Tahir Shah

• Name — Tahir Shah • Born — 16 November 1966 • Birthplace — London, England, United Kingdom • Occupation — Writer, documentary maker • Subject — Travel, exploration, Arab World, cross-cultural studies • Children — 2 • Relatives — Shah family • Website — tahirshah.com

Tahir Shah was born into the saadat of Paghman, an ancient and respected family hailing from Afghanistan. Bestowed with further lands and ancestral titles by the British Raj during the Great Game, a number of Shah's more recent ancestors were born in the principality of Sardhana, in northern India – which they ruled as Nawabs. His mother, Cynthia Kabraji, was of Zoroastrian Parsi descent and his father was the Indian Sufi teacher and writer Idries Shah. Both his grandfathers were respected literary figures in their own right: Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah on his father's side, and the Indian poet Fredoon Kabraji, on his mother's side. His elder sister is the documentary filmmaker Saira Shah, and his twin sister is the author Safia Nafisa Shah. Numerous other members of Shah's family have been successful authors, including his aunt Amina Shah, and his Scottish grandmother Elizabeth Louise MacKenzie. Shah is descended from the Afghan warlord and statesman Jan-Fishan Khan. In 1995 Shah married the India-born graphic designer Rachana Shah (née Devidayal), with whom he has two children – Ariane Shah and Timur Shah. The marriage ended in 2017, although the two remain close friends.

Shah was born in London and brought up largely in the county of Kent, where his family lived at Langton House, a Georgian mansion in the village of Langton Green near Royal Tunbridge Wells. The property had been owned previously by the family of Robert, Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scout Movement. Shah has described how, as a child, he played in the woods which are said to have first interested Baden-Powell in the outdoors. Shah's father, the writer and thinker Idries Shah, surrounded himself with a diverse coterie of people, most of whom were interested in his published work. They included Nobel Laureate Doris Lessing, poet Robert Graves, American novelists J. D. Salinger and Lisa Alther, psychologist Robert E. Ornstein, as well as the pioneer of radar "Coppy" Laws, the garden designer Russell Page, and the actor Walter Gotell. Shah maintains that much of his education derived from spending time with such a varied group of people. His first appearance on television was in the 1972 BBC documentary about his father, Dream Walkers: One Pair of Eyes, in which Shah, his sisters, and their friends, are seen listening to Idries Shah tell the tale of The Lion Who Saw Himself in the Water. Shah has described how his Latin tutor appeared at the front door "white as a sheet", at having spotted the renowned classicist Robert Graves digging a ditch at the front of Langton House; and how Doris Lessing encouraged him to read folktales and, later, encouraged his enthusiasm for travel. During his childhood, Shah and his sisters would be taken to Morocco for extended periods, where his grandfather lived until his death in November 1969. Described in his book The Caliph's House, the journeys introduced Shah to "a realm straight out of The Arabian Nights".

Tahir Shah attended Rose Hill Preparatory School in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. At 13, he was sent to Bryanston School, near Blandford Forum, Dorset. He has written about his inability to keep up, as a result of "profound dyslexia". Aged 17, Shah learnt to fly in Florida, and graduated with an FAA Private Pilot's Licence. He attended university in San Diego, London and Nairobi, where he studied African dictatorships at the United States International University. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations in 1987.

