Tehran Times Culture Desk

TEHRAN -- Speaking at the international congress held to commemorate the 800th birth anniversary of Molana Jalal ad-Din Rumi at the IRIB International Conference Hall on Monday, Jalali noted that the world of today is in more need than ever of listening to the words of Rumi.

Ahmad Jalali, Iran’s former UNESCO ambassador in Paris emphasized that the first word of the Quran which descended from Allah to the Holy Prophet Muhammad(S) means ‘read’ and the first words of Molana Rumi in his Masnavi Manavi refer to listening.

He expounded on this idea by saying, “In the world of today, where wars are caused by ideological differences, more attention should be paid to thoughts that lead towards peace.”

Jalali, also talked about the attention that international centers, including UNESCO, have paid to the legacy left to mankind by Rumi. He also mentioned that UNESCO has requested that every country pay respect to the universal character of Rumi.

“UNESCO stresses that Rumi is a spiritual leader, a Persian poet possessing a universal character, whose poetry has been translated into many languages,” he explained.

Jalali received the Rumi commemorative medal from Director General of UNESCO Koichiro Matsuura at the celebration ceremony of the 800th birth anniversary of Rumi in Paris.

Ahmad Jalali is currently head of the Majlis library, museum, and documents.

The Rumi congress which began in Tehran on Sunday traveled to Tabriz on Tuesday and will culminate on Thursday in Khoy, the resting place of Shams.

* Rumi’s approach towards religion

Mostafa Malekian, theologian and philosophy scholar, made a speech about Rumi’s attitude towards religion. He stated that he believed Rumi promoted dialogue between world religions.

He went on to say that Rumi mentions several attitudes towards religion. He explained that Rumi considered all monotheistic religions to be right and believed that Islam includes all other faiths. Malekian pointed out that it is this characteristic that differentiates Islam from other religions.

Rumi believed all religions have the same destination but that their adherents are traveling along different paths.

In conclusion, Malekian said that Rumi also pointed the way towards dialogue between religions in his proposal that a believer should seek knowledge about other religions whilst keeping his own faith.

* Rumi’s narration concerning the world

Mohammad Mojtahed-Shabestari, professor of the University of Tehran delivered a speech entitled “Rumi’s Narration Concerning the World”.

Shabestari mentioned that Rumi talked about the world in the form of a tale and that he conveyed his mysticism and philosophical viewpoints in the form of allegories.

Rumi considered the world to be a text that each human being is reading from his own point of view. He used few adjectives and preferred to explain every notion through tales, he added.

His stories commence from a familiar concept and end in divine truth. His aim was to convey a deep meaning using simple language understood by all people, Shabestari concluded