This lecture will take place at the Aga Khan Centre at 17.00 BST.
Mawlana Jalal al-Din Mohammad Balkhi Rumi (d. 1273) is very often viewed among non-Muslims in isolation from his own background, largely because bestselling translations of selections of his poetry are much more widely read than any other sources for Sufism, and they provide little context. This has led to a tendency to exceptionalise “Rumi” and his teachings through an Orientalist lens, which has in turn drawn the reaction of stressing his obvious Muslim credentials even more so than his Sufi identity. A more nuanced attempt to situate the much-revered Mawlana of Sufis within his own mystical tradition has arguably been hampered by the polarized nature of such debates, yet there is much to gain from pursuing this line. In this talk, Professor Mojaddedi examines Rumi’s writings both to situate him within the Sufi tradition and to highlight what that implies about the wider Islamic context which has too often been underappreciated.
Speaker
Jawid Mojaddedi
Professor
Jawid Mojaddedi is Professor and Chair of the Department of Religion at Rutgers University. His translation, The Masnavi: Book One (Oxford, 2004), was awarded the Lois Roth Prize by the American Institute of Iranian Studies. He has published five of the six books of Rumi’s Masnavi to date, all as Oxford World’s Classics editions, and Book Six is scheduled to be released in September 2025 to complete this project. His other books include Beyond Dogma: Rumi’s Teachings on Friendship with God and Early Sufi Theories (Oxford University Press, 2012) and The Biographical Tradition in Sufism (Routledge, 2001).
Discussant
Dr Daryoush Mohammad Poor
Dr Daryoush Mohammad Poor is the Interim Head of the Constituency Studies Unit, Associate Professor in the Department of Academic Research and Publications at The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London, and a lecturer for the Department of Graduate Studies. He is also the editor of the Ismaili Heritage Series.
Islamic History and Thought Lecture Series
IHTLS is designed to invite scholars of various international academic institutions specialising in intellectual, social and political aspects of medieval and early modern Islamic societies to present and discuss their research.
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Views expressed in this lecture are those of the presenting scholars, not necessarily of IIS, the Ismaili community or its leadership. Promotion of this lecture is not an explicit endorsement of the ideas presented.
