"Mevlana's source is Islam"

By Emre Demir - Today's Zaman - Ankara, Turkey

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Strasbourg: One of the latest events to focus on the 13th century philosopher and Sufi saint Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi took place in the French city of Strasbourg at an international panel where Mevlana's humanism and his contributions to dialogue between religions were discussed.

The meeting, which included academics from France and Turkey, underscored the view that Mevlana's philosophy cannot be assessed separately from Islam and the tradition of the Prophet Mohammed.

Organized by the Strasbourg Intercultural Dialogue Foundation, which was founded by Turkish academics, the panel featured one scholar of Sufism, Professor Eric Geoffrey, who asserted that due to today's judgmental stance towards Muslims Mevlana's Islamic roots were being ignored by many.

Geoffrey explained that though the work and thinking of Mevlana had gained prominence in the West over recent years, most Western sources took Mevlana out of the context of his Islamic roots.

The professor also noted that in both the US and the EU, Sufism was being stripped of its links with Islam and being presented as a sort of "new age religion." Geoffrey referred to these efforts as a form of "religious racism" and noted that it was the Prophet Mohammed and the Koran which had provided the sources for Mevlana's humanist understanding, one which is so universal as to still be fitting in today's world.

He emphasized that one could not think of Mevlana independently from Islam. "Mevlana is today presented as someone broken off from his Islamic roots, like a new spiritual leader. Even today many people have no idea that Mevlana's first name was Mohammad.

In many western books on his life they don't have the courage to use this name." Geoffrey also mentioned Mevlana's good friend and teacher, the scholar Semsuddin i-Tebrizi, who in Western writings is portrayed as being a "wanderer and hippie-type person," but who was actually a respected Islamic thinker.

Professor Cihan Okuyucu from Istanbul's Fatih University talked about traces of Mevlana's philosophy in modern Turkey, pointing to Fethullah* Gülen's efforts at encouraging intercultural dialogue as an example. Okuyucu noted that Gülen's activities aimed at promoting tolerance and dialogue were inspired by the philosophy of Mevlana.

Sorbonne University faculty member Fabio Ambrosio spoke about the importance of Mevlana for the Christian communities living in Anatolia, while Leili Anvar-Chrendorff from the French National Eastern Languages and Civilizations Institute (INALCO) focused on the basic elements of Mevlana's "spiritual humanism," which embraces all religions.

Later, Professor İlhan Özkececi from Fatih University presented a short concert of Mevlevi music. The end of the program was marked by poetry readings from the Mesnevi and a concert of religious chanting. Guests at the panel included local government officials, as well as consular officials and members of the European Council.

[Picture: Professor Cihan Okuyucu ]

*Fethullah Gülen is honorary president of Rumi Forum www.rumiforum.org]