Fathollah Mojtabaei

Fathollah Mojtabaei (born December 10, 1927, Tehran) is an Iranian author and historian. He is a permanent member of Academy of Persian Language and Literature and a member of the faculty of the Center for the Great Islamic Encyclopedia.

Early life
Dr. Fathollah Mojtabaei was born on December 10, 1927, in Tehran, Iran. A few months after his birth, his mother took him to Farahan County, Markazi Province, Iran. He stayed in Farahan until he was fourteen. His father and his grandfather were Sufi elders. He received his basic education in such a family, which led him to study the history of religions and philosophy of the East and India later.

Education and career
Until the age of fourteen, he taught basics of literature, formal sciences and French language in Farahan County. In 1941, he came to Arak and entered high school there. After finishing high school, he came to Tehran and continued his education at the University of Tehran. In 1953, he received a bachelor's degree in English Language and Literature from the Faculty of Letters and Humanities of the University of Tehran. From 1953 until 1959, he taught literature and foreign languages in Arak and Tehran high schools. He also began writing and several his poems and stories were published in magazines, he also translated Aristotle's Poetics.

In 1960, he was sent abroad by the Ministry of Culture to get acquainted with new methods of writing textbooks. After a period of study and research in this field in the Columbia University in United States, he returned to Iran and was in charge of preparing and compiling literature textbooks for high schools.

In 1962, he was appointed as Iranian Cultural Counselor in Pakistan and the management of Iranian cultural houses in the city of Lahore. Until 1965 he was engaged in cultural services and research on Islamic-Iranian culture of the subcontinent there. There he learned Sanskrit and studied the history of the Islamic period in India and Persian culture and literature.

In 1966, he went to the United States at the invitation of Professor Wilfred Cantwell Smith, a renowned Islamologist and Hinduologist and director of the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard University, where he researched the history of world religions and taught Persian literature and mystical texts in Persian. He also received Masters in Comparative history of Religions from Harvard University. Then he continued his studies in History of Eastern Religions and Philosophy and finally in 1971 received his PhD in this field.

During these years he traveled to India several times to study the traditional methods of interpreting Hindu texts as well as to observe the situation and religious of the Indian Zoroastrians in Varanasi, Delhi and Mumbai.

After completing his studies, he returned to Iran and began to teach in universities. For a while, he taught Persian literature at Damavand College and in philosophy group of Faculty of Letters and Humanities of the University of Tehran, he taught Eastern Philosophy. Then he was transferred to the Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies of the University of Tehran and served in the Department of Comparative Religions and Mysticism.

In 1974, he was assigned as Iranian Cultural Counselor in India, and until the fall of 1977, he was engaged in services related to the study and research on the intellectual and cultural relations between Muslims and Hindus in the subcontinent, and published several books and articles in this field.

After completing his mission and returning to Iran, he continued to teach at the Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies of the University of Tehran and was in charge of the management of the Department of Religions and Mysticism for several periods. He also taught history of religions, methodology and comparative mysticism there.

During his cultural services, he has published nearly 200 titles of books, articles, poems and book reviews in the form of authorship, translation and correction in Persian and English in Iran and abroad.

