Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu
Encyclopedia
Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu ˈihsɑnoːlu is a Turkish
academic, diplomat and currently the Secretary-General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the second largest intergovernmental organisation after the United Nations
. He is known in particular for his qualities as diplomat, international officer, academician, intellectual, founder and member of academic institutions, author and editor of publications on chemistry, history, history of science, arts and culture and advocate of intercultural dialogue.
Ihsanoğlu was born of Turkish family in Cairo
, Egypt
, where he later studied science at the Ain Shams University
, receiving his BSc in 1966. He obtained his MSc in 1970 from Al-Azhar University
and his PhD from the Faculty of Science at the Ankara University
in 1974.
He was founder and chairman (1984 to 2000) of the Department of History of Science at the Faculty of Letters of Istanbul University
. His special interest focuses on history of scientific activity and institutions of learning in Islam, cultural exchanges between Islam and the West, relationship between science and religion and development of science in its socio-cultural environment. He was lecturer and visiting professor at various universities, including Ankara University
, University of Exeter
, United Kingdom
(1975–1977), Faculty of Science (1970–1980), Inönü University
, Malatya
(1978–1980), Istanbul University
(1984–2000), Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich
, Germany
(2003).
He is the first by-vote-Secretary General of the OIC. After taking the office as the ninth Secretary General in January 2005, he coordinated the preparations, drafting, adoption and implementation of an essential reform program for the OIC aiming to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the 57-member Organisation. The reform program’s components included such essential instruments as the “Ten-Year Programme of Action to Face the Challenges of Twenty-first Century” which was adopted and put into implementation by the Third Extraordinary Islamic Summit Conference convened for the purpose in 2005 and the new OIC Charter which was adopted by the Eleventh Islamic Summit Conference, 2008. Ihsanoğlu combined his international functions with his scholarship in history of cultures towards a dialogue of civilizations. He is one of the signatories of A Common Word
, an open letter by Islamic scholars to Christian leaders, calling for peace and understanding.
Ihsanoğlu is the founder and first chair (1984–2000) of the first Department of History of Science in Turkey, which he established at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Istanbul .
The scholarly positions he fulfilled also include:
Visiting professor at Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany, 2003; Lecturer and associate professor at Ankara University, Faculty of Science, Turkey
1970-1980; Research fellow at the Department of Chemistry of the University of Exeter
, United Kingdom 1975-1977. Earlier, at the very beginning of his career Ihsanoğlu was lecturer of Turkish Literature and Language at Ain Shams University
, Cairo, Egypt, 1966–1970, research assistant at the Faculty of Engineering and Science, Al-Azhar University
, Cairo, 1966–1970 and part-time cataloger of printed and manuscript Ottoman books, Cairo National Library, Dept. of Oriental Catalogues, Egypt, 1962-1966.
As part of his academic career Ihsanoğlu also has the following positions:
Member of Academie Europea; Member of the Académie Internationale d’Histoire des Sciences, Paris
; Member, Academy of Sciences of Tatarstan
, Russia
; Honorary Member of Gesellschaft Der Freunde Islamischer Kunst und Kultur e. V., München, Germany
; Honorary Member, Hungarian Orientalistik Society, Budapest
; Correspondent Member, Arab Language Academy, Cairo; Royal Academy of Islamic Civilization Research, Jordan
; Member, International Society for History of Arabic and Islamic Sciences and Philosophy, Paris; Governing Board member, Centre of Manuscripts, Library of Alexandria, Egypt, 2003, Advisory Board Member, Tufts University
, Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies, Boston; Member of the Scientific Committee of ALECSO for the preparation of “Encyclopaedia of Renown Arab & Muslim Scholars”, 2001; Member of the Board of Publications and Translations of the Ministry of Culture, Turkey, 1974–1980 and 1999 - ; Advisory Board Member, Centre of Islamic Studies, School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS), University of London
, England, 1998 – ; Advisory Board Member, Centre for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES), Harvard University
, USA, 1992–1996; OMETAR Project Director (history of science, education & technology databank collection), IRCICA, Istanbul
, 1995 – ; Member of Scientific Council and Board of Consultants of Encyclopaedia of Makkah al-Mukarrama and Medina Al-Munawwara, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1994- ; Member of Advisory Board and Experts Board of Al Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation, London, 1991 – ; Project Director and editor of UNESCO’s Work on Various Aspects of Islamic Culture, 1988- , published in 2004; honorary Member, Egyptian History Society, Cairo; Member, Tunisian Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts “Beit al Hikma”, Tunis; Member, International Society for History of Medicine, Paris, France; Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Islamic-American College, Chicago.
He has an excellent command of English and Arabic in addition to Turkish and a working knowledge of French and Persian.
Prof. Ihsanoglu was the founding Director General of the Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture IRCICA. an intergovernmental research centre and subsidiary organ of the OIC. When IRCICA started its activities in 1980, it was the first international organization established in Istanbul. Ihsanoglu as the head of diplomatic mission in this organization and as a cultural diplomat has served more than twenty-four years in promoting intercultural dialogue, relations, tolerance and understanding.
Ihsanoglu participated in various projects, activities and committees of UNESCO, and acted as the project director and editor of UNESCO’s Work on Various Aspects of Islamic Culture, in 1988, published in 2004.
Ihsanoglu was appointed ‘Ambassador at Large’ by the first President of Bosnia and Herzegovina Alija Izetbegović in 1997 for his services to Bosnia-Herzegovina. He is also serving as ‘Honorary Consul’ of the Gambia since 1990.
Ihsanoglu lived the most significant leap in his diplomatic career in 2004 when he succeeded to win the election for the position of the OIC Secretary General out of three candidates. He has become the first by-vote-elected Secretary General of the OIC.
In his current position, since January 2005, as the Secretary General of the 57-member Organisation, the second largest organisation after the UN, Prof. Ihsanoğlu initiated new schemes and strategies of international cooperation with regard to promotion of understanding, tolerance, principles of human rights, democracy, and establishment of dialogue between the OIC’s Member States and with other countries and communities of the world.
