On October 5th and 6th, 2024, the Faculty of Islamic Studies at the University of Sarajevo in collaboration with the Center for Islam in the Contemporary World (CICW) at Shenandoah University (USA) and the Center for Advanced Studies in Sarajevo hosted international seminar on Contemporary Issues in Islam. The event brought together Muslim scholars and activists from across the globe to address three contemporary issues.
The seminar opened with opening remarks by professor Mustafa Hasani, the dean of the Faculty of Islamic Studies of the University of Sarajevo, Dr. Ahmet Alibašić, professor at the Faculty of Islamic Studies and director of the Center for Advanced Studies, Dr. Ermin Sinanović, executive director of the Center for Islam in the Contemporary World (CICW) at Shenandoah University, and Dr. Younus Mirza, Research Fellow at Georgetown University and Director of Global Virtual Learning at Shenandoah University. The other participants of the seminar were Dr. Nazir Khan, Prof. Aid Smajić, Mohamad Safwan Hasna, Dr. Sameera Ahmed, Prof. Dina Sijamhodžić-Nadarević, Hussain Shefaar, Prof. Shuruq Naguib, Prof. Kenan Music, Hilman Fikri Azman, Dr. Ivan Ejub Kostić, Sehija Dedović, and Senad Hevešević.
The participants from Canada, USA, UK, and Bosnia discussed three topics: Islam and the Meaning of Life, Youth and Islamic Education (tarbiya), and the Qur’an in the Contemporary Context. The objective was twofold: 1) to produce a guide for non-expert readers for navigating literary and non-literary sources on these topics, and 2) highlight key gaps in existing literature/resources that require further exploration.
The papers and annotated bibliographies will be published in an edited volume and online. More seminars are planned on other related topics.