Books

 * Chitra and a few lyric poems from the gardener of love (original title in ), in Persian language, Translation, 1955
 * New Persian poetry (original title in ), in Persian language, Translation, 1955
 * Poetic Art: Poetry (original title in ), in Persian language, Translation, 1958
 * The best poems of Robert Frost (original title in ), in Persian language, Translation, 1959
 * The Golden Age of Iran and its philosophy and art (original title in ), in Persian language, Translation, 1960
 * Persian grammar for the first year of high school (original title in ), in Persian language, Cooperation, 1964
 * The beautiful city of Plato and the ideal empire in ancient Iran (original title in ), in Persian language, 1973
 * Al-Biruni and India (original title in ), in Persian language, 1973
 * A Literary history of Persia, From Firdowsi to Sadi (original title in ), in Persian language, Translation, 1982
 * Educational philosophy of Iqbal Lahori (original title in ), in Persian language, Introduction, 1983
 * Ancient Greece (original title in ), in Persian language, Translation, 1986
 * Zoroaster, Politician or Witch-doctor? (original title in ), in Persian language, Introduction, 1986
 * Parrot Letter (original title in ), in Persian language, Correction, 1993
 * Rai and Brahman: Excerpts from Kalīla wa-Dimna (original title in ), in Persian language, Introduction, 1995
 * Ferdowsi's Shahnameh with Khamsa of Nizami (original title in ), in Persian language, Introduction, 2000
 * Excerpts from Robert Frost (original title in ), in Persian language & English language, Translation, 2001
 * Religious Research (original title in ), in Persian language, 2002
 * Encyclopedia of Iranian women: water – blood money (original title in ), in Persian language, Cooperation, 2004
 * Encyclopedia of Iranian women: Rabia Ghazdari – Youtik (original title in ), in Persian language, Cooperation, 2004
 * Islam: Historical and Cultural Research (original title in ), in Persian language, Cooperation, 2004
 * Hindi syntax and Arabic syntax (original title in ), in Persian language, 2005
 * Excerpts from Yoga Vasistha (original title in ), in Persian language & English language, Translation, 2006
 * Description of Lover's hair: Notes on The Divan of Hafez (original title in ), in Persian language, 2007
 * Aspects of Hindu Muslim cultural relations (original title in ), in Persian language & English language, 2010
 * Hafez (Life and Thought) (original title in ), in Persian language, Cooperation, 2013
 * Great frontier letter: Tame minds (original title in ), in Persian language, Correction, 2013
 * Bengal in Persian Sugar: Discourses on Cultural Relations between Iran and India (original title in ), in Persian language, 2013
 * World's famous articles: a collection of essays and speeches (original title in ), in Persian language, 2017
 * A letter to my child (original title in ), in Persian language, Introduction, 2017

