International Webinar in Commemoration of the 700th Birth Anniversary of Kamoli Khujandi

On December 27, 2020, the Embassy of the Republic of Tajikistan to the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Cultural Institute of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) hold an international webinar on the occasion of the 700th birth anniversary of the great Tajik poet, Kamoli Khujandi under the title of “A Review of the Intellectual and Scholarly Legacy of Kamoli Khujandi”. In this webinar, the president of the ECO Cultural Institute, Sarvar Bakhti, ambassador of the Republic of Tajikistan to Tehran, Nizomiddin Zohidi, ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to Tehran, Abdul Ghafoor Liwal, governor of Sughd province in the Republic of Tajikistan, Rajabboy Ahmadzoda, governor of east Azerbaijan province in Iran, Mohammad Reza Pourmohammadi delivered speeches and congratulated poetry and literature lovers in Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Iran and other ECO member states on the celebration of the great oriental sonneteer. In the speeches, they emphasized that on the initiative innovation of the Founder of Peace and National Unity, Leader of the Nation, President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon and with the support of UNESCO in 1996 they widely appreciated the 675th birth anniversary and in 2020 the 700th birth anniversary of Kamoli Khujandi in Tajikistan and other countries. This played an important role in promoting the lasting works of Sheikh Kamol and applying the teachings of his legacy in the spiritual and moral education of today’s generation. The speakers traced Kamol as a connecting link among ECO member states, praised his place in oriental sonnetizing, and highlighted the need to study his thoughts and ideas as a manifestation of the genuine values of all human beings as much further as possible.   

Also, present at the conference were renowned scholars and researchers of Kamol from Tajikistan (a professor from the National University of Tajikistan, Badriddin Maqsudov), Afghanistan (a professor from Kabul University, Sarvarsa Rafizodah) and Iran (president of the Academy of Persian Language and Literature, Qolam-Ali Haddad Adel, president of the Society for the Appreciation of Cultural Works and Dignitaries, Hassan Bolkhari, president of the Iran-Tajikistan Friendship Association, Ali Ashraf Shabestari, dean of Shahid Beheshti University of Literature and Humanities, Ahmad Hatami, a professor from Tabriz University, Mohammad Baqer Sadrinia, a professor from Bushehr University, Mohammad Kazem Mohammadi and others). They discussed various aspects of Kamoli Khujandi’s life and works, including the history of the study of Kamol’s dignity in the east and the west, the place of Kamol in the promotion of sonnetizing and mystical thought, the commonalities of Kamol and Hofiz’s sonnets, the relationship between Kamol’s poetry and works with his former and contemporary poets, his influence on later poets, the place of Tabriz in the life and creativity of the poet, etc. Then, they explained the mystery of why Kamol’s works are everlastingly permanent. Between the lectures, video clips of Kamol's resting place in the cities of Khujand and Tabriz, songs by Tajik singers from the poems of this unique lecture, and calligraphic samples of his poems were displayed.

It should be noted that in this year, on the occasion of the 700th birth anniversary of Kamoli Khujandi, ECO Cultural Institute in partnership with the Embassy of the Republic of Tajikistan in Tehran published the books “Life and Works of Kamoli Khujandi” and “Forty Lessons of Kamol” in Persian and released an album of songs by Tajik singers with Kamol’s sonnets. In addition, a virtual exhibition of calligraphy and paintings entitled “The Nightingale of Khujand Meadows” was run for the audience.