Rumi Night: “Rumi’s Message for Our Time: Love, Freedom, and Human Harmony”

On behalf of the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS), we are pleased to invite you to a special cultural evening titled “Rumi Night”, an evening of poetry, music, and shared conversation. Dedicated as Night of Rumi, the program celebrates Afghan, Christian, Persian, Jewish, Sufi, and American cultural heritage, reflecting the shared humanistic spirit expressed in Rumi’s timeless aesthetic poetries.

As September 30 marks the anniversary of Rumi’s birth, and in connection with the academic conference “Religious Freedom in a Changing World: Faith, Pluralism, and Civic Life” taking place the same day at Georgetown University in Washington D.C., we will gather to honor Rumi through this cultural evening.

The evening will feature:

1. Welcoming Remarks by Director of Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS), Dr Davood Moradian.

2. Launch of Persian translation of the book “Reopening Muslim Minds: A Return to Reason, Freedom, and Tolerance” by Mr. Mustafa Akyol, Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute’s Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity / Moderator: Ms. Amina Nezami.

3. Keynote Address by Professor Michael Barry, Princeton University professor and Historian of the Greater Middle East and Islamic world.

4. Cake-Cutting Ceremony Celebrating the 819th Anniversary of Rumi’s Birth.

5. Avant Garde Arts Collection from the Nukus Museum, Presented by Professor Ori Soltes, Teaching Professor at the Center for Jewish Civilization.

6. Music Performance by Arezoo LA Daf Ensemble.

7. Dinner.

Date: Tuesday, September 30, 2026
Time: 18:30 – 21:30
Venue: Museum of the Bible, 400 4TH ST. SW, WASHINGTON, DC 20024