Q: What is the Rumi Forum?

A: The Rumi Forum was founded upon the principles of encouraging and fostering dialogue between people of diverse backgrounds by way of projects of engagement through intercultural and interfaith dialogue. Since its inception the forum has grown to be a Washington DC icon in regards to social harmony projects with the intention of peace building and increasing community cohesion through luncheons, conferences & seminars, intercultural trips, television broadcasts, Iftar Dinners, the Annual Rumi Peace and Dialogue Awards amongst numerous other intellectual, cultural, civic and social programming. Its names comes from the 13th century poet and sufi thinker Mevlana Celalleddin Rumi – whose poetry is read more than any other contemporary poet – encourages all humanity to “Come come whoever you are, come!” . It has chapters in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and Kentucky.

Q: Is Rumi Forum (RF) an Islamic organization?

A: No, RF is open to people of all faiths, cultures and backgrounds.In fact, among the people who attend our activities, 8 out of 10 are not Muslim. In Washington DC our audiences and participants include experts from various Think tanks, Government agencies, Universities and Research Institutes, NGOs, Embassies, Media outlets and news agencies amongst others.

Q: Where does RF get its funding?

A: RF is a 501-c-3 non-profit organization. The majority of RF’s funding comes from individual donors including business leaders and moms and dads. Certain programs are successful due to the number of volunteers we enlist – they spend their time and resources to make the forum a success. We do not receive state or federal funding.