"RUMI RETURNING"

Consultants and Commentators

COLEMAN BARKS
Professor (Retired) of Poetry and Creative Writing, University of Georgia, Major English Translator of Rumi

We have amassed a richness of scholars for “Rumi Returning.”   Be sure to see our consultants’ 2007 calendar of events centered around Sufism and the International Year of Rumi.  

— COMMENTATORS —

AMBASSADOR AKBAR AHMED

Dr. Akbar Ahmed brings the full breadth of knowledge of the history of Islam as well as its contemporary context to “Rumi Returning.”  He is a tireless activist for peace among different faiths and cultures through education and dialogue, perhaps best exemplified by his participation in Muslim-Jewish Dialogues with Judea Pearl, father of Daniel Pearl.   

Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University, Dr. Ahmed is “the world’s leading authority on contemporary Islam,” according to the BBC.  He is regularly interviewed on the BBC, CNN, CBC, and ARY TV, and he has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and Night Line.  Dr. Ahmed is narrator of “The Glories of Islamic Art”, a three-part television series for Channel 5, UK.  Among numerous articles and books, he is author of Islam Under Siege, Islam Today, and Journey into Islam:  The Crisis of Globalization (recently published by Brookings Institution Press).  He was the High Commissioner of Pakistan to Great Britain and is Trustee of the World Faiths Development Dialogue.  He received the first Gandhi Center Fellowship of Peace Award. 

COLEMAN BARKS

Coleman Barks offers what many in the West consider to be Rumi’s voice to “Rumi Returning,” as his translations are much of the reason the 13th century Muslim poet is the best-selling poet here.  In his own Western way, Coleman embodies the eloquent teacher-poet and eternal student of life that Rumi himself was.  In Coleman Barks we come to know the phenomenon that is the immense popularity of Rumi’s poetry.       

Coleman Barks was Professor of Creative Writing and Poetry at the University of Georgia for 30 years.  He is widely considered the premier English interpreter of Rumi and the reason Rumi is the most widely read poet in the U.S.  He is translator of The Essential Rumi (with John Moyne), which sold more than 300,000 copies, and 15 other books on Rumi, to include The Soul of Rumi.  He was featured in the film “Rumi:  Poet of the Heart” and subject of a segment in Bill Moyers’ “Language of Life” series on PBS.  A poet himself with works such as Gourd Seed, Coleman Barks is featured in Bill Moyers’ poetry special “Fooling with Words.”

ANDREW HARVEY

As the foremost mystical scholar of our time, Andrew Harvey contributes a deep and intimate grasp of Rumi’s mystical path of Sufism to "Rumi Returning."  Through his radiant explanations, we learn the crucial message Rumi offers our world at this moment of crisis.   

Andrew Harvey was the youngest ever to be awarded a fellowship to All Soul’s College at Oxford, England’s highest academic honor, and a teacher at Oxford and Cornell Universities, among others.  He was subject of the BBC documentary “The Making of a Modern Mystic” and created his own film based on his original concept of “Sacred Activism”.  Andrew Harvey has been expert commentator in “Rumi Turning Ecstatic” and “The Consciousness of The Christ:  Reclaiming Jesus for a New Humanity”.  He was collaborator on The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying and is a translator of Rumi and author of books on Rumi and Sufism, such as Light Upon Light, The Way of Passion, and Teachings of Rumi.

ÜZEYIR ÖZYURT
“The Life of a Dervish”