• Illustration — Tahir Shah in his library at the Caliph's House, Casablanca. Tahir Shah is a prolific author of books, documentaries, book introductions, peer reviewed academic articles, and book reviews. Shah's first published book was Cultural Research, written for the London-based Institute for Cultural Research. One of his more notable works is Trail of Feathers, an account of his trip through Peru, Machu Picchu, the Incas and Cusco. Another book, In Search of King Solomon's Mines, searching for undiscovered mines known only in folklore. Other books like In Arabian Nights and Travels with Myself are mostly about the author's journeys through exotic locations. His first traditional travelogue was in 1995 with Beyond the Devil's Teeth, covering a trip through Africa, India and much of Latin America. Shah has written book reviews for The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Spectator, and The Literary Review. As well as writing and film making, Shah writes screen material and co-wrote Journey to Mecca, an IMAX film charting the first journey made by Ibn Battuta to Mecca for the Hajj, in 1325. In addition, he reviews for a selection of other media on both sides of the Atlantic, and writes pieces for the radio, such as The Journey, which was read on BBC Radio 3. In the years before he turned his hand primarily to book writing, Shah wrote a large number of serious reportage-type magazine features, highlighting the lives of the voiceless in society, especially those of women. These included pieces about women on Death Row, widows who cleared mines in Cambodia, the trapped lives of bonded labourers in India, and the women-only police stations in Brazil, known as "Delegacia da Mulher" (Woman's Police Station). He continues to write journalistic pieces, especially aimed at drawing attention to causes he believes deserve public attention. After publishing several books through traditional publishers, Shah self-published Travels With Myself in 2011 using Lulu.com. He later self-published the limited-edition hardcovers Timbuctoo (2012) and Scorpion Soup (2013).

Shah has presented several documentaries, all of which have followed the quest theme, which have appeared on National Geographic TV, The History Channel, Channel 4, & Channel 5: The Search for King Solomon's Mines, House of the Tiger King, and Search for the Lost Treasure of Afghanistan.

Shah's style is one of simple prose and overwhelming humour. He has said that his style of using short blocks of text, with a concluding denouement was influenced by Iron & Silk by Mark Salzman, which he first read in 1988; and that he writes with the intention to educate and inform his readers, while at the same time amusing them. In this capacity, one could liken Shah's work to the literary device employed in several books by his father, Idries Shah, who used the wise fool Mulla Nasrudin to illustrate deeper ideas in human understanding. Shah avoids "self-congratulatory" literary festivals, although he had appeared as a speaker at a number of them in the past – including at Hay-on-Wye, Wigtown, Shute, Oxford, Deià, Gibraltar, and Vilnius. He writes on a rigid schedule, keeping to a daily target. At any one time he has ‘between 25 and 25 writing projects in development’. Shah's earlier books fell into the travel literature genre, with more recent work being regarded as straight fiction. Most of Shah's work blurs the boundaries between fact and fiction, and Shah himself condemns ‘the way Occidental society draws a rigid line in the sand between one and the other. He champions authors such as Bruce Chatwin and Rory Maclean who have walked a line between the two.

In July 2005 (a week after the 7 July London bombings) Shah and two colleagues from Caravan Film in London were arrested in Peshawar in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and held without charge in solitary confinement in a torture prison. Much of the time they were handcuffed, stripped virtually naked, and blindfolded. After sixteen days of interrogations in a "fully equipped torture room", Shah and his colleagues were released. The Pakistani government agreed that they had done nothing wrong. Tahir Shah gave an interview which was screened on British TV's Channel 4 News, and published an article in the British Sunday Times about the ordeal. Shah has publicly maintained his affection for Pakistan, despite the rough treatment he and his film crew received at the hands of the Pakistani secret services. The illegal custody earned Shah and his film crew a mention in the United States Department of State's 2005 report on Pakistan's human rights practices. The news story came back into the spotlight in July 2008, when a British MP claimed that the British government had 'outsourced' the torture of British citizens to Pakistani security agencies.

Tahir Shah is also a champion of what he calls "the East-West Bridge". In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001, Tahir Shah began to devote a great deal of time and energy into establishing and promoting a "cultural bridge" made up by those who, like him, are both from the East and from the West. One example of this work is the Qantara Foundation (from "qantara" meaning "bridge" in Arabic). He has spoken and written on the idea that people such as he have a responsibility to "show the East to the West, and the West to the East," highlighting the common cultural heritage of the two, and working towards a common goal. Shah's greatest interest within the east–west theme is probably the subject of the legacy of science in medieval Islam, and its role in creating a foundation for the Renaissance. He has lectured publicly on the subject and believes strongly in the importance of drawing attention to the polymath poet-scientists from the Golden Age of Islam.

