SoCal Inayatiyya Center for

Spiritual Liberty

SoCal Inayatiyya Center for Spiritual Liberty is a sacred space for spiritual unfoldment and self-discovery located in the heart of Los Angeles. We offer regular classes on the Sufi Message of Hazrat Inayat Khan. In addition to Sufi classes, we offer guided retreats, online and in-person guidance, guest speakers, and special events.

• Hu We Are

*Hu we Are

Hu are the Inayatiyya

If anybody asks you, “What is Sufism?” … you may answer: “Sufism is the religion of the heart, the religion in which the most important thing is to seek God in the heart of humanity.” — Hazrat Inayat KhanThe Inayatiyya is an order of mystics and spiritual travelers that represent the lineage and teachings of the great Sufi master Hazrat Inayat Khan. We offer teachings, guidance, and fellowship across many of the seven activities of our spiritual lineage which include: The Inner School, Universal Worship, Music, Kinship, Zirat, Knighthood of Purity, and The Healing Activity. We are a path of spiritual liberty, a caravan of souls that travel together toward the one realization of our divine nature. Welcome!*Hu, a name for the all-pervading consciousness of the divine, the very breath of God.

    Pir o Murshid
 Hazrat Inayat Khan

      Pir Vilayat
      Inayat Khan

        Pir Zia
     Inayat Khan

Representative & Guide - (Retired)

Tasnim Hermila fernandez

Born in Mexico City, Tasnim awakened to the inner life of spirit in her late teens-early twenties. Over the years, her journey of inquiry and discovery led her to study and participate in Hermetics, Alchemy, Vedanta, Kundalini Yoga, Judaism, Tibetan Buddhism, Huichol Shamanism, Mystical Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jungian psychology and what has become a lifelong immersion in the sacred literature of the world religions and mystical traditions. All of this exposure to the variety of forms taken on by Holy Wisdom only helped to deepen her committment and appreciation of the universal message of Sufism as brought to The West by Hazrat Inayat Khan. She was initiated into the way of the Sufis by Hazrat Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan in June 1971 and serves the Inayati Order as a Representative and Center Leader, a Healing Conductor, and as a minister (cherag) of the Universal Worship. Rev. Tasnim was ordained by Pir Vilayat as a Siraj in November 2000. This ordination enables and authorizes her to train and to ordain new ministers of the Universal Worship. In 1982 she met Saadi Neil Douglas-Klotz and together they began to teach and train people interested in the Dances of Universal Peace. They incorporated the Center for the Dances of Universal Peace and the growth of the work of spreading the Dances, Walks, and teachings of their founder, Murshid Samuel L. Lewis, really took hold. Tasnim gives personal guidance to her Sufi mureeds, trains and certifies Dance leaders, trains and ordains Universal Worship ministers, conducts seminars, workshops, and camps and is a presenter at conferences and festivals. She is also a trained semazen - whirling dervish - in the Mevlevi Sufi tradition.

Representative & Guide

reginacoeli browning

Marilyn ReginaCoeli Browning was originally attracted to the Sufi Order in the West in the mid 1970s, long before it was renamed the Inayati Order, through the Dances Of Universal Peace and the Universal Worship service. She fell in love with the universalist nature of the order and its approach of spiritual liberty. ReginaCoeli loves the fact that no one is asked to give up their religious affiliation, and that many of her friends consider themselves Christian Sufis and others consider themselves Jewish Sufis, Buddhist Sufis or Islamic Sufis. She found that the Sufi teachings helped her heal her own estranged relationship from her Protestant upbringing. Her first guide in the Sufi order was Tasnim Fernandez, who gave her the spiritual name ReginaCoeli. She was initially surprised and disappointed to have been given a Catholic Latin-derived name, rather than a “Sufi“ name. However, carrying the name ReginaCoeli has proven to be a great gift and has helped her discover a deep connection to the being of Mother Mary. Perhaps that confirms why her given first name, Marilyn, happens to be a derivative of the name Mary. “I have been twice named after Mary,” she sometimes jokes. She joined a Sufi Center led by Qahira Qalbi in the West Los Angeles area and began attending seminars and summer camps and trainings over the decades. ReginaCoeli was mentored by Qahira and was ordained as a Cherag (minister) of the Universal Worship by then-head of the Universal Worship, Shahabuddin Less, and she has served continuously in that capacity for over 45 years. In 1986, she was initiated by Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan as a Representative in the Sufi Order, and was designated to take over leadership of Qahira’s West Los Angeles Center.