Üzeyir Özyurt  (pronounced Ooh-zear Oh-zurt) brings the invaluable insights of someone living the Sufi dervish path directly inspired by Mevlâna Jalâluddin Rumi, just steps away from where the spiritual master and poet lived much of his life.  Describing himself as Sufis often do as a “fakir,” an Arabic word meaning “poor man,” in the sense of “blessed are the poor in spirit,” Üzeyir was born and still lives in Konya, Turkey.  While an infant, he and his family emigrated to France but returned to Konya when he was 12.  At that age he began his study of Sufi teachings and old Arabic at a highly disciplined Sufi monastery with a lifestyle of 100 years previous.  In his own words, he and his 150 fellow students “had to educate our ego (nefs) in this way for serving and respect for others.”  For five years in this school of immersion, he did not see his family.
At Konya University, Üzeyir studied French literature.  Since then, he has studied Italian, English, Spanish, and German languages, which he uses in his travels to lecture about Mevlâna and Sufism or to network with international seekers visiting his Dervish Brothers Center for information about Rumi.  As a young man working in a carpet shop in Konya, Üzeyir saw many travelers come to learn about Sufism and Mevlâna’s way (called Mevlevi).  They asked to meet a Mevlevi dervish.  But then he was “afraid to be dervish,” though drawn to Sufism himself.  “Many people speak about Sufis,” Üzeyir says, “but very few ones live this real life.”
In those days the director of the Mevlâna (Rumi) museum was Üzeyir’s uncle, who guided him in “the real way of the Mevlevi order” and “answered all of my doubts and questions”.  Üzeyir considers these as highlights of this time in his life:  meeting the great teacher Mevlevi Suleyman Hayati Dede in his last year; making zikr (prayer of remembrance) during the Mevlâna celebration with Master Nuri Baba's Mevlevi dergah (prayer group); and coming to know Celalettin Celebi and other descendants of Rumi’s family.
In Üzeyir’s own words:  “In the end every person has one Mevlâna in his way in his own heart.  In the world people have their personal Mevlevi way of life. . .to accept every creature as like he is created from the One and to see his secret in the way of love and give them freedom in their own way, in their own faith and respect it, this is my experience in this way.  I am still working in the Dervish Brothers Center carpet shop, where I make my life for living, and near to the Mevlâna Tomb to be with his spirit and try to guide people who are searching the way of Mevlâna C. Rumi to bring the peace, love and unity in this world and enjoy his truth of love.”

— EXPERT CONSULTANTS —

SEYEDEH DR. NAHID ANGHA

Dr. Nahid Angha has contributed her extensive understanding of Sufi traditions and knowledge of Iranian culture and language.

Dr. Angha is the Founder of the Sufi Women Organization and Co-Director of the International Association of Sufism, affiliated with the United Nations.  She is the Executive Editor of the journal Sufism:  An Inquiry and a major translator of Sufi poetry and literature and influential contributor to discussion of Sufi philosophy and spiritual travel.  She has authored books such as Ecstasy: The World of Sufi Poetry and Prayer; Selections:  Poems from Khayam, Rumi, Hafiz, and Shah Maghsoud; and Principles of Sufism.  She was the first woman to be appointed to teach in her father’s Uwaiysi Sufi tradition.

Camille and Kabir Helminski

KABIR HELMINSKI

Kabir Helminski has contributed the incomparable wisdom of working within the Mevlevi tradition for 25 years and being the only Westerner to be named a Shaikh or master of the Mevlevi Order of Sufism founded by Rumi.

Kabir Helminski is the author of two books on Sufism, Living Presence and The Knowing Heart.  He is editor of The Rumi Collection, as well as numerous translations of Rumi and other Sufis.  With his wife Camille Helminski, he co-directs The Threshold Society, which offers training programs, seminars, and retreats rooted within the traditions of Sufism and inspired by Rumi.  As publishers for more than 20 years, they have published many of the books that have made Rumi one of the most widely read poets of our time.

CAMILLE HELMINSKI

As one who has worked within the Mevlevi tradition for 25 years, Camille Helminski brings the heart understanding of the practice of Sufism in the contemporary world.  She exemplifies the devotion many feel for her beloved Mevlâna.

Camille Helminski is author of Women of Sufism: A Hidden Treasure, The Light of Dawn:  Daybook of Verses from the Qur’an, and The Book of Nature:  A Sourcebook of Spiritual Perspectives on Nature and the Environment. 

Kabir and Camille Helminski co-direct The Threshold Society located in California.  Together they have translated Rumi:  Daylight, Jewels of Remembrance, and Love is a Stranger.  They have produced and performed on several CD’s of traditional Sufi music with songs and poems Kabir has written, translated, and adapted.