International Symposium of Imam-Hatip (Vocational Religious) High Schools on Their Centennial Day

Date: November 23-24, 2013 Istanbul, TURKEY

Symposium Venue: 2010 European Capital of Culture, Congress and Cultural Center-Yıldız Technical University - Davutpaşa Campus-Istanbul

While re-structuring the schooling system that was inherited from the Ottoman Empire, the newly-established Turkish Republic closed down the madrasahs on the one hand, and it continued Islamic Education on a variety of levels with interruptions within a new system on the other hand.

The model that Turkey has produced/introduced in religious education has reached today by being shaped the New Republic’s policies in religion, societal dynamics as well as domestic and foreign policies.
This model, on the one hand, suffered with problems surrounding religious education in the modern educational systems, on the other hand, it continued to hold some potentials that would attract the attention of the Muslim World.
The Imam-Hatip High Schools are unique institutions in the religious education experience of Turkey. They launched under the name of “Medreset’ul Eimme” during the Ottoman period, and continued their evolution and development in the Republican Turkey. This schooling system in 2013, which is its centennial, experience a turning point in its own history. The status of Imam-Hatip High Schools has become strong in education system in Turkey where the educational grades were rearranged/re-structured as 4+4+4. In this new period, the expectations about the Imam-Hatip High Schools have occurred and accordingly International attention and interest of these schools were increased.

At the “International Symposium of Imam-Hatip (Vocational Religious) High Schools on Their Centennial Day”, it is aimed to assess/evaluate the Imam-Hatip experience together with its historical mission, impacts, problems and potentials. This symposium is a continuation of the first national conference held on “The Education and Training at Imam-Hatip High Schools”, organized by the Centre for Values Education on 6-7 of December, 2003. On that symposium, it is given priorities to examine the Imam-Hatip High Schools’ curriculums, teaching and training programmes, and quality of education. In last decade, new developments happened and it is now required to re-evaluate the current issues and problems that these schools encounter with in international perspectives.
“International Symposium of Imam-Hatip (Vocational Religious) High Schools on Their Centennial Day” is a joint project of the Ensar Foundation, the Association of Dissemination Knowledge (Science), the Foundation of Dissemination Knowledge (Science), the Service Foundation for Leadership, The Foundation of Youth and Education in Turkey (TÜRGEV), and is organized by the academic unit of the Centre for Values Education.

Center For Values and Education 2013