Proceedings of the Third International Congress on Islamic Civilisation in the Balkans 1 Bucharest,1 - 5 November 2006

The third congress on Islamic Civilisation in the Balkans was held in Bucharest, Romania, under the patronage of the President of Romania H.E. Traian Basescu. It was jointly organised by IRCICA, the University of Bucharest, and the Academy of Sciences of Romania, on 1-5 November 2006. For the first time on this subject, the congress enlisted academic cooperation between OIC-IRCICA representing fifty-seven Muslim countries, on one hand, and Romania on the other, with participation from other countriesin the region. This was significant in itself as it reflected a shared concern of the co-organisers and the participants for highlighting the history and the heritage of Muslim cultures in the Balkan region and for promoting their study and teaching. Earlier IRCICA had published the papers and proceedings of the first two congresses on “Islamic Civilisation in the Balkans”. The first congress was organised in Sofia, in 2000, in cooperation with Bulgarian universities, the Academy of Sciences and the National Library of Bulgaria. The second congress was held in Tirana, in 2003, in cooperation with the University of Tirana, the Academy of Sciences and the National Archives of Albania. The Bucharest congress received high quality contributions. It reflected advancements made in this research area and the benefits drawn from international communication through this and other series of forums. The book contains six articles in Part I titled “Historical Background”, six in Part II on “Education, Culture and Art”, three in Part III on “Social Life and Rituals”, and five articles on miscellaneous subjects.