Idries Shah , also known as Idris Shah, né Sayyid Idris al-Hashimi , was an author and teacher in the Sufi tradition who wrote several dozen critically acclaimed books on topics ranging from psychology and spirituality to travelogues and culture studies. He founded a publishing company, Octagon Press, which has published classics from the Sufi tradition as well as many of his own works. He is perhaps best known for his collections of Mulla Nasrudin stories.