Students’ day, referred to as UNIDAY, is one of the events that gather the young members of our community studying in different parts of the world. Starting in 2007 with “The Future in the Tradition” and celebrating the third program “Our dreams go back to the past” in 2011, UNIDAY is organized in 2014 with the subject of “When the thought sets off on the journey.” Convinced that a healthy relationship with the past will enable a better understanding of the present and facilitate establishing a healthier future, the programme brings students together with some exemplary personalities who can serve them as role models. Colourful program of the day covers presentations of participants, masters of instrumental music of the East and the West, exhibitions of different branches of art and introduction of outstanding books.
What “reading” without “thinking” means is what “living” without “reading” means. Our holy book, which guides our life, designates a direction angle to thought, insistently and continuously recommends active mind by encouraging thinking or reasoning. Those who set off on the road departing from such recommendation fleet within the created by somewhat watching the created, reading everything word to be read by the divine order of “Read!” In brief, when “the thought sets off on the road”, heart shuddered by comprehending leaks like a river firstly, flowing to its bed, and then endows life by settling down in its destination. This very thought will make a contribution to building a generation, which is equipped with consciousness of raison d’être and aware of its responsibility, having thought connected with heart and having heart connected with life. Those who are aware of themselves are only the ones who can create awareness and thus they can contribute originally. This contribution will come into being with hands, words and acts of a generation that is conscious of its responsibility and does care about thinking.
This generation long-awaited and desired will be the one that sets off on the road with thought and hereby makes thought set off on the road. This generation that has a word for the era will be the one that surrounds all the humanity,
reads the life as a whole, is aware of time and place which it is in, and is conscious about itself, its era, its responsibilities, why and what it says. At a moment and time in which all the hopes of the humanity vanish and “it’s all over”, birth of a new generation will enliven by making thought set off on the road.
Thought mentioned here is something which has a responsibility not on the clash of civilizations but on acquaintance and getting known of each other, and also something which is needed by a generation protecting its self-dignity. The purpose is to build a thought, which will establish bridges between different civilizations, and a generation, that is cast in this thought. Building of a generation that relies on its history and will bring a new voice, a new horizon and a new breath to time and place that it lives in will begin “when the thought sets off on the road.”
I wish to meet you at UNIDAY to set off the thought on the journey…
Taner Doğan
Chairman of IGMG Students Department
Feridun Yılmaz, who got acquainted with economics through his BA at the Department of Administration at the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, the University of Marmara (1988-1993), completed his MA (1993-1995) and PhD (1995-2000) at the Department of Economics, the University of Uludağ. He considered himself responsible for inquiring economic thought rather than making a mere study of economics. Always focusing on Muslim thought, Feridun Yılmaz’s relationship with economics has been nothing but alienation throughout all his educational and teaching life. Depending on this relationship, he carries out various studies concentrating on the fields of history of economic thought, political economy, philosophy of economics and institutional economics. Feridun Yılmaz works as the Head of Economics Department at the University of Uludağ and a lecturer as well.
Some of his books:
Some of his published articles:
Ebrahim Rasool, who was born in Capetown in 1962, studied pedagogy at the University of Capetown and received his master’s degree from the same university in 1984.
He joined politics just when he was a student at university. He was an active member of the United Democratic Front from 1983 until 1988 and worked for the party at administrative level.
He started working as the National Secretary of Call of Islam in 1984. In this post, he carried out activities in order to mobilize Muslims and made negotiations regarding the necessity of a much deeper understanding of Islam. In this respect, he presented his ideas about practicing religion under the circumstances of oppression, atrocity and apartheid regime as well as belief and religion.
In 1986, he took the responsibility of coordinating the World Conference themed religion and peace especially in South Africa. He continued this task until he became the Vice Rector at the University of Western Cape in 1991.
At the same time, he took charge in the African National Congress, which has been giving struggle against the apartheid regime in South Africa since its establishment in 1912 and has a great importance in the country. He worked as the responsible person for financial matters for the first three years and then became the president of the organization in 1998.
Furthermore, he worked at different regional administrative departments of Western Cape: health and social branches between 1994 and 1998; progress of economy and finance sector between 2001 and 2004. Rasool became the Premier of the Western Cape region from 2004 to 2008.
Ebrahim Rasool was granted various awards along with his political career. Some of these are the following: Nelson Mandela Award for Health (2005), Public Good Award (2008) from the World Congress of Muslim Philanthropists and the award from Business Against Crime for his activities carried out against crimes.
Ebrahim Rasool is the South African ambassador to the United States of America since 2010.
İncesaz was founded in 1996 by Murat Aydemir, Derya Türkan and Cengiz Onural. The trio started their journey by combining traditional Turkish music with modern sounds, which they produce by using instruments like tamboura, kemancha and zither.
