By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
1. Rumi is a bestselling poet.
Rumi (1207-1273) is the bestselling poet among US Muslims. Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī was a Sufi mystic poet from Persia. The name by which he is usually known, Rumi, is in fact derived from an Arabic word for ‘Roman’ – a reminder of the nearby Byzantine Empire.