Religious history and archival processes were the key talking points when Director General of the Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA), Professor Dr. Mahmud Erol Kılıç, paid a courtesy call on two Government officials, recently.
The meeting with Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office with responsibility for Culture, Senator Dr. Shantal Munro-Knight, and Minister of Labour, Social Security and the Third Sector, Colin Jordan, was held at the Civil Aviation Building, Charnocks, Christ Church.
Minister Munro-Knight highlighted that Barbados possessed one of the oldest archives which houses parish documents such as births, baptisms, marriages, deeds and wills, with some of those documents dating back to the early settlement days of the 1600s. She shared that the documents are housed in an environmentally-controlled building and the Archives Department is in the process of digitising them.
She noted that the IRCICA is known for its Ottoman Archives and said any assistance offered in the area of digitising would be welcomed, as it aligned with the Government’s plans regarding the Reclaiming Our Atlantic Destiny (ROAD) Project, which has as one of its goals to share the history and culture of Barbados on a global scale through published works and film.
Minister Jordan posited that our culture and religion are tied to our historical background and that his Ministry has been working towards an understanding between the different religions practised in Barbados, where they meet and discuss matters, particularly as they pertain to country development and not inter-faith dialogue.
Noting that the dialogues intend to create an atmosphere of understanding, he said it would allow the different religions “to learn about each other, even though we believe what we believe, because we are living in the same space”.
Minister Jordan on the topic of Barbados’ Atlantic Slave Trade and its connection to Islam, noted there was little to no data on the subject and any assistance in researching this area would be appreciated.
Professor Kılıç expressed his willingness to cooperate and exchange ideas on areas discussed with the Ministers and alluded to the possibility of signing a Memorandum of Understanding.
Other areas discussed included Atlantic slave trade records, Ottoman Archives, inter-faith dialogue sessions, climate change, Arabic script translation and information exchange/knowledge sharing.
Also present at the courtesy call were: the Deputy Permanent Secretary (ag), Prime Minister’s Office – Culture, Carolyn Estwick-Best; Project Manager, The ROAD Project, Chereda Grannum; and Consultant on Muslim Affairs, Suleiman Bulbulia.