 He has been a frequent presenter at the Starwood Festival, and was one of the first published authors to present Sufi workshops to the Neo-Pagan community.Laurence Galian embraced Islam in 1980 taking the Islamic name "Abdullah".Galian "took hand" (Bai'at) with Grand Sheikh Muzafferuddin "Ashki" Ozak al-Halveti al-Jerrahi in 1981.