Dear readers,

This is the seventh issue (Volume 4, No. 1, Spring 2023) of our and your magazine Illuminatio/Svjetionik/Almanar. In this issue, you have the privilege of continuously getting to know more deeply and broadly the terms ars - techne - craft - fann - qadar/ṣināʿat in “art”, terms that academician Mehmed Akšamija brings closer to our understanding, all with the aim of adequately recognizing the important difference between the pre-projected westernized artistic "reality" and the constantly creative Islamic artistic qadar/ṣināʿat genius, originality and distinctiveness in the image and work of the homo islamicus.

Akšamija's work is not primarily theological, but “artistically” dialogic, whereby the essence of its content and message is the affirmation of Islamic tawḥīd, monotheism, as the primary motive of artistic creation/ṣināʿat of homo islamicus. Hence, Akšamija reminds us „that modalities of the qadar/ṣināʿat discourse are completely different from other “art forms” by a series of mutually related, complementary principles, conditions and features… Modalities of qadar/ṣināʿat discourse allow homo islamicus's experience of the Divine as a form of symbolic presence (ar. al-ḥuḍūr al-ramzī), manifested by means of a multitude of aesthetized forms of activity/ṣināʿat. In pictorial representation which uses appropriate modalities of the qadar/ṣināʿat discourse, there is wisdom (ar. al-ḥikmah) personified in organized actions, colours, sizes and proportions of both geometric figures and human figures and objects. By analyzing the visionary zeal with which works have been created, it can be concluded that it is homo islamicus's beneficence and mercy (ar. al-iḥsān) ...“ Thus, Akšamija's ability to guide us and open a new perspective for Islamic tawḥīd, monotheism, as the essence of Islamic religion and culture, through original “Islamic art”, makes not only this work exceptional, but also the entire project of our magazine, which despite everything is experiencing its seventh issue.

The following article is also in the spirit of Islamic tawḥīd, which points to the vagueness of quasi-Selfism, which bypasses or suppresses the rational power in man to affirm true Islamic monotheism in a discourse with quasi-monotheism through the faith and thought of Imam al-Māturīdī (d. 333/944) from Samarkand. Namely, authentic Salafism, which is based on continuity of memory, i.e., Islamic identity, has never been disputed, but quasi-Salafism, which advocates a kind of utopian, ṭūbāwiyya, thought that is foreign to Islamic thought and practice, is disputed.

Professor Beshir Lassioued from Tunisia honored us with his contribution on Gnostic thought and its influence on the development of humanity. This work follows the concept of our magazine to illuminate the human spirit and mind. Gnosis, maʿrafah, i.e., the knowledge of oneself and the world, is the way for moral and ethical healing of the world, which is burdened with many psychological and physical diseases due to the lack of gnosis about the meaning of life. For this reason, professor Lassioued suggests the restoration of gnosis in the sense of returning to spiritual values in thought and practice, i.e., an exercise such as one finds in Sufis or dervishes.

Ajla Čustović brings us back or bring us drown from the metaphysical to the physical world, where she confronts us with real challenges regarding human rights on the example of Salman Rushdie. This is not about freedom of thought and speech, but here we are talking about a relationship towards Islam not only from the outside, but also from within Islam itself, where the idea of human rights loses its meaning because it is reduced to a mere perception of a clash of civilizations. Insightful researcher Čustović shows us how to defend the position of law and justice, how to defend human rights, in the context of "intertwined areas of theology, political theory, philosophy, linguistics, hermeneutics and intellectual history". When you read this article, you will surely feel more confident with a great knowledge in this world abundant with unknowns and uncertainties.

In the context of world challenges such as the strategic competition of great powers, where when one falls is no less dangerous than the one that is rising, and problems without passports, such as the pandemic and the climate crisis and the revolution in technology, which inexorably changes the way of human life, dr. Enes Karić presents an essay in which he points out the danger for the planet Earth or the end of the world in the sense that man today possesses the means of self-destruction, which he did not possess before. Without apocalyptic obsession, dr. Karić takes us through the story of the beginning and end of the world as taught by religious books. Of course, no one, except God the Creator, knows how the world was created or how and when it will end, but it is useful to read and think about, because we all belong to Allah and to Allah, we all will return.

In his article on "Đozo and Socialism", Šaćir Filandra, like no one before, portrayed the relationship of socialist Yugoslavia to Đozo, but also Đozo’s relationship to Yugoslavia. It may not be on the level of Plato's apology of Socrates, but it is certainly on the path of defending Đozo's character and work, well deserved as it is also a defense of the Bosniak/Bosnian right to a national and state identity. Not falling for superficial and flat assessments about the role of Husein ef. Đozo in different historical circumstances, Filandra managed to point out important details from Đozo religious and social activism that frees him from pejorative prejudices. By reading Filandra's work on Đozo, we get to know a period of our Bosniak/Bosnian history, which is still in our memory, closer and better. 

 In a comprehensive review of the book Bias in Popular Culture: The Power of Visual and Linguistic Narratives by Anas Al-Shaikh-Ali, Linda Hyökki introduces us to the fact of stereotypes in visual and linguistic narratives, which Anas Al-Shaikh-Ali convincingly and illustratively points out especially when it comes to Islam, Muslims, Arabs and others who, according to those who spread these stereotypes, do not belong to them.

Dear readers, In the hope that this seventh issue of our Magazine will also enrich you with new knowledge and enlighten your spirit and mind, please accept these expressions of our special respect.