TÜBA-International Ali Qushji Symposium
The International Ali Qushji Symposium organized by TÜBA and Istanbul Medeniyet University (IMU) History of Science Institute with the support of the Manuscripts Institution of Türkiye hosted by Istanbul Technical University (ITU) was held.
The symposium, started after the “Semerkant’tan İstanbul’a: Ali Qushji ve Çevresi Yazma Eser Sergisi” (From Samarkand to Istanbul: Ali Qushji and His Circle Manuscript Exhibition) which was held at the Rami Library with the participation of Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy within the scope of the activities related to the declaration of 2024 as the “Year of Ali Qushji” by UNESCO, the symposium lasted for 2 days. The symposium commemorated the 550th commemoration of Ali Qushji's death and traced his contributions in the fields of astronomy, mathematics and philosophy in the history of science. Scientists from different geographies discussed Ali Qushji's contributions to the world of science in 6 sessions.
The symposium program started with the speeches of Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Minister of Industry and Technology; Prof. Muzaffer Şeker, President of TÜBA; Prof. Gülfettin Çelik, Rector of IMU; Dr. Coşkun Yılmaz, President of the Turkish Manuscript Society (TYEK); Prof. İpek Akın Karadayı, Vice Rector of ITU; and Prof. İhsan Fazlıoğlu, Director of the History of Science Institute at IMU. Istanbul Governor Davut Gül also participated in the opening of the program, where Prof. Bakhram Abdulkhalimov, Vice President of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, and Rustam Jabbarov, Advisor to Firdavs Abdukhalikov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Uzbekistan Society for the Study, Preservation and Promotion of Cultural Heritage (WOSCU), made welcoming speeches. Prof. F. Jamil Ragep, Member of TÜBA and winner of the International Academy Award, spoke under the title “Abd al-ʿAlī al-Bīrjandī vs. ʿAlī al-Qūshjī, or Why Wasn't Copernicus a Muslim?” and Dr. Sally Ragep presented “A Visual Exploration of ʿAlī al-Qūshjī's Life and Works”.
Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Minister of Industry and Technology, said: “In the Turkish Century, we will witness a Türkiye that has a share in the global space economy, maximizes the opportunities offered by space, and proves its presence in space science and technologies on a global scale.” At the opening ceremony of the International Ali Qushji Symposium, Kacır said that it was pleasing to see that Ali Qushji, who made significant contributions to scientific thought as well as being an astronomer and mathematician, was universally appreciated and that UNESCO declared 2024 as the “Year of Ali Qushji” on the occasion of the 550th commemoration of his death.
Artifacts hidden in libraries now illuminate the history of science.
Pointing out that Ali Qushji, a traveling scientist, was very valuable like all scientists of the period, Şeker said that it is an essential duty to transfer the observations, evaluations and studies of scientists about time, space and environment to future generations.
Prof. Şeker said: “There has been a serious work on the history of science in our country recently. As TÜBA, I find our Turkish Islamic Science and Culture Heritage Project, which we carry out under the auspices of our President, very valuable in this context; it is very valuable to bring the works hidden in libraries to light and to ensure that studies are carried out on presenting them to the benefit of the new generation, and it makes very important and valuable contributions to world science. I would like to express my gratitude to UNESCO for this meeting and to the President of Uzbekistan Şevket Mirziyoyev and our President for their support in the process leading up to the declaration of 2024 as the Year of Ali Qushji, which was realized with the application of Uzbekistan and Türkiye. This year, UNESCO has declared not only the Year of Ali Qushji, but also the Year of Prof. Fuat Sezgin, Honorary Member of TÜBA, on the 100th anniversary of his birth, and the Year of Dîvâni Lugâti't-Türk. I would like to thank the Turkish National Committee of UNESCO for their support in all of these efforts.”
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