A conference on the Iranian mystic poet Mowlana Jalaludin Rumi (b. September 1207 - d.17th December 1273), kicked off on Tuesday in Tehran, attended by experts from Iran and other countries.

 

In the opening ceremony, Deputy Science, Research and Technology Minister Hadi Khaniki said misunderstandings and mistrust created as a result of cultural despotism over time have distanced us from one another, while there has been a history of dialog in our culture which Rumi has perpetuated.

He noted knowing about the ideas of Rumi would increase knowledge that could be used to raise the capability of cultures for conducting dialog.

"Rumi's ideas could be used to deal with violence and unkindness," Khaniki added. On his part, Qolam Ali Haddad Adel, an MP from Tehran, described Rumi as a key to opening the history of thought in Iran.

He noted despite his Gnostic, divine stature, Rumi lived among the ordinary people and shared their bitter and sweet experiences.

Meanwhile Islamic Guidance and Culture Minister Ahmad Masjed Jame'i told the ceremony the corpus of the Iranian culture was an inseparable part of the human culture and civilization, one of which Rumi is an outstanding component.

Referring to some 70 translations of Rumi works published in 2000, the minister said this showed the Gnostic need of the humanity today.

The two day conference on Rumi's ideas for modern man includes presentation of some 42 papers.