With UNESCO having declared 2007 the Year of Mevlana, the first part of this two-stage international symposium, which takes place in İstanbul, will host 163 academics,100 of these from other countries. The International Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi Symposium will take place May 8-12 in both İstanbul and Konya, the latter being Mevlana’s former place of residence. The symposium, which has been organized so as to coordinate in the widest manner possible with other Mevlana-related events throughout the country, will include national and international scholars who will come together to promote Mevlana and a Mevlana-based Turkey on an international level. The symposium itself will have two legs, with the first three days taking place in İstanbul and the last two in Konya.
The opening ceremonies for the Mevlana symposium took place Tuesday in İstanbul at the Atatürk Cultural Center. Panel discussions will continue at the Marmara Hotel. At the opening ceremonies, 18 verses from Mevlana’s central work, the Mesnevi, were read in a variety of languages by university students. From the Sorbonne University in Paris, Leyla Enver read from the Mesnevi in Farsi, while artist Semih Sergen read in Turkish, and from Cambridge University, Annabelle Zeynep Kimble read in English.
Accompanying the Mevlana verses was musician Sadrettin Ozcimi, who played the ney, a traditional Turkish instrument.
Speeches were given by Minister of Culture and Tourism Atilla Koç, Mevlana’s descendent Esin Çelebi, Professor Seyyid Huseyin Nasr from George Washington University.
Minister Atilla Koç noted that the words of Mevlana were valuable not only to the Islamic world, but also globally. He said that many figures throughout history had taken refuge in Anatolia after having been excluded from their own communities. Esin Çelebi, who is a family member of Mevlana 22 generations back, issued the message that “people need to take charge of the legacies left behind by Mevlana.” He noted that the words of Mevlana enlightened not only Anatolia, but the entire world.
The symposium in Konya aims to go forward from the foundation of Mevlana’s thinking to bridge alliances along the lines of the “alliance of civilizations,” in contrast to the “clash of civilizations,” talked about so often these days, while issuing a powerful call for international peace.
Benzer Haberler 
National
