BALKAN PERIODICALS:
TRAJECTORY OF THE ISLAMIC THOUGHT, 1918-1945
Skopje, North Macedonia, 24 – 25 February, 2024
CALL FOR PAPERS
Studies on contemporary Islamic thought in the Balkans are increasing in importance day by day, and there is a need for studies in new fields. In this context, the examination of contemporary thought through periodicals, which can be followed as a whole and as a primary source, will provide significant momentum to these studies and will provide new ground and space for the modern period Balkans thought. The Balkans have hosted many ideologies in the recent period and have often functioned as a laboratory by experiencing different political regimes. In the last century, the Balkan region has been actively impacted by both world wars, and there have been various mergers and separations at the level of states. It is possible to talk about the same situation not only politically but also in the world of thought. At the beginning of the century, Muslims experienced various nationalization processes and had become a minority. After the Second World War, they experienced difficult and oppressive processes until the 1990s. With the change in the global context after 1990, new processes emerged, and while Islam and Muslims began to become more visible in public life, many new sub-identities and cultures were produced by interacting with the EU and the Islamic world. In this context, as a whole, in the last century in the Balkan region, fiqh/law, kalam, state, society, politics, nation, culture, women, etc., a diverse range of ideas has emerged have been produced on the subject. As a medium for this emerging idea, periodicals came to the fore. Examining periodicals, including magazines and newspapers etc. within the specified period to cover the Balkan geography will reveal the topics and concepts in which Islamic thought is discussed in the Balkans and the subjects and institutions that carry out these in an organized manner. Thus, this symposium will open important doors in terms of revealing the development and course of Islamic thought in the Balkans in the contemporary period. Similarly, it will unveil the transformations, ruptures, and continuity of Bosnian, Albanian, and Turkish Muslim identities at both national and regional levels.
The first phase of our research spanning from 1918 to 2018 will be based on the period 1918–1945, and the periodicals published in Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Greece, Montenegro, Croatia, Serbia, and Romania in this period will be examined in the context of the basic issues of Islamic thought. Periodicals in the Balkans: The Trajectory of Islamic Thought project is implemented by the Balkan Studies Foundation, while the Foundation for Education and Culture “ÜSKÜP” and the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities are among the institutions supporting the project.
At the symposium, texts in English, Turkish, Albanian, and Bosnian can be presented. The symposium organising committee will cover all participants’ expenses.
Some periodicals published in the Balkan countries between 1918 and 1945 that are expected to be examined are:
Romania: Dobruca, Tan, Hayat, Rumanya Haber, Tuna, Haksöz, Bizim Sözümüz
Revista Musulmanilor Dobrogeni, Emel, Türk Birliği, Yıldırım, Tuna, Halk, Deli Orman, Çardak, Bora
Greece: Müdafaa-i İslam, Hakyol, Muhafazakar, Yarın, Peyam-ı İslam, Görüş
Muallim Mecmuası
Bulgaria: Medeniyet, İntibah, Sada-yı İslâm, Açık Söz, Rumeli, Yarın, İrfan, Terbiye Ocağı, Balkan Postası
Bosnia and Herzegovina: El-Hidaje, Glasnik Vrhovnog islamskog starješinstva u SFRJ, Takvim, Rijaset IZ u BiH, Gajret list i kalendar, Mostar–Sarajevo, Hikjmet, Narodna uzdanica, Novi Behar, Pravda, Biser, Bošnjak Kalendar, Domovina, Đulistan, Glasnik Zemaljskog muzeja, Hrvat, Iršad, Islamski glas, Islamski svijet, Jeni Misbah, Muslimanska svjest, Naša Bosna, Osvi
Albania: Zani i Naltë Kultura Islame, Zani i Ri, Udha e s’vërtetës, Drita Hyjnore, Njeriu
North Macedonia: HAK, Flaka, Işık, Doğru Yol
Important Dates
- October 15, 2023, Deadline for abstract submission
- October 25, 2023, Announcement of accepted abstracts
- January 15, 2024, Deadline for full paper submission
- January 25, 2024, Announcement of the accepted papers
- February 10, 2024, Announcement of the symposium program
- February 24 – 25, 2024, Organization of symposium
Application: https://forms.gle/Sii9z1nVaeQVXXgYA
Organizing Committee
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hamdi Çilingir, Sakarya University, Greece
Dr. Sevba Abdula, Balkan Studies Foundation, North Macedonia
Assist. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Köroğlu, Istanbul University, Türkiye
Assist. Prof. Dr. Serdar Serdaroğlu, International Balkan University, North Macedonia
Assist. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Öztürk, Kırkareli University, Türkiye
Dr. Sedad Beslija, International University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Vedat Ahmed, Muslim Denomination, Bulgaria
Assist. Prof. Dr. Besir Neziri, Islamic Community of Kosova, Kosovo
Assist. Prof. Dr. Fation Shabani, Ibn Haldun University, Albania
Erkan Girişit, Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities, Türkiye
Scientific Committee
Prof. Dr. Ihsan Fazlıoğlu, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Türkiye
Prof. Dr. Cemil Aydın, The University of North Carolina, USA
Prof. Dr. Musa Musai, University of Tetova, North Macedonia
Prof. Dr. Qufli Osmani, University of Tetova, North Macedonia
Prof. Dr. Ekrem Demirli, Istanbul University, Türkiye
Prof. Dr. Murteza Bedir, Istanbul University, Türkiye
Prof. Dr. Lütfi Sunar, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Türkiye
Prof. Dr. Mehmet Bulut, Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, Türkiye
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lindita Latifi, University of New York-Tirana, Albania
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ali Erken, Marmara University, Türkiye
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mevludin Ibishi, International Balkan University, North Macedonia
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zahit Atçıl, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Türkiye
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şener Bilal, International Balkan University, Kuzey Makedonya
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdülkadir Macit, Kocaeli University, Türkiye
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ertuğrul Karakuş, Kırklareli University, Türkiye
Assoc. Prof. Dr. İbrahim Halil Üçer, Istanbul Medeniyet University, Türkiye
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Alim Arlı, Istanbul Technical University, Türkiye
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yunus Uğur, Marmara University, Türkiye
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Süleyman Güder, Istanbul University, Türkiye
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ermin Sinanovic, Center for Islam in the Contemporary World, Türkiye
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ercüment Asil, Fatih Sultan Mehmet University, Türkiye
Assist. Prof. Dr. Selime Hasanova, Sofia Higher Islamic Institute, Bulgaria
Assist. Prof. Dr. Memiş Merdan, Shumen University “Bishop Konstantin of Preslav”, Bulgaria
Assist. Prof. Dr. Vahdettin Işık, Fatih Sultan Mehmet University, Türkiye
Assist. Prof. Dr. Bujamin Bela, Mother Teresa University, North Macedonia
Assist. Prof. Dr. Plarent Ruka, University of New York-Tirana, Albania
Assist. Prof. Dr. Murat Aliu, Mother Teresa University, North Macedonia
Assist. Prof. Dr. Drita Memeti, University of Tetova, North Macedonia
Assist. Prof. Dr. Petar Todorov, Institue of National History, North Macedonia
Assist. Prof. Dr. Agron Islami, Institute of History “Ali Hadri” -Pristina, Kosova
Assist. Prof. Dr. İbrahim Zeyd Gerçik, Marmara University, Türkiye
Assist. Prof. Dr. Deniz Memedi, Mother Teresa University, North Macedonia
Dr. Kenan İsmaili, Muftiny of Skopje, North Macedonia
