Selçuk University Holds International Rumi Commemoration Program

A program titled “Gel Ey Aşk” was organized by the Mevlâna Research Institute of Selçuk University as part of the 752nd International Commemoration Ceremonies (Şeb-i Arûs) marking the anniversary of the reunion of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi.

The program titled “Gel Ey Aşk!”, organized by the Mevlâna Research Institute in cooperation with the Iran Mana Naqsh Culture and Art Institute and the International Mevlâna Foundation, was held at the Conference Hall of the Selçuk University Museum.

Speaking at the opening of the program, Prof. Dr. Nuri Şimşekler, Director of the Mevlâna Research Institute, said that Selçuk University has been organizing panels, conferences, and national and international symposiums on Hz. Mevlâna and Mevlevism on a regular basis every year since 1985. He noted that the university has been contributing to the Mevlâna library through academic production for nearly forty years.

Esin Çelebi Bayru, the 22nd-generation descendant of Hz. Mevlâna and Vice Chair of the International Mevlâna Foundation, also addressed the audience. Quoting Mevlâna Jalaluddin Rumi, she said: “Our mother is love, our father is love. We were born of love; we are love. All forms of love are bridges to divine love. Love is one of the attributes of God, who needs no one. To love anything other than Him is metaphorical love, a fleeting passion. Hz. Mevlâna describes his own love by saying, ‘I have a love purer than clear water.’”

Following the opening speeches, certificates of appreciation were presented to Esin Çelebi Bayru, the 22nd-generation descendant of Hz. Mevlâna and Vice Chair of the International Mevlâna Foundation; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Irec Şehbazi, a faculty member at the Faculty of Letters of Tarhan University; Prof. Dr. Nimet Yıldırım, a faculty member at Atatürk University known for her studies in Iranian literature and Islamic mysticism; Prof. Dr. Şehab Nikman, the producer and director of the work titled “Gel Ey Aşk!”; and Furuzande Erbâbî, a researcher of Islamic mysticism and the Iran representative of the International Mevlâna Foundation.