In 2003, Shah moved to Morocco with his wife Rachana and his two infant children from a small apartment in London's East End, and relocating to a mansion called "Dar Khalifa", said by locals to be haunted by Jinn, "set squarely in the middle of a Casablanca shantytown". The adventure formed the basis for Shah's book The Caliph's House (2006). Shah has written widely about Casablanca, which he has resided in, and Morocco, and is regarded as an expert on both, as well as on India, and a number of other destinations.

• Journey Through Namibia, Camerapix, 1994, • Spectrum Guide to Jordan, Spectrum Guides, 1994, • Beyond the Devil's Teeth, Octagon Press, 1995, • Sorcerer's Apprentice, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1998, • Trail of Feathers, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2001, • In Search of King Solomon's Mines, John Murray, 2002, • House of the Tiger King, John Murray, 2004, • The Caliph's House, Doubleday, 2006, • In Arabian Nights, Bantam, 2008, • Travels With Myself: Collected Work, Mosaique, 2011,

• Timbuctoo, Secretum Mundi, 2012, • Eye Spy, Secretum Mundi, 2013, • Casablanca Blues, Secretum Mundi, 2013, • Paris Syndrome, Secretum Mundi, 2014, • Hannibal Fogg and the Supreme Secret of Man, Secretum Mundi, 2018, • Jinn Hunter: Book One — The Prism, Secretum Mundi, 2019, • Godman, Secretum Mundi, 2020, • Jinn Hunter: Book Two — The Jinnslayer, Secretum Mundi, 2020, • Midas, Secretum Mundi, 2021, • Jinn Hunter: Book Three — The Perplexity, Secretum Mundi, 2021,

• Travels With Nasrudin, Secretum Mundi, 2019, • The Misadventures of the Mystifying Nasrudin, Secretum Mundi, 2021, • The Peregrinations of the Perplexing Nasrudin, Secretum Mundi, 2021, • The Voyages and Vicissitudes of Nasrudin, Secretum Mundi, 2021, • Nasrudin in the Land of Fools, Secretum Mundi, 2022,

• The Anthologies: Africa, Secretum Mundi, 2020, • The Anthologies: Childhood, Secretum Mundi, 2020, • The Anthologies: Ceremony, Secretum Mundi, 2020, • The Anthologies: City, Secretum Mundi, 2020, • The Anthologies: Danger, Secretum Mundi, 2020, • The Anthologies: East, Secretum Mundi, 2020, • The Anthologies: Expedition, Secretum Mundi, 2020, • The Anthologies: Frontier, Secretum Mundi, 2020, • The Anthologies: Hinterland, Secretum Mundi, 2020, • The Anthologies: India, Secretum Mundi, 2020, • The Anthologies: Jungle, Secretum Mundi, 2020, • The Anthologies: Morocco, Secretum Mundi, 2020, • The Anthologies: People, Secretum Mundi, 2020, • The Anthologies: Quest, Secretum Mundi, 2020, • The Anthologies: South, Secretum Mundi, 2020, • The Anthologies: Taboo, Secretum Mundi, 2020, • The Clockmaker's Box, Secretum Mundi, 2020, • Congress With a Crocodile (editor), Secretum Mundi, 2021, • A Son of a Son, Volume I (editor), Secretum Mundi, 2021, • A Son of a Son, Volume II (editor), Secretum Mundi, 2021, • Tahir Shah Fiction Reader, Secretum Mundi, 2021, • Tahir Shah Travel Reader, Secretum Mundi, 2021, • The Anthologies: Jinns, Secretum Mundi, 2022, • The Anthologies: Magic, Secretum Mundi, 2022, • The Anthologies: Teaching Stories, Secretum Mundi, 2022, • The Anthologies: Nasrudin, Secretum Mundi, 2022,

• Journey to Mecca, c.2008 • Timbuctoo: Screenplay, Secretum Mundi, 2020, • Casablanca Blues: The Screenplay, Secretum Mundi, 2020,

