National Conference

on

“ Re-discovering Rûmî ”

I.             THE NAME OF THE CONFERENCE:

“Re-discovering Rûmî”

II.           DATE AND LOCATION

8-9th December, 2007 in Ghalib Institute Auditorum, New Delhi / India

III.         MANAGING COMMITTEE

Organization    : 

Chairman          : Prof. Dr. AW. Azhar Dehlvi, Secretary, SIFPT & CAC

Members           : Prof. Dr. S.A.H. Abidî, President, SIFPT & CAC

                          Prof. Dr. Shoaib Azmî, Member, SIFPT & CAC

  Mr. Bulent Cantimur, President, Indialogue Foundation

Contributing Institutions :

            India           - Society of Indian Friends & Promoters of Turkey & Central Asian Cultures,New

                                 Delhi

Turkey        – Rumi Cultural Centre (under Metropolitan Municipality of Konya)

            Turkey        – The Intercultural Dialogue Centre, Istanbul
USA            – The Rumi Forum, Washington DC

            India           -  Indo-Turkish Business Association

            Additional institutes will be added.

IV.          GOALS OF THE CONFERENCE:

We live in an era in which violence, enmity and hatred are increasing throughout the world, an era in which humanity has gradually departed from basic virtues such as compassion, tolerance, and peace.  We now find ourselves face to face with a recurrence of the threats that marked the Thirteenth Century—the absolute annihilation of humankind, the collapse of civilizations, and violence that spreads the seeds of enmity and hate.  At such a time, our need for a sturdy moral and ethical backbone which will establish tolerance and compassion among all humanity is immeasurable.  Remarkably, we can find just such a common inspiration, capable of bringing forth humanity’s pride, the perfection of the human constitution, and its basic spiritual beauty, among the primary sources of our tradition. 

Human compassion and tolerance, which can produce universal peace, have always been a essential principles throughout the Islamic world, and in Islamic mysticism in particular.  In as much as this is one of the crucial assets of the single creator’s work of creation, love for all creatures and the ability to view all creatures through this love is a necessary aspect of love for Justice and God himself.  This philosophy achieved its most thorough expression in the lives of great sufis such as Attar, Senâî, Khawja Muînuddin Chishtî, Khawja Nizamuddin Ulia, Khawja Bâqibillah, Mujaddid-i Alf-i Sânî and, above all, Mawlana Jalaladdin Rûmî.  According to his own words, Mawlana discovered a language above all languages, a common language of humanity, and spoke in this language.  Just like a compass equipped with one fixed arm and one moving arm, he was a unique produce of his own culture, yet he also managed to become an important philosopher-poet and mystic who succeeded in addressing and embracing seventy-two different peoples. Rûmî’s spiritual luminescence encompassed a geographical area whose borders cannot be determined, and the light of his compassion is still capable of illuminating this way to contemporary humankind.   Today, we have the opportunity both to understand him and the projections of his thought, and to evaluate them for the well-being and happiness of all humanity. 

            As UNESCO designates 2007 “Year of Rûmý” to mark the 800th birth of eminent thinker and sûfî poet Jalaladdin Rûmî the goal of this seminar is to put forward his thinking, which develops along the axes of compassion and tolerance, and to apply its contemporary implications for the benefit of all humanity. By doing so, we hope to contribute to the formation of a new climate of compassion for humankind in our own time.

V.            LANGUAGE OF THE CONFERENCE

English, Hindi, Urdu

VI.          TOPICS & TITLES

1.         Rûmî and his relevance in Modern Times

2.         Rûmî as a Philosopher

3.         Sufism and Rûmî

4.         Universalism in Rûmî’s Poetry

5.         Rûmî –Poet of Love and Peace

6.         Man in the writings of Rûmî

7.         Rûmî and Iqbal

8.         Rûmî – Tradition of  Samâ’ and Whirling Derwishes

9.         Konya – a city of culture and interfaith tradition

10.      Rûmî’s Prose Works – a landmark in Islam and Sufism

11.      Mathnawi- i Ma’nawi – A guide for humanity.

12.      Translations and commentaries of his works

13.      Role of Chalabis in promoting Mawlana Rûmî and his works

14.      Role of Shams Tabrîzî in Mawlana Rûmî’s life

15.      Dîwan e Shams Tabrîzî – Philosophy and Poetics: A mirror of Rûmî

16.      Response of Afghanistan to Rûmî

17.      Response of Iran to Rûmî

18.      Response of Turkey (Anatolia) to Rûmî

19.      Response of the Arab World to Rûmî

20.      Response of Central Asian Countries (Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrghyzistan, Kazakhistan and Azarbaijan)

21.      Response of India to Rûmî

22.      Response of the West to Rûmî

23.      Rûmî and the West

24.      Qur’an and its impact on Rûmî’s writings.

25.      Searching Rûmî in modern times

26.      Message of Rûmî to mankind

For further information, please contact with The Managing Committe via email: info(at the rate of) indialogue.in