Barks is an interpreter, not a translator.He doesn't speak..

or read Persian. Rather, he "transforms" the 19th Century English translations of Rumi's works into American verses. To his credit, Barks has vastly expanded Rumi's readership in the English-speaking world. However, his English version has also purged Rumi's poetry of Islam. He therefore doesn't do justice to Rumi, a reportedly devout Sunni Muslim.