Editor's word

With the publication of issue 4 of the magazine in two versions: paper and electronic, we have received many letters from colleagues working in various local and international institutions, especially from those in the Middle East. Among these reactions, namely, praises and thanks, there were also various suggestions and remarks. Of course, it was good for us to have such reactions, because we would also benefit from the comments and suggestions to enrich our magazine as much as possible and expand the network of cooperation.

In this issue, we can see the variety of topics that reflects the expansion of cooperation with colleagues from different countries. Thus, in the Arabic section, from Skopje, we have the work of Naser Ramadani, which illuminates the constellation of ulema of Skopje who used the nickname "Shkupiani", and who had made significant contributions to Arab-Islamic culture during the 16th-20th centuries. And from Sarajevo, we have the work of Munir Mujiçi, which is about a vakufname registered in Jerusalem in 1681, in which, as buyers of a troll of a Muslim vakuf, two brothers from Sarajevo appear, and who then donated it to the needs of the Catholic clergy in Jerusalem. From Amman we have an original and interesting paper by the Jordanian historian, Suhaila al-Shalabi, which sheds light on the impact of the Balkan wars of 1912-1913 on the development of the Arab national movement during the years 1913-1918. In the Persian section, we have an article by the researcher Ahmed Jeshil, entitled "Islamic Art in Contemporary Muslim Societies", while the In Memorium section presents the life and scientific activity of Prof. Dr. Amir Ljubović (1945-2019), Bosnian expert on oriental manuscripts in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In the Albanian, Turkish and English sections, there is a visible presence of the orientalists of Kosovo (Abdulla Hamiti, Zeqije Xhafçe and Isa Sulçevsi) who present new original works in Albanian and Turkish. This time, the Albanian section is very rich with reviews of new publications in different languages ​​(English, Albanian, Turkish and Bosnian) related to Kosovo and Albanians. This has multiple meanings, because now valuable publications in foreign languages ​​are presented here, which deserve to be translated into Albanian. Also, those works that are published in Albanian with scientific criteria are evaluated, since recently everything is being published in Albanian without any proper scientific review. On the other hand, the In Memoriam column presents the scientific activity of the British orientalist Harry T. Norris (1922-2019), who had an interest in Albanian history and culture, which is especially expressed in his book "Islam in the Balkans".

As in previous issues, we have something worth mentioning about the magazine's extensive staff. This time we would like to congratulate the member of the editorial staff, Prof. assoc. Dr. Isa Memish, the award of the Ministry of Culture for the best translation for 2019. It is about the translation of the novel "Guacka" by the Syrian writer Mustafa Halifa, which he published in the US. "Buzuku" with the help of the Institute for Oriental Studies in Pristina. This award has a meaning for us, because it is the first time that a novel translated from the Arabic language has won this award, as it has also been translated into eight other European languages.

Prof. Dr. Muhammad Mufaku