FARID AL DIN ATTAR AND THE PERSIAN SUFI TRADITION
Conference Introduction

Venue
The Brunei Gallery Auditorium, SOAS (Univ. of London), London.

Dates
16-17 November 2002.

Conference Convenors
Dr. Leonard Lewisohn, Prof. Christopher Shackle.

Introduction
An international conference on the Farid al Din Attar and the Persian Sufi Tradition to be hosted by the Iran Heritage Foundation and the Centre for Near and Middle Eastern Studies of the London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

One of the finest poets of the Persian Sufi tradition has ever produced, Farid al Din Attar (d. 618/1221) is the author of numerous poetical masterpieces including the mystical epic, The Conference of the Birds (Mantiq al tayr), which has been translated into numerous European languages, as well as the monumental hagiographical prose work on the biographies of the famous Sufis, Memoirs of the Saints (Tadkhirat al awliya). Often described as the central figure in the famous trio of Persian Sufi poets beginning with Hakim Sana’i (d. 618/1131) and culminating in Jalal al Din Rumi (d. 672/1273), Attar possesses a pivotal place In the Persian poetical renaissance of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The present conference aims not only to celebrate the marvellous beauty of Attar’s verse, prose and to make a comprehensive study of his literary works, but to investigate his mystical doctrine, by situating his poetry and prose within the wider context of the Persian Sufi tradition, upon which his writings wielded such a tremendous formative influence. The conference will bring together scholars from around the world.

Publication
A selection of the papers presented at the conference will be published subsequently in a volume to be edited by Dr. Leonard Lewisohn and Prof. Christopher Shackle.

Accommodation
See www.iranheritage.org/attarconference/soas/accommodation.htm for accommodation in the vicinity of SOAS (approx. 40-110 Pounds/night). Speakers should contact Roya Shahr-Yazdi (meconf@soas.ac.uk ) for their accommodation requirements. A block booking at reduced rates will be made for conference participants, details of which will be available on this website shortly.

Registration Fee
30 Pounds, 15 Pounds concessions.

Enquiries
- Programme: Leonard Lewisohn (llewisohn@iis.ac.uk )
- Conference registration & Administration: Roya Shahr-Yazdi (meconf@soas.ac.uk, Tel: 44 20 7898 4340 or 44 20 7898 4490, Fax: 44 20 7898 4329)
- Finance and all other matters: Farhad Hakimzadeh (farhad@iranheritage.org)
- The conference website will always show the updated conference programme.