"Islamic Unity Ideal Between East and West"
A decade ago, one of the prominent Muslim thinkers and statesmen of the last century, Alija Izetbegović, left us, leaving significant ideals for the Islamic societies. Scholars working on his thoughts and the Association for Scientific Studies (İLEM) came together in an international symposium titled "Islamic Unity Ideal Between East and West," organized by İLEM and Üsküdar Municipality to commemorate him and discuss his thoughts on the ideal of Islamic unity. The papers presented at this symposium were reviewed by their authors and compiled into a book for the benefit of readers. These articles aim to produce new solutions within the framework of the "Islamic Unity Ideal."
Amina Siljak Jesenkovic, who criticized the events in Bosnia during difficult times and presented her critiques in various magazines and columns, examines the foundation, ideological orientations, women's activities, obstacles faced, and punishments of the Young Muslims Organization, which turned the Islamic unity ideal into a lifestyle beyond an ideology. Faruk Karaaslan, who has worked on Alija Izetbegović's thoughts, problematizes how a perspective can be developed on civilization debates through Izetbegović's texts and political practices, a topic frequently brought up by Muslim social scientists in recent years. Alev Erkilet, with in-depth and qualified studies on the structures of Islamic movements, examines Alija's comprehensive approach to grounding Islamic thought as an Islamic movement's foundation, considering ontological and epistemological dimensions. Mustafa Aydın evaluates Alija Izetbegović's thoughts through utopia and drama matrices. Cihangir İslam analyzes Izetbegović's ethics, destiny, and submission, considering his call as an appeal to both Western culture and the Muslim community that has been under materialist pressure for years.
Kazım Hacımeyliç evaluates Aliya's foresight of the Islamic middle way as a way out of humanity's crisis. Aliye Çınar Köysüren discusses Aliya's positioning of religion, ideologies, regimes, and Islam in her article titled "Religion and Islam in Aliya's Thought." H. Ramazan Yılmaz and Yusuf Ziya Gökçek evaluate Aida Begic's cinema in the context of Alija's artistic understanding. The article emphasizes Begic's cinema practice aligned with the "Third Way" approach in the face of utilitarian attitudes dominant in their geographical context.
This book, composed of ten articles, aims to understand Alija Izetbegović's intellectual and practical struggle, reconsider his "Islamic Unity Ideal Between East and West," and lay the foundation for contemporary studies in this context.
