FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday 8 July, 2026
Launch of landmark Islam: Between East and West by Alija Izetbegović, marking 31 years since Srebrenica
The Cordoba Foundation, with the Alija Izetbegović Foundation, will host the official launch of the revised English translation (May 2026) of Islam: Between East and West — the seminal work of Alija Izetbegović, the philosopher, statesman and Founding President of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The launch will take place on Friday 10 July 2026 at the London Muslim Centre (7:15pm–9pm), with hundreds of guests expected.
Islam: Between East and West is a profound meditation on faith, civilisation and the human condition. Its first English edition was published in 1984, while its author, Izetbegovic, was a political prisoner, and it was followed by four further editions. The book argues that Islam offers a path between the materialism of the West and the abstraction of the East — a vision of the human being as both body and spirit. Over three decades after it first reached English readers, its questions about identity, belonging and coexistence remain strikingly current.
The book launch also marks the 31st anniversary of the Srebrenica Genocide, in which more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were murdered on European soil. The launch stands as both a commemoration of those lost and a reflection on what the world has, and has not, learned since. A special exhibition on the genocide will be on display during the event.
“Alija Izetbegović’s life and thought remind us that dialogue and dignity are not luxuries, but necessities,” said Dr Abdullah Faliq, Managing Director of The Cordoba Foundation and a longtime advocate for Srebrenica. “To revisit his work in the shadow of Srebrenica is to ask ourselves what kind of future we are building, and whether we have the courage to remember.”
Sabina Berberović, daughter of Izetbegović who is traveling from Bosnia to speak at the book launch, said: “During the Second World War my father was a high school student. He read a great deal, mainly philosophical and political books, and felt conflicted between communist ideas and religious beliefs. Eventually it was in his faith — Islam — that he found all the core values he was searching for; a universe without God seemed to him a universe without meaning.”
Berberović added, @Inspired by this personal journey of thought, he, just a teenager, began writing a book. He put on paper the basic structure, ideas and thoughts, and the title: Islam between East and West.”
The book launch event brings together a distinguished panel of speakers, including Izetbegović’s daughter (a founding member of the Alija Izetbegović Foundation); H.E. Osman Topčagić, Bosnian Ambassador to the UK; Shaykh Prof Abdal Hakim Murad, Dean of the Cambridge Muslim College; Dr Admir Mulaosmanović, professor and Bosnian War veteran; Shaykh Dr Yasir Qadhi (joining online); Martin Bell, the former BBC war reporter who covered the siege of Sarajevo; Sarah Joseph OBE, writer and broadcaster; and Dr Wajid Akhter, Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain.
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Notes to editors:
- The Cordoba Foundation is an independent research and policy institution established in 2005 to promote intercultural dialogue and positive coexistence among civilisations, cultures and people. Its work spans research and publications, conferences, executive education and public engagement, guided by its slogan, “Cultures in Dialogue.”
For media enquiries, interviews or further information, please contact: media@thecordobafoundation.com.
For event details: events@thecordobafoundation.com
- The Alija Izetbegović Foundation is a non-profit organisation in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Established in 2020, it preserves the intellectual legacy and personal memorabilia of Alija Izetbegović, the first President of the independent Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. www.alijaizetbegovic.org
- Signed copies of the book will be available to purchase at a special event price of £10.
- Attendance is free, but registration is required at bit.ly/islam-eastwest.
