International Symposium “The Scientific Thought of Imam El-Maturidi (853-944)”

A two-day International symposium “The Scientific Thought of Imam El-Maturidi (853-944)” was held at the Gazi Husrev-bey’s Library in Sarajevo on 20 and 21 November 2019.
The symposium was organized by the Faculties of Islamic Sciences from Sarajevo and Ankara, the Faculty of Islamic Sciences, Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakıf University in Istanbul, the Ilmijje Islamic Community Association (IZ) in BiH and the Gazi Husrev-bey Library in Sarajevo.
BiH Reisu-l-ulema Husein ef. Kavazović said in his welcome address that “Symposium’s aim is not to defend or challenge the Imam El-Maturidi but to look at our attitude towards his teaching and our tradition.”
“The Maturidi Aqaid is a constitutional category in the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina and it is our duty to care for and promote this doctrine, as we have the same obligation to the Hanafi madhab, and we know that the Matririds used to be called as Abu Hanifa’s ashabs. These are our roots, and the basis of our overall Islamic thought and our community” said Reisu-l-Ulema, among other things.
Republic of Turkey Ambassador to BiH Haldun Koc said that such large symposia are opportunities are to discuss the values that will harden us to meet various challenges.
The symposium covered, among other things, topics such as “The Relationship between the Matura School Aqaid and the Ottoman-Turkish Cultural Zone of Islam”, “Imam Maturidi’s Aqa'id“, “The Relations of Imam El-Maturidi to the Aqaeda Teachings of Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam al-Ash 'aria'”, “The Salafi critique of the Maturian tradition of kelam”, “Maturidias and interpretative tradition in the field of Aqais by Bosniaks”, “Maturidi Aqaid and belief in Bosniaks” and “The significance of al-Maturdi's methodology in the context of contemporary Aqaid, fiqh and Tefsir thought.”
The Symposium’s goals are to highlight the origin, significance and complexity of the theory of ehl-i Sunnah al-Jama'at through the entire work of Imam al-Maturidi, to express the relevance and significance of the ehl-i Sunnah al-l Jamat today, to emphasize the strong connection between the Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam al-Maturidi, to express the importance of the connection of the Turkish and Balkan Muslims with the Hanafi-Maturii tradition, and to express the importance of the Aqaida-philosophical and other sciences to Imam el-Maturidi in the modern world.