Rumi and Goethe
A Tajik university held a conference to compare Rumi and Goethe and their views on East and the West. Called “Dialogue among Cultures”, the event was held in Khujand on Wednesday and Thursday last week.
There has always been some controversy over where Rumi, or Mawlānā Jalāl-ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī, actually belongs. Was he born in Balkh (Afghanistan) or, as some people claim, in today’s Tajikistan?
[A]s the Swiss scholar Fritz Meier has shown, [he was born] in the small town of Wakhsh north of the Oxus that Baha’uddin Walad, Jalaluddin’s father, lived and worked as a jurist and preacher with mystical inclinations.
Regardless of his exact origins, Rumi is one of the most important Persian-speaking poets, theologians and jurists. His followers founded the Sufi Mevlevi Order and his writings had a profound impact on both Persian and Turkish literature (his family moved west fleeing from the invading Mongols and settled in Turkey, where Rumi is buried). Rumi’s Sufi connection is only one of the reasons for his popularity in Tajikistan - especially in Badakhshan.
Rumi has also influenced scholars such as Goethe - whose The West-Eastern Divan…
…gradually came to function as a leading model for religious and literary syntheses between the west and the east. Goethe has put enchanting and voluptuous customs into poetry, and his verses are so perfect, so harmonious, so tasteful, so soft, that it seems really surprising that he should ever have been able to have brought the German language to this state of suppleness.
As a German, I obviously despise this Persian attack on my native language. Nonetheless, the article is right that Goethe’s work connects East and West. Just compare Kipling (”Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet”) and Goethe (”If you know yourself and others, You’ll know it in the end: There is no way to separate Orient and Occident”) - and it becomes obvious that the curiosity and respect for others irrespective of their background is something that connects Goethe with Rumi.
In the words of Majid M. Naini:
Rumi’s life and transformation provide true testimony and proof that people of all religions and backgrounds can live together in peace and harmony. Rumi’s visions, words, and life teach us how to reach inner peace and happiness so we can finally stop the continual stream of hostility and hatred and achieve true global peace and harmony.
As we mark the 800th anniversary of the poet’s birth, the UNESCO has declared 2007 the Rumi-year - and has recognised Afghanistan, Egypt and Turkey as the organisers of the commemoration. Iranian commentators have already voiced their outrcy, while Tajikistan goes ahead with organising state-level Rumi events throughout this year.
Nowadays, Rumi’s poetry is a bestseller and inspires artists such as Madonna. There’s also a documentary on Rumi:
on May 21st, 2007 at 3:17 am
Great post, Ben.
What makes the Tajikistan/Afghanistan/Iran competition over the legacy even more absurd is that the name “Rumi” refers to the fact that he lived most of his life in Anatolia, ie modern-day Turkey.
on May 21st, 2007 at 10:41 am
“Nowadays, Rumi’s poetry is a bestseller and inspires artists such as Madonna.”
on May 21st, 2007 at 3:30 pm
Thanks Ben,
Very interesting post. It is important to mention that 2007 was declared as the International Rumi Day by UNESCO upon the the proposal of Turkey not Iran or Tajikistan. It proves the universal effect of Rumi, and probably he is the only oriental poet who is widely read in the West.
on May 21st, 2007 at 3:51 pm
Ataman, I didn’t pass any judgment on Madonna’s admiration for Rumi, it’s just interesting to see how the mainstream embraces his writings.
Vadim - yeah, the Tajiks and Iranians have missed that train as it seems, also evident from UNESCO spelling Rumi in the Turkish way…
on May 21st, 2007 at 7:53 pm
This is what UNESCO says:
http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=37629&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
800th anniversary of the birth of Mawlana Jalal-ud-Din Balkhi-Rumi (Mevlana Celaleddin Belhī Rūmī), poet and philosopher (1207-1273)
The prominent Persian language poet, thinker and spiritual master Mawlana Jalal-ud-Din Balkhi-Rumi (Mevlana Celaleddin Belhī Rūmī) 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. He addressed humanity as a whole:
“I do not distinguish between the relative and the stranger.”
The people of Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey consider him to be their own poet.
Year : 2007
Countries : Afghanistan, Egypt, Turkey and welcomed by the Islamic Republic of Iran
The celebration of this anniversary was proposed to the 33rd session of the General Conference by Afghanistan, Egypt, Turkey (33C/Resolution 63) and welcomed by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Celebrations :
A UNESCO medal in honour of Mawlana Jalal-ud-Din Balkhi-Rumi will be issued in 2007 (175EX/Decision 56; document 175 EX/11 Rev 2)
Cultural events will be organized by Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey in September 2007 at UNESCO Headquarters
A block of stamps displaying the UNESCO’s logo will be issued by the Turkish, Iranian and Afghan post offices with the theme of the commemoration of the 800th year of Mawlana’s birth
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on May 22nd, 2007 at 7:26 pm
Ben,
”If you know yourself and others, You’ll know it in the end: There is no way to separate Orient and Occident.” I wish the proponents of the “clash of civilizations” theory read Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s works.
Long live Goethe! And thanks for the article on Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi.
on May 23rd, 2007 at 1:05 pm
Yes Ben. Rumi is a popularised expression of Sufism. And since Sufism is more than Rumi, for those interested, here are some resources about Sufism in general:
In English:
http://godlas.myweb.uga.edu/Sufism.html
‘The Sufi way’ by Idries Shah (ISBN-10: 0140192522
ISBN-13: 978-0140192520) is recommended too. It’s a good anthology of Sufi sayings collected by Idries Shah that I always take with me when on the road.
Na Russkom: http://www.universalinternetlibrary.ru/book/ernst/ogl.shtml
http://sufism.ru/portal/
http://sufizm.ru
Sufism is often seen as a new age form of Islam. Yet it also had/s serious mobilizing power, eg. for social work or for anti-colonial resistance eg. in Sudan and in the Northern Caucasus.
Unfortunately, today Sufism risks to become victim of attempts to recuperate and promote it as soft and ‘politically correct’ form of Islam, e.g. the neocon-linked Sufi Muslim Council (http://www.islam.ru/lib/warning/suotf/ ), or both Karimov and Rakhmonov’s regimes attempts to do that (eg. http://www.isim.nl/files/Review_16/Review_16-38.pdf ).
on May 24th, 2007 at 9:35 am
“I wish the proponents of the “clash of civilizations” theory read Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s works.”
Brothers, that clash will certainly come. In fact, it’s in the making. But it will not be between ‘the West/Occident’ and ‘Islam/the Orient’ but between the Anglo-Saxons, the neo-Byzantines (i.e. Russia) and the Chinese.
on May 28th, 2007 at 8:56 pm
“Brothers, that clash will certainly come. In fact, it’s in the making. But it will not be between ‘the West/Occident’ and ‘Islam/the Orient’ but between the Anglo-Saxons, the neo-Byzantines (i.e. Russia) and the Chinese.”
You missed Hundus
Russia is dead as a power. It is utterly corrupt, immobile and lacks the ideology (except for neo-nazi crap) which could unite the nation. My understanding is that 15-20 years down the road, Russia will disintegrate into small territories.
To me Iran has better chances than Russia.