The Heads of State and Government of the OIC Member States, convened at their 11th Islamic Summit Conference (Dakar, Senegal
, March 2008), unanimously decided to renew Ihsanoğlu’s mandate for another term of office.
Ihsanoğlu attached importance to increasing the role and effectiveness of the OIC in solving problems and contributing to progress and cooperation among the OIC Member States in various areas of development, including science and technology, transport and communications, tourism, and fostering trade among the Member States, with particular attention to the least developed countries (LDCs) among them.
The achievements realised during his tenure in the field of economic and commercial cooperation is of particular significance. First, he had assigned priority to the entry into force of the cooperation agreements and the statutes of some institutions in the field of economy and trade, pending for signing and ratification. As a result, a number of agreements and statutes which would govern the OIC’s ‘Trade Preferential System’, entered into force after completion of the necessary number of ratifying countries. The OIC aims to increase the level of intra-OIC trade up to 20 percent of the OIC total. He has also initiated the OIC cotton programme. to help develop economies of, in particular, the West African Member States of the OIC. A similar program in the domain of tourism was also developed which secured active participation of the OIC Member States. He gave importance to transport projects, such as the ‘Dakar-Port Sudan Railway Project’, the ‘Dushanbe - Mazari Sharif - Herat Railway link’, etc.
At the same time he made efforts to enhance the OIC activity in conflict resolution and peace-building in its Member States and in the world. In view of stopping the sectarian conflicts in Iraq he initiated and coordinated the signing of a ‘Makkah Al-Mukarramah Declaration on the Iraqi Situation’ by Iraqi scholars of Sunni and Shia traditions with a view to interdict and outlaw sectarian killing in Iraq
, and declaring such practices as crimes, prohibited and proscribed by Islam (2006). Based on another initiative of Ihsanoğlu towards reinforcing mutual understanding between schools of thought and belief, the Islamic Fiqh Academy elaborated a practical plan to deepen the dialogue between the Islamic schools of thought (2008) which would lead to series of meetings of scholars (“ulema”) from the Member States.
As Ihsanoglu assumed the office on 1 January 2005, he immediately launched an emergency appeal to the OIC Member States to provide the victims of the destructive earthquake and the following tsunami
that hit South and South Asia
on 26 December 2004 with humanitarian aid. He also took necessary measures to coordinate and channel the relief efforts. In view of the huge scale of such disasters and the resulting severe humanitarian crisis situation which go well beyond the capabilities of the affected countries, Ihsanoglu focused on establishing a unit within the OIC General Secretariat to coordinate relief efforts. As a result, the Humanitarian Affairs Department (ICHAD) was created in 2008. It has been formally coordinating and channelling the successful humanitarian assistance programmes under the OIC umbrella, including the programmes in Indonesia
-Banda Aceh
, Niger
, Sudan-Darfur, Afghanistan
, Yemen
, Gaza
and Pakistan
. In Pakistan, Prof. Ihsanoglu inaugurated the construction of 100 housing units in a village in the Punjab province, being the first phase of a project totaling 600 housing units funded by the OIC in six provinces in the country on 11 January 2011.
Ihsanoğlu also gave importance to enhancing the role of the OIC in treatment of global issues. He initiated schemes of action with regard to promotion of understanding, tolerance, principles of human rights
, democracy, and establishment of dialogue between the OIC’s Member States and with other countries and communities of the world. These strategies address North-South/East-West
relations with a problem-solving approach aiming to promote proper mutual understanding among the different faiths and cultures.
Another main objective of Ihsanoğlu was to develop cooperation between the OIC and other international organizations; in the first place, the UN. During the period of the United Nations General Assembly
Meetings in September 2010, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon for the first time referred to the OIC as “a strategic and crucial partner of the United Nations” and said that it “plays a significant role in helping to resolve a wide range of issues facing the world community”.
During Ihsanoğlu’s tenure the OIC also initiated cooperation in the field of health with the WHO
, the Global Fund and the US Government. Furthermore, for the first time OIC Ministerial Conferences were held on health (twice), women (three times), children (twice, in cooperation with UNESCO). Furthermore he ensured the organization for the first time of NGO Forums within the OIC system.
The OIC’s expanded vision and larger sphere of influence during İhsanoğlu’s term are reflected among others, in the Russian Federation’s applying for and admission as an Observer State with the OIC (2005) and the US President’s appointing a Special Envoy to the OIC (2008).
His activities also included the following:
As OIC Secretary General since January 2005 Ihsanoğlu carries on with advocacy of dialogue. While he underscores the particular features of the Muslim world, he objectively points to the socio-economic reforms urgently needed in order to achieve progress in the course of development and pass its benefits to the man in the street. He unfailingly supports the rights of Muslim minorities, ardently calls for the respect of human rights at global level, and clearly expresses his views on these subjects in his writings and speeches.
Ihsanoğlu has been active in the treatment of global issues concerning solidarity, tolerance, development and dialogue. Combining his background in science and humanities and his experience with both the western and the eastern cultures, he coordinated projects relating to research, restoration and preservation of cultural heritage with participants from various disciplines and cultural backgrounds. These activities contributed in spreading and reinforcing awareness among peoples, especially youth, on concepts relating to shared history and heritage.
In this global context Prof. Ihsanoğlu underlines the need to move forward from “definition” to “action” in the efforts to bridge the gap of understanding between cultures, particularly where such need is felt in the context of relations between the Western and the Muslim worlds. He views this gap as one that has been built over time by preconceived attitudes, misperceptions, misgivings, prejudices and ignorance and above all, the failure to recognize its perilous implications. He stresses the need for a strong and determined collective political will to address the challenge: the first and foremost action would be to determine the priorities and to bring focus of the international community to the core of the issue, which is accepting the reality of the peaceful coexistence in diversity.
