Fariha Fatima al-Jerrahi (born Philippa de Menil; 13 June 1947) is the spiritual guide and current Sheikha of the Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi Order in New York City. Biography She was born in 1947 into a socially committed, eclectic French Catholic family in Houston, Texas. At the age of 29, she met her mentor and guide on the path of Sufism upon his first visit to the Americas, Sheikh Muzaffer Özak Âșkî al-Jerrahi of Istanbul. She received direct transmission from him in 1980. Sheikh Muzaffer also gave direct transmission to fellow American dervish Sheikh Nur al-Anwar al-Jerrahi, who envisioned a radical and illumined path of the heart which he called Universal Islam. After Sheikh Nur's passing, she would take on the guidance of the Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi Order and it's circles of dervishes around the world. Sheikha Fariha al-Jerrahi leads devotional prayers, ceremonies of divine remembrance, and provides spiritual guidance to initiates from her seat at the Dergah al-Farah in downtown Manhattan. While fostering bonds with the greater Sufi & Muslim American communities, the role of women in Islam and spiritual ecology have been of special importance to her message. See also Muzaffer Ozak Lex Hixon Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi Order Jerrahi Sufi Order Dia Art Foundation References External links Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi Order American people of French descent American religious leaders American spiritual teachers American Sufis Clergy from New York City Converts to Islam Female Islamic religious leaders People from Houston Religious leaders from New York (state) Religious leaders from Texas Sufi religious leaders Sufi teachers 1947 births Living people