Rumi has been the best-selling poet in North America for twenty years, but most readers do not seem to be aware of his background and the mystical tradition which he belonged to. This talk will shed light on these subjects to facilitate a more nuanced understanding of his message.

Jawid Mojaddedi is professor of religion at Rutgers University. His area of research is early and medieval Sufism. Born in Kabul, Afghanistan, and raised from the age of five in Great Britain, he completed his studies under the supervision of the late Norman Calder at the University of Manchester, receiving his PhD in 1998. He served for two years as assistant editor for Encyclopaedia Iranica, before taking up his current position at Rutgers, where he teaches courses in the general field of Islamic studies.

This event is simultaneously broadcast from the University of Minnesota and shared virtually with the University of Michigan and Rutgers University. Ann Arbor and New Brunswick audiences will be able to participate live with both the speaker and the two distance audiences.

Sponsors: Islamic Studies Program, Digital Islamic Studies Curriculum, University of Minnesota Religious Studies Program, University of Minnesota Center for Medieval Studies, University of Minnesota Department of Asian Languages and Cultures