IRNA on Saturday cited Iranian National Commission for UNESCO as saying that the decision was approved at the November 11 meeting of the general conference of UNESCO.
By including this event on the world list of commemorations, as well as the approval of Sheikh Kharaqani’s 1,050th birth anniversary, and the 800th anniversary of the meeting between Shams and Rumi on UNESCO’s list of commemorations and anniversaries in 2022 and 2023, the number of registered commemorations of Iranian dignitaries on the UNESCO list reaches 42.
Abu Reyhan Mohammad Biruni was a versatile scholar and scientist who had an equal facility in physics, metaphysics, mathematics, geography and history. Born in the city of Khiva near the Ural region (then a part of Iran, now Uzbekistan) in 973 CE, he was a contemporary of the well-known physician Avicenna. He wrote several books and treatises.
He has been considered one of the greatest scientists of Islam and, all considered, one of the greatest of all time. His critical spirit, love of truth, and scientific approach were combined with a sense of toleration. His enthusiasm for knowledge may be judged from his claim that the phrase ‘Allah is Omniscient’ does not justify ignorance.
Sheikh Abolhassan Kharaqani is also one of Iran’s great mystics and Sufis.
Persian poet, jurist, theologian and Sufi mystic, Jalaleddin Mohammad Balkhi, better known as Maulavi, Maulana, or Rumi, is one of the most famous Iranian poets.
Rumi was born to native Persian-speaking parents on the shores of the then Persian Empire on September 30, 1207 CE, in the city of Balkh, which is now part of Afghanistan, and finally settled in the town of Konya, in what is now Turkey.
Rumi’s influence extends beyond national borders and ethnic divisions. Iranians, Tajiks, Turks, Greeks, Pashtuns, other Central Asian and Southeast Asian Muslims have been heavily influenced by the Persian poet’s spiritual heritage over the past centuries.
Rumi made one or two journeys to Syria, during one of which he met his mentor Shams. However, he was more deeply influenced by Shams during their second meeting in Konya, Turkey, in 1244 CE.