The First Step Towards the Museum of Islamic Arts in Sarajevo

The international symposium 'Islamic Art in Bosnia and Herzegovina' that took place at the Gazi Husrev Beg Library in Sarajevo, on October 25, 2017 has sparked enormous public attention, since it was the first such scientific gathering in the history of this country.

The initiative for the international symposium came out of the need to summarize and examine previous research in the field of Islamic arts in Bosnia and Herzegovina through scientific expositions and discussion, as well as to initiate new projects, such as the idea of establishing the Museum of Islamic Arts in Sarajevo.

The organizers of the symposium were the most eminent Bosnian institutions, such as the Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Gazi Husrev Beg Library, the Bosniak Institute, the Faculty of Islamic Studies, the Institute for Islamic Tradition of Bosniaks, the Oriental Institute and the Monolit - Association for the Promotion of Islamic Arts (the publisher of Islamic Arts Magazine). This unity of institutions has shown that there is a broad consensus on the need to expose and spread the idea of Islamic art as an active factor in the spiritual and civilizational development of Muslims in Bosnia and throughout the Balkans, and that Islamic arts should get out of the scientific anonymity in which it was so far.

The international symposium 'Islamic Art in Bosnia and Herzegovina' was opened by esteemed guests: Prof. Dr. Nusret IsanoviÄ‡, Professor at the Faculty of Islamic Studies; Husein ef. SmajiÄ‡, Deputy of Reisu-l-ulema; Prof. Dr. Zuhdija HasanoviÄ‡, Dean of the Faculty of Islamic Science, Prof. Dr. Rifat Å krijelj, President of the Sarajevo University, and Husein ef. KavazoviÄ‡, Reis-ul-ulema of Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Reisu-l-ulema Husein ef. KavazoviÄ‡ speeking at the opening of the International symposium 'Islamic Art in Bosnia and Herzegovina' / Photo Â© Islamic Arts Magazine

The opening of the International symposium 'Islamic Art in Bosnia and Herzegovina' / Photo Â© Islamic Arts Magazine

This symposium was an opportunity for the public to gain insights into the richness of topics that covered different events throughout the history of Bosnia, related to Islamic arts, as well as to present very rich museum collections in Sarajevo. The presentations by experts from France, Hungary, Serbia and Qatar represented a significant contribution to understanding the six hundred year old tradition of Islamic arts in BiH. Especially exciting is the fact that large number of presenters were from Bosnia and Herzegovina which testifies that Bosnia has numerous experts who are working hard to research these topics.

L-R: Ä†azim HadÅ¾imejliÄ‡, Ismet BuÅ¡atliÄ‡, Adnan KadriÄ‡, Meliha TepariÄ‡, Aida SmailbegoviÄ‡, Elma KoriÄ‡ / Photo Â© Islamic Arts Magazine

L-R: Haris DerviÅ¡eviÄ‡, Kenan Å urkoviÄ‡, Adnan MuftareviÄ‡, IvÃ¡n SzÃ¡ntÃ³, Vincent ThÃ©rouin, Marko KatiÄ‡ / Photo Â© Islamic Arts Magazine

L-R: Lejla BuÅ¡atliÄ‡, Berin SpahiÄ‡, Muradija KahroviÄ‡ JerebiÄani, Fatima KadiÄ‡-Å½utiÄ‡, Amila SmajoviÄ‡, Ibrahim BegoviÄ‡ / Photo Â© Islamic Arts Magazine

Generally speaking, the focus was on less known aspects of Islamic art in Bosnia and Herzegovina, such as rare collections that are not known or poorly explored historical periods in which the art of calligraphy flourished. Thus, the Hungarian explorer Ivan Szanto talked about the subject of importing Islamic artefacts to Bosnia from Persia at the end of the 19th century, a topic which is generally unknown. The public learned about calligraphic silsila in Bosnia from the 18th and 19th centuries by Dr Haris DerviÅ¡eviÄ‡, a researcher who reconstructed these historical facts as almost nothing was known about it. Adnan MuftareviÄ‡ from the Sarajevo City Museum spoke about the Ottoman archaeology in Sarajevo. He presented a particularly interesting lecture, a research of the long forgotten and ruined Ottoman buildings, which were excavated, appropriately conserved and presented to the public. Fatima KadiÄ‡-Å½utiÄ‡ presented the recent research results of the antique Anatolian and Balkan prayer rugs from Sarajevo mosques. Of course, we need to mention the presentation by Adnan KadriÄ‡ from the Oriental Institute about the art of the miniatures by famous Ottoman painters originating from Bosnia, such as Osman NakaÅ¡ and Nasuh MatrakÄi. In total, 17 scientific papers were presented at the symposium.

In addition to these lectures, Shaika Nasser al-Nassr, Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs of the Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar, addressed the gathering as a special guest, presenting the Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar and its work on the affirmation of Islamic arts.

Shaika Nasser al-Nassr, Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs of the Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar at the International symposium 'Islamic Art in Bosnia and Herzegovina' / Photo Â© Islamic Arts Magazine

Along with the symposium, in the premises of the old Haniqah, an exhibition 'Islamic Art in Bosnia and Herzegovina' was opened. The exhibition showed artefacts from both public and private collections in Bosnia, as well as a collection of works by contemporary Bosnian calligraphers. The exhibition was on view until November 2, 2017.