Idries Shah Appreciation Survey Results

7/21/2019 Idries Shah Appreciation Survey Results

1/8

1

Idries Shah Appreciation Survey Results

In January 2015, 201 readers of Idries Shah completed an online survey regarding theirappreciation of the works of Idries Shah. This survey was conducted by Mark Sedgwick

as part of his research for a conference paper entitled Neo-Sufism in the 1960s: Idries

Shahto be delivered in March 2015, and for a book with the preliminary title Sufism

and the West, from the Thirteenth Century to the Present Day, due out in 2016.

Part One of this document contains an extract from Mark Sedgwicks conference paper,

where he uses the survey results in the context of a wider discussion under the heading

Shah's books,and Part Two contains a summary of the raw survey data.

Mark Sedgwick, [email protected]

19 February, 2015


2/8

2

Part One

Shahs Books

When asked in an online survey in 2015 about what they most appreciated in Shah'swork, dedicated readers, most of whom had started reading Shah in the 1970s to 1990s,

usually when in their thirties, did not fully agree on any one point. Certain themes,

however, were repeated. Many respondents recalled that they had felt immediately that

Shah's books were different: "I had never read anything like it" was a phrase used more

than once. Some were struck by the "breadth of learning," the "deep knowledge,

understanding" that they found. For others, Shah's books were different in that they

were not like other "spiritual" books of the timeone thinks here of Castaneda, and of

the host of less talented competing writers. Several respondents noted the absence of

"mere emotionality" and of sentimentality, of the "trappings" of religion and philosophy,

and the presence of the psychological dimension (ways of thought). Many respondents

found the books clear and easy to read. Others found the books different because they

gave access to an unsuspected world, to "centuries of Arabic thought, philosophy,

psychology and spiritual teachings" which "a Western audience ... was almost totally

ignorant of." One respondent recalled "how shocking it was to uncover a major and

complex system of thought in Islamic guise, where I [had been] led to believe there was

nothing progressive."1

Several respondents commented on the use of stories, which were easy to read and

even entertaining. Their real point was sometimes not immediately obvious. "At first, I

found amusement in the stories, and I treated them like puzzles," remembered one

respondent. The puzzles often solved themselves over time. "Finding myself in

particular situations I will recall a tale, joke, or comment of Shah's that relates directly

to the situation," wrote another respondent. "Passages from the books come back to me

from time to time and help me deal with new situations as they occur," wrote another.

1Quotations from online survey carried out by the author in January 2015. This was completed by almost 20%

of 1,000 English-speaking Shah enthusiasts identified by Facebook and contacted by means of a Facebook

advertisement. 73% were university graduates, and a remarkable number had a postgraduate qualification: 36%

of male respondents, and fully 58% of female respondents. To some extent, of course, this reflects the fact thatthe better-educated are more likely to spend time writing short essays to help a research project.


3/8

3

"The tales, jokes, and historical anecdotes ... embody the observations and insights

gained and passed on over the centuries," noted a further respondent. "The patterns

contained in their story structures play out again and again in modern society as they

did in previous centuries."

For many respondents, Shah's books were more than just books. Together, they formed

a coherent corpus, to be read and re-read. "I continue to find new meaning in the books

and they reinforce my hope that I am slowly learning how to learn," wrote a respondent

who was, at the time of writing, in his seventies. Together, the books "work like a guide

for the development of consciousness," showing that there are "other modes of

thinking," "another way of seeing the world and ways of being/acting beyond the

everyday," beyond everyday assumptions and conditioning. "The books work, initially,

without the readers knowledge," noted one respondent. "While reading his work, some

alchemy occurs within," noted another.


4/8

Q1 Which of the following books have you

read, and how do you rate them?

Answered: 199 Skipped: 2

Oriental Magic

The Sufis

The Exploits

of the...

Tales of theDervishes

Caravan ofDreams

The Way of theSufi

Wisdom of theIdiots

Thinkers ofthe East

The MagicMonastery

The Subtletiesof the...

1 / 31

Idries Shah appreciation survey SurveyMonkey

Part Two

Survey Data


5/8

95.65%

110

19.13%

22

115

91.44%

171

63.10%

118

187

91.76%

156

38.24%

65

170

92.44%

159

47.67%

82

172

92.26%

143

47.10%

73

155

93.41%

156

46.71%

78

167

93.33%

140

35.33%

53

150

91.49%

129

46.10%

65

141

92.91%

118

40.16%

51

127

92.99%

146

35.03%

55

157

90.68%

146

61.49%

99

161

90.51%

124

56.93%

78

137

Have read A favorite

Learning Howto Learn

The Commanding

Self

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Have read A favorite Total Respondents

Oriental Magic

The Sufis

The Exploits of the Incomparable Mulla Nasrudin

Tales of the Dervishes

Caravan of Dreams

The Way of the Sufi

Wisdom of the Idiots

Thinkers of the East

The Magic Monastery

The Subtleties of the Inimitable Mulla Nasrudin

Learning How to Learn

The Commanding Self

2 / 31



6/8

0.50% 1

9.55% 19

21.11% 42

22.11% 44

24.12% 48

15.58% 31

7.04% 14

Q2 When did you first start reading Idries

Shah


Total 199

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Answer Choices Responses

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

3 / 31



7/8

27.75% 53

72.25% 138

Q6 What is your gender?


Total 191

Female

Male

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%


Female

Male

25 / 31



8/8

4.23% 8

22.75% 43

31.22% 59

41.80% 79

Q8 What is the highest level of education

you have completed?


Total 189

Did not

graduate fro...

Graduated fromhigh school

Graduated fromcollege

Completedgraduate school

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%


Did not graduate from high school

Graduated from high school

Graduated from college

Completed graduate school

31 / 31


Idries Shah Appreciation Survey Results

Documents

Transcript of Idries Shah Appreciation Survey Results