More than 200 People Attended "Sa'di Shirazi - A Night of Lectures and Music”

On Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020, more than 200 diverse audiences attended the Sa'di Shirazi - A Night of Lectures and Music event at ICCNC. The program started with the recitation of the Quran by Mr. Ahmad Rashid Salim then he gave an introduction to the program.

The program featured lectures by two scholars of Sa'di and Islamic mysticism, Dr. Abdulkarim Soroush, and Mr. Robert Abdul Hayy Darr.  Dr. Soroush, in a talk titled "Sa'di and Power," he gave a historical overview of Sa'di's biography and the major events and poets of his period. Dr. Soroush discussed how the Mongol attack and calamity on the Islamic world and Sa'di's travels through the Muslim world shaped his world view. Dr. Soroush emphasized that one of the central themes of Gulestan's is the issue of justice. In these prose, Sa'di advises the rulers how to govern justly with particular emphasis on their responsibilities toward the travelers, immigrants, the weak and underprivileged. Mr. Darr in his lecture shared several of Sa'di's prose that demonstrated the poet's wisdom and his approach to Islamic mysticism and spirituality

The musical performance featured Bamdad Ensemble. Mr. Sirvan Manhoobi (oud) arranged the musical pieces, and Seyed Abolhassan Mokhtabad (vocalist) performed several of Sa'di's poems in Persian. The ensemble featured Ava Nazar-Piano, Basma Edrees-Violin, Misha Khalikulov-Cello, and Joshua Mellinger-Percussion.