Associate Professor at the study program of International Relations (IR) at the Faculty of Business and Administration (FBA), Dr. Joseph J. Kaminski, Assistant Professor Dr. Samy A. Ayoub from the University of Texas-Austin and the Center for Advanced Studies recently co-organized the 2nd annual “The Hanafi School: Texts, Authors, and Practitioners” workshop that took place from 1-3 June, 2022 at the International University of Sarajevo (IUS), the Faculty of Islamic Studies at the University of Sarajevo, and the Gazi Husrev Beg Library in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The workshop’s participants each presented original research in a round-table discussion format that focused on foundational texts of the Hanafi school of fiqh through its formative Mamluk-Ottoman and post-Ottoman periods with a special emphasis on— (1) the madhhab as a fulcrum for Hanafi legal continuity; (2) Hanafi central authorities across the school’s history; and (3) the contribution of Hanafi judges through their judicial treatises and decisions.
Professors and PhD candidates from all over the world participated in the workshop, representing Brown University (USA), the University of Texas-Austin (USA), University of California, Santa Barbara (USA), the University of Sarajevo (Bosnia), Istanbul University (Turkey), Marmara University (Turkey), Social Sciences University of Ankara (Turkey), Leiden University (Netherlands), Münster University (Germany), and Tübingen University (Germany).
In addition to the original research presentations, Assistant Prof. Dr. Ehlimana Memišević from the Faculty of Law at the University of Sarajevo gave a moving memorial lecture on the life and writings of her late mentor, Prof. Dr. Fikret Karčić (1955-2022), who was originally supposed to participate in the workshop as the distinguished local guest of honor. The participants spent the final afternoon of the workshop on a cultural tour of Travnik led by the Secretary for the Office of European Integration for the Central Bosnia Canton, Dr.Sci. Muhamed Softić.
