A day of commemoration is organized
at UNESCO on 6 September 2007 to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the birth of
Mawlana Jalal-ud-Din Balkhi-Rumi, one of the greatest poets, philosophers and
scholars of the Islamic civilization.
Mawlana Jalal-ud-Din Balkhi-Rumi ©
Unesco
The prominent Persian language poet,
thinker and spiritual master, Mevlana Celaleddin Belhi-Rumi was born in 1207 in
Balkh, presently Afghanistan. He lived almost all of
his life in Konya, presently Turkey,
and died there in 1273. He remains one of the greatest thinkers and scholars of
Islamic civilization. The peoples of Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran and
Turkey consider him to be their own
poet. He addressed humanity as a whole: "I do not distinguish between the
relative and the stranger."
The celebration of this
anniversary was proposed at the
33rd session of the General
Conference by Afghanistan,
Egypt, Turkey
(33C/Resolution 63) and welcomed by the Islamic
Republic of Iran.
This ceremonial event will
be inaugurated by the Director-General of UNESCO, Mr. Koïchiro Matsuura, and the
3 Ministers representing Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkey, followed by aday-long
international seminar on Mawlana's thought and philosophy, to be held at
Headquarters, Room II, on 6 September. The seminar will be composed of
three consecutive sessions, in which Afghan, Iranian and Turkish scholars and
philosophers, together with other international experts, will discuss the
following themes:
- Humankind in the Thought of
Mawlana
- Ethical and Spiritual Message of
Mawlana
- Universality of Mawlana in the
21st Century
The books, manuscripts and
paintings relating to Mawlana and his works will be exhibited between 6 and 14
September 2007 in the Miró Hall at UNESCO. An inauguration ceremony will be
held with the participation of high level officials from UNESCO and the 3
countries on 6
September at 6.30 p.m. A cultural evening by Afghan,
Iranian and Turkish artists and musicians will follow in Room I at 7.00
p.m.
Within the framework of the
800th birth anniversary of Mawlana Jalal-ud-Din Balkhi-Rumi, a UNESCO medal in
his honour will be issued, and a block of stamps on this theme, displaying
the UNESCO logo, will also be distributed by post offices in Afghanistan, Iran
and Turkey. Throughout the year, international conferences are being held in the
three countries.
An International Conference
will be held in Tehran from 28 to 30 October 2007, aimed at
reflecting on the thought and works of Mawlana, which surpass all political and
geographical boundaries. The secretariat of this conference is formed by the
Research Association of Wisdom and Philosophy in the Islamic Republic of Iran,
which requests eminent experts, scholars and philosophers of UNESCO Member
States to submit their articles on the following subject matters in order to
arrange their participation in the afore-mentioned conference:
- The life and works of Mawlana:
their impact and interpretation;
- Mysticism and love in Mawlana's
thought and works;
- The philosophy and wisdom of
Mawlana: his cosmology, ontology and epistemology; the place of reason in
Mawlana's thought; his philosophy of ethics and spirituality;
- Mawlana and religion: his
contribution to Islamic civilization; his vision of good and evil,
predestination and free will;
- The literature and language of
Mawlana: his poems, prose and literary school; comparative studies of his
literature;
- Art in the works of Mawlana: his
concept of art; aesthetics, music and artistic creativity in his works;
- Miscellaneous: the importance of
Mawlana's thought for contemporary humankind; women in Mawlana's works; the
intellectual environment in his era; education in his works;
etc.
Queries can be e-mailed to academy@irip.ir. Articles should be sent to the
following address:
Mrs. Kazempour
Secretary of the Scientific
Secretariat, International Conference on Mawlana
Research Association of
Wisdom and Philosophy in Iran
6, Araklian
Street
Neuphle-le-chateau Avenue
Tehran
Islamic Republic of
Iran
... Payvand News - 9/2/07 ... --