• The Reason to Write, Secretum Mundi, 2020, • Fiction I Workbook, Secretum Mundi, 2024, • Travel I Workbook, Secretum Mundi, 2024, • Historical Fiction I Workbook, Secretum Mundi, 2024, • Teaching Stories I Workbook, Secretum Mundi, 2024, • Fantasy I Workbook, Secretum Mundi, 2024, • Comprehensive I Workbook, Secretum Mundi, 2024,

• Travels With Myself: Collected Work, Mosaique, 2011,

• The Middle East Bedside Book, Octagon Press, 1991, • Cultural Research, (editor) for the London-based Institute for Cultural Research, 1993, • Three Essays, Secretum Mundi, 2013,

• Tale of a Lantern & Other Stories, The Scheherazade Foundation, 2023, • The Elephant & The Tortoise & Other Stories, The Scheherazade Foundation, 2023, • The Monkey’s Fiddle & Other Stories, The Scheherazade Foundation, 2023, • Ghost of the Violet Well & Other Stories, The Scheherazade Foundation, 2023, • Many Wise Fools & Other Stories, The Scheherazade Foundation, 2023, • The Frog Prince & Other Stories, The Scheherazade Foundation, 2023, • The Three Lemons & Other Stories, The Scheherazade Foundation, 2023, • The Twelve-Headed Griffin & Other Stories, The Scheherazade Foundation, • The Antelope Boy & Other Stories, The Scheherazade Foundation, 2023, • The Purple Sapphire & Other Stories, The Scheherazade Foundation, 2023, • Why the Fish Laughed & Other Stories, The Scheherazade Foundation, 2023, • Two Cats & Other Stories, The Scheherazade Foundation, 2023, • Three Stories, The Scheherazade Foundation, 2023, • The Twilight of the Gods & Other Stories, The Scheherazade Foundation, 2023, • The Son of Seven Queens & Other Stories, The Scheherazade Foundation, 2023, • The Moon Maiden & Other Stories, The Scheherazade Foundation, 2023, • The Metamorphosis & Other Stories, The Scheherazade Foundation, 2023, • The Celestial Sisters & Other Stories, The Scheherazade Foundation, 2023, • Tales From The Arabian Nights I, The Scheherazade Foundation, 2023, • East of the Sun, West of the Moon & Other Stories, The Scheherazade Foundation, 2023, • Idries Shah Centenary Volume One, Secretum Mundi, 2024, • Idries Shah Centenary Volume Two, Secretum Mundi, 2024, • Idries Shah Centenary Volume Three, Secretum Mundi, 2024, • Idries Shah Centenary Volume Four, Secretum Mundi, 2024, • Idries Shah Centenary Volume Five, Secretum Mundi, 2024, • Idries Shah Centenary Volume Six, Secretum Mundi, 2024, • Idries Shah Centenary Volume Seven, Secretum Mundi, 2024, • Idries Shah Centenary Volume Eight, Secretum Mundi, 2024, • Idries Shah Remembered, Idries Shah Media, 2025,

• Revue des Deux Mondes, 2002, • With Remarkable Muslims, Eland Books, 2006, • The Seventy Great Journeys in History, Thames & Hudson, 2006, • Modern Explorers, Thames & Hudson, 2013, • The Lonely Planet Travel Anthology, Lonely Planet, 2016, • Our Morocco, privately published, 2020, • Tales From the Life of Bruce Wannell, Sickle Moon, 2020,

• Legends of the Fire Spirits, I. B. Tauris, 2014, • Marrakech: The Red City, Eland Books, 2004, • Home, Quadrille Publishing, 2006, • The Cafe Clock Cookbook, 33-Books, 2010, • Seven League Boots, Tauris Parke, 2012, • The Flying Carpet, Tauris Parke, 2011, • The Glorious Adventure, Tauris Parke, 2012, • A Moroccan Journey, International Publishing House, 2009, • Louis Vuitton: Morocco, Louis Vuitton, 2017,

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