Who We Are
We are a group of dedicated, passionate and heart-centered students of Sufism, and we care about developing and maintaining strong family bonds and a firm foundation for our Sufi community!
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Salih Tony Kent – Teacher
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Salih Tony Kent began his career life as an actor/magician, later becoming an internationally acclaimed fashion photographer in Paris.
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This career lasted 25 years. His life took a dramatic direction turning it upside down and in the process of reinventing his life he studied with a spiritual master from the holy land and as a result of this relationship he became founder and president of Shadduli Center a nonprofit disseminating the teachings of his spiritual teacher, Sidi al Jamal, and which supports the poor. They built a kindergarten in the Holy Land which supported over 200 orphans and poor children. Salih spent three decades traveling with Sidi throughout the United States for six months every year, often reading the teachings aloud as Sidi would explain the everything.
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Professionally he's a Presidential Director and member of the Million Dollar Club with an MLM and is the author of four books, his favorite being his one about Sidi, and his latest book, Make Your Life Magical, has been published along with an eight week multi media home study course which shares how to apply ancient spiritual teachings in the modern world, wisdom that he learned from the three decades of close proximity with his spiritual teacher.
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Dr. John Wadude Laird, MD – Teacher
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John Wadude Laird, MD was a close and trusted student of Sidi Muhammad for twenty years helping to spread the message of peace, love and mercy throughout the United States and in Mexico. Under Sidi’s direction, Dr. Laird was a co-founder of the University of Spiritual Healing & Sufism in 1990 and of the Shafiyy Institute in 2014. The Institute seeks to integrate Sufi healing techniques into the full spectrum of evidence-based, integrative therapeutics with an initial focus on caring for patients with cancer and their families.
Dr. Laird received his medical degree from Dartmouth Medical School in 1976 and has more than thirty years of experience in direct patient care. He was responsible for the passage of landmark legislation in
North Carolina in 1994, legalizing the practice of alternative medical therapies. He has provided personal healing sessions to thousands of people with a wide variety of physical, emotional and spiritual concerns. He has taught these approaches to several thousand people, including many health professionals in the past twenty years.
John and Nura have been married for nearly 47 years and have two amazing daughters, Sahra and Rahima Kamela. He very much enjoys gardening, sailing and dinner with friends.
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Latifa Tracy Keating Ward – Teacher
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Latifa Tracy Keating Ward, LPC has been a counselor for over 23 years. In her life she wears many hats: wife, mother, sister, daughter, therapist, Sufi and teacher. She completed a bachelor's degree in Education with a minor in theology from Concordia Lutheran College and a master's degree in education from Southwest Texas State University. Latifa completed three years at the University of Spiritual Healing and Sufism and has completed one unit towards becoming certified as a chaplain. Latifa has done extensive work as a therapist in the areas of sexual abuse, chronic pain, trauma, wellness, and spiritual healing. Latifa has been married 29 years to a very patient man, Tom, and has had the pleasure of raising two sons, Paden and Thomas. She also has a very loyal dog named Duke. She loves hiking, fishing, and being in nature.
Dr. Ibrahim Jaffe, MD – Teacher
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Dr. Ibrahim Jaffe is a physician, Sufi Master Healer, and Spiritual Guide pioneering Spiritual Healing (SH)—the integration of western medicine and spiritual practice to heal disease and improve health and wellbeing.
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Dr. Jaffe has helped patients to heal from many serious diseases, including some that have been unresponsive to traditional medicine and deemed irreversible or terminal. These include both physical and psychological diseases.
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Dr. Jaffe earned his medical degree as a general practice physician from the University of Illinois. He is also a prolific speaker who brings forth a message of hope, healing, peace, and oneness for people of all faiths through the tenets of Sufism and the understanding of spiritual healing. He speaks on many topics including Sufism, spirituality, and spiritual healing. He also speaks about healing the blocks to manifesting our inner brilliance and finding and developing true spiritual and loving relationships.
Sahra Laird Barclay – Teacher
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Sahra Laird Barclay is a seasoned healing practitioner with over 20 years of experience in several different healing modalities. As one of two daughters of two amazing healers and educators, she also has a lifetime of experience in numerous communication and problem-solving techniques including NVC (non-violent or compassionate communication), mediation, and Landmark. Her work also incorporates principles from Life-Coaching training, the Five Love Languages and 12-Step programs.
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She was introduced to Islam via Shaykh Sidi Muhammad al-Jamal ar-Rifa'i ash-Shadulli in 1997 and has been studying with him ever since, striving to become a vessel through which Allah's Love, Mercy and Healing can transform the world.
