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The remote Afghan home of Sufi mystic Rumi

This photograph taken on June 19, 2016, shows the ruins of the house of Sufi mystic and poet Rumi in the Khowaja Gholak district of northern Balkh province of Afghanistan. Celebrated Sufi mystic and poet Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, popularly known as Rumi, was a man of many parts--poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian and Sufi mystic. Immensely popular the world over, the 13th-century poet’s name has been mired in two different controversies of late. (AFP)

Updated on: Jun 30, 2016 7:22 PM IST

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This photograph taken on June 19, 2016, shows the ruins of the house of Sufi mystic and poet Rumi in the Khowaja Gholak district of northern Balkh province of Afghanistan. Celebrated Sufi mystic and poet Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, popularly known as Rumi, was a man of many parts--poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian and Sufi mystic. Immensely popular the world over, the 13th-century poet’s name has been mired in two different controversies of late. (AFP)

Updated on Jun 30, 2016 7:22 PM

This photograph taken on June 19, 2016, shows the ruins of the house of Sufi mystic and poet Rumi in the Khowaja Gholak district of northern Balkh province of Afghanistan. Celebrated Sufi mystic and poet Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, popularly known as Rumi, was a man of many parts--poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian and Sufi mystic. Immensely popular the world over, the 13th-century poet’s name has been mired in two different controversies of late. (AFP)

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The first one involves actor Leonardo DiCaprio. A proposed Hollywood film on the mystic poet where the actor plays the lead role has angered many. Thousands have signed a petition against casting the actor as a protagonist in a biopic and demanded a middle eastern actor to play the role instead. (AFP)

Updated on Jun 30, 2016 7:22 PM

The first one involves actor Leonardo DiCaprio. A proposed Hollywood film on the mystic poet where the actor plays the lead role has angered many. Thousands have signed a petition against casting the actor as a protagonist in a biopic and demanded a middle eastern actor to play the role instead. (AFP)

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The controversy rose after the film’s screenwriter, David Franzoni, disclosed his casting plans, in an interview with The Guardian. The petitioners called it the “Hollywood whitewashing” for not giving Muslim actors positive roles and typecasting them as negative only. (AFP)

Updated on Jun 30, 2016 7:22 PM

The controversy rose after the film’s screenwriter, David Franzoni, disclosed his casting plans, in an interview with The Guardian. The petitioners called it the “Hollywood whitewashing” for not giving Muslim actors positive roles and typecasting them as negative only. (AFP)

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In a separate controversy, Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey are all fighting to lay claim on the poet’s legacy. (AFP)

Updated on Jun 30, 2016 7:22 PM

In a separate controversy, Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey are all fighting to lay claim on the poet’s legacy. (AFP)

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Most of Rumi’s celebrated works such as Masnavi-i-Ma’navi are in Persian while Rumi lived in Konya in Turkey for most parts of his life. However, the mystic’s parents originally hailed from Afghanistan. (AFP)

Updated on Jun 30, 2016 7:22 PM

Most of Rumi’s celebrated works such as Masnavi-i-Ma’navi are in Persian while Rumi lived in Konya in Turkey for most parts of his life. However, the mystic’s parents originally hailed from Afghanistan. (AFP)

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Tehran and Ankara asked to list the work of Jalal ud-Din Muhammad Rumi as their joint heritage on the UN’s Memory of the World register in May. (AFP)

Updated on Jun 30, 2016 7:22 PM

Tehran and Ankara asked to list the work of Jalal ud-Din Muhammad Rumi as their joint heritage on the UN’s Memory of the World register in May. (AFP)

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The register, falling under the UN’s cultural organisation UNESCO, was formed in 1997 to protect the world’s documentary heritage -- archives, correspondence and writing -- especially in troubled or conflict-ridden areas. (AFP)

Updated on Jun 30, 2016 7:22 PM

The register, falling under the UN’s cultural organisation UNESCO, was formed in 1997 to protect the world’s documentary heritage -- archives, correspondence and writing -- especially in troubled or conflict-ridden areas. (AFP)

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But the Afghan government has denounced the bid, which mainly concerns the 25,600 verses of Masnavi-i-Ma’navi, one of the most influential works in Persian literature. (AFP)

Updated on Jun 30, 2016 7:22 PM

But the Afghan government has denounced the bid, which mainly concerns the 25,600 verses of Masnavi-i-Ma’navi, one of the most influential works in Persian literature. (AFP)

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