Sheikh Khaled Ben Tounes was born in 1949 in Mostaghanem, a small town on the Algerian coast. In April 1976 he was designated the spiritual leader of the Sufi congregation known as Al’Alaweeya, comprised of tens of thousands of followers. Sheikh Khaled studied both at Oxford and Cambridge, and then took up residence in Paris for five years, where he worked in business. Since 1976 he has lived in Algeria, devoting his full time to the needs of his community, and maintaining support for The Friends of Islam Association, based in Paris. This is his first book.

• Sufism