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As a relationship coach, Sahra loves to help her clients shine with the authentic essence of who they were created to be, to find partners who meet them on all levels, and to build a love that can stand the inevitable tests and trials and temptations that will present themselves over time.
Sahra lives in Asheville, NC with her wonderful British husband Ibrahim, and together they have built a safe, honest, functional, and fun partnership that they hope will inspire others. They are also the proud and exhausted parents of a fabulous four-year-old son named Isaac, who is super cool and a lot of work!
Daniel Amin Colman – Teacher
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Daniel Amin Colman embarked on his journey with Sufism 12 years ago when he was invited to a Sufi healing workshop in Northern California. Immediately he found himself at home on the Sufi path and enrolled in the University of Spiritual Healing and Sufism in 2011. He graduated from the Peacemaking master’s program at USHS in 2017 and has begun his training as a faculty member at the University of Sufism. He loves sharing his love of the Sufi path with others and loves focusing on practical applications for personal healing and spiritual transformation.
He and his beloved started their relationship as classmates at the end of their fourth-year class at the University of Sufism and have now been happily married for three years. They live together in Los Angeles with their son Alden.
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Amany Shalaby – Teacher
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Amany Shalaby is a certified clinical chaplain, and a member of The Association of Muslim Chaplaincy. She obtained her certificate of clinical pastoral chaplaincy from Adventhealth and earned her post-graduate diploma in Islamic studies from the Islamic College of Advanced Studies in London in 2002.
In 2015, Amany earned her master's degree in comparative philosophy of religion from Middlesex University in London. She has also obtained an ijazah (license) from Sidi Shaykh Muhammad Sa’id al-Jamal, who was the Imam for al-Masjid al-Aqsa and the Head of the Sufi Counsel in Jerusalem for thirty years. She served for twelve years as the Shaykh's simultaneous interpreter and she translated twenty books on Islamic spirituality, written by Shaykh Muhammad al-Jamal.
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Amany has eighteen years of experience in providing spiritual care for several Shadhiliyya Sufi communities across the states. She is a faculty member, teaching Islamic studies at the University of Sufism. She is currently serving as a chaplain and gender equity coordinator for Muslim Women's Organization. She is also the author of The Essence of Creation, The Emanation of Consciousness, Hidden Pearls, and is working on an upcoming book, The Seven Levels of Consciousness.
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Mahabbah Kimberly Young – Teacher
Mahabbah Kimberly Young took hand with Sidi Muhammad Said al Jamal about seven years ago during the Path of Love workshop. She's completed the spiritual healing as well as the spiritual peacemaking master's program from the University of Sufism. She's a family physician with a focus on OB/GYN care, specifically outpatient women's health care and prenatal care. She loves to do Sufi spiritual healing—both giving and receiving—and has seen the profound impact it has had on her life. Currently she lives with her husband, three cats and one dog in San Francisco, CA.
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Rahima Herminia Hayes – Teacher
Rahima Herminia Hayes was born and raised in Mexico City. Since she was young, she has been interested in healing of all modalities, especially spiritual healing. Her first studies in healing began in
1997 in the field of metaphysical diagnostics, through which she became fascinated with the relationship between the body, mind and spirit. In 2008 she discovered Sufi healing, the modality which resonated most deeply in her heart. These teachings were brought through Sidi Muhammad Said al Jamal, a Sufi guide from Jerusalem, whom she recognized as a very holy and humble servant of God. That same year she officially became his student and began her Masters in Divinity at the University of Spiritual Healing and Sufism in Pope Valley CA, with a focus in healing. She moved to the US in 2012 with her husband, Abdullah Hayes, and currently lives in California as an active healer and member of the local Shaddiliyah Sufi community.
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Mohamed Moosa – Teacher
Mohamed Moosa graduated with an M.Sc. (Cum Laude) from the University of Natal in South Africa, and with a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Clemson in South Carolina. He works in the semiconductor industry, initially in advanced technology development and currently as part of a design team for automotive microprocessors. He attended the University of Sufism from 2008 to 2011 and has since been a student of Sidi Shaykh Muhammad Said Al-Jamal ar-Rifa'i Ash-Shadhdhulli.
He currently serves in the Austin Sufi community. His passion is to inspire beloveds with a deep abiding love for Allah and all of Allah's Prophets through studying the Qur'an and relating its meaning to our lives in the world and our walking to Allah.