Articles

 * Mentioning a few points from the Great history of Jafari about the date of death of Nasir Khusraw, Ferdowsi and Khayyam (original title in ), in Persian language, 1962
 * Scientific works on Islamic culture outside the Islamic world (original title in ), in Persian language, 1970
 * Professor Tarachand, an Islamologist who loves Iran, researches his thoughts and works (original title in ), in Persian language, 1973
 * Mysticism of Sage of Herat (original title in ), in Persian language, 1979
 * The color of the clothes of class people in Indian and Iranian society (original title in ), in Persian language, 1981
 * A few more points about verses from Shahnameh (original title in ), in Persian language, 1983
 * The principle of acquisition and adaptation in quoting scientific concepts (original title in ), in Persian language, 1983
 * New research on Sanai (original title in ), in Persian language, 1984
 * Hafez and Khusrow (original title in ), in Persian language, 1985
 * Familiarity of Muslims with Aristotelian logic (original title in ), in Persian language, 1988
 * Roundtable: Dialogue of religions and understanding of cultural fields (original title in ), in Persian language, 1992
 * The Realm of the Persian Language: An Ancient Version of Ferdowsi's Shahnameh Belonging to the Center for the Great Islamic Encyclopedia (original title in ), in Persian language, 1993
 * Islamic culture and civilization (original title in ), in Persian language, 1994
 * Interregnum period in the history of Islamic philosophy (original title in ), in Persian language, 1994
 * Dr. Yazdgerdi, As I knew it (original title in ), in Persian language, 1994
 * The story of the meeting and correspondence of Bu Ali and Bu Saeed (original title in ), in Persian language, 1996
 * Superior and higher than the Brahmans (from the collection of "Fruit-Gathering") (original title in ), in Persian language, 1997
 * Islam; Unity and dialogue of religions (original title in ), in Persian language, 1998
 * Cultural exchange and invasion (original title in ), in Persian language, 1998
 * On the corner of the roof (original title in ), in Persian language, His poems, 1998
 * I was her hunting (original title in ), in Persian language, His poems, 1998
 * Two poems by Dr. Fathollah Mojtabaei (original title in ), in Persian language, His poems, 1998
 * In search of another horizon (original title in ), in Persian language, 2001
 * Roundtable: Mysticism and Globalization (original title in ), in Persian language, 2001
 * Suhrawardi and the culture of ancient Iran (original title in ), in Persian language, 2001
 * Suhrawardi and the ancient Iran (original title in ), in Persian language, 2002
 * Blind men and an elephant why was it dark in the house? (original title in ), in Persian language, 2002
 * Iranology and Manuscripts (original title in ), in Persian language, 2002
 * Indian religions (original title in ), in Persian language, 2003
 * Elements of Tolerance in Indian Rituals (original title in ), in Persian language, 2004
 * Iranian context of the Judeo-Christian concept of "MYSTERION" (original title in ), in Persian language, 2004
 * Descent and thought of Tagore (original title in ), in Persian language, 2005
 * Tagore and his poems: Ten lyric poems from the book Gardener of Love (original title in ), in Persian language, 2005
 * Mani and Shapur, a historical experience of eclectic pluralism (original title in ), in Persian language, 2006
 * India and Iranian identity (original title in ), in Persian language, 2006
 * Hafez in Goethe's Faust (original title in ), in Persian language, 2008
 * Religious policy of Islamic governments in the Indian subcontinent (from the beginning to the establishment of the Babrian state) (original title in ), in Persian language, 2008
 * A Look at the History of Shaivism in Hinduism: Its Origins, Evolution and Schools (original title in ), in Persian language, 2008
 * Azari Tusi (original title in ), in Persian language, 2009
 * Dialogue: Aspects of Religious Historiography (original title in ), in Persian language, 2009
 * The letters (original title in ), in Persian language, 2010
 * The suffix "-tar" in Astar and Kabutar (original title in ), in Persian language, 2010
 * A few points about Marzbannameh: the author and its main language (original title in ), in Persian language, 2011
 * Asadi son and Asadi father: Ali ibn Ahmad and Ahmad ibn Mansour (original title in ), in Persian language, 2011
 * Corner or treasure? (original title in ), in Persian language, 2011
 * Most translations today are copyright infringement (original title in ), in Persian language, 2012
 * Iran and India, a millennial bond (original title in ), in Persian language, 2013
 * A few more points about corner or treasure (original title in ), in Persian language, 2013
 * Tagore and New Bhakti Mysticism (original title in ), in Persian language, 2013
 * Memoirs of the poet Khanlari, publisher of Sokhan magazine (original title in ), in Persian language, 2013
 * Iqbal Lahori, a former religious intellectual (original title in ), in Persian language, 2014
 * My acquaintance with Dr. Khanlari (original title in ), in Persian language, 2014
 * Rajatarangini and the Background of Historiography in India (original title in ), in Persian language & English language, 2015
 * Another look at the death date of Nasir Khusraw (original title in ), in Persian language, 2015
 * Founder of correct and accurate publishing in Iran (original title in ), in Persian language, 2016
 * What is the secret of Hafez's permanence? (original title in ), in Persian language, 2016
 * A Greek word in Vendidad: from Eskhar and Eskar to Askar and Lashkar (original title in ), in Persian language, 2016
 * Thanks to Mr. Samii (original title in ), in Persian language, 2016
 * Praised man in memory of Dr. Manouchehr Sotoudeh (original title in ), in Persian language, 2016
 * Mettle and education from the point of view of Saadi and Confucius (original title in ), in Persian language, 2016
 * A brief look at the cultural relations between Iran and Greece during the Achaemenid period (original title in ), in Persian language, 2016
 * Indo-Buddhist stories in Persian literature (original title in ), in Persian language, 2016
 * Praised peoples by Daqiqi and another look at the date of his death (original title in ), in Persian language, 2018
 * Maimonides and the method of confronting the simile verses of the Old Testament (original title in ), in Persian language, 2018
 * Another look at a few verses of Hafez's sonnets (original title in ), in Persian language, 2018
 * Eastern and Iranian view of India (original title in ), in Persian language, 2020

Honours
Dr. Fathollah Mojtabaei has received awards in various fields. Including:


 * Celebrating his scientific and cultural services in Society for the National Heritage of Iran, 2000
 * Iranian Science and Culture Hall of Fame as Ever-lasting Names / People in the field of religious history, 2002
 * First Order of Culture and Art, 2003
 * Iran's Book of the Year Awards for the book "Hindi syntax and Arabic syntax, ", 2006
 * Farabi International Award as "Veteran of Iranian Humanities", 2008
 * First Order of Persian Politeness, 2011
 * Founder of Comparative Studies in Religions and Mysticism in Iran, 2018 and 2019

Dr. Fathollah Mojtabaei Award
Dr. Fathollah Mojtabaei Award is an award given to the best doctoral dissertation in the fields of Persian language and literature, religions and mysticism. The first ceremony of the award was held in December 2011 and nine of them have been held so far in Iran.

Documentary film
A documentary film about the life and scientific and cultural works of Dr. Fathollah Mojtabaei has been produced under the name of "How good it was that you were born (original title in )", which has been broadcast in July 2019 via IRIB TV4 channel.