Mt. Prospect library celebrating poet's life

The Mount Prospect Public Library is celebrating the legacy of a 13th century poet, scholar, theologian and Sufi mystic today.

In commemoration of the 800th anniversary of the birth of Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi (1207-73), the library, 10 S. Emerson St., will present live Sufi music and reflections by scholars on Rumi's life.

The event is being held courtesy of the Niagara Foundation, a branch of which, the Turkish American Society of Chicago, is located at 501 Midway Drive, Mount Prospect.

The goal of the Turkish American Society of Chicago is to reach Turkish Americans, educate their children in Turkish culture and help newcomers to the United States, said N. Hilmi Cinar, associate director of the Niagara Foundation.

Today's event runs from 2 to 4 p.m. The keynote speech will be delivered by Loyola University Professor Marcia Hermansen. There will be a question and answer session, a DVD presentation and Turkish refreshments.

Cinar said Rumi sought to promote friendship between communities of different ethnic backgrounds. "He tried to promote global fellowship. He is still impacting people here in the 21st century by his ideas."

According to foundation literature, Rumi was a "foe of false certitudes in constant search for the ineffable meaning of life. This meaning, he was convinced, could be found in the divine that dwells in every human being. But our humanity, Rumi believed, has become sadly alienated -- it is like 'the reed estranged from its bed' -- and poetry's purpose is to remind us of what we have lost and to help us retrieve it.

"This kind of life-restoring poetry, along with the music and dancing that accompanies it, is the very opposite of religious dogma, and is opposed to all fundamentalisms. Its message is love and unity -- a message received and celebrated by Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, and secular humanists around the world today."