About to begin the celebration of its first ten years of existence, MIAS-Latina (Ibn Arabi Society Latina), a secular and independent cultural association, dedicated to spreading knowledge of the work of the great Sufi poet and mystic from Murcia, Ibn Arabi, as well as of other authors and related subjects, held its ninth International symposium at the University of mysticism in Avila, between the 10th and 12th of May. These are annual symposia that have usually been held, almost always, in spring, in the city of Murcia.
There have been other symposia, during the last years, in cities such as Seville or Barcelona, but this year, 2019, has a special meaning for MIAS-Latina, as we organize and celebrate with the collaboration of CITeS and its University of mysticism.
The symposium has been in preparation for just a year now and counted on the participation of 19 specialists, both in the work of Ibn Arabi and other related authors, because what is intended in the symposium is to discuss the relationships between the different forms of language, and very particularly poetry, and attempts to express mystical experience and knowledge. An experience as human as universal.
Poets such as Fernando Pessoa, Juan Ramón Jiménez, Clara Janés, Saint John of the Cross or Saint Teresa of Jesus, in addition to the great poets of the Persian Sufi tradition, or the Beguines such as Hadewijch of Antwerp, among others, were taken into consideration during the symposium. Likewise, although the centre of the content revolved around the Sufi and Christian Mystics, it was not wanted to lose sight of a broader perspective when speaking about Hindu poetry (for example, Râsa Lîlâ) or of the Primitive and Indian cultures (as in the inaugural conference).
During the course of the symposium, the annual awards of MIMAS-Latina were given to the Portuguese philosopher and writer Paulo Borges (2019 Taryumán Prize), to the musician and researcher Eduardo Paniagua (2019 Barzakh Prize) and the philologist and librarian Luisa Mora, representing the Islamic “Félix María Pareja” library of Madrid (2019 Hikma Prize).
