Oxford Islamic Studies Centre honoured by Turkish President

The President of Turkey, Abdulah Gül, has held a dinner in Istanbul to honor and raise awareness of the work of the Oxford Islamic Studies Centre.

The centre, based in a prominent Islamic-style building with a minaret on the Marston road, also awards a prominent scholarship named after the
President. The Ê»Abdullah Gül Scholarshipʼ is granted to a Turkish academic every year to work as a guest lecturer within the centre.

Ê»We can demonstrate to the whole world our values such as conciliation and mutual understanding by lending our support for the center. For this, we should create something constructive and tangible for today’s youth and the next generations. This is a noble objective of which we will all be proudʼ, the President said in a speech to assembled Turkish dignitaries.

“The center has played an important part in the understanding of Islamic values in both West and the East and has experienced many firsts in its timeline,” Gül added, alluding to the fact that the centre was the first Islamic institution to be set up in the history of the University.

The Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies was established in 1985 to encourage scholarly research in Western languages on the topic of Islamic culture and the Islamic world. The Turkish state partly financed its construction and establishment, contributing money to construct the first quadrangle of the building.

President Gülʼs involvement with the centre is significant – he has been a member of the Board of Trustees since 2004 and in 2010 he delivered an address in Oxford entitled Ê»The Islamic World – Democracy and Developmentʼ.

Some students were sceptical about how relevant this was to their daily experience. “Iʼve never visited the centre and probably never will – is it right that some of our student fees have been poured into it?” asked a third year student from St. Hildaʼs.

Yet others could see the centreʼs benefit. “As a theology student studying Islam I really benefit from the research conducted in the Centre and think it is incredibly important that Western academia doesnʼt always confine itself to Western culture,” said Rhys Eden, a second-year Regentʼs student.

Other students were less impressed with the Presidentʼs announcement and would have preferred him to discuss other issues to do with the gap between East and West.

Will Obeney, a first year PPE student, said, “To be honest, Iʼm quite confused. As 1950s rock-and-roll group Ê»The Four Ladsʼ once pointed out: Ê»now itʼs Istanbul, not Constantinopleʼ – so perhaps I would have liked the President to clarify the issue for me. I am unable to look at maps without wondering about what the correct title of the city is.”