Mawlana in Paris

UNESCO Press - media advisory N° 2007-52 - Paris, France
Friday, August 31, 2007

UNESCO celebrates the 800th Anniversary of Mawlana Jalal-ud-Din Balkhi-Rumi

An international seminar, exhibition and demonstration of Sufi dancing are on the day-long programme of events Thursday, 6 September, celebrating the 800th anniversary of the birth of poet, philosopher and spiritual leader Jalal-ud-Din Balkhi-Rumi.

The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura will inaugurate the celebrations (9 a.m., Room II), which have been organized in collaboration with Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Turkey.

The seminar will bring together eminent scholars and philosophers from these three UNESCO Member States along with other international experts, to discuss various themes relating to the thought, message and universality of Jalal-ud-Din Balkhi-Rumi.

This will be followed by the opening of an exhibition of books, manuscripts and paintings relating to Jalal-ud-Din Balkhi-Rumi and his works, and a performance of Sufi dancing by a troupes from the three countries (6.30 p.m., Miro Hall).

The exhibition will remain on display until 14 September.

Mawlana Jalal-ud-Din Balkhi-Rumi, author of the renowned Mathnawi or “Rhyming Couplets”, was born in 1207 in Balkh, now Afghanistan.

After being exiled he spent most of his life in Konya, in what is now southeastern Turkey. He is considered to be one of the greatest Sufi masters, a peer of the well known Ibn Arabi.

UNESCO will also celebrate the event by issuing a commemorative medal in the honor of Jalal-ud-Din Balkhi-Rumi.

[picture: UNESCO's Headquarters in Paris, France. Aerial view. Photo copyright UNESCO Press].