History of:

Norsk Sufi Samfunn - Norwegian Sufi Community

Our archive consists of more then 2300 digital scans of original documents, and a few not digitalised sources. Included are sermons, international communications, organisational communications, personal and organisational notebooks, pictures, newspaper articles, items, personal writings, lists, books, lectures, speeches, notes of counsil meetings, initiation cards, diaries from 1924 to present.

In november 1924 Hazrat Inayat Khan visited Norway on a tour throughout much of Western and Northern Europe. In Norway he visited Oslo and Bergen. At the university of Oslo he gave a lecture (translated by Shamsher in Norwegian) and came in contact with Susanna Lovise Kjøsterud. Later on he went on to Bergen. His visits where followed up in the years after by Lucy Goodenough and Sirdar van Tuyll and led to the forming of the counsil 17.08.1929. The first years Susanna did most of the work herself. In his autobiography Inayat Khan says about Susanna: 

"Destiny brought me together with a soul who belonged to us; I only had to go to Christiania

in order to find her. It was Fröken Susanna Kjösterud, a soul whose heart was open to the

Message. The Message only had to reach there in order to find response in her."

Inayat Khan initiated Susanna and appointed her National Representative during his visit. From that moment on she lead the Sufi work in Norway. Murshida Goodenough travelled to Norway in 1925 and gave a lecture in the Nobelhall in Oslo as follow up on the visit of Inayat in 1924. Also Baron van Tuijl (Sirdar) travelled from The Netherlands to Norway to help founding the organisation here, and was very helpfull the years after. Susanne and many other Norwegian sufi's went in the years coming to the yearly organised Summerschools in Suresnes (France). After the passing of Inayat Khan it was both Murshida Goodenough and Baron van Tuijl, who provided our community with the nessesary teaching papers from Murshid. Susanna recalled in one of her writings something Hazrat Inayat Khan said to her: "You will never be without papers and teachings, if nessesary i will dictate them to you in person."

After the founding of the Counsel, a Cabin for the Community was bought at Skeikampen. The Cabin was given the name Baroda, after the birthplace of Inayat Khan.  In the cabin, until the end of 1932, a weekly Universal Worship was organised, among other activities,and it is also a place where many of the early sufi's where initiated. When Suzanna passed away 2.10.1932 the cabin was no longer available to the Sufi's.

After the passing of Suzanna, Sajwar was apointed National Representant. The members of the counsil searched for a new place for the Sufi community, now the Baroda Cabin was no longer available. In the mean time there were still events and a yearly Summerschool in Skeikampen, as far as we know in a big room from the nearby Gausdal Sanatorium. That room was called the Sufi Hall. The weekly Universal Worship was moved to a place in Oslo.

--ooOOoo--

In the spring of 1936 Sajwar moved to Switserland, and Halvor Egeberg (Akbar) was appointed National Representative on the 14th of April 1936. John Egeberg (Munir) was added to the counsel as the fifth member to take the place of Sajwar at the same Counsel Meeting.