Representative & Guide

Sikander Von Heldt

Sikander Scott Von Heldt was born and raised in the small lakefront town of Sandusky, Ohio. In 2002 he moved to Los Angeles to explore new musical opportunities and quickly gained momentum as a session guitarist/vocalist and touring musician working alongside some of the musical icons he grew up admiring. In 2005 Scott discovered The Mysticism of Sound and Music and was immediately drawn to the energy and teachings of Murshid Inayat Khan and soon after sought out the guidance of a Sufi teacher. He soon thereafter met Tasnim Hermila Fernandez and within a few months was initiated into the Inayatiyya and given the Sufi name Sikander. He went on to become a Healing Conductor, Healing Retreat Guide, Knight of Purity, and took part in the first session of the Immergent Leaders program. In 2020 Sikander completed his training to become a Representative in the Inayatiyya. He graduated the Suluk Academy class of 2022 Na Koja Abad. Sikander hosts a monthly class on the Alchemy of Knighthood and has been building an online presence for the Inayatiyya center by sharing daily teachings and monthly offerings via YouTube, Instagram, and Zoom!

Representative & Guide

Basira Dellemonico

Annette Basira Dellemonico has been an initiate in our Order since 1974. Her first exposure to Sufism came through Murshida Tasnim Fernandez. In 1973 she began attending, Tasnim's Dances of Universal Peace, and realized she had never met anyone who spoke in the deeply realized, conscious way in which Murshida spoke. She knew immediately that she had found her spiritual family. She became an Ordained Cheraga in 1979, and Healing Conductor, training first hand in those activities with Qahira Qalbi Fraley, and initiated by Pir Vilayat. Basira has worked on staff and as a children's camp director for summer Sufi retreat camps in Southern California. She met Pir Zia when he was just five years old! Basira soon after became a busy mom, raising four children, and worked as an English teacher for many years. When she retired, she went back for more trainings, first in Suluk, Na-koja-abad Class of 2022, She then completed Coordinator/Leadership Training with Naima Brown in 2023, Representative training in 2025. Currently Basira Co-leads classes in the greater Los Angeles area with Marilyn Regina Coeli Browning, and lives in San Luis Obispo County.

Classes and events

The universal worship

ReginaCoeli hosts this bi-monthly gathering of The Universal Worship Service at a private residence in Calabasas California. The service honors the major world religions with readings and contemplative sharing from the different scriptures and holy books from each tradition. This service is also broadcast online for those who cannot attend in person. The service begins at 10am Pacific time and usually runs till around 12 Noon. Email us for more information on how to attend either in person or online!

Classes and events

Sufi Wisdom & meditation

ReginaCoeli and Basira host a weekly online class in Sufi wisdom and meditation. This weekly offering covers a wide range of topics on Sufi mysticism and the teachings of Pir o Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan, as well as deep meditative practices that align with the esoteric teachings and work of the Inner School of the Inayatiyya. This class is offered online every Tuesday from 5:30-7pm Pacific time and is open to mureeds and seekers at all levels of the spiritual path. Email us for more information on how to log on and attend.

Classes and events

The alchemy of knighthood

Sikander hosts this monthly continual discourse on the alchemical process experienced through the practices of the Knighthood of Purity and the inner transformation we experience on the path of chivalry! This course covers the 40 rules of Iron, Copper, Silver, and Gold, and includes practices of purification and inner transformation, as well as contemplative teachings on the broader study of Futtawah (chivalry). This course is offered the third Saturday of each month from 9:30-11am Pacific Time. Email for more information or to receive the Zoom link to join!

Classes and events

The Dances of Universal Peace

Our center periodically hosts gatherings of the Dances of Universal Peace, which provide a unique opportunity to share space in movement, dance, and song that embraces the many religions and spiritual traditions of the world. The Dances of Universal Peace were founded by Murshid Samuel Lewis in 1968 and have spread worldwide through Peaceworks - the International Network of the Dances of Universal Peace. Our very own Tasnim Hermila Fernadez is recognized as one of the most senior leaders and mentors of the dances and offers the dances on occassion as do other dances leaders within our local Sufi community. To inquire about future DUP events please email us.

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Contact us

For more information on our services, classes, events, and offerings from the SoCal Inayatiyya Center for Spiritual Liberty, or to join our mailing list please email us below.