Yunus Emre

Yunus Emre (c. 1240-c. 1321) was a Turkish poet and mystic. Little information is known about his life, but it is known that he was a Sufi dervish who lived in Anatolia, probably in the Karaman area, in central Anatolia, coinciding with the end of the Seljuk Turks and the reign of Osman Gazi, first sultan. Ottoman. In one poem, he claims to have given himself the name Yunus, Emre being the generic name by which the quietist dervishes were known.

Two of his works are known: Risalet-ün Nushiyye (The booklet of advice) and his Divan, which includes some 350 poems, although more have been attributed to him. of a thousand. In his poetry the philosophy of tasawwuf or Islamic mysticism is revealed, among whose precepts are the equality of all human beings, the condemnation of pride, presumption and ambitions for power and wealth, criticism of religious fanaticism and the defense of the control of passions, modesty, study and science. His poems, written in the tradition of popular Anatolian literature, express a deep mysticism.

Quotes from the author

"Hate is our only enemy. For us the whole world is One. I am not on earth to sow war and enmity. Love is the mission and vocation of all life. Let a single word stop the war: "Love and be loved." We feel hate towards no one. Everyone is equal to us.^{[citation needed]}

Recognition

• On the occasion of the 750th anniversary of the birth of Yunus Emre, the Unesco named the “International Year of Yunus Emre” in 1991.
• In 2007, the Turkish government established the Yunus Emre Institute for the international promotion of Turkish language and culture.
• There is an illustration of Yunus Emre on the back of the largest Turkish ticket, 200 lire, in circulation in 2009.