The Americanization of Rumi...Part One

Religion, like most things in America, is a commodity. When someone finds a market for something, it grows and grows as others jump on the bandwagon. Context means little when it comes to the commodification of religion. As with anything "popular" it's about filtering it down to its basic marketing essence and stripping it of anything that may limit its saleability. Popular, in my opinion, is a derogatory term.

A prime example of this commodification is the fascination with Rumi. Look at any bookshelf in Barnes & Noble or Borders under Islam or Eastern Religions. There will be some translations of the Qur'an, a few books dealing with historical Islam, a few works taking Islam to task (which is par for the course as works taking Christianity to task have become quite popular in their own right), a few books on Sufism (frequently Americanized) and the majority of the space filled with books on or about Rumi.

So who is Rumi? Rumi is marketed as the poet of love. To market him in an Islamic context would certainly hinder sales related to his name. Some speak of his universality and present him as a mystical poet who transcends religious bounds.

I searched for God among the Christians and on the Cross and therein I found Him not.
I went into the ancient temples of idolatry; no trace of Him was there.
I entered the mountain cave of Hira and then went as far as Qandhar but God I found not.
With set purpose I fared to the summit of Mount Caucasus and found there only 'anqa's habitation.
Then I directed my search to the Kaaba, the resort of old and young; God was not here even.
Turning to philosophy I inquired about him from ibn Sina but found Him not within his range.
I fared then to the scene of the Prophet's experience of a great divine manifestation only a "two bow-lengths' distance from him" but God was not there even in that exalted court.
Finally, I looked into my own heart and there I saw Him; He was nowhere else.

I first saw this poem on the liner notes of the cassette (not the CD for some reason) of Enigma's 1990 album MCMXC A.D.. Here is the version contained there:

I tried to find Him on the Christian cross,but He was not there;
I went to the Temple of the Hindus and to the old pagodas, but I could not find a trace of Him anywhere.
I searched on the moutains and in the valleys but neither in the hights nor in the depths was I able to find Him.
I went to the Caaba in Mecca, but He was not there either.
I questioned the scholars and philosophers but He was beyond thair understanding.
I then looked into my heart and it was there where He dwelled that I saw him; he was nowhere else to be found.

I haven't sourced either translation (the second I'm guessing is from Coleman Barks) but which do you think would sell to a popular market, primarily in the U.S.? This is representative of how he is viewed in popular culture. He has been accosted, reinterpreted, sanitized and repackaged as happens in consumer culture.

This doesn't have to be a bad thing. His works are popular for a reason and they certainly spark something positive in people. And the power of his words, even in translation/interpretation, are powerful and deep. There is obviously a hunger in people for truth.

While in the throes of my journey into Islam I picked up a free copy of the March 2000 issue of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations journal published through the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding out of Georgetown University. In it is an article by Amira El-Zein called "Spiritual Consumption in the United States: the Rumi phenomenon" which discusses how Rumi's work is "taken nowadays out of the Muslim Sufi tradition into an elusive spiritual movement [called] the 'New Sufism'" (p. 71).

El-Zein calls those who seek to recontextualize Rumi's works as the "new interpreters" and refers to translations of his works by those involved in this movement as "renderings" of his verse. El-Zein points out that his popularity has resulted in Coleman Barks' plethora of Rumi works selling over a quarter of a million copies, recordings of the works of Rumi entering Billboard's Top Twenty, a compact disc of Rumi's works being produced for a New York fashion show with participating artists including Madonna, Rosa Parks, Goldie Hawn and the one man who truly knows no boundaries when it comes to marketing religion, Deepak Chopra. Poetry readings have even been held at a Disney Store in Glendale, California.

So what is wrong with all this talk about love, trying to break free of the fetters of religion that often divide? If Rumi gives expression to such love, why is it so wrong to quote him? Why can't all religions be one? Why can't we heed the words of John Lennon? Why can't we pick and choose, recontextualize and make the world a better place?

El-Zein does not criticize this notion, as such. El-Zein is simply pointing out that Rumi has been eisegetically interpreted based on the beliefs of the 'New Sufism' movement.

There are academic translations which provide accurate translations and provide the context which is essential in understanding the symbolism of Rumi's poems. These scholarly works are certainly not popular in a mass marketed sense. Works such as Mathnawi of Jalaluddin Rumi (6 Volume Set) and Look! This Is Love (Shambhala Centaur Editions) are examples.

The context is essential to truly grasping and appreciating what Rumi is saying. In the two examples above, the second version has, with the exception of the Caaba, been sanitized of all Islamic references. It is safe and fluid enough to be framed and hung on the wall in the most religious of homes and the most non-religious of homes. This is the essence of New Age thinking. Man is the measure of all things.

The 'New Sufism' renderings follow similar patterns, though those in this movement are often quite critical of the New Age movement. Sufism is thus poised as being the face of "true" Islam while the media version of screaming maniacal gun totin' bearded rebels wrapped in turbans with their woman in burqas the face of the "hijacked" Islam.

It's all about spin, positioning and marketing.