The BA Manuscripts Center, affiliated with the Cultural Outreach Sector, is organizing its fourth seminar under the title “Jalāl ad-Dīn Rūmī Between the East and the West”, where three Sufism experts will deliver lectures. The lecturers are Dr. Ahmed el-Gazar, who will deliver a lecture on “Sufism, the Spirit of Islam: Its Origins, Authenticity, and Abū-Sa'īd Abul-Khayr as an Exmaple”; Aisha Moumad from Morocco will deliver a lecture titled “Rumi’s Influence in Europe”; and Dr. Khaled Mohamed Abdo will discuss “Rumi’s Influence in the Arab World”.
The first lecture will discuss Persian Sufism and its most notable proponents, and Sufism as an inherent concept in Islam. The lecture will focus on Abū-Sa'īd Abul-Khayr, the Persian Sufi, due to his spiritual connection with Rumi, and it will summarize the main characteristics of Persian Sufis. The second lecture will revolve around Rumi’s influence in the West, especially in France by detailing the journey of a French proponent of Islam and Sufism named Eva Devitray-Meyerovitch. The third lecture will delve into Rumi’s influence on the Arab world, beginning with the interest in publishing his works in Egypt, the benefits gained by Arab students from their orientalist professors, the establishment of eastern studies at Arab universities, the works written about Rumi, and the translation of most of his works.
The BA Manuscripts Center holds specialized academic seminars in all cultural fields, in addition to its reviewed and edited publications, specialized training sessions, and daily services offered to researchers by providing copies of manuscripts and rare books.