In this context Ihsanoğlu pioneered a call for a “Historic Reconciliation between Islam and Christianity”, as was the case between Judaism and Christianity during the last century. In his address at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
in Strasbourg
on 4 October 2005, Prof. Ihsanoğlu made a set of proposals to the European Parliamentarians to build a “Historic Reconciliation Pact”. He reiterated his call for a “Historic Reconciliation” in his statement at the first session of the Second Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilisations held in Istanbul in April 2009. He points to the need to:
Membership in editorial boards: Editor-in-Chief of IRCICA Newsletter, 1980–2004; Journal of Qur’anic Studies, SOAS, London, UK; Journal of Islamic Studies (Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies
) Cambridge, UK; Arts and the Islamic World, London, UK; Archivum Ottomanicum, Harrassowitz Verlag
, Wiesbaden
, Germany; Bulletin of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies, Jordan; Journal for the History of the Exact and Natural Sciences in Islamic Civilization, Barcelona, Spain; Contributions to Oriental Philology, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Advisory Board member of Studies in History of Medicine and Science, Hamdard University, India.
(HOPOS) for the name of Ihsanoglu; the first of which was awarded to Barcelona University faculty member Dr. Jose Bellver Martinez for his work in the field of the history of astronomy. It was presented at a ceremony in Budapest on 1 August 2009, in which Ihsanoglu himself participated.
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
academic, diplomat and currently the Secretary-General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the second largest intergovernmental organisation after the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
. He is known in particular for his qualities as diplomat, international officer, academician, intellectual, founder and member of academic institutions, author and editor of publications on chemistry, history, history of science, arts and culture and advocate of intercultural dialogue.
Ihsanoğlu was born of Turkish family in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, where he later studied science at the Ain Shams University
Ain Shams University
Ain Shams University is an institute of higher education located in Cairo, Egypt. Founded in 1950, the university provides education at the undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate levels.-History:...
, receiving his BSc in 1966. He obtained his MSc in 1970 from Al-Azhar University
Al-Azhar University
Al-Azhar University is an educational institute in Cairo, Egypt. Founded in 970~972 as a madrasa, it is the chief centre of Arabic literature and Islamic learning in the world. It is the oldest degree-granting university in Egypt. In 1961 non-religious subjects were added to its curriculum.It is...
and his PhD from the Faculty of Science at the Ankara University
Ankara University
Ankara University is a public university in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in the Turkish Republic....
in 1974.
He was founder and chairman (1984 to 2000) of the Department of History of Science at the Faculty of Letters of Istanbul University
Istanbul University
Istanbul University is a Turkish university located in Istanbul. The main campus is adjacent to Beyazıt Square.- Synopsis :A madrasa, a religious school, was established sometime in the 15th century after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople. An institution of higher education named the...
. His special interest focuses on history of scientific activity and institutions of learning in Islam, cultural exchanges between Islam and the West, relationship between science and religion and development of science in its socio-cultural environment. He was lecturer and visiting professor at various universities, including Ankara University
Ankara University
Ankara University is a public university in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in the Turkish Republic....
, University of Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
(1975–1977), Faculty of Science (1970–1980), Inönü University
Inönü University
İnönü University is a university in Malatya, Turkey, founded in 28 February 1975.it is one of the biggest university of eastern part of Turkey.-External links:*...
, Malatya
Malatya
Malatya ) is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of its eponymous province.-Overview:The city site has been occupied for thousands of years. The Assyrians called the city Meliddu. Following Roman expansion into the east, the city was renamed in Latin as Melitene...
(1978–1980), Istanbul University
Istanbul University
Istanbul University is a Turkish university located in Istanbul. The main campus is adjacent to Beyazıt Square.- Synopsis :A madrasa, a religious school, was established sometime in the 15th century after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople. An institution of higher education named the...
(1984–2000), Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(2003).
He is the first by-vote-Secretary General of the OIC. After taking the office as the ninth Secretary General in January 2005, he coordinated the preparations, drafting, adoption and implementation of an essential reform program for the OIC aiming to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the 57-member Organisation. The reform program’s components included such essential instruments as the “Ten-Year Programme of Action to Face the Challenges of Twenty-first Century” which was adopted and put into implementation by the Third Extraordinary Islamic Summit Conference convened for the purpose in 2005 and the new OIC Charter which was adopted by the Eleventh Islamic Summit Conference, 2008. Ihsanoğlu combined his international functions with his scholarship in history of cultures towards a dialogue of civilizations. He is one of the signatories of A Common Word
A Common Word Between Us and You
A Common Word between Us and You is an open letter, dated 13 October 2007, from leaders of the Muslim faith to leaders of the Christian faith. It calls for peace between Muslims and Christians and tries to work for common ground and understanding among both faiths, in line with the Qur'anic...
, an open letter by Islamic scholars to Christian leaders, calling for peace and understanding.
Academic career
Ihsanoglu founded jointly with Prof. Celal Tuzun the ‘Research Institute for Organic Chemistry’, when he was a faculty member at the Faculty of Science of the University of Ankara.Ihsanoğlu is the founder and first chair (1984–2000) of the first Department of History of Science in Turkey, which he established at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Istanbul .
The scholarly positions he fulfilled also include:
Visiting professor at Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany, 2003; Lecturer and associate professor at Ankara University, Faculty of Science, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
1970-1980; Research fellow at the Department of Chemistry of the University of Exeter
University of Exeter
The University of Exeter is a public university in South West England. It belongs to the 1994 Group, an association of 19 of the United Kingdom's smaller research-intensive universities....
, United Kingdom 1975-1977. Earlier, at the very beginning of his career Ihsanoğlu was lecturer of Turkish Literature and Language at Ain Shams University
Ain Shams University
Ain Shams University is an institute of higher education located in Cairo, Egypt. Founded in 1950, the university provides education at the undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate levels.-History:...
, Cairo, Egypt, 1966–1970, research assistant at the Faculty of Engineering and Science, Al-Azhar University
Al-Azhar University
Al-Azhar University is an educational institute in Cairo, Egypt. Founded in 970~972 as a madrasa, it is the chief centre of Arabic literature and Islamic learning in the world. It is the oldest degree-granting university in Egypt. In 1961 non-religious subjects were added to its curriculum.It is...
