The Report of the 11th International Conference on Shams Tabrizi and Mawlana

The 11^th International Conference on Shams and Mawlana was held on 29-30 September 2025  at the City Hall in Khoy, west Azarbaijan province with the goal of clarifying the mystical, literary, and cultural thought of these two historical prominent personality (Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn Malik Dad Tabrizi and Mawlana Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi), with the participation of researchers, scholars, and enthusiasts from inside and outside the country. This conference was organized by the Shams Tabrizi trusteeship and the Notables of Khoy, the Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies, Allameh Tabataba’i University, with the participation of other scientific centers such as the Institute for Wisdom and Philosophy of Iran and the Association of Works and Notables of Iran. For the 11^th consecutive year in the city of Khoy, at the tomb of Shams Tabrizi, Khoy hosts Shams and Mawlana researchers and specialists in the fields of literature, philosophy, mysticism, culture, and other interdisciplinary topics from across Iran and the world, especially the region and neighboring countries. The two main themes of the conference have been “Shams and Mawlana from the perspective of literary and mystical studies” and “Shams and Mawlana from the perspective of interdisciplinary studies.”

Opening Ceremony of the Conference:

At the beginning, the scientific secretary of the conference, Dr. Masoud Omid, reported on the conference process:

The papers received by the conference secretariat consisted of commissioned papers by Shams and Mawlana scholars, both domestic and foreign, and papers submitted through a public call.

Foreign papers came from the following countries: Germany (2 papers), India (2 papers), Kazakhstan (2 papers), Pakistan (1 paper), Georgia (1 paper), Uzbekistan (2 papers), and Turkey (4 papers).

 The foreign speakers were:

- Prof. Dr. Turgay Shafaq, Head of the Department of Persian Language and Literature (Eastern Languages) at Istanbul Medeniyet University; titled: “Life, Works, and Translations of Mawlānā’s Works” by Khulusi Kara Deniz;

- Dr. Serhat Geltash, Assistant Professor of Islamic Mysticism at Bursa Uludağ University; titled: “God’s Silence in the Divan of Shams: Reading Jean-Luc Marion’s Theory of the ‘Saturated Phenomenon’;

- Dr. Olgai Koja Turk, Assistant Professor of Islamic Literature at Selçuk University, Konya, Turkey; titled: “Shams Tabrizi in Classical Turkish Poetry”.

- Dr. Mohammad Amin Rashadat from Afghanistan titled: “An Interdisciplinary Reading of the Story ‘The Elephant in the Dark’ by Jalal al-Din Rumi,” .

Additionally, international speakers from India, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Georgia, and Germany attended the conference programs virtually; a separate online program was arranged due to time constraints, and its schedule will be announced soon. In the section on commissioned papers and invited lectures, eight prominent domestic professors enriched the scientific atmosphere with new perspectives in mysticism and literature.

Domestic speakers included:

- Ayatollah Abdul Karim Bi-Azar Shirazi titled: “The Reflection of Qur’anic Exegesis and the ‘Perfect Human’ from the Perspective of Shams and Mawlana.”

- Dr. Iraj Shahbazi from the Dehkhoda Institute, titled: “Mawlana and Psychological Security.”

- Dr. Mostafa Shahr Aini, Director of the Philosophy Research Center, Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies, titeld: “Speakings in the Presence of Shams.”

- Dr. Mandana Tishe Yar, Research vice director  at Allameh Tabataba’i University, titled: “A Study of the Nooruz Cultural Region in the Masnavi Manavi Framework within the Theory of Modern Regionalism.”

- Dr. Mohammad-Ali Mousazadeh from Tabriz University, titeld: “A Contemplation on the Types of Speech from the Perspective of Shams Tabrizi.”

- Dr. Shahin Avvani from the Institute for Wisdom and Philosophy, titeld: “Shams Tabrizi and the Modern Human.”

- Dr. Rahman Moshtagmehr from the University of Modarres (Tabriz), topic: “Pragmatism in Shams Tabrizi’s Works.”

- Dr. Fatemeh Modarresi from Urmia University, titled: “Shams Tabrizi and the Concept of Peak Experience in Maslow’s Humanistic Psychology.”

- Dr. Masoud Omid from Tabriz University, titled: “Classical and Modern Self-Reflection in Shams.”

- Dr. Hamid (Yaman) Taghiabadi from Mashhad University, titled: “A Report on the Position and Spiritual Presence of Mawlana among the People of Afghanistan.”

- Dr. Farideh Davoodi Moghadam, titled: “Analysis of Elements of Meaning- therapy in Shams Tabrizi’s Papers.”

The conference secretariat received 160 scientific articles from Shams scholars and Rumi scholars through a call for papers. 32 articles were selected. Of these, 22 were selected for publishing in the conference proceedings book and 2 were selected for presentation in person at the conference hall. Their authors were:

 - Amir Hossein Ashegh Hosseini  titled: "Balance of Force and Kindness in Mystical Conduct and Mental Health with an Analysis of Shams Tabrizi's Thoughts from a Psychological Perspective" from the city of Urmia;

- Farideh Davoodi Moghadam titled: "Analysis of the Elements of Meaning Therapy in the Articles of Shams Tabrizi" from the city of Tehran.

Closing Ceremony:

The closing ceremony began with the presence of the honorable Minister of Cultural Heritage and Tourism, Dr. Seyed Reza Salehi Amiri, and the Governor of West Azerbaijan, the Khoy city mayor, the members of the Khoy City Council, the representative of Khoy, the governor of Salmas, and other provincial officials. The honorable Minister read aloud the President’s message, on behalf of the President, Dr. Pezeshkian, for the 11^th International Conference on Shams Tabrizi and Mawlana, and stated: “Khoy is not just a city; It is the manifestation of the spirit of mysticism and culture.