Review of the Research Institute for History and - Universiteit Utrecht

De Jong and dr Bernd Ratke both work on earlier Islamic history. De Jong’s research concerns the Alevis
and their opponents from the late fi fteenth to the early twentieth centuries. Radtke’s work is especially
concerned with al-Ibrîz, a text that is of crucial importance for the development of Islamic mysticism since
the eighteenth century. This text is read, and interpreted throughout the Islamic world to this very day.
Dr Hans Theunissen investigates Ottoman diplomatic culture on the basis of ahdname documents, which
allow him, through a linguistic analysis, to probe the modes of communication between Muslims and non-
Muslims within and outside the Empire.
While most faculty concentrate their work on the eastern part of the Mediaterranean and the Middle
East, some scholars connected to this group, particularly PhD’s, also work on the history and culture of North
Africa.
A 3. Processes in research, internal and external collaboration
In many ways the present research programme of the Oriental Studies group continues the lines set out
before 1997, albeit with a sharper focus. Its international visibility increased during the period under review.
It hosted the Eleventh International Congress of Turkish Art in 1999. The ICTA is held every four years and
the world’s most important platform for scholars working on Turkish Art. Most important for the group’s
international profi le was no doubt the creation, in 1998, of the Electronic Journal of Oriental Studies, or EJOS.
This internet journal (www.let.uu.nl/oosters/EJOS) has become in a very short time an established channel
of publication for scholars working in Oriental Studies. The seven volumes published so far included 17
monographs and 98 articles, submitted by 96 different authors from eighteen different countries. EJOS is
included in the most important internet indices, portals and virtual libraries for Oriental Studies. About 250
academic websites maintain permanent links with EJOS, including university libraries and institutes in
Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Turkey, and the US. Google mentions 400
universities and libraries approximately, which have links to EJOS on the web pages.
A 4. Academic Reputation
In the 2003 assessment of the CNWS national research school the group was reviewed in a positive light,
receiving top grades in most areas. Nationally, the strong position of the group was consolidated by the
appointments of Van Bruinessen to the ISIM-Chair at Utrecht University (in 2000), and of Atabaki to an
extra-ordinary professorship at the University of Amsterdam (2001). De Jong received the Türksav Award
from the Turkish government in 1998 for his scholarly oeuvre in general and for his publi cations on the
Turkic world especially. Members of the group are on editing and advisory boards of a variety of inter national
academic journals, such as Journal for the History of Sufi sm (published in Istanbul and Paris; De Jong), Mesoghion
(published in Paris; dr Maghiel Kiel), Journal of Kurdish Studies (published in Boston; Van Bruinessen), and
Persica (published in Leiden; Radtke).
A 5. External validation
Members of the group are regular contributors to national and international radio and television broadcasts,
for example for BBC World Service, Al-Djazeera, Radio Free Europe, as well as Dutch Radio 1 and Radio
Wereldomroep. Journalists from radio, television and newspaper media regularly—sometimes on a weekly
basis—consult members of the group for background information on aspects of Islam, and the developments
in the Middle East, Northern Africa, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Members of the group themselves
publish on a regular basis for non-academic audiences. They also advice Dutch political and cultural
organizations and institutions.
249 Oriental Studies OGC
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