Sources

Rumi: Past and Present, East and West

Citation Formats

General Reference

Divinity Atlas. "Rumi: Past and Present, East and West." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/rumi-past-and-present-east-and-west.

APA Style

Divinity Atlas. (n.d.). Rumi: Past and Present, East and West. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/rumi-past-and-present-east-and-west

BibTeX

@misc{divinityatlas-rumi-past-and-present-east-and-west,
  author = {Divinity Atlas},
  title = {Rumi: Past and Present, East and West},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/rumi-past-and-present-east-and-west},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

Franklin Lewis is a scholar of Persian literature, and this book is an academic biography and literary study of Rumi, published by Oneworld, that works through the full range of primary sources in Persian, weighing later legendary accounts of Rumi's life against what the earliest sources actually support. Its stated method is separating established biographical fact from later hagiography that grew up around Rumi after his death, which is unusually explicit for a popular audience book and is its clearest strength. It also surveys the reception and, often loose, translation of Rumi's poetry in the West. Its limit is that as a single scholar's synthesis it reflects one considered reading of contested sources, and specific disputed dates or events in Rumi's life are treated with appropriate caution rather than false certainty.

Facts

Citation

Author

Franklin D. Lewis

Publisher

Oneworld

Publication Year

2000

URL

https://archive.org/details/rumipastpresente0000lewi_f6r2

Source Type

Scholarly work

Assessment

Reliability Tier

Franklin Lewis's standard scholarly critical biography of Rumi, published by Oneworld, which also carefully traces how Rumi's reception has been reshaped in the West.

Notes

The standard critical biography of Rumi and a careful account of how his reception has been reshaped in the West.

Cross-Tradition Connections

Associated With

Persians

This source names Persians directly: "Franklin Lewis is a scholar of Persian literature, and this book is an academic biography and literary study of Rumi, published by Oneworld, that works through the full range of primary sources in..."

Source Rumi: Past and Present, East and WestFranklin D. Lewis

Claims Backed By This Source (69 claims)

This source backs 69 claims across the atlas. As facts: 41 well-attested. As cited relationships: 14 holds, 1 connected, 1 held Differently. Plus 12 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.

Disposition By Topic

Historical Figures, 12 claims: 11 well-attested, 1 general references.
Sacred Sites, 12 claims: 10 well-attested, 1 holds, 1 general references.
Sources, 9 claims: 8 well-attested, 1 holds.
Articles, 8 claims: 7 well-attested, 1 general references.
Religious Orders, 7 claims: 4 holds, 1 connected, 1 held Differently, 1 general references.
Sacred Objects & Ritual Items, 7 claims: 3 well-attested, 3 holds, 1 general references.
Religious Roles & Titles, 6 claims: 3 holds, 3 general references.
Languages, 3 claims: 2 well-attested, 1 general references.
Esoteric Texts, 2 claims: 1 holds, 1 general references.
Sacred Dances, 2 claims: 1 holds, 1 general references.
Cities, 1 claims: 1 general references.