Practising Dialogue and Philosophical Thinking with Children and Adolescents: Free Release of the Book *The Wisdom of Sufi Tales* by Oscar Brenifier and Isabelle Millon, Translated by Masiha Abuali

*The Wisdom of Sufi Tales* is a collection of twenty stories from the written and oral mystical literature of Persia. Oscar Brenifier and Isabelle Millon, who are considered central figures in philosophy for children, have rewritten these tales in French and English in a way that challenges the reader's mind and uses them as a pretext for dialogue about fundamental philosophical subjects. Moreover, at the end of each story, a set of targeted questions has been designed with which one can broaden the topics and think more deeply about the issue. This book, translated by Masiha Abuali, is very useful for children and adolescents, families, and teachers, especially teachers of philosophy for children.

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Translator's Introduction

The tales you read in this book, before reaching your eyes, have traveled a lunar distance through different languages and returned to Persian once more. The authors of the book selected these twenty stories from the written and oral mystical literature of Persia, took them with them into French, then translated them into English, and finally, I have rendered these traveling tales back into Persian. If you find the original sources of some of the stories in Rumi's *Masnavi* or Saadi Shirazi's *Golestan* and compare them with these tales, you will understand how these stories, in the course of their journeys into other languages and intellectual traditions, have become more mature and eloquent, clearer and more understandable. In a word, these tales have been rewritten with rare delicacy and creativity in such a way that they challenge your mind and can serve as a pretext for dialogue about the most fundamental issues of philosophy. Philosophy for children has traversed a long and worthy path in Iran; now, even in remote cities of Iran, the name of this discipline has been heard, and more than hundreds of book titles in this field have been translated into Persian or authored. As a teacher who has practiced thinking cultivation with children for several consecutive years in cities far apart in Iran, I have often encountered translated stories that establish the slightest connection with an Iranian child or adolescent and hold no significant issue for the semi-Eastern Iranian child. And just like that, a part of our efforts to produce thought-provoking content for children goes to waste. In this context, the book *The Wisdom of Sufi Tales* can be considered a spiritual gift from Isabelle Millon and Oscar Brenifier to the culture of Iran. More than ten to twenty volumes by these two teachers of philosophy for children have been translated into Persian, and they are familiar, classic figures for those involved in education. Here, I intend to shed light on another aspect of their activities: their journeys to different countries and traditions, holding training workshops, the deep study of various peoples and cultures, and ultimately, the production and discovery of stories and tales from the heart of those very societies for thinking and dialogue. For this reason, I see this book as an invitation and encouragement to reread our own texts and sources. It seems that to make Iranian society think, within our own tradition, many stories and pretexts for dialogue lie hidden, and we have not read our own texts well. It is hoped that rereading this book will inspire activists in the field of philosophy for children and adolescents, and that we can translate the undiscovered treasures of our own tradition and culture for Iranian children.

My practical experience over the past year and a half has shown that children establish a very complex relationship with these stories, and the familiar atmosphere of the tales leads them to cooperate as much as possible in dialogue. This book helps families, teachers of philosophy for children, and educational guardians like a key to engage in dialogue with children and adolescents about the deepest issues of life.

«The Wisdom of Sufi Tales» is full of life lessons; as humanities scholars have noted, one of the five fundamental critiques of the educational system in Iran is that it does not teach us how to live. As the translator of this work, I can confess that each and every tale in the book has called my mind to profound challenges, and with each of the questions posed, one can contemplate life for a while. Consequently, this book, regardless of the realm of children and adolescents and pedagogy, may be considered an effective book for anyone who wishes to think more deeply and practice philosophical thinking. Reading these stories to the children of Bushehr, Shiraz, and Mashhad helped the book be translated better. I am grateful to all the children of these cities. I thank Qamar Afzalnia, Zahra Sanoubari, Reza Alavi, Zahra Zahani, Ramin Khajehpour, Pegah Zouei, and Mehdi Farshidi Sepehr for reading and listening to the stories and for their suggestions. And finally, I am grateful to my friend and mentor Kaveh Behbahani, who helped me untangle the knots of the text.

Masiha Abuali Spring 2020 - Shiraz

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Isabelle Millon: A new book written by Oscar Brenifier and myself has been translated into Persian: Wisdom of Sufi tales. 20 stories from the Sufi tradition, each of them followed by some questions of comprehension and some of reflection in order to deepen the meaning of the text. if you want to receive it on format PDF, write to me: [email protected]

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Practising Dialogue and Philosophical Thinking with Children and Adolescents

The Book «The Wisdom of Sufi Tales»

Written by Oscar Brenifier and Isabelle Millon

Translator: Masiha Abuali

Number of pages: 89 pages

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PDF file of the book «The Wisdom of Sufi Tales»

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