Breath-taking painting of Rumi, the Persian mystic and poet

Jala al-Din Al-Rumi called Maulavi from 1207-1273 was the founder of Sufi, whose music and dance became known as the Whirling Dervishes. It is believed that Rumi had a long lasting homosexual relationship with Shams-e-Tabrīzī, the person to whom he wrote so much of his poetic verses (after their separation).