“The Islamic Civilization in the Balkans” – The 5th International Congress
Officially Opened
The 5th International Congress on topic “The Islamic Civilization in the Balkans” officially started at the University of Sarajevo on Thursday, 21 May 2015. The Research Center for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA) and the University of Sarajevo are organizers of this three-day event.
Opening addresses delivered by UNSA Rector, Prof. Dr. Muharem Avdispahic, HonDSc and Dr. Halit Eren, IRCICA Director General marked the event’s opening. Their addresses were followed by opening remarks of Prof. Dr. Mehmet İpşirlija “The Conquest of Bosnia and Its' Importance for Balkan Conquest“ and Prof. Dr. Enes Karic “Logics, philosophical and theological sciences in Ottoman Bosnia”.
In his speech Rector Avdispahic said that that two days ago, Bosnia and Herzegovina had, for the first time, assumed the Presidency of the Council of Europe, and stressed that European integration have their philosophical, political and cultural establishment.
“The Greco-Roman civilization is in the first layer of European identity. After that, to various degrees at different times, Europe was shaped by all Abrahamic traditions - Christianity, Judaism and Islam. In that sense, we must not forget the Enlightenment. The competent joining the debate on the content of the notion of European values is important for the reaffirmation of our human and civil dignity.” said Rector Avdispahic.
After expressing gratitude to the IRCICA Center for selecting Sarajevo as the congress venue, after Sofia, Tirana, Bucharest and Skopje, Rector Avdispahic said that in previous week the University of Sarajevo had marked the 65th Anniversary of Oriental Studies Institute and that, after the opening ceremony, most of the program would take place at the University’s oldest institution – Gazi Husrevbey’s Library.
“The intercultural research is increasingly gaining in importance. The fate of humanity in the 21st century could be in many ways determined by the degree of success of the dialogue between cultures and civilizations - not only among those based on the Abraham tradition, but also between the Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic” said Rector Avdispahic, and pointed out that the University of Sarajevo was always trying to be a place for such dialogue.
Dr. Halit Eren, IRCICA Director General pointed out that IRCICA is a subsidiary organization of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the first institution of a culture within the OIC. He said "This is actually one of a series of symposia organizationally dealing with Islamic culture and tradition in ten regions, namely the regions of the Balkans, the Caucasus, the Black Sea, the Volga, the Russian Federation should, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Western, Northern and Southern Africa and the Mediterranean.”
Stressing that it is about a gathering that is broadly concerned with the Islamic orientation of civilization in the Balkans, Dr. Eren said that in the Congress approximately 60 participants from all over the world participated, who, as he said, were researchers and scientists in the areas of history, culture, architecture, Islamic art, but also the life of Muslim peoples in the Balkans, their coexistence, and coexistence with others Balkans non-Muslims.
One of Congress keynote speakers, Prof. Dr. Enes Karic said that event analyzed what was going on, going beyond national systems and the particular historical epoch. According to him, IRCICA is the most important institution within the OIC, which, as he said, includes and responds to requests and projects in BiH. On this occasion, Dr. Karic thanked director Eren for his willingness to help assistant professors and young teachers from BiH.
The Congress continued with its activities in the Gazi Husrev-bey's Library in Sarajevo’s building, where the following papers were presented:
• Mehmet İnbaşı – Nicopolis and Its Governors (1750-1800)
• Mustafa Can – Renovation-Account Registers of Gazi Hüsrev Bey’s pious Foundations (1277, 1291/1861-1875)
• Kamil Çolak - Conversion of Slaves and Concubines in Rusçuk in the Second Part of Eighteenth Century
• Tahsin Özcan - Observations on the Treatise of Kemurazâde seyfeddin Fehmi b. Ali’s titled Saraybosna’da Ebniye-i Hayriyye’nin Musavver Tarihi
• Mehmet Zeki İbrahimgil & Hamza Keleş – Evaluation on Süleyman II’s Tomb in Zigetvar
• Agron Islami – The Role of Pious Foundations in the Social Life in Rumelia
• Meral Bayrak Ferlibaş – Ibrahim Paşa’s (Makbul and Maktul) Pious Foundations in Hezargrad
• İsmail Erünsal ¬– The Characteristics of Sıbyan Schools in Balkans according to the Charters of Pious Foundations
• Meryem Kaçan Erdoğan – Villages belong to Mihrimah Sultan Kulliye’s (Complexes) Pious Foundation in Rusçuk
• Hatice Oruç – Town of Novi Pazar and its pious foundations
• Cemal Çetin – Via Militaris and Its Menzilhanes
• Eyüp Kul – A New Tax in the Ottoman Mining Sector: Lonik Charge
• Ramiza Smajić – The Socio-Historical and Cultural Segment of Bosniaks’ identity (not) according to Islam - A walk through the sources of the Ottoman period
• Yüksel Özgen – Administrative and Socio-Economic Situation of Albania in the First Half of th Nineteenth Century according to Treatise “Arnavutluk Ahvaline Dair (On the Condition of Albania) 1802-1822
• Fazileta Hafizović – The Western Frontier of the Ottoman Empıre: Sanjak of Klis
• Murteza Bedir – A Book on Usul al Fiqh (Principles of Islamic Juriprudance): Sarh Samt al-Wusul of Aqhisari
• Cemalettin Şahin – A Survey on Turkish Place Names in Greece
• Sefa Sekin – Distribution of Turks in Macedonia in the First Year of the Twenty First Century
• Muammer Demirel – Ottoman Emigration Mobility in Skopje
• Mehmet Demirtaş – Balkan Immigrants during 1877-1878 Ottoman-Russian War: Difficulties and Precautions
• Abdurrahman Babacan – Civilisation and Culture Thought of Alija Izetbegović
• Ali Erken – The Traces of Ottoman Science Tradition in the Twentieth Century: Tajib Okić
The Congress aims to maintain and further improve scientific exchanges that have been established between experts and researchers in this field over the last congress held in Sofia (2000), Tirana (2003), Bucharest (2006) and Skopje (2010).
The Congress will cover the history of Islamic civilization in the Balkans with different aspects: development in the fields of science, philosophy, technology, art, language, literature and other areas of intellectual activity; interaction with other cultures throughout the region; the legacy of Islamic civilization in terms of material culture (architectural heritage, a colorful heritage and other tangible assets) as well as in terms of tangible and spiritual culture (oral, ritual and other intangible aspects of culture).
Since Congress is expected to cast light on the role and position of the Islamic civilization in the region as well as the past and prospective contributions to the cultural interactions between the peoples of the region. At the same time, this will be an opportunity to assess the state of research as well as the problems and prospects of studies on the topic “Islamic Civilization in the Balkans”.
