From Ferdowsi's Nationalism to Mowlavi's Humanism

Maintaining one’s nationalidentity is the necessary factor for the attainment of human identity, a factor which is essential to boost self-confidence against foreigners. But man’s identity becomes more refined if there is no inclination toward dominating others and there is an intention to move beyond national identity. Ferdowsi, the great poet of Iranian epic, provides the ground for the interaction of thoughts within a cultural identity by advocating liberal thinking, intelligent flexibility and belief in religion. With the advent of Islam, the idea of universal identity was formed and later strengthened within literature domain as the result of the influences of mystic thoughts. Mowlavi, the peak of mystic literature, revives human identity, and the development of Persian literature from Ferdowsi’s nationalism to Mowlavi’s humanism, is the early step toward a universal identity