First global confab opens in Tehran

The first 'World Conference from Balkh to Konya' opened at Great Islamic Encyclopedia Center in Tehran on Saturday. Several foreign scholars including Hossein Nasr from George Washington University in US, Safar Abdullah from University of International Relations and Foreign Languages in Kazakhstan, Javid Majdedi frin Rutgers University in US, Leonard losin of Exeter University in England, Nurali Nurzad of Khujand University in Tajikistan, Professor Mohammad Ali Islami Nodoushan, Professor Fathollah Mjtbayy and professor Sadegh Sajadi from Iran are attending the two-day event. The event is aimed at introducing Molana Jalaleddin Mohammad Balkhi, also known as Rumi, a Persian philosopher and mystic of Islam, works and thoughts. Rumi was born in 1207 in Balkh, then within the domains of the Persian Empire, and died in 1273 in Konya, present-day Turkey. His body was laid to rest beside his father and a splendid shrine was erected there, attracting a large number of pilgrims from all parts of the Muslim and non-Muslim world each year. Rumi wrote his poetry in Persian language and his works are widely read in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, where Persian language is spoken.