By IANS,
Aligarh: National Commission for Minorities chairman Wajahat Habibullah Saturday inaugurated a three-day international seminar on Sufi literature in the Persian language at the Aligarh Muslim University here.
A large number of delegates from Britain, US, Iran, Tajikistan, Italy, Japan, Bangladesh and different parts of India are participating in ‘Sufistic Literature produced in Persian: Tradition and Dimensions’, organised by the varsity’s Institute of Persian Studies.
Iranian Ambassador to India Gholamreza Ansari was the chief guest.
Professor Charles Melville of Cambridge University, Ziauddin Ahmad Shakeb, of the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, Khwaja Ekramuddin, the director, National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language and Ali Fauladi, cultural counsellor, Iran Culture House and AMU Pro-Vice Chancellor, Brig. (retd.) S. Ahmad Ali were also present.
AMU Vice Chancellor, Lt. Gen. (retd.) Zameer Uddin Shah hoped that during the three-day seminar, new and pertinent facts shall emerge from the scholarly presentations and discussion that will help people in discovering new aspects of mystic-humanistic thought which transcended all perceived boundaries of time and human experience.
He said that India and Iran both have been cradles of Sufistic thought and humanistic ideas which have brought into existence a marvelous literature.
Terming it amazing how in the medieval years of its history, India has interacted with Iranian Sufi tradition and made its own, he said Fareed Ganj Shakar, Guru Nanak, Amir Khusrau, Kabir all drank from the eternal fountain of love and envisaged a world free of all conflicts and discord.
He urged that the teaching of these Sufis and their message needed to be reinterpreted and reapplied to our social conscientiousness.
Four Persian books were also released on this occasion.
Elaborating on the theme of the seminar, the institute’s director Azarmi Dukht Safavi said Sufi spirit is in our blood.