Wert
- Bahaar Thomas
- Joanie Connors