How difficult was it to translate Rumi's poetry?

The translation of a literary work is a difficult and challenging task. It becomes somewhat more difficult when one has to translate metaphysical poetry like Rumi's. There is an inherent danger in Rumi's poems.

They dazzle the eyes with their poetic beauty, so one cannot see their prophetic meaning. You cannot perceive and understand Rumi unless and until you peep into his window to find the real perspective. I am a doctor by profession, but when I felt interested in Rumi's poetry, I dedicated myself completely to understand his themes and thoughts for 15 years.

Rumi demands, if you are desirous to enter his world of thoughts, that you abandon all your earlier assumptions and ideologies. It is rather a precondition to enter the arena of his musings. If you want to go through his works along with your preoccupations, then understanding Rumi will be an extremely uphill task.

I have taken a lot of care in this regard. What role does the Sufism religious view of Rumi's poetry play in a ... more.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.