Last week, Istanbul hosted the “Seb-i Arus” celebration, in honor of the 13th century poet, mystic and master of the Mevlevi Sufi order, Mawlana Jalaleddin Rumi. Politicians of the highest ranks including Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and foreign diplomats joined the annual celebration. Spiritual music accompanied recitals of Mevlevi philosophy, while dervishes performed the “Sema,” or whirling ritual. On Dec. 17, a magnificent closing night of “Seb-i Arus” is expected to take place in Konya, one which will see Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in attendance.

Since Rumi believed that death is birth into a new life and reunion with God, the anniversary of his death became the annual occasion for a birthday celebration. Hence, the name of the celebration "Seb-i Arus," which means wedding night, or when lovers unite.

Rumi, the man on whom all these rituals are based, was born in Balkh (now part of Afghanistan), but spent most of his life in Konya, in the central Anatolia region of Turkey, where he died in 1273. Among what many agree is the greatest work of both Islamic mysticism and Persian literature is his six-volume spiritual poem Masnavi Ma’navi (Spiritual Couplets), each volume of which is made up of about 25,000 verses or 50,000 lines. Last year, Konya’s mayor proudly stated that Masnavi Ma'navi has been translated into 22 languages.

While the perceptions of Rumi’s teachings vary across the world, they inspire people for benevolence, love and tolerance. According to Ibrahim Gamard, a California-based sheikh of the Sufi Mevlevi order, "There continues to be a strong interest in Sufism [in the United States and the West], but this is because it is presented as a type of mysticism that is not dependent upon Islam and which transcends particular religions.” Therefore, compared to other commercialized books, Garnard's book Rumi and Islam (2004) did not sell very well, though he still claimed, “By reading even the most popularized Rumi books, Americans are learning about many traditional Muslim values and teachings of wisdom.”