Dushanbe will host an international symposium on Mawlana Jalal-ad-Din Rumi in the autumn this year.  

The event will be held at the initiative of the Turkish Agency for Cooperation and Coordination (TIKA).

To carry out preparatory work for the forthcoming symposium together with one of the oldest institutions of Tajikistan, the Academy of Sciences of the Tajikistan, a group of influential professors and experts in this field arrived in Dushanbe form Turkey to negotiate with their colleagues, and to determine the date of the symposium, its duration and obligations of the parties.

The delegation that came from Turkey to organize the symposium is reportedly headed by the Vice-Chairman of the TICA, Mehmet Sureyya Er.

The delegation members include Director of the Mevlyana Research Institute of the Selcuk University of Konya, Professor-Director Ali Temizel, Head of the Department of Persian Language and Literature of the Ankara University Professor Hijabi Kyrlangych , Head of the Mevlana Research Association, head of the Oriental Languages and Literature Department at Kyrykkale University, Professor Adnan Karaismailoglu and the Regional Director for the Study of Manuscripts of Konya Bekir Shahin.

Recall, an international conference dedicated to the 800th anniversary of the great poet and thinker Jalal-ad-Din Rumi was held in Dushanbe on June 15, 2007.  The conference that brought together known researchers from Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey discussed issues related to works by the prominent poet and theologian and their role in development of Tajik-Persian classical literature and spiritual development of society. 

Mawlana Jalal-ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, also known as Mawlana Jalal-ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi, but known to the English-speaking world simply as Rumi, (September 30, 1207 – December 17, 1273), was a 13th century Persian (Tajik) Muslim poet, jurist, and theologian. 

Rumi was born in Balkh (now part of Afghanistan) and died in Konya (in present-day Turkey).

His birthplace and native language/local dialogue indicates a Persian heritage.  He also wrote his poetry in Persian and his works are widely read in Tajikistan, Iran and Afghanistan and in translation in Turkey, Azerbaijan, the United States, and South Asia.  He lived most of his life in, and produced his works under, the Seljuk Empire. 

Rumi’s importance is considered to transcend national and ethnic borders.  Throughout the centuries he has had a significant influence on Persian as well as Urdu ad Turkish literatures.  His poems are widely read in the Persian speaking countries of Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan and have been widely translated into many of the world’s languages in various formats.