Konya, biblical Iconium, is for centuries the religious capital of Turkey. Here is what some may call 'The Vatican of Sufism', the complex of buildings around the tomb of Mevlana, worlds greatest mystic humanist and founder of the famous Whirling Dervishes.

On the 5th and 6th of May 2003 the Third International Mevlana congress took place at the Selçuk University of Konya. Beside scholars from Turkey, China, Japan and former Soviet States for the first time a Dutch national lectured during this congress: Mevlana biographer Mohamed el-Fers from Amsterdam.

Under his hearing on the first row no less than four Turkish ministers: Mehmet S. Aydin of religious affairs, Besir Atalay, minister of State, Hüseyin Çelik of National Education and Sami Güçlü of Agriculture. Between the loads of tv-teams in the huge Demirel-auditorium Dutch moslim-broadcasters NMO and a deputation of the Dutch embassy from Ankara.
After el-Fers' lecturing, he and Veyis Güngör of Türkevi Amsterdam, together with Hans Kruijssen, president of Cordaid (a Dutch helporganisation) received from minister Aydin the Turkish Merit of Honor, a high distinction for people that particularly have highlighted the culture and the people of Turkey.

5 MAY
30 AUGUST HALL
9:30-12:00 a.m.

The Extending of Veneration and The National Anthem
Protocol Utterances.

INAUGURATION and FIRST SESSION about THOUGHT MOVEMENTS INFLUENCING IN THE TURKIFICATION AND ISLAMIZATION OF THE THIRTEEN CENTURY ANTOLIA with

• Prof. Dr. Mustafa ISEN,
  Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture
  
• Prof. Dr. Yusuf HALAÇOGLU,
  Chief of Turkish History Society
• Prof. Dr. Abdurrahman GÜZEL
  Academician at Gazi University
• Prof. Dr. Ahmet Yasar OCAK
  A cademician at Hacettepe University
  
  

5 MAY
30 AGUSTOS HALL
1:30-2:15 p.m.
SECOND SESSION A

Chairman: Prof. Dr. Cihat ÖZÖNDER

TURKISH iMMIGRATION TO EUROPE AND TURKISH DIASPORA IN EUROPE IN 21ST CENTURY

• Prof. Dr. Edibe SÖZEN,
  Inter-Cultural Communication and Human Rights as a Center-Periphery Relation
• Doç. Dr. Vedat BILGIN,
  Cultural Consequences of Immigration
• Prof. Dr. Musa TASDELEN,
  Turks in Europe or, the Proplem of Making Identity in Diaspora
• Doç. Dr. Talip KÜÇÜKCAN,
  Cultural Pluralism in Europe and Turkish Community
  
  

5 MAY
30 AGUSTOS HALL
2:30-4.30 p.m.
SECOND SESSION A

Chairman: Dr. Ömer TURAN

TOLERANCE AND INTER-RELIQIOUS COMMUNICATION

• Doç. Dr. Ali KÖSE
  Introduction of Mystic Islam to Europeans
• Dr. Arslan KARAGÜL
  Colloborative Muslim-Christian Studies in Netherlands
• Mohamed EL-FERS
  Active Sufism
  
  

FINAL REMARKS made by

• Prof. Dr. Mehmet AYDIN
  (Ministry of State) and
• Doç. Dr. Hüseyin ÇELIK
  (Ministry of National Education)

REWARD CEREMONY for author Mohamed el-Fers, Veyis Güngör of Türkevi Westerpark and Cordaid president Hans Kruijssen with PROTOCOL PARTICIPANTS

• Prof. Dr. Mehmet S. AYDIN
  (Ministry of State)
• Prof. Dr. Besir ATALAY
  (Ministry of State)
• Doç. Dr. Hüseyin ÇELIK
  (Ministry of National Education)
• Prof. Dr. Sami GÜÇLÜ
  (Ministry of Agriculture)

5 MAY
MALAZGIRT HALL
1:30-4:00 p.m.
SECOND SESSION B

Chairmen Prof. Dr. Mehmet AYDIN and Prof. Masataka TAKESHITA

• Dr. Mehmet ÖNDER,
  Family Tree of Mevlana: Fatih Sultan Mehmed is One of the Grandsons of Mevlana.
• Prof. Dr. Hüseyin AYAN,
  Mevlana in the Sultan Veled’s Ma‘ârif
• Prof. Dr. Gönül AYAN,
  Sevâkib-i Menâkib and Mevlana
• Yrd. Doç. Dr. Hülya KÜÇÜK,
  The Caliphs of Mevlevi According to Ibtidânâme
• Ekrem ISIN,
  Historical Foundations of Mevlevi Phylosophy: Sultan Veled and the Astablishment of the Rank of Çelebi.
• Yrd. Doç. Dr. Nilgün AÇIK,
  Mevlana and Educational Aspect of Mevlevi Order
  
