THE ISLAMIC COMMUNITY UNIVERSITY EDUCATION REFORM MUST NOT BE AFFECTED BY PARTICULAR REQUESTS AND PERSONAL INTERESTS

Interview with Dževad Hodžić Head of the Directorate for Education and Science of the Riyasat of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Three faculties of the Islamic Community of B&H, functioning in Bosnia and Herzegovina, are: the Faculty of Islamic Studies in Sarajevo, the Faculty of Islamic Pedagogy in Zenica, and the Faculty of Islamic Pedagogy in Bihać, along with the Faculty for Islamic Studies in Novi Pazar, Serbia. In 2024, the Directorate for Education and Science of the Riyasat of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina initiated a series of sessions, discussing the ongoing process of the reform of higher education of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The sessions aim to analyse the present situation of higher education of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina and evaluate the prospects and scopes of the reforms. As the topic of the sessions requires, the meetings are attended by the raisu-al-ulama of the Islamic Community in B&H, the deputy of raisu-al-ulama, deans and the representatives of the faculties of the Islamic Community in B&H, heads of the directorates of the Riyasat of the IC of B&H, heads of various offices, muftis, main imams, and others who can contribute to the process of the reform with their suggestions and experiences. Interview with Professor Dr. Dževad Hodžić, head of the Directorate for Education and Science of the Riyasat of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, aims to present the significance of this educational reform and to explain how it is different from the earlier, “Strategy for reformation of higher educatio and scientific research of the Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the period 2014 to 2024.”