Issue 80 · Winter 2017

Dear Reader,
2016 was declared as the year of Hoca Ahmet Yesevi by UNESCO. Ahmet Yesevi University as an international higher education institution, bearing the name of the Great Sufi, and the Presidency of the Board of Trustees conducted a series of activities within this scope. International Hoca Ahmet Yesevi Symposium, held in Ankara, was the far-reaching within these activities. Moreover, Hoca Ahmet Yesevi’s masterpiece, Divan-ı Hikmet, his other works Fakr-Name and İki Farsça Risale was brought to the science world. Pir-i Türkistan Hoca Ahmet Yesevi, written by Hayati Bice, was reissued. Illustrated children’s book, a play, telling Yesevi’s life, were produced for future generations. All these activities were aimed at better understanding of Hoca Ahmet Yesevi, one of the pioneer that reconstructed Turkish Civilisation, and maintenance of his heritage.
In our journal, articles, stated in the file of Hoca Ahmet Yesevi, are in accordance with this purpose. Extremely valuable 5 articles are as to Hoca Ahmet Yesevi and Yassawiya. Among them, Ibrahim Kalın’s article entitled “Hüküm ve Hikmet” is a note prepared by Professor Kalın for the speech he made in the Divan-ı Hikmet Talks organized by the Board of Trustees of Ahmet Yesevi University. Islamic understanding of the Turks and the worldview are revealed through the basic Sufi texts such as Yesevi’s Divan-i Hikmet and Mevlana’s Mesnevi by sparking a philosophical debate over the concepts of wisdom and judgment.
2016 was celebrated as the year of Yusuf Has Hacip by TÜRKSOY which functions as the UNESCO of the Turkish World. From this point of view, our journal also gave a wide coverage to the articles pertaining to Yusuf Has Hacip and Kutadgu Bilig. A series of activities were conducted with a respect to Yusuf Has Hacip and Kutadgu Bilig. Among them, the work “Kutadgu Bilig Research History” ,prepared by M. Savaş Kafkasyalı ve Gulnisa Jamal, with the contributions of Republic of Turkey Prime Ministry Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities has the characteristics of the primary resource for the academicians working on this field. The proceedings book of the International Symposium: Kutadgu Bilig; “Honoring the 1000th Anniversary of the Birth of Yusuf Has Hacip, organized with the cooperation of TÜRKSOY, Turkish Hearths Istanbul Branch and Istanbul Medeniyet University, is also another reference work.
Kutadgu Bilig which explains the knowledge of happiness in terms of science, reason, justice and solidarity by blending Pre-Islamic Turkish traditions and beliefs in the main source of Islam is a thousand year old magnum opus. Divan-ı Hikmet, the work of Pir-i Turkestan Hoca Ahmet Yesevi, thinking of the basic sources of Islam in Turkish, understanding Turkish and speaking Turkish, is a living treasure that has been enriched continuously since the 8th. century.We hope that our journal will contribute to the better understanding of two great personalities, with their lives and works by the world of science. We, wishing that all the efforts for the unparalleled Turkish contributions to humanity and civilization throughout history to increasingly continue can be successful and fruitful, would like to extend our gratitude to our authors and readers.
We wish that 2017 will bring peace, tranquility and prosperity to the whole humanity, especially the Turkish-Islamic world, and celebrate your new year.
Prof. Dr. Fırat PURTAŞ
Editor in Chief