Title: Chapter Four. The Politics of Consuming Rumi
Abstract: on Facebook, while promoting Omid Safi's new online course "The Heart of Rumi's Poetry, " Zia Inayat-Khan posted the following: "My grandfather said, 'Rumi's work is so great that if one has read and understood it one has learnt every philosophy there is." Safi has not been the only one to utilize online platforms to share Rumi's teachings.Baraka Blue, a musician and artist, offers similar classes at the Rumi Center for Spirituality and the Arts, including courses such as "The Ocean in a Drop: The Poetry and Philosophy of Rumi." On 8 February 2020, on Facebook, Baraka Blue posted the following, which I quote in its entirety because it succinctly lays out the politics of Rumi that I engage with in this chapter: How many times have you heard Rumi mentioned from the pulpit at Friday prayer?How many times has the Masnavi been taught at your local mosque?How many Muslim conferences have centered, or even acknowledged, the poetry and philosophy of the world's most influential mystical poet?I am the first to acknowledge that the pop culture version of Rumi is superficial and stripped of its deeper symbolic potency by virtue of being divorced from its metaphysical context.But, I would encourage my brothers and sisters in Deen [faith] to consider another perspective through which to view this situation: that of divinely gifted opportunity.The best-selling poet in America is our master Mawlana Rumi.He is beloved not only as a great poet but as one of the great spiritual teachers of human history.His words are everywhere we look.This is a great opportunity because it shows that while many of our fellow countrymen are unable to see the beauty, depth, and universal truth in our Deen, they have a great affinity for Sufism in general and Rumi in particular.Coleman Barks, (who was exposed to Rumi through his teacher Shaykh Bawa Muhiyadin [sic]) and other popularizers of Rumi, have done a great service to this Deen and may Allah reward them immensely.Sure, his versions are often 50% Rumi and 50% Barks (and it would do one well to keep that in mind when Chapter FourThe Politics of Consuming Rumi