TEHRAN – Shia clerics Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi and Ayatollah Hossein Nuri Hamedani have expressed strong opposition to a plan by Iran and Turkey to make a film on Persian poet and mystic Molana Jalal ad-Din Rumi and his mentor, Shams-i Tabrizi, due to the Sufism content of the project named “Drunk on Love”.

In letters sent to the offices of the clerics on September 18, a number of students in the Islamic seminaries asked them about the film project, which will be directed by Iranian filmmaker Hassan Fat’hi in Konya, a Turkish town that is home to the mausoleum of Rumi.  

“Due to the fact that this film helps to promote the deviated sect of Sufism, making the film is impermissible based on sharia and must be stopped,” Ayatollah Makarem wrote in response to the letter.

In his response to the letter, Ayatollah Nuri Hamedani wrote, “Based on a remark from Imam Sadeq (AS), the sect of Sufism is our enemy and its promotion in any form is not allowed and it is haram.”

The Iranian actor Parsa Piruzfar is slated to star as Rumi, while Palme d’Or-winning actor Shahab Hosseini also from Iran will play the role of Shams in “Drunk on Love”.

Fat’hi and Farhad Tohidi are co-writing the screenplay. The ENG Yapim Medya Organization from Istanbul is collaborating in this project.

Rumi (1207-1273) undertook one or two journeys to Syria, during one of which he met the dervish, Shams. 

However, he was deeply influenced by Shams during their second visit in Konya on November 30, 1244. 

For months, the two men constantly interacted, and as a result, Rumi neglected his disciples and family, who could not tolerate the close relationship. 

One night in 1247, Shams disappeared forever. This experience turned Rumi into a poet. The Divan of Shams is a true translation of his experiences into poetry.

Photo: This combination photo shows Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi (L) and Ayatollah Hossein Nuri Hamedani in an undated photo.

RM/MMS/YAW