The group continued their works with different instruments by joining of new personalities to the group in time. The group succeeded to enshrine their lovers’ memory through their own compositions besides those belonging to the classical Turkish music.
The Group composed soundtracks of “İkinci Bahar” series in 1999, and of “Ekmek Teknesi” and “Çınaraltı” series in 2001, which were broadcasted in Turkey.
Precious solo singers such as Dilek Türkan and Melihat Gülses took part in the projects of Incesaz, that the Group carried out. Today, Bora Ebeoğlu and Ezgi Köker are the soloists of the Group.
The albums of İncesaz:
Miniature derives from the Latin ’minium’ and means red leap. In the Middle Ages, especially the initials of the religious books were decorated with this colour, which was produced from lead oxide. Over time small paintings, decorating various books, were called the same way. It can be assumed that the word ’miniature’ may have derived from ’minion’, means in small scales; because typographer and painters began to decorate the initials of the manuscripts with tiny pictures.
Today, miniature is considered one of the Turkish traditional fine arts. In addition to traditional art of woven and carpet, wood and ceramic ornamentation, also many kinds of book arts were applied during Ottomans. Books were ornamented with known arts, such as Ottoman illumination (tezhip), bookbinding, calligraphy (hat) and paper marbling (ebru). Through depiction, or better to say nakış, some important events and characters were portrayed. Each work was a product of a group of artists, including authors, calligraphers, scribes, muralist (nakkaş).In nakkaşhane of the palace, the atelier of the miniature and illumination arts, the students were always educated under the mastery of wright.
Before miniature was not applied, which generally used to summarize the subject of the books, taswir or nakish and maps were used to describe some significant events and people. According to some narratives, while the events were written down, they were also painted in a fast and trustworthy way. As depiction was subjected to misuse and as Islam should be practised as a whole, topics, purposes, emphasis and the style of the depiction was designated according to some principles.
Beside many scholarly, literary and historical works like Hamse and Şehname, there are also many examples of miniature art in travelbooks (seyahatname) and surname (a kind of book recording prominent events of some families, especially monarch families.) Reflecting the content of the book, miniature is drawn and painted in a simple way and it is two-dimensional. It does not depict the reality of the room but the known reality. It survived an imitational phase and reached its ultimate realistic and pure expression. The leading of this style was Nakkaş Osman. Afterwards, one-paged depictions become popular.
The most important character of this expression in Ottomans was its realism. Beside ornamenting, a deep narrative approach continued todevelop in many different styles. They are like historical documents. Another feature of Ottoman nakish is its narrative approach in details. The miniatures of Levnî are so realistic that they can be trusted like documentary evidences. The simplicity in his one-paged miniatures is astonishing. He drew only the most important details and reduced ornamentation. This realism and the documentary aspects of Ottoman miniature distinguish it from Chinese, Indian and Persian miniatures. In Persian miniature nakkaş paints highly ornamented architecture, flowers, trees, rivers and very shiny nature; but in Ottoman miniature we see less and more simple colours. Because of the tendency to Western paintings in 18. century, Ottoman depiction lost its importance and was replaced with oil paintings.
Thought sets off on the journey... It has a way to get over. There are shapes and colors it took in the name of truth. Sometimes black, sometimes white is it. Sometimes colorful.
Thought sets off on the journey... There are words that it will say, pictures that it will sketch, and gaps that it will fill in from the very moment when it sets off...
How, really, does the picture of soul which takes the form of state of mind emerge in the mind along with that thought sets off on the journey?
IGMG Students
Boschstr. 61-65
50171 Kerpen / Germany
IGMG Students’ Department offer various services for prospective Muslim students and graduates in order to help them to shape their lives in accordance with the requirements of their religious, historical and cultural identity; to raise them as self-confident young individuals, who can assume responsibility in the society. While doing this, it aims at that personalities who deal with scholarship identify their own positions with respect to facts of time and place.
The Students’ Department acts with the conviction that young Muslims should be in the position of producing new ideas and offering alternatives by understanding the present era and state of affairs in the light of Islamic values. In this respect, the department conducts various activities to bring knowledge seekers’ attention to knowledge and wisdom and concerns itself responsible for guiding those who seek for wisdom. By broadening students’ perspectives beyond their specific disciplines through opening up new horizons before them, the Students’ Department intends mainly to raise a new generation of Muslims with a vision for the future and something to say to the world.
The Students’ Department conducts its services with a committee and is active together with Community Development, Education, Public Relations and Student Residence and Bursary Units in 34 regions with its 250 administrators. Together with about 3500 members, the Students’ Department reaches 7000 students with its services.
