TEHRAN -- An Iranian scholar believes that Iranian poet and mathematician Omar Khayyam (1048-1131) achieved popularity in the West due to his way of thinking.

“Due to his respect for time, his courage, frankness and plainness besides the beauty of his poetry, Westerners welcome his poems,” Najmeh Nazari, a professor of the Abu Ali Sina (Avicenna) University, told the Persian service of ISNA on Wednesday.
She said that the Westerns were familiar with Khayyam through a translation of the Rubaiyat of Khayyam by the English poet Edward FitzGerald (1809–1883).
“FitzGerald’s translation of the Rubaiyat of Khayyam is the most successful translation of poetry in world’s literature,” she stated.
Nazari believes that Khayyam was introduced in contemporary Iran by the leading modern Iranian author at that time, Sadeq Hedayat, who wrote “Khayyam’s Quatrains” (1923) and “The Songs of Khayyam” (1934).
Due to his unique philosophical reflections, she said, some ulama and faqihs are Khayyam’s opponents.
“His reflections include questioning the philosophy of life and death, the transience of the world and the certitude of the death, and his respect for the moment,” Nazari noted.
“Khayyam was not famous for his poetry in his time. He was mostly known as a scientist. He was one of the pioneers for freedom of speech in Iran after the advent of Islam,” she added.
May 18, which marks his birthday, is celebrated annually as National Khayyam Day in Iran