It is Rumi, the 13th century Persian poet and mystic who receives most of the attention when a seminar is held on mysticism; his spiritual instructor Shams Tabrizi does not receive as much credit as he should, according to an Urdu poet, scholar and litterateur from Pakistan. In an interview with IRNA on the sidelines of the International Conference on Shams Tabrizi held in Khoy, West Azarbaijan on September 25-28, president of ECO Cultural Institute (ECI) Professor Iftikhar Hussein Arif, 72, also rejected the claim that Shams is buried in Konya, Turkey or in Tajikistan. He asserted that Shams was buried in Khoy.
"To acquire an understanding of Shams Tabrizi, one should first know Rumi. Jalal ad-Din Mohammad Rumi was a follower of Shams and regarded him as a soothing balm for his sufferings. "It was under the influences of Shams that Rumi turned into a prominent mystic and poet," Iftikhar Arif said.
