Ambassador Prof. Dr. Mahmud Erol Kılıç, Director General of IRCICA, paid a two-day visit to Morocco at the invitation of Mr. Abdeljalil Lahjomri, Permanent Secretary of the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco. Prof. Kılıç gave a speech at the meeting marking the inauguration of the newly established “Chair for Research and Development of Maghrebi Calligraphy” within the Academy. In his address, Prof. Kılıç congratulated the Academy on this commendable initiative and expressed his appreciation for the appointment of the master calligrapher Belaid Hamidi — who had received ijazas from the Turkish calligraphy masters Hasan Çelebi and Ali Alparslan in the 1990s and is currently a Jury Member for the IRCICA International Calligraphy Competition — as the Head the Chair. Prof. Kılıç and the Academy’s Permanent Secretary Mr. Lahjomri also met to discuss matters regarding cooperation between the Academy and IRCICA.
Visit to ICESCO
Prof. Mahmud Erol Kılıç, Director General of IRCICA, also visited the Rabat-based Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO). The meeting with ICESCO’s Deputy Director General Dr. Abdelilah Benarafa and the Head of the Partnership and International Cooperation Sector Dr. Anar Kerimovfocused on exchanges of views in subject areas of mutual interest. Prof. Kılıç also visited the museum established within the same organization with the support of the Muslim World League, themed “The Life of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) and Islamic Civilization”, and expressed his intention to make the necessary efforts to open a similarly excellent museum in Türkiye. Furthermore, Prof. Kılıç visited and received information from the officials concerned on the permanent exhibition named “Sila” (Bond) housed under the same roof which highlights the Kingdom of Morocco’s genealogical and spiritual lineage to the “Ahl al-Bayt”.
Visit to the OIC Islamic Centre for Development of Trade
As part of his official contacts in Morocco, IRCICA Director General Prof. Mahmud Erol Kılıç paid a courtesy visit to Dr. Latifa El Bouabdellaoui, Director General of the Casablanca-based Islamic Centre for Development of Trade (ICDT) — another subsidiary organ of the OIC. During the meeting, views were exchanged regarding common areas of concern of the two organizations. It is noteworthy that IRCICA had contributed to the OIC Handicrafts Trade Fair organized by the ICDT in Casablanca in December 2025 with applied workshops and exhibitions on the traditional arts of calligraphy, paper marbling (ebru), and wood carving.