  

5 MAY
8:30 p.m.

6 MAY
30 AGUSTOS HALL
09:30-12:00 a.m.
THIRD SESSION A

Chairmen Prof. Dr. Saim SAKAOGLU and Prof. Dr. Naile HACIZADE

• Prof. Dr. Dmitri D. VASILYEV,
  Portraits in the Stone Gravures of Whirling Gök Turks in Central Asia, Mogolistan and Siberia.
• Prof. Dr. Dmitri V. MIKULSKI,
  Biographies of Sufis in Ibn Hallikan [13th Century]
• Prof. Dr. Natalya Ilyiniçna PRIGARINA,
  The proplems of Inside-Outside Mystic Relationships in Calal ad-Din Rumi and Muhammed Ikbal.
• Prof. Dr. Anna SUVOROVA,
  The tomb of Sems Tebrizi in Multan (Pakistan) and Turkic Relations of Some Sufi Orders in South Asia.
• Yrd. Doç. Dr. Yuri AVERYANOV,
  Sipiritual Relations of Mevlana Rumi with Haci Bektas Veli.
• Dr. Nadejda EMELYANOVA,
  Sufism in the Early 20th Century in Northen Caucusas (Ingushistan and Osetya).

6 MAY
MALAZGIRT HALL
09:30-12:00 a.m.
THIRD SESSION B

Chairmen Prof. Dr. Esin KAHYA and Prof. Dr. Ramazan SESEN

• Prof. Dr. Ismail YAKIT,
  Woman in Western Thought and Mevlana.
• Prof. Dr. Recep DIKICI,
  Cultural Activities in and around Konya in 13th Century.
• Prof. Dr. Emine YENITERZI,
  The Dialog of Mevlana with Non-Muslims.
• Doç. Dr. Ahmet Kazim ÜRÜN,
  Scholars Effecting Mevlana’s Literatural Style and Their Writings.
• Yrd. Doç. Dr. Nuri SIMSEKLER,
  Life in Konya According to Mesnevi.
• Dr. Erdogan EROL,
  The Silver ‘Sebeke’ in front of Mevlana’s Tomb.

6 MAY
30 AGUSTOS HALL
1:30-5:00 p.m.
FOURTH SESSION A

Chairmen Dr. Mehmet ÖNDER and Prof. Dr. Hasim KARPUZ

• Emekli Alb. Sefik CAN,
  Mevlana in Seljuki Culture.
• Prof. Dr. Mehmet AYDIN,
  Dimensions of Islamic Sufism in Konya in 13th Century
• Prof. Dr. Mehmet SEKER,
  The role of Mevlana and Mevlevi Phylosophy in Making Anatolia as a Turkish Land.
• Prof. Dr. Ramazan SESEN,
  A Survey of Academic Environment in the Time of Seljuks.
• Prof. Dr. Esin KAHYA,
  A Brief Evaluation of Scientific Thought in Anatolian Seljuks.
• Prof. Dr. Abdullah ÖZBEK,
  The role of Yunus Emre in Turkification and Islamication of Anatolia

6 MAY
MALAZGIRT HALL
1:30-5:00 p.m.
FOURTH SESSION B

Chairmen Prof. Dr. Dmitri D. VASILYEV and Professor Lecturer Bilal KUSPINAR

• Prof. Masataka TAKESHITA,
  Sadr al-Din al-Qunawi as seen from a Mevlevi point of view.
• Prof. Dr. Saim SAKAOGLU,
  Nasreddin Hodga as a Wiseman of Seljuk.
• Prof. Dr. Ismet KAYAOGLU,
  Debates around the Whirling of Dervishes.
• Professor Lecturer Bilal KUSPINAR,
  The Preface to the Mathnawî: Ismâ‘il Ankaravî’s Commentary.
• Associate Professor Yasuhsi TONAGA,
  The School of Ibn ‘Arabi in Mashriq and Turkey.
• Associate Professor Dr. Jianping WANG,
  Rumi’s Masnavi And The Sufi Orders in China

6 MAY 2003
30 AGUSTOS HALL
5:00-5:30 p.m.

CLOSING SESSION with

• Prof. Dr. Hasim KARPUZ,
• Prof. Dr. Mehmet AYDIN,
• Dr. Mehmet ÖNDER,
• Prof. Dr. Dmitri D. VASILYEV,
• Prof. Dr. Ramazan SESEN and
• Prof. Masataka TAKESHIT