The International Conference on “The Ottomans and the Malay World: Contemporary Reflections on History, Culture and Economy” was jointly organized by IRCICA, the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization, International Islamic University of Malaysia (ISTAC-IIUM), University of Malaya, Asia West East Center (AsiaWE), Asia Middle East Center for Research and Dialogue (AMEC), Bait Al-Amanah, and the National University of Singapore, and conducted at ISTAC-IIUM on 14-15 October 2023. The conference was opened with the addresses of IRCICA Director General Prof. Dr. Mahmud Erol Kılıç; the Dean of ISTAC-IIUM Prof. Dr. Abdelaziz Berghout; the Chairman of Asia WE Center Prof. Dr. Farid Al-Attas. A documentary film introducing IRCICA’s activities was shown. The opening ceremony concluded with the launching of the book The Middle East and the Malay World. Contemporary Issues and Future Challenges resulting from the International Conference on the same theme that was held in Kuala Lumpur in October 2022 by AsiaWE, AMEC, Bait Al Amanah and the University of Malaya (publ. Gerakbudaya, 2023).
The conference received paper presentations by scholars from various institutions. The paper titles reflect the various relationships which were developed between the Malay world and the Ottoman world over the centuries: Prof. Dr. İsmail Hakki Kadı (Istanbul Medeniyet University, Türkiye), “Saiyid Muḥammad bin Aḥmad As-Saqqāf (1836-1906) (Nong Chik) in Ottoman Relations with the Malay World”; Prof. Dr. Ahmad Murad Merican (ISTAC-IIUM), “The Image of the Ottomans and Turkey in the Malay Press Before World War II”; Assoc Prof. Dr. Mehmet Özay (ISTAC-IIUM), “Some Reflections of Socio-Political Changes in Late Ottoman and Early Republican Eras in Vernacular Press in the Malay Archipelago”; Mr. Syafiq Mardi (Department of Malay Studies, National University of Singapore), “Singapore Sepoy Mutiny 1915 and Ottoman Empire Relations”; Mr. Tayfun Akgün (ISTAC-IIUM), “From the ‘Ottoman Concubine’ to the Sultanah of Johore: The Story of Khadijah Hanum”; Dr. Alaeddin Tekin (Department of History, Social Sciences University of Ankara, Türkiye), “Beyond Pan-Islamism: Understanding the Ottoman Caliphate’s Southeast Asian Policy”; Dr. Murat Yaş (Institute of Islamic Economics and Finance, Marmara University, Türkiye), “History of Islamic Financial Innovation: From Ottoman Empire to Southeast Asia”; Dr. Nurul Ain Norman (ISTAC-IIUM), “Language, Thought & Civilization: Analyzing Intertwined Relationships between the Turkish and the Malay World”; Prof. Dr. İsmail Hakkı Göksoy (Department of Islamic History and Arts, Suleyman Demirel University, Türkiye), “The Ottoman Shalk al-Islam in the Philippines: Vecih Efendi”; Dr. Alwi Alatas (Department of History and Civilization, IIUM), “Fostering Hope: The Presence of the Ottoman Consulate in Batavia, 1882-1924”; Dr. Wasamon Sanasen (Faculty of Architecture, Art and Design, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Thailand), “The Traces of Ottoman Art in Architectural Element and Decoration of Mosques in Thailand”; Mr. Haziq Hakimi (Department of Comparative Asian Studies, National University Singapore), “Hedging as Turkish Foreign Policy during World War II”; Mr. Ahmed Çağrı İnan (Department of History, University of Malaya), “Türkiye-Malaysia Relations from Cultural Perspective: The Impact of Turkish TV Series in Malaysia”; Prof. Dr. Farid Al-Attas (National University Singapore), “Said Nursi as a Resource against Sectarianism in the Malay World”. The conference concluded with an Evaluations session.
