Proceedings Of The Third International Symposium On Islamic Civilisation In Volga-ural Region Ufa, 14-16 October 2008

The Third International Symposium on “Islamic Civilisation in Volga-Ural Region” was held in Ufa, capital of Bashkortostan, under the patronage of the then President of Bashkortostan Mr. Murtaza Rakhimov, and opened with the President’s address. The symposium generated a wide array of studies on Volga-Ural region’s features and developments relating to intellectual heritage, religion, cultural identity, ideological movements, arts and architecture, multi-cultural influences, and the Islamic influence in the formation of all these processes. The book has the text of the comprehensive address (in Bashkir) of President Rakhimov. The 39 papers are published in their original language, in either Bashkir, Russian or English. Some of the titles are: “A comparison of Idil-Ural madrasahs and the Ottoman madrasahs” (Prof. Ali Arslan), “The Myth on the Origin of the Bashkorts and its variants in the Turkish world" (Prof. Özkul Çobanoğlu), “Islamic institutions and activities in Volga-Ural region during the 1917 revolution” (Prof. Nadir Devlet), “Nogays in the steppes of the Caspian Sea in the eyes of the 19th century Western travelers” (Assoc. Prof. Mustafa Eravcı), “The Timurid Lyceum” (Dr. Mohd. Sanaullah), “Astrakhan from he view of English and French travelers in the first quarter of the 19th century” (Dr. H. Kara, Dr. A. Başer), “The impact of Zeki Velidi Togan (1890-1970) on Turkish Politics” (Dr. T. Erdoğdu).
In 2009, Ufa also hosted the fourth congress on the same theme, under the patronage of the current President Mr. Rustem Zakievith Khamitov. The book to contain its proceedings is in preparation at IRCICA.