The Representation of Woman by Persian Sufi Mystic and Poet, Rumi

The Western mind's popular curiosity and its seemingly ceaseless search for Spiritual Peace and Wisdom in the distant and exotic lands seems to have now discovered the influential Islamic mystic poet Rumi. But with thousands of pages in various literary forms from poetry to prose to letters, and with the numerous interpretations of Koranic verses both in Persian and Arabic, this renowned Sufi thinker is no Khalil Gibran of yesteryear. His theological and ethical system of thought reigns strong and unchallenged in variousIslamic cultures. In the past 800 years since his time, there seem to be hardly any serious and sustained critical encounters with his thought either in the West or in the various lands where his authority spans. His towering influence, particularly on the Iranian intellectuals of both religious and secular persuasions, seems absolute and overwhelming.
In this presentation, Behrooz Ghorbanian will examine Rumi's representation of women and his strategies of subjugation by studying a few of his stories and poems from Rumi's three seminal works. The discussion will focus on different percepts of woman in a variety of roles he ascribes to her in his different stories, such as: Woman as temptation of evil, Woman as ignorant object, Woman as object of desire, Woman as desiring subject...
Mr. Ghorbanian is a longtime resident of Warwick, a lifetime student of philosophy and is interested in all things hidden in Arts and Cultures.