"Ottoman-Arab intellectuals in the Age of Transformation" was discussed at the Yunus Emre Institute in Doha

Dr. M. Fatih Çalışır, Istanbul University History Department Faculty Member and Harvard University Visiting Researcher, YEE Doha Coordinator Enver Gedik, academics in Qatar, Turkish and foreign students and many citizens attended the conference.

The conference, which was held with simultaneous translation into English and Arabic, discussed the role of scholars of Arab origin who left their mark on 17th-century Ottoman intellectual life.

Çalışır talked about the contributions of intellectual figures such as İbrahim el-Kurani, Abdulkadir el-Baghdadi and Abu Bakr Bahram ed-Damaskî to the fields of science, Sufism and literature in the Ottoman geography.

Çalışır argued against the characterization of the 17th century as a "period of decline" in traditional historiography, and emphasized that this period actually witnessed a dynamic transformation process in intellectual and scientific terms.

As an example, Çalışır gave the project to translate the Atlas Minor into Ottoman Turkish in the 1670s, stating that this translation was carried out under the auspices of Grand Vizier Fazıl Ahmed Pasha and under the leadership of Abu Bakr Bahram al-Dimaşki, and said, "This project is the most concrete proof that the Ottomans were not indifferent to scientific developments in Europe."

Underlining that Abdulkadir al-Baghdadi's participation in Sultan Mehmed IV's Polish expedition and his presentation of his works to Fazil Ahmed Pasha were important examples of Ottoman-Arab intellectual cooperation, Çalışır said:

"The stories of these scholars should inspire us to rethink how knowledge circulated and was transformed in the Ottoman-Arab world. The 17th century should no longer be approached from a perspective of 'decline' but of 'renewal.'"

The event ended with questions from participants and the presentation of plaques.