The First International Congress themed ‘From Balkh to Konya’, in commemoration of the renowned Persian poet Molana Jalaleddin Rumi, is scheduled for December 17-8.

According to ISNA, Molana researchers from across the country as well as foreign states such as Turkey, Kyrkyzstan, Canada, Tajikistan and US will attend the event to be held at the Center for the Great Islamic Encyclopedia.

Jalaleddin Mohammad Balkhi known as ‘Molana’ (1207-73) was a Persian poet, mystic and theologian, who was born in Balkh (now part of Afghanistan), once part of Persia, and passed away in Konya, Turkey.

Molana is better known for his six-volume book of poems ‘Masnavi’ considered by many to be one of the greatest works of both Islamic mysticism and Persian literature.

UNESCO named 2007 as the year of Rumi in honor of the Persian poet’s outstanding achievements.

Rumi’s importance is considered to transcend national and ethnic borders. His original works are widely read in their original language across the Persian-speaking world.

Translations of his works are very popular in other countries. His poems have been widely translated into many of the world’s languages and transposed into various formats.

In 2007, he was described as the “most popular poet in America”.

Rumi was an evolutionary thinker in the sense that he believed that the spirit after devolution from the divine Ego undergoes an evolutionary process by which it comes nearer and nearer to the same divine Ego.