Iran welcomes Afghanistan into jointly registering Rumi’s poem
Iran welcomes Afghanistan into jointly registering Jalal al-Din Muhammad Balkhi's (aka Rumi) poem the Masnavi as world heritage.
The announcement was made by Farhad Nazari, director of Historical Work Registration at Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization, ISNA news agency reported June 10.
"The more extensive the Masnavi's case, the better Rumi and his work's grandeur will be shown," the official said.
However, he said, registering the poem as world heritage is a fully technical job which requires documents.
Nazari nonetheless underlined that the birthplace of Rumi is quite a different issue than his work, which should be taken into account.
The statements came after demonstrators in Kabul, Afghanistan expressed dissatisfaction over reports that Iran and Turkey were going to jointly register the poem.
Rumi was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic. His influence transcends national borders and ethnic divisions: Iranians, Tajiks, Turks, Greeks, Pashtuns, other Central Asian Muslims, and the Muslims of South Asia have greatly appreciated his spiritual legacy for the past seven centuries. Rumi has been described as the "most popular poet" and the "best selling poet" in the United States.
The poet was born in Balkh, which was then part of the Iranian empire but now falls within the borders of Afghanistan. His travels took him to Konya, again of Iranian territory then, but now in Turkey, where he died and was buried.
Peoples of these three countries nowadays celebrate Rumi as a national pride, each claiming his legacy.
The Masnavi is a series of six books of poetry that together amount to around 25,000 verses or 50,000 lines. It is a spiritual writing that teaches Sufis how to reach their goal of being in true love with God.
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