Sanam Shahedali
Professor Akram
Pouralifard, PhD
Iranian and
Islamic Literature in English Language
3 June 2017
Over the past
few decades, there has been great enthusiasm and admiration for the Persian
poet Rumi in the United States of America. This paper investigates the reasons
behind Rumi’s tremendous popularity in this country and how Rumi’s character
and poetry have been modified to suite the spiritual taste of Americans.
Investigations reveal that the Rumi that has been introduced in the US as one
removed from his religious and cultural background. What is emphasized in
popular translations and renditions of Rumi’s poetry is the universal, albeit
mysterious and enigmatic, message of love, ecstasy and spirituality.
