Art And Culture
0

Persian Luminaries Focal Point of Cultural Convergence

Persian Luminaries Focal Point of Cultural Convergence
Persian Luminaries Focal Point of Cultural Convergence

At the 800th anniversary of Persian Sufi mystic Najmuddin Kubra, a ceremony attended by several officials was held to celebrate UNESCO’s decision to include his name in its 2014-2015 list of cultural luminaries.

“In terms of registering important Iranian personalities on the UNESCO list, we must act intelligently and take advantage of our record of luminaries as the focal point of convergence of various cultures,” secretary general of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO, Mohammad-Reza Saeedabadi said, reports the Persian Farheekhtegan newspaper.

Listing cultural luminaries is a priority for UNESCO, he said, noting that: “Although there are only a few institutions in Iran to introduce such personalities, the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization is promoting the process.”

Pointing to the record number of 30 Iranian celebrities on UNESCO list, he said: “Once an important person is introduced for a two-year period as a luminary, his/her concept and achievements belong to all countries, rather than a particular region.”

“UNESCO aims to provide peace and development globally,” he said, adding that peace is rooted in the human mind, just as war. “To establish global peace, we should seek education, culture, and natural sciences via deep-seated social science,” he stressed.

Highlighting the importance of culture in sustainable development, he said the promotion of cultural diversity can be achieved through protection of world heritage with “a modern-day approach.”

“National development will occur through synergy of the different cultures and cultural interaction which go beyond borders, instead of limiting cultural exchanges to the boundaries of a particular country,” he added.

UNESCO - the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - is a specialized agency of the UN whose purpose is to contribute to peace and security by promoting international collaboration through education, science, and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, the rule of law, and human rights along with the fundamental freedom proclaimed in the UN Charter.

  Important Works

Najmuddin Kubra was a 13th-century Persian Sufi saint and the founder of the Kubrawiyya or Kubraviyah Sufi order. In addition to his work centering on the Sufi commentary of the Qur’an, Kubra wrote other important treatises discussing the analysis of dreams and visions and their significance, the degrees of luminous epiphany that are manifested to the mystic and the different classes of concept and image that engage his attention.

 

Financialtribune.com