, Cairo, 1966–1970 and part-time cataloger of printed and manuscript Ottoman books, Cairo National Library, Dept. of Oriental Catalogues, Egypt, 1962-1966.
As part of his academic career Ihsanoğlu also has the following positions:
Member of Academie Europea; Member of the Académie Internationale d’Histoire des Sciences, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
; Member, Academy of Sciences of Tatarstan
Tatarstan
The Republic of Tatarstan is a federal subject of Russia located in the Volga Federal District. Its capital is the city of Kazan, which is one of Russia's largest and most prosperous cities. The republic borders with Kirov, Ulyanovsk, Samara, and Orenburg Oblasts, and with the Mari El, Udmurt,...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
; Honorary Member of Gesellschaft Der Freunde Islamischer Kunst und Kultur e. V., München, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
; Honorary Member, Hungarian Orientalistik Society, Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
; Correspondent Member, Arab Language Academy, Cairo; Royal Academy of Islamic Civilization Research, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
; Member, International Society for History of Arabic and Islamic Sciences and Philosophy, Paris; Governing Board member, Centre of Manuscripts, Library of Alexandria, Egypt, 2003, Advisory Board Member, Tufts University
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
, Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies, Boston; Member of the Scientific Committee of ALECSO for the preparation of “Encyclopaedia of Renown Arab & Muslim Scholars”, 2001; Member of the Board of Publications and Translations of the Ministry of Culture, Turkey, 1974–1980 and 1999 - ; Advisory Board Member, Centre of Islamic Studies, School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS), University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, England, 1998 – ; Advisory Board Member, Centre for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES), Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, USA, 1992–1996; OMETAR Project Director (history of science, education & technology databank collection), IRCICA, Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, 1995 – ; Member of Scientific Council and Board of Consultants of Encyclopaedia of Makkah al-Mukarrama and Medina Al-Munawwara, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1994- ; Member of Advisory Board and Experts Board of Al Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation, London, 1991 – ; Project Director and editor of UNESCO’s Work on Various Aspects of Islamic Culture, 1988- , published in 2004; honorary Member, Egyptian History Society, Cairo; Member, Tunisian Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts “Beit al Hikma”, Tunis; Member, International Society for History of Medicine, Paris, France; Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Islamic-American College, Chicago.
He has an excellent command of English and Arabic in addition to Turkish and a working knowledge of French and Persian.
Diplomatic career
In 1970s, Prof. Dr. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu took part in Turkey’s various diplomatic and cultural missions and committees formed for conducting international consultations or talks at bilateral and multilateral levels.Prof. Ihsanoglu was the founding Director General of the Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture IRCICA. an intergovernmental research centre and subsidiary organ of the OIC. When IRCICA started its activities in 1980, it was the first international organization established in Istanbul. Ihsanoglu as the head of diplomatic mission in this organization and as a cultural diplomat has served more than twenty-four years in promoting intercultural dialogue, relations, tolerance and understanding.
Ihsanoglu participated in various projects, activities and committees of UNESCO, and acted as the project director and editor of UNESCO’s Work on Various Aspects of Islamic Culture, in 1988, published in 2004.
Ihsanoglu was appointed ‘Ambassador at Large’ by the first President of Bosnia and Herzegovina Alija Izetbegović in 1997 for his services to Bosnia-Herzegovina. He is also serving as ‘Honorary Consul’ of the Gambia since 1990.
Ihsanoglu lived the most significant leap in his diplomatic career in 2004 when he succeeded to win the election for the position of the OIC Secretary General out of three candidates. He has become the first by-vote-elected Secretary General of the OIC.
In his current position, since January 2005, as the Secretary General of the 57-member Organisation, the second largest organisation after the UN, Prof. Ihsanoğlu initiated new schemes and strategies of international cooperation with regard to promotion of understanding, tolerance, principles of human rights, democracy, and establishment of dialogue between the OIC’s Member States and with other countries and communities of the world.
The Heads of State and Government of the OIC Member States, convened at their 11th Islamic Summit Conference (Dakar, Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
, March 2008), unanimously decided to renew Ihsanoğlu’s mandate for another term of office.
Secretary General of the OIC
Within the framework of his mission as Secretary General of OIC, Prof. Ihsanoğlu took several initiatives to reform the OIC’s agenda and strategies in various fields, with the motto: “modernisation and moderation”. As of his first year in the office, he guided the preparation of the “Ten-Year Programme of Action to Face the Challenges of Twenty-first Century” which was adopted by the OIC Member States at their Extraordinary Summit Conference in Mecca, December 2005. Through this programme and the new Charter of the OIC which was adopted by the Eleventh Summit Conference in March 2008, he introduced the application of some concepts and principles for the first time in the OIC. Thus, for example,- the issue of human rights was introduced to the new Charter of the OIC and the Ten-Year Programme of Action. The new Charter of the OIC stipulates the establishment of an independent Permanent Commission on Human Rights to promote the civil, political, social and economic rights enshrined in the Organisation’s covenants and declarations and in universally agreed human rights instruments;
- definition of and action to combat the problem of terrorism was introduced to the Ten-Year Programme of Action (Chapter VI on Combating terrorism);
- objectives were adopted in the same Programme of Action emphasizing cultural dialogue (Chapter III on “Islam- The religion of moderation and tolerance”).
Ihsanoğlu attached importance to increasing the role and effectiveness of the OIC in solving problems and contributing to progress and cooperation among the OIC Member States in various areas of development, including science and technology, transport and communications, tourism, and fostering trade among the Member States, with particular attention to the least developed countries (LDCs) among them.
The achievements realised during his tenure in the field of economic and commercial cooperation is of particular significance. First, he had assigned priority to the entry into force of the cooperation agreements and the statutes of some institutions in the field of economy and trade, pending for signing and ratification. As a result, a number of agreements and statutes which would govern the OIC’s ‘Trade Preferential System’, entered into force after completion of the necessary number of ratifying countries. The OIC aims to increase the level of intra-OIC trade up to 20 percent of the OIC total. He has also initiated the OIC cotton programme. to help develop economies of, in particular, the West African Member States of the OIC. A similar program in the domain of tourism was also developed which secured active participation of the OIC Member States. He gave importance to transport projects, such as the ‘Dakar-Port Sudan Railway Project’, the ‘Dushanbe - Mazari Sharif - Herat Railway link’, etc.
