Film Screening and Hub Talks
Enemy of the Reich: The Noor Inayat Khan Story tells the astonishing story of a Muslim woman who took on the Gestapo in Nazi-controlled Paris. Narrated by Helen Mirren, the film remembers the courage, mission and sacrifice of Noor Inayat Khan during World War II. Noor was the daughter of the Indian Sufi teacher Hazrat Inayat Khan and his American wife, Ora Ray Baker. She risked everything to help liberate Paris from the Nazis. Join us for a screening of Enemy of the Reich, followed by a special talk by her nephew Dr. Pir Zia Inayat-Khan, the spiritual leader of the Inayati Order. Pir Zia will discuss how he is inspired by Noor’s heroic life and example. During a time when far-right political ideologies and Islamophobia are on the rise, learn about the heroic story of a Muslim woman who gave her life to resist fascism.
Dinner
Dinner will be served at 6:30pm.
For every meal served at our events, we will donate a meal to someone in need.
Childcare
Children ages 2-12 are welcome for storytime, games, and a movie from 6:30-9:00pm. Please RSVP to [email protected].
Biographies
Noor Inayat Khan (1914-1944) was the daughter of a spiritual teacher from India, Hazrat Inayat Khan, and his American wife, Ora Ray Baker. After Noor’s birth in Moscow in 1914, the family moved first to England and then to Paris, where she was raised. In 1940, the Nazis invaded France and twenty-five-year old Noor fled with her family to England. There she joined Britain’s Women’s Auxiliary Air Force and trained as a wireless operator. In early 1943, she began her assignment as a covert agent, joining the Special Operations Executive (SOE). The SOE worked with the French resistance fighters to sabotage industry and railroads in preparation for the D-Day invasions, after which they would coordinate attacks on the German army behind enemy lines, tying down troops and diverting the Germans from the invading Allied troops. From Paris, Noor Inayat Khan secretly transmitted critical information back to Britain. In the next four months she was often the only link between the UK and the French Resistance. She was pursued by the Gestapo and finally betrayed by French collaborators. The Nazis arrested her and imprisoned her in Paris, where she fought back against her captors and escaped twice. Finally, she was sent to the infamous Dachau concentration camp in Germany where she was executed shortly before the end of WWII. The British and French subsequently awarded her their highest civilian honors. Noor Inayat Khan was also the author of Twenty Jataka Tales and Aède of the Ocean and Land: A Play in Seven Acts.
Pir Zia Inayat-Khan, Ph.D., familiarly known as Sarafil Bawa, is the nephew of Noor Inayat Khan and the spiritual leader of The Inayati Order, an interfaith mystical fellowship with branches worldwide. Pir Zia is a scholar of religion and teacher of Sufism in the lineage of his grandfather, the Indian mystic and musician Hazrat Inayat Khan (1882-1926). His books include Saracen Chivalry: Counsels on Valor, Generosity and the Mystical Quest (2012) and Mingled Waters: Sufism & the Mystical Unity of Religions (2017). Pir Zia and his family live in Richmond, Virginia, where he regularly offers classes and programs at the Astana, the Inayati Order’s North American headquarters. For Pir Zia’s upcoming events, please visit his calendar at inayatiorder.org
A limited number of tickets will be provided for free for guests who otherwise could not attend. Hub925 members can also receive a discount code. Please contact us at [email protected].