At the same time he made efforts to enhance the OIC activity in conflict resolution and peace-building in its Member States and in the world. In view of stopping the sectarian conflicts in Iraq he initiated and coordinated the signing of a ‘Makkah Al-Mukarramah Declaration on the Iraqi Situation’ by Iraqi scholars of Sunni and Shia traditions with a view to interdict and outlaw sectarian killing in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, and declaring such practices as crimes, prohibited and proscribed by Islam (2006). Based on another initiative of Ihsanoğlu towards reinforcing mutual understanding between schools of thought and belief, the Islamic Fiqh Academy elaborated a practical plan to deepen the dialogue between the Islamic schools of thought (2008) which would lead to series of meetings of scholars (“ulema”) from the Member States.
As Ihsanoglu assumed the office on 1 January 2005, he immediately launched an emergency appeal to the OIC Member States to provide the victims of the destructive earthquake and the following tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
that hit South and South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
on 26 December 2004 with humanitarian aid. He also took necessary measures to coordinate and channel the relief efforts. In view of the huge scale of such disasters and the resulting severe humanitarian crisis situation which go well beyond the capabilities of the affected countries, Ihsanoglu focused on establishing a unit within the OIC General Secretariat to coordinate relief efforts. As a result, the Humanitarian Affairs Department (ICHAD) was created in 2008. It has been formally coordinating and channelling the successful humanitarian assistance programmes under the OIC umbrella, including the programmes in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
-Banda Aceh
Banda Aceh
Banda Aceh is the provincial capital and largest city in the province of Aceh, Indonesia, located on the island of Sumatra, with an elevation of 35 meters. The city regency covers an area of 64 square kilometres and according to the 2000 census had a population of 219,070 people...
, Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
, Sudan-Darfur, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
, Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. In Pakistan, Prof. Ihsanoglu inaugurated the construction of 100 housing units in a village in the Punjab province, being the first phase of a project totaling 600 housing units funded by the OIC in six provinces in the country on 11 January 2011.
Ihsanoğlu also gave importance to enhancing the role of the OIC in treatment of global issues. He initiated schemes of action with regard to promotion of understanding, tolerance, principles of human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, democracy, and establishment of dialogue between the OIC’s Member States and with other countries and communities of the world. These strategies address North-South/East-West
East-West
-Side two:-Personnel:* Paul Butterfield — vocals, harmonica* Mike Bloomfield — electric guitar* Elvin Bishop — electric guitar, lead vocal on "Never Say No"* Mark Naftalin — piano, organ* Jerome Arnold — bass...
relations with a problem-solving approach aiming to promote proper mutual understanding among the different faiths and cultures.
Another main objective of Ihsanoğlu was to develop cooperation between the OIC and other international organizations; in the first place, the UN. During the period of the United Nations General Assembly
United Nations General Assembly
For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
Meetings in September 2010, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon for the first time referred to the OIC as “a strategic and crucial partner of the United Nations” and said that it “plays a significant role in helping to resolve a wide range of issues facing the world community”.
During Ihsanoğlu’s tenure the OIC also initiated cooperation in the field of health with the WHO
Who
Who may refer to:* Who , an English-language pronoun* who , a Unix command* Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism- Art and entertainment :* Who? , a 1958 novel by Algis Budrys...
, the Global Fund and the US Government. Furthermore, for the first time OIC Ministerial Conferences were held on health (twice), women (three times), children (twice, in cooperation with UNESCO). Furthermore he ensured the organization for the first time of NGO Forums within the OIC system.
The OIC’s expanded vision and larger sphere of influence during İhsanoğlu’s term are reflected among others, in the Russian Federation’s applying for and admission as an Observer State with the OIC (2005) and the US President’s appointing a Special Envoy to the OIC (2008).
- his lectures at universities in Europe and the USA, including Padua University (Italy), Oxford University (UK), Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Georgetown UniversityGeorgetown UniversityGeorgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
and New York UniversityNew York UniversityNew York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
(USA). His lecture delivered on 29 January 2007 at the Institut Français des Relations InternationalesInstitut français des relations internationalesL'Institut français des relations internationales is the main independent research and debate institution dedicated to international affairs, based in Paris, France....
(IFRI), titled “Is Islam an Intruder to Europe?” touched on the numerous positive interactions between Europe and Muslims over the centuries which helped develop sciences and values in all fields. He delivered a speech at School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University on 18 September 2008 on the subject of “The OIC’s new Charter, and its new visions and objectives, as well as its increasing role in international conflict resolution and prevention”. On 25 September 2008 he delivered a speech at the Centre for Dialogues, Islamic World-U.S.-The West of New York University, on relations between Islam and Europe. He gave a lecture, on 21 May 2009, at the University of DamascusUniversity of DamascusThe University of Damascus is the largest and oldest university in Syria, located in the capital Damascus and has campuses in other Syrian cities. It was founded in 1923 through the merger of the School of Medicine and the Institute of Law , also making it the oldest university in modern-day Syria...
, titled "The Organization of the Islamic Conference and 21st Century Challenges”. He addressed the issue of the Islamic action at present and in future in a lecture titled “The Future of Islamic Action” delivered at the Cairo Book Fair on 7 February 2010. He delivered a speech at the 1037th Wilton Park Conference focusing on Science Diplomacy on 24 June 2010, and a lecture on “Building Bridges: Intercultural Dialogue Identities and Migration” at the Assembly Hall of the United Nations in GenevaGenevaGeneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
on 16 September 2010.
- his addresses and statements in forums of dialogue, such as the international conference on the Role of Education for Intercultural Understanding and Dialogue which was inaugurated on 21 October 2008 in CopenhagenCopenhagenCopenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
and co-organized by the Danish Centre for Culture and Dialogue, Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UNESCO, the OIC General Secretariat, ISESCO, ALECSO, UN Alliance of Civilizations Secretariat, Anna Lindh Foundation and Council of EuropeCouncil of EuropeThe Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
; and at the Ministerial Segment of the Third Annual Forum of the Alliance of CivilizationsAlliance of CivilizationsThe Alliance of Civilizations is an initiative proposed by the Prime Minister of the Government of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, at the 59th General Assembly of the United Nations in 2005. It was co-sponsored by the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan...
held in Rio de JaneiroRio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
on May 28–29, 2010.
- his addresses at international bodies: the UN General Assembly (New York), sessions of the UN Human Rights Council, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of EuropeCouncil of EuropeThe Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
(StrasbourgStrasbourgStrasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
) and the OSCE Permanent Council, among others. He gave special importance to promoting relations with European intergovernmental organisations: the European Union, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and others, and opened with them lines of communications, particularly in fields of mutual interest.
- his collaborative efforts; he initiated and supported the OIC's participation at the British CouncilBritish CouncilThe British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
project “Our Shared Europe”;
- at the initiative of the OIC General Secretariat, Wilton Park Conference was held in London on 2 May 2006 on the theme of "Challenging Stereotypes in Europe and the Islamic World: Working Together for Constructive Policies and Partnerships" that brought together senior policy-makers from Europe and OIC Member States, officials from the UN, EU and OSCE and the Council of Europe with representatives of Muslim communities, academics and experts to seek to open a new era of political dialogue between Western governments and their Muslim counterparts by focusing on the role of the media in promoting dialogue between the West and the East.
Cultural diplomacy and advocacy of dialogue
Ihsanoğlu was active in promoting intercultural and interfaith dialogue around the world in general and between the European and the Muslim worlds in particular from the 1980s onwards and increasingly from the 1990s when the question of encounters of cultures in the age of globalisation came to the fore more evidently. Before assuming the post of OIC Secretary General, from 1980-2004 Ihsanoğlu was the founding Director General of the Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA, Istanbul), an intergovernmental research centre and subsidiary of the OIC. In that context he actively participated in intercultural and interfaith forums, including the following:- Spoke on behalf of the Muslim participants at the Religious Summit Meeting on Mt. Hiei, 3–4 August 1987, KyotoKyotois a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, organised under the auspices of the Japan Conference of Religious Representatives with the collaboration of the World Conference on Religion and Peace and the Japan Religious Committee for the World Federation, with five hundred participants
- Meetings of the Inter-Religious Dialogue on Business Ethics and Monotheistic Religions in the Contemporary World, Saint George's House in Windsor Castle, UK, 1987
- Conferences of the Global Forum of Spiritual and Parliamentary Leaders on Human Survival, 1988- , organised by the Global Forum of Spiritual and Parliamentary Leaders on Human Survival and attended by spiritual leaders from all major religions
- Global Forum on Environment and Development for Survival (Moscow, 1990) hosted by the Supreme Soviet, the Religious Communities of the Soviet Union, the Soviet Academy of SciencesRussian Academy of SciencesThe Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
, and the International Foundation for the Survival and Development of Humanity, under the patronage of President Mikhail GorbachevMikhail GorbachevMikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
, and attended by two hundred parliamentarians from around the world and religious representatives, scientists, environmentalists, together with two hundred of their counterparts from within the Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
- Convened and chaired a meeting of the leaders of the different faiths represented in Turkey on the occasion of the visit of Mrs. Hillary Rodham ClintonHillary Rodham ClintonHillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
, then First Lady of the USA, to Istanbul on 28 March 1996. The following representatives of religious communities were present: the Grand Mufti of Istanbul; the General Secretary of the Bishops' Conference in Turkey; the Greek Orthodox Patriarch; the Metropolitan of the Syrian Orthodox Community; the Chief Rabbi of Turkey; the Armenian Patriarch in Turkey; the Chaldean Archbishop.
His activities also included the following:
- he established international research programs including a congress on “Islamic Contributions to Universal Civilisation” covering sciences, philosophy and arts, and instituted series of lectures on historical or current issues pertinent for relations between Europe and the Muslim world.
- in his lectures and addresses he stressed the importance of producing objective research and creating public awareness on cultural interactions between peoples. This is reflected in the following quote from Ihsanoğlu’s lecture at Padua University, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, on the occasion of the University’s presenting him with the title of Dr. h.c. (11 Dec. 2006): “History of science offers an immense and fertile field of study from where one can infer evidence of the innumerable common elements inherent to the various cultures and civilisations. Highlighting these factors as the substrata of a shared legacy of mankind can bring an element of rapprochement into a world that is fraught with controversies and conflicts. It can help to combat stereotypes and misinformation, in particular those related to Islam and the Muslim world. Therefore, it is both a moral and an academic duty to create consciousness in public opinion on the common heritage of mankind. An objective history of science is most effective to this aim.”
As OIC Secretary General since January 2005 Ihsanoğlu carries on with advocacy of dialogue. While he underscores the particular features of the Muslim world, he objectively points to the socio-economic reforms urgently needed in order to achieve progress in the course of development and pass its benefits to the man in the street. He unfailingly supports the rights of Muslim minorities, ardently calls for the respect of human rights at global level, and clearly expresses his views on these subjects in his writings and speeches.
Ihsanoğlu has been active in the treatment of global issues concerning solidarity, tolerance, development and dialogue. Combining his background in science and humanities and his experience with both the western and the eastern cultures, he coordinated projects relating to research, restoration and preservation of cultural heritage with participants from various disciplines and cultural backgrounds. These activities contributed in spreading and reinforcing awareness among peoples, especially youth, on concepts relating to shared history and heritage.
In this global context Prof. Ihsanoğlu underlines the need to move forward from “definition” to “action” in the efforts to bridge the gap of understanding between cultures, particularly where such need is felt in the context of relations between the Western and the Muslim worlds. He views this gap as one that has been built over time by preconceived attitudes, misperceptions, misgivings, prejudices and ignorance and above all, the failure to recognize its perilous implications. He stresses the need for a strong and determined collective political will to address the challenge: the first and foremost action would be to determine the priorities and to bring focus of the international community to the core of the issue, which is accepting the reality of the peaceful coexistence in diversity.
In this context Ihsanoğlu pioneered a call for a “Historic Reconciliation between Islam and Christianity”, as was the case between Judaism and Christianity during the last century. In his address at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe , which held its first session in Strasbourg on 10 August 1949, can be considered the oldest international parliamentary assembly with a pluralistic composition of democratically elected members of parliament established on the basis of an...
in Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
on 4 October 2005, Prof. Ihsanoğlu made a set of proposals to the European Parliamentarians to build a “Historic Reconciliation Pact”. He reiterated his call for a “Historic Reconciliation” in his statement at the first session of the Second Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilisations held in Istanbul in April 2009. He points to the need to:
- Give official recognition to Islam as given to other mainstream religions in the European states which would infuse confidence and inter-faith harmony.
- Revise educational syllabi at all levels on both sides, particularly in key disciplines such as history, philosophy, social and human sciences with the aim of presenting a balanced view of other cultures and civilizations.
- Establish genuine inter-cultural dialogue at local, national, regional and international levels.
- Promote tolerance and encourage debate within the intelligentsia and media about their responsibility to avoid perpetuating prejudices.
- Develop campaigns to foster and disseminate respect for culture, religious pluralism, and cultural diversity.
- Ensure freedom of religious practices without prejudice to secular laws.
- Address the root causes of terrorism including political conflicts.
- Exert an effort to engender a positive sense of belonging and responsible citizenship among Muslim youth and give them more incentives to participate in the mainstream of public life.
- Prosecute and punish for racial discrimination and acts of violence through the framework of appropriate legislation.
- Strengthen existing legislation on discrimination and discriminatory and “unequal treatment” adopted by EU Council directives.
Publications
Ihsanoğlu has books, articles and papers in different languages on science, history of science, relations between the Muslim world and the Western world, some of which are as follows:- Author, co-author and editor, 17 volumes of bio-bibliographies in the series of History of OttomanOttoman EmpireThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
Scientific Literature: AstronomyAstronomyAstronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
, MathematicsMathematicsMathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, GeographyGeographyGeography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, MusicMusicMusic is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, Military Arts, Natural and Applied Sciences, Medical Sciences, Astrology, and the classification of sciences. - Editor and co-author, History of the Ottoman State and Civilization (published in Turkish, English, Arabic, Bosnian, Russian, Albanian).
- Editor, The Art of Calligraphy in Islamic Heritage (published in English, Turkish, Arabic, Malay, Japanese); Cultural Contributions in building A Universal Civilisation: Islamic Contributions, IRCICA, Istanbul, 2005; UNESCO: The Different Aspects of Islamic Culture, Vol. 5: Culture and Learning in Islam, UNESCO, 2003.
- The Turks in Egypt and Their Cultural Heritage (published in Turkish, Arabic, English).
- Author, The Islamic World in the New Century: The Organization of the Islamic Conference, 1969–2009, 2010; Darulfünun. The Focus of Ottoman Cultural Modernisation (in Turkish, Eng. forthcoming); The Turks in Egypt and Their Cultural Heritage (published in Turkish, Arabic, English).
- Darulfünun. The Focus of Ottoman Cultural Modernization, 2010, 2 v., (in Turkish, Eng. forthcoming).
Membership in editorial boards: Editor-in-Chief of IRCICA Newsletter, 1980–2004; Journal of Qur’anic Studies, SOAS, London, UK; Journal of Islamic Studies (Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies
Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies
The Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies is a Recognised Independent Centre of the University of Oxford, England. It was established in 1985 with the aim of encouraging the academic study of Islam and the Muslim world. The centre's Patron is Prince Charles.A new building for the centre is situated to...
) Cambridge, UK; Arts and the Islamic World, London, UK; Archivum Ottomanicum, Harrassowitz Verlag
Harrassowitz Verlag
Harrassowitz Verlag is a German academic publishing house, based in Wiesbaden. It publishes about 150 scholarly books and periodicals per year on Oriental, Slavic and Book and Library Studies. The publishing house is part of the company Otto Harrassowitz GmbH & Co. KG, founded by Otto...
, Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
, Germany; Bulletin of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies, Jordan; Journal for the History of the Exact and Natural Sciences in Islamic Civilization, Barcelona, Spain; Contributions to Oriental Philology, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Advisory Board member of Studies in History of Medicine and Science, Hamdard University, India.
Honorary professorships and doctorates
- International Islamic University MalaysiaInternational Islamic University MalaysiaThe International Islamic University Malaysia , also known as IIUM or UIAM, is a public publicly-funded university in Malaysia. Its main campus is located in Gombak, Selangor with its situated in Petaling Jaya / Nilai and its medical-centric branch in Kuantan, Pahang. The university is sponsored...
(Political Science), 2010; - Bashkir State Pedagogical University, Russia, 2010;
- Islamic University of TechnologyIslamic University of TechnologyIslamic University of Technology or IUT is an internationally recognized educational and research institution in Bangladesh. It is regarded as one of the top universities for technical education in Bangladesh...
(IUT) 2009; - Islamic University Uganda, 2008;
- Uşak University, Turkey, 2008;
- Near East UniversityNear East UniversityNear East University is a private university where over 17 thousand students from Cyprus and 55 overseas countries carry out undergraduate and postgraduate studies...
(TRNC), 2008, - University of ExeterUniversity of ExeterThe University of Exeter is a public university in South West England. It belongs to the 1994 Group, an association of 19 of the United Kingdom's smaller research-intensive universities....
, UK, 2007; - Islamic University of Islamabad, 2007;
- University of PaduaUniversity of PaduaThe University of Padua is a premier Italian university located in the city of Padua, Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 as a school of law and was one of the most prominent universities in early modern Europe. It is among the earliest universities of the world and the second...
, Italy, 2006; - Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), Moscow, 2006;
- Tatarstan Academy of Science, 2004;
- University of SarajevoUniversity of SarajevoThe University of Sarajevo is the first university in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was originally established in 1531 as a Madrasah or Islamic Law college, with a modern university being established and expanded on top of that in 1949. Today, with 23 faculties and around 55,000 enrolled students, it...
, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2001; - University of Sofia, Bulgaria, 2001;
- Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, 2000;
- Dowling CollegeDowling CollegeDowling College is a private co-educational liberal arts college with three campuses spread across Long Island, New York. The college's main campus in Oakdale, NY sits on the site of William K. Vanderbilt's former Idle Hour estate, which is now known as Fortunoff Hall. The Brookhaven Campus in...
, Long Island, New York, U.S.A., 1996; - Mimar Sinan University, Istanbul, Turkey, 1994.
Awards and medals
Ihsanoğlu’s services in the fields of development, intercultural dialogue and understanding were acknowledged through the following medals and awards presented to him by Heads of State, associations and academies:- Medal "27 June First Class” by Ismaïl Omar GuellehIsmail Omar GuellehIsmaïl Omar Guelleh is the President of Djibouti. He succeeded his uncle, Hassan Gouled Aptidon, in 1999. He is often referred to in the region by his initials 'IOG'....
, President of the Republic of DjiboutiDjiboutiDjibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...
on 5 December 2010. - Medal "Crescent of PakistanCivil decorations of PakistanThe Pakistan Civil Awards were established on March 19, 1957, following the proclamation of Pakistan as an independent Republic on March 23, 1956. The announcement of civil awards is generally made once a year on Independence Day, August 14, and their investiture takes place on the following...
” by Asif Ali ZardariAsif Ali ZardariAsif Ali Zardari is the 11th and current President of Pakistan and the Co-Chairman of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party . He is also the widower of Benazir Bhutto, who served two nonconsecutive terms as Prime Minister....
, President of the Islamic Republic of PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, 23 March 2010 - "State medal” by Mohamad Hosni MubarakHosni MubarakMuhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011....
, President of the Arab Republic of EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, 10 March 2009. - "Award of the Panglima Setia Mahkota" by The Yang Di Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin and the title of “Tan Sri”, 6 June 2009
- Alexandre KoyréAlexandre KoyréAlexandre Koyré , sometimes anglicised as Alexander Koiré, was a French philosopher of Russian origin who wrote on the history and philosophy of science.-Life:...
Medal conferred by the International Academy of the History of ScienceInternational Academy of the History of ScienceThe International Academy of the History of Science is a membership organization for historians of science. It was founded on 17 August 1928 at the Congress of Historical Science by Aldo Mieli, Abel Rey, George Sarton, Henry E...
, Paris, December 2008 - "Building Bridges Award 2007" by the Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS) based in UK, April 2008.
- "South-South CooperationSouth-South CooperationSouth-South Cooperation is a term historically used by policymakers and academics to describe the exchange of resources, technology, and knowledge between developing countries, also known as countries of the global South.- History :...
Award for Innovation" by UNDP, December 2007 - "Polio Eradication Champion" Award by the Rotary InternationalRotary InternationalRotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
, June 2007 - “Commandeur de l’Ordre National du Lion” conferred by the President of the Republic of SenegalSenegalSenegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
, 2006 - "Medal of Glory" conferred by the President of the Republic of AzerbaijanAzerbaijanAzerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
, 2006 - "Medal of Glory” conferred by the President of the Republic of the Russian Fed. (presented by the President of TatarstanTatarstanThe Republic of Tatarstan is a federal subject of Russia located in the Volga Federal District. Its capital is the city of Kazan, which is one of Russia's largest and most prosperous cities. The republic borders with Kirov, Ulyanovsk, Samara, and Orenburg Oblasts, and with the Mari El, Udmurt,...
), 2006 - "Commandeur de l’Ordre National du MériteOrdre National du MériteThe Ordre national du Mérite is an Order of State awarded by the President of the French Republic. It was founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle...
” conferred by the President of the Republic of Senegal, 2002 - The World Prize for the Book of the Year, presented by Seyed Mohammad KhatamiMohammad KhatamiSayyid Mohammad Khātamī is an Iranian scholar, philosopher, Shiite theologian and Reformist politician. He served as the fifth President of Iran from August 2, 1997 to August 3, 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture in both the 1980s and 1990s...
, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 2000 - "Medal of Distinguished State Service” conferred on by the President of the Republic of Turkey, March 2000
- "Independence Medal of the First Order” conferred on by King Hussein Bin TallalHussein of JordanHussein bin Talal was the third King of Jordan from the abdication of his father, King Talal, in 1952, until his death. Hussein's rule extended through the Cold War and four decades of Arab-Israeli conflict...
of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, 1996 - ""Certificate of Honour and Distinction” by the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, 1995
- Medal of "Distinction of the First Order” from the President of Arab Republic of Egypt in 1990.
Awards named for Ihsanoglu
“Ihsanoglu Gold Medal” award was initiated by the International Society for the History of Philosophy of ScienceInternational Society for the History of Philosophy of Science
The International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science is a philosophical organization for promoting the study of the history of philosophy of science. The society promotes exchange of ideas among scholars through meetings, publications, and electronic media. HOPOS is a member...
(HOPOS) for the name of Ihsanoglu; the first of which was awarded to Barcelona University faculty member Dr. Jose Bellver Martinez for his work in the field of the history of astronomy. It was presented at a ceremony in Budapest on 1 August 2009, in which Ihsanoglu himself participated.
External links
- Interview with Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu about London conference on Libya - broadcast on Radio France InternationaleRadio France InternationaleRadio France Internationale was created in 1975 as part of Radio France by the Government of France, and replaced the Poste Colonial , Paris Mondial , Radio Paris , RTF Radio Paris and ORTF Radio Paris...
, March 29, 2011 - Interview with Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu about Interfaith Dialogue conference - broadcast on Al JazeeraAl JazeeraAl Jazeera is an independent broadcaster owned by the state of Qatar through the Qatar Media Corporation and headquartered in Doha, Qatar...